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The Epigraphic Programs of Greek Sanctuaries: Space, Actors and Visual Strategies

Sep 22, 2025 | Events

The Epigraphic Programs of Greek Sanctuaries: Space, Actors and Visual Strategies

On 20–21 October 2025, the University of Wrocław will host the international conference The Epigraphic Programs of Greek Sanctuaries: Space, Actors and Visual Strategies. This major scholarly gathering will bring together leading specialists in Greek epigraphy to examine the texts of inscriptions displayed in sanctuaries, their visual and spatial contexts, and the ways in which they shaped and reflected ancient religious, civic, and political life.

The event forms part of the research project Inscriptions in Architectural and Spatial Contexts: The Case-Study of Greek Sanctuaries in Central Greece, the Peloponnese and the Aegean Islands, funded by the National Science Centre. Its central aim is to reconstruct the interplay between epigraphic culture and sacred space by considering not only the texts themselves, but also their placement, associated imagery, and audiences.

Over the course of two days, sixteen papers will explore themes ranging from the visual strategies of inscribed statues in civic space, through the epigraphic landscapes of Olympia, Delphi, and Pergamon, to the agency of rulers, women, and communities in shaping the inscribed environments of sanctuaries across the Greek world.

Highlights include keynote lectures by:

  • Milena Melfi (University of Oxford) – Visualizing Political and Religious History through Monuments and Inscriptions in the Sanctuaries of the Late Hellenistic Peloponnese

  • Zahra Newby (University of Warwick) – Statue, Text, Space: The Visual Strategies of Inscribed Statues in the Civic Sphere

  • Peter Liddel (University of Manchester) – The Epigraphical Phenomena of Greek Akropoleis

  • Christina Williamson (University of Groningen) – Co-Creating Sacred Space. Inscribed Resonances at the Asklepieion of Pergamon

The full conference programme is now available [here] .

We warmly invite scholars, students, and all those interested in the epigraphic and visual cultures of the ancient Greek world to join us in Wrocław this October.