The Centre (in Greek: Ergasterion) for the Study of the Ancient World (CSAW) is a research foundation devoted to organizing and directing scholarly research at the Ionian University (Corfu). Its main scope is to investigate various themes related to the ancient, mainly the Greco-Roman world. Apart from Greek and Roman History, Literature and Archaeology, subjects included are Late Antiquity, early Middle Ages, ancient science, and digital humanities.
The CSAW was founded in 2015 (FEK 1200, 23-6-2015) and since then it has been under the direction of Athanasios Efstathiou, Professor of Ancient Greek Language and Literature. Long interested in Ancient History and Literature, it supports research on specific subjects such as Ancient Athletics, Law and Policy in Greek World of Classical Age, Sea, Travels, Naval Battles, Odyssey, Greek and Roman Food and Cooking, Herbs, Drinks and Medical Treatment (based on Hippocrates, Galen, Dioscorides), Commentaries on various Ancient authors (e.g. Aeschines, Lysias, Diodorus of Sicily, Plato, Homer, Dionysius of Halicarnassus), Greek Grammars of Late Antiquity, Byzantium and Renaissance, Rhetoric, Historiography.
The CSAW became the main organizer or co-organizer of conferences on themes such as ‘Agon in Classical Literature’ (Ionian University, 2015), ‘Philia in Greek Literature and Reception’ (University of Peloponnese/ Kalamata, 2017), ‘Witnesses and Evidence: Information and Decision in Drama and Oratory’ (University of Peloponnese/ Kalamata, 2018), ‘Administrative Documents from the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Imperium’ (Ionian University, 2018), ‘Mapping the Rhetoric of Science Writing in Antiquity and Beyond (Ionian University, 2019), and ‘Cities’ Historic Centers: Management and Promotion Policies’ (Ionian University, 2019).
Moreover, the CSAW is responsible for regularly organizing a Summer School on Seafarers in Ancient Greece: Pirates, Sailors, Colonizers (a two-week course which focuses on various types of seafarers in ancient Greece, from pirates to sailors and colonizers. (Academic Coordinators: Professor Athanasios Efstathiou, Dr. Polyxeni Strolonga, Dr. Konstantinos Stefou).
Finally, the CSAW publishes the International Refereed Journal Rhetoric & Science (ISSN 2654-0053).
