Current Research Projects

Project directed by Prof. Dr. Martin Zimmermann as part of the SPP "Hellenistic Polis". The project's aim is to study the rural settlement structure around Pergamon in the Hellenistic period. To do so, settlement patterns and interrelations are to be reconstructed and their historical development assessed. Particular interest is due to the relationship between the central city and its neighbours. more

The colour terms of the Graeco-Roman world are not only culturally specific, but also embedded into symbolic systems and semantic contexts that cannot be simply transposed into modern categories of world organisation. The habilitation project aims to study ancient classifications of colour and their roots in order to gain an appreciation of their cultural specificity. more

The Department of Ancient History at the LMU plays a leading role in the Priority Programme "The Hellenistic Polis as a Living Space", funded by the DFG. more

Studying historical processes of acculturation presupposes clearly delimited cultural groups. The region of Lycia in Asia Minor offers good preconditions for an analysis of ancient processes of acculturation since the epichoric Lycian culture can be reconstructed relatively well. In the study of these processes, harbour towns play particularly important role. more

Physical violence is a universal cultural feature and in evidence throughout history. Surveying the history of mankind reveals no improvement. Nonetheless, the forms and extent of violence are subject to historical change. The project aims to understand the ways in which extreme forms of violence are prohibited and permitted, as well as thematised in media, in order to reveal very specific cultural rules and patterns of organisation. more

A German and French team directed by Prof. Dr. Martin Zimmermann (LMU Munich) and Prof. Jacques des Courtils (University of Bordeaux) is conducting a cooperative study of the settlement history of Lycia, with particular emphasis of the Xanthos valley. The project is funded by DFG and ANR with around one million euros. more