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Tokens: The Athenian Legacy to the Modern World - 16-17/12/2019, Athens (Greece)


Never before has an object of everyday life played such a powerful role in a multitude of circumstances: economics (Agorism, cryptocurrencies, tokenized credit and debit cards), governance (‘Agora’ networks applied in elections), and computing (data security via tokenization). This workshop aims to achieve a better understanding of tokens in ancient Athens as well as their modern-day applications in voting and market mechanics. Current theories and practices employ Athens and the city’s tokens as a historical paradigm. But what do we actually know about Athenian tokens?


FECHA/DATE/DATA: 16-17/12/2019

ORGANIZADOR/ORGANIZER/ORGANIZZATORE: Mairi Gkikaki.

INFO: web - m.gkikaki@warwick.ac.uk

INSCRIPCIÓN/REGISTRATION/REGISTRAZIONE: Gratis/free /gratuito Deadline: 13/12/2019

PROGRAMA/PROGRAM/PROGRAMMA: Aquí/here/qui Abstracts


Monday 16th December 2019


1.30-2pm Registration


2-2.10pm Welcome John Bennet (British School at Athens)

2.10-2.30pm Welcome Mairi Gkikaki (University of Warwick)


Session 1: Communication, community and social cohesion

Chair: Panagiotis Tselekas (University of Thessaloniki)


2.30-3pm Tragic tokens: Sophoclean symbola in context

Patrick Finglass (University of Bristol)

3-3.30pm The Council of Five Hundred and Symbola in Classical Athens

Mairi Gkikaki (University of Warwick)


3.30-4.30pm Coffee


Session 2: ‘Breaking the code’: the cryptic character of tokens

Chair: Katerina Panagopoulou (University of Crete)


4.30-5pm Nike on Hellenistic lead tokens: Iconography and meaning

Martin Schäfer (Archaeological Society at Athens)

5-5.30pm Athenian clay tokens: New types, new series

Stamatoula Makrypodi (Hellenic Ministry of Culture and University of Athens)

5.30-6pm A New Type of Roman Period Clay Tokens from Jerusalem

Yoav Farhi (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)


6-6.15pm Break


6.15-7pm Keynote Address by John H. Kroll (University of Texas at Austin)

The Corpus of Athenian Tokens: 150 Years of Expansion and Study from Postolakas to the Present


From 7pm onwards: Reception


Tuesday 17th December 2019

Session 3: Political devices of the participatory democracy

Chair: Harikleia Papageorgiadou (National Hellenic Research Foundation)


10-10.30am Tokens and Tribes: an Iconographic Overview

Daria Russo (Sapienza University of Rome – Anhima UMR 8210)

10.30-11am Tokens and Corruption in Fourth Century BC Athens

Alessandro Orlandini (University of Milan)

11-11.30am Symbola and Political Equality in Classical Athens

James Kierstead (Victoria University of Wellington)



11.30-12am Coffee


12-12.45pm Keynote Address by Quinn Dupont (University College Dublin) The Social Order of “Crypto” Communities


1-2.30pm Lunch



Session 4: New Finds

Chair: Aliki Moustaka (University of Thessaloniki)


2.30-3pm Tokens from the Koile Area

Olga Dakoura-Vogiatzoglou (Ephory of Antiquities of the City of Athens)

3-3.30pm New Hellenistic and Roman clay tokens from Sicily through local identities, museum and archival Research

Antonino Crisà (Ghent University)



3.30-4.30pm Coffee


Session 5: Athenian tokens in the world of the Eastern Mediterranean

Chair: Sophia Kremydi (National Hellenic Research Foundation)


4.30-5pm Contextualising Athenian Tokens

Clare Rowan (University of Warwick)

5-5.30pm Lead tokens in Graeco-Roman Egypt: A Reassessment of Dating and Purpose

Denise Wilding (University of Warwick)

5.30-6pm Alexander the Great’ in Lead and Bronze: The evidence of Greek and Roman tokens (3rd–5th centuries AD)

Cristian Mondello (University of Warwick)


6-6.15 Break


6.15-6.30pm Thanks and Farewell


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