October 9 - "Buried in Enemy territory: A Spartan tomb in Athens", a talk by Dr. Matthew Sears
24 September 2025
Join us on Thursday, October 9 at 4 p.m. in BUS 2-09 for "Buried in Enemy territory: A Spartan tomb in Athens", a talk by Dr. Matthew Sears (University of New Brunswick).
The Tomb of the Lacedaemonians in the Kerameikos, one of the most important cemeteries of ancient Athens, seems out of place. Why were Spartan soldiers buried in the city of their rivals, next to those against whom they fought and died? The Athenians and Spartans probably had different ways of thinking about this conspicuous tomb, and each were able to bend the tomb’s meaning to suit their own agendas. From a Spartan perspective, the Tomb of the Lacedaemonians in Athens represents one of several burials in hostile territory, which served as a way for the Spartans to advertise their superiority and lay claim to the lands of others.
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