Within the frame of the sub-series Athenian Dialogues this volume comprises a selected number
of talks delivered at the annual Seminar of the Research Centre for Greek and Latin Literature
of the Academy of Athens 2018-2019 on the broad topic of Ancient Greek Literature and the
Foreign. The volume aims at building on the ongoing dialogue on the par excellence intricate
as well as timely issues of ethnicity identity and identification as represented in ancient
Greek (and secondarily Roman) literature. This is certainly a richly researched field which
extends to interdisciplinary areas of inquiry namely those of classical studies archaeology
ancient history sociology and anthropology. It is this interdisciplinary scope that makes the
subject all the more relevant and worthy of investigation. The volume ultimately highlights new
or under-researched aspects of the broad theme of ancient inter-cultural relations which could
in their turn lead to more detailed or more specified inquiries on this ever relevant and
important as well as universal topic. Through the contributions of expert scholars on these
areas of inquiry (Konstan Lefkowitz Paschalis Seaford Thomas Vasounia Vlassopoulos) the
volume: (1) revisits key themes and aspects of the ancient Greek world's diverse forms of
contact with foreign peoples and civilizations (2) lays forth new data about specific such
contacts and encounters or (3) formulates new questions about the very texture and essence of
the theme of inter-cultural relations and forms of communication. More specifically the volume
addresses the following themes: the overarching role and function of the barbarian repertoire
in Greek literature and culture which certainly call for further theoretical investigation
(Vlassopoulos) the highly popular but actually controversial theme of xenia in the Homeric
epics and in archaic thought (Konstan) the intricate intriguing role of the Foreigner as a
focus for civic unity (Seaford) the role of the enigmatic figure of Dionysus from Greece to
India (Vasunia) the representation of barbarians in Euripidean tragedy and more specifically
the portrayal of the controversial Phrygian slave in Euripides' Orestes (Lefkowitz) the
meaningful changes in the representation of the arch-enemy the Persians across the late 5th
and 4th century prose (Thomas) the adventures of Europa's legendary abduction from Moschus to
Nonnus along with its implications for the understanding of the division and animosity between
the two continents (future) Europe and Asia (Paschalis). The volume ultimately covers a wide
range of ancient sources (literary and material from Homer up to Nonnus) that delve into the
interaction of ancient Greek civilization with foreign civilizations. It thus highlights new
aspects of the diverse forms of contact of the Greek world with foreign civilizations and
elements both in terms of geography and particular seminal mythical or historical figures and
forces (e.g. India and the mysterious Dionysus as well as the emblematic Greek antagonist of
the classical and post-classical era i.e. the Persian Empire) and in terms of particular
literary themes and motifs (e.g. the abduction of Europa).
