Kiel Conference Session 30
08. – 12.03.2027
This session examines physical training as a cultural practice in ancient and pre-modern societies. It explores how movement was performed, regulated, and transmitted, and how practical knowledge of the body may be reconstructed from textual and material evidence.
Ancient literary sources such as Philostratus’ Gymnasticus preserve concepts of competitions, technique, and training routines, yet provide only partial access to athletic practice. The session therefore aims to adopt a broader, interdisciplinary understanding of training, bringing together Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Ancient History, Classical Philology, and related perspectives on bodily practices such as combat, hunting, ritual performance, and athletic competition. We particularly invite papers addressing one or more of the following themes:
1. Training and the formation of bodies:
How did repeated exercise shape bodies in relation to social, cultural, or normative ideals? How may specific movements be reconstructed, and what do injuries, recovery practices, or traces of physical strain reveal about training practices and perceived bodily limits?
2. Material and spatial conditions of training:
Which spaces, objects, and technical devices structured the training practices? How did material settings or equipment, from protective bandages to weights and other training implements, enable, constrain or shape the training?
3. Transfer of Knowledge about training:
How was knowledge of the body, movement, and recovery produced, taught, and transmitted? What roles did institutions, social settings, trainers, physicians, and other specialists play in defining expertise across textual and non-textual cultures?
By analysing bodily training in its material, practical, and epistemic dimensions, the session aims to clarify how physical practices were learned and transmitted in pre-modern societies.
Conveners: Samantha Philips (Ancient Greek and Roman Literature, ROOTS Cluster of Excellence, Kiel University)
Beiträge aus dem Bereich der Alten Geschichte, Klassischen Philologie und Klassischen Archäologie sind herzlich willkommen.
The presentations are scheduled for 15 minutes plus 5 minutes of discussion. Abstracts are limited to 2,500 characters (incl. spaces) and may include up to 5 references. Abstracts can only be submitted via the conference website: www.kielconference.uni-kiel.de from 1st August to 15th October 2026.
We are looking forward to your contributions!
On behalf of the ROOTS speakers, Martin Furholt