CIMA · Conceptualising Intercultural Mediation in the Greek-Roman Antiquity. A multidisciplinary approach

Intercultural mediation is a social practice that creates bonds between individuals or groups from different cultural background through the agency of a third party. The agent, or mediator, can be either an individual or a group of people (e.g. an ambassador, a translator, a salesman; immigrants, pilgrims, tourists, and so on) whose activity, often unintentionally, reinforces international relationships and fosters social cohesion especially for what concerns culturally distant and/or hostile groups. The practice exists from ancient times, prompt by various political and economic factors, and the understanding how and why it occurred, and why it succeeded or failed in the past can greatly impact the studies related to intercultural exchange, by amplifying our understanding of social mechanisms that may promote cultural tolerance and manage conflicts. However, current studies related to multicultural coexistence overlook this issue, and the research is further impeded by the lack of a universal theory on mediation or a valid methodology of its study. The CIMA project aims to fill this gap by studying a real-life phenomenon in a historical perspective, in order to enable the use of past sociocultural experiences to address current social issues. Namely, CIMA will examine a series of case studies that emphasize the activity of the ancient Greeks as diplomatic mediators, trading agents and/or transmitters of concepts and ideas between foreign communities (states/tribes), and will develop an adaptable model of analysis of this phenomenon, applicable in various disciplines and fields. Inthis manner, the project will transcend the conventional boundaries between disciplines and open new, interdisciplinary directions for future research. The outputs of the project will be disseminated both in written form in journals, conference proceedings and social media, and as oral presentations, targeting researchers, students and the general public.