University of Nottingham sponsors conference on the Oath in Greek Society

"In spite of the fundamental importance of oaths across an enormously wide range of social interactions throughout the ancient Greek world, there has been very little research dedicated to this topic. This international conference is designed to remedy this omission and to kick off a major project on the theme intended to last several years. More than twenty papers will be presented on many aspects of the oath in Greek-speaking societies in antiquity, including the employment and functions of oaths in political, military, juridical, cultic and wider social contexts, their deployment in literary texts, theoretical discussion of them, and developments in oath practices resulting from Greeks' contacts with other cultural and religious traditions."