”The Art of Dying in Antiquity
– An Interdisciplinary Conference in Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
May 25–26, 2027
The Greco-Roman ideal of a good or noble death was immensely important for how death was understood in the ancient world and how dying was described in ancient narratives such as biographies, histories, and hagiographies. In this conference, we trace the ideal through Greco-Roman, Biblical, and early Christian literature, and discuss the interplay between Greco-Roman and Christian ideals in death narratives from different eras and contexts.
Noble Death in Modern Scholarship
Ancient thinking about death has long been studied based on funeral inscriptions, epistolary material, and argumentative treatises, and there is broad consensus on the significance and importance of the concept of a good or noble death. The best way to die was to approach the end bravely, utter some significant last words, and die calmly, surrounded by grieving friends and relatives, who would make sure that the body was properly buried, exhibit a suitable amount of mourning, and ensure the remembrance of the deceased. It did not greatly matter whether the death was due to old age, illness, war, or by one’s own hand, as long as those dying demonstrated calm, dignity, and endurance in their last hours. Athenian funeral speeches often praise the fallen for their willingness to die in battle for the sake of others. Philosophical biographies often depict their protagonists as approaching their ends calmly, unperturbedly teaching their followers about the advantages of dying, much like the death of Socrates is described in Plato’s Phaedo.
Considering Greco-Roman death ideals in the study of Christian gospels, biographies, apocryphal acts, and hagiographies will unlock new insights into a set of highly familiar texts and reveal hitherto unknown connotations between Greco-Roman and early Christian culture. Where scholars have considered the death of Jesus as exemplary for early Christian death narratives, proper consideration of the Greco-Roman concept of a noble death will allow us to discern whether the exemplarity of Jesus has really had an impact, or if early Christian death narratives still are determined by the traditional death ideals in Greco-Roman culture.
A Conference at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
To promote consideration of the Greco-Roman concept of a noble death in scholarship and stimulate interdisciplinary interaction between scholars of Classical Studies, Biblical Studies, and Early Christian Studies/Patristics, we are gathering scholars for a conference at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies in central Helsinki, Finland. The Collegium is a creative environment attracting scholars from all fields and all over the world and will provide an excellent venue for the conference.
Call for Papers
To participate in the conference, doctoral students, postdocs, and senior scholars in Classical Studies, Biblical Studies, Church History and related fields are welcome to send in an abstract for a short paper to contribute to the discussion. The abstract should be 100–200 words. Short papers will be 20 minutes long, followed by time for questions and discussion.
Send your abstract to art-of-dying@helsinki.fi by November 30, 2026.
After the conference, the organizers will seek to have select papers published in a conference volume or thematic journal issue.”
Source and more information on the conference website: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/art-of-dying/
