Book Release / Review Session

REVENGE, COMPENSATION, AND FORGIVENESS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Thomas Kazen & Rikard Roitto (Mohr Siebeck, 2024)

Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm / Stockholm School of Theology + online

Thursday August 29, 2024, 4-6.30 pm

Programme:

4.00-4.10         Welcome and presentation of participants
4.10-4.30         Introduction and presentation of the project
4.30-5.00         Review: Melissa Barden Dowling (SMU Dallas)
5.00-5.10         Break
5.10-5.40         Review: Göran Eidevall (Uppsala)
5.40-6.10         Review: Colleen Shantz (Toronto)
6.10-6.30         General discussion
6.30- Post-seminar

Venue: Enskilda Högskolan / Stockholm School of Theology, room 108, Åkeshovsvägen 29, 168 39 Bromma, Sweden

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/99677879827

If you would like to stay for something to eat and drink we appreciate if you indicate this in advance to thomas.kazen@ehs.se

Handling moral infringement is complicated and this was as true in antiquity as it is today. Should one retaliate, demand compensation, be merciful, ignore the infringement, or forgive? Thomas Kazen and Rikard Roitto compare how Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians in antiquity navigated different ideas, practices, and rituals for moral repair. How did they think about morality and did this affect ideas about moral repair? What practices of moral repair did they use, within and beyond the court? In what different ways did they involve the gods in interpersonal conflicts through ritual? Insights from contemporary research on human behaviour guide the comparative work, since, as the authors argue, human moral behaviour and cognition is the result of both innate and cultural factors.