Staff Profile:Dr Emma Aston
- Name:
- Dr Emma Aston
- Job Title:
- Associate Professor
- Responsibilities:
Associate Professor of Classics; On leave Autumn 2020
UG Teaching
I teach on a wide range of topics, including: Greek Religion; ancient Macedon between Alexander I and Alexander III ('The Great'); Archaic Greek history. I also teach Latin and Greek.
PGT TeachingI offer a number of MA Special Options, depending on student choice: ‘Embodying Gods’, ‘The Greeks and the Natural World’; ‘Ancient Thessaly’.
- Areas of Interest:
- I have previously worked chiefly within the area of ancient religion, my book on Greek animal hybrid deities came out in 2011. My current monograph project, however, is on the history and culture of Thessaly in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, with a particular focus on relations between Thessalian and non-Thessalian communities. I spent a term as a Fellow of the British School at Athens working on research for this book and have also travelled extensively in the area. With its rich and much-exploited plains, Thessaly also allows me to work further on another long-standing area of interest: the Greeks' relationship with the natural world, both actual (through agriculture and animal husbandry) and imaginary (through myth).
- Research groups / Centres:
Research interests
In spring 2021 I hold a Fellowship from the Centre for Health Humanities to work towards a project entitled ‘Monstrous Bodies in Ancient Culture and Contemporary Art’.
Current projectsI am currently completing a book on the culture and identity of Thessaly from the 7th to the 2nd century BC.
Postgraduate supervision
I am especially interested in supervising doctoral projects on northern Greece, Greek religion, and ancient attitudes towards the natural world.
- Current PGR projects
I am currently primary supervisor to three doctoral researchers working on aspects of Thessalian coinage, Archaic epic and Plutarch’s Boiotian identity.
- Recently Completed
I have supervised five projects completed to date, on a range of aspects of ancient religion, political history, art and material culture.
I have also been both an internal and an external PhD examiner
- Publications:
-
YNumber of items: 13.
2019
- Aston, E. (2019) ‘ἐμήδισαν προθύμως οὐδ᾽ ἔτι ἐνδοιαστῶς’: Thessalian medism and its repercussions. Hermathena. ISSN 0018-0750 (In Press)
2018
- Aston, E. (2018) Thermopylae 480 BCE: geography and landscape. In: Heuser, B. and Leoussi, A. (eds.) Famous Battles and How They Shaped the Modern World: From Troy to Courtrai 1200 BC - 1302 AD. Pen and Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley. ISBN 9781473893733
- Aston, E. and Kerr, J. (2018) Battlefield and racetrack: the changing role of horses in Thessalian society. Historia, 67 (1). pp. 2-35. ISSN 0118-2311 doi: https://doi.org/10.25162/HISTORIA-2018-0001
2017
- Aston, E. (2017) Centaurs and Lapiths in the landscape of Thessaly. In: Hawes, G. (ed.) Myths on the map: the storied landscapes of ancient Greece. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198744771
2014
- Aston, E. M. M. (2014) Part-animal gods. In: Campbell, G. L. (ed.) Oxford handbook of animals in classical thought and life. Oxford University Press, pp. 366-383. ISBN 9780199589425
2013
- Aston, E. (2013) Thessaly and Macedon at Delphi. Electrum: journal of ancient history, 19. pp. 41-60. ISSN 2084-3909 doi: https://doi.org/10.4467/20843909EL.12.002.0743
2012
- Aston, E. (2012) 'Friends in High Places: The Stereotype of Dangerous Thessalian Hospitality in the Later Classical Period.’. Phoenix, 66 (3-4). pp. 247-271. ISSN 0031-8299
- Aston, E. (2012) Friends in high places: the stereotype of dangerous Thessalian hospitality in the later Classical period. Phoenix, 66 (3-4). pp. 247-271. ISSN 0031-8299
2011
- Aston, E. (2011) Mixanthropoi: animal-human hybrid deities in Greek religion. Supplément, 25. Kernos (Centre International d'Etude de la Religion Grecque Antique), Liege, pp383. ISBN 9782960071788
2009
- Aston, E. (2009) Thetis and Cheiron in Thessaly. Kernos, 22. pp. 83-107. ISSN 0776-3824
2008
- Aston, E. (2008) Hybrid statues in ancient Greece: animal, human, god. In: Alexandridis, A. , Wild, M. and Winkler-Horacek, L. (eds.) Mensch und Tier in der Antike: Grenzziehung und Grenzüberschreitung. Reichert, Wiesbaden, pp. 481-502. ISBN 9783895005831
2006
- Aston, E. (2006) The absence of Chiron. Classical Quarterly, 56 (2). pp. 349-362. ISSN 0009-8388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838806000371
2004
- Aston, E. (2004) Asclepius and the legacy of Thessaly. Classical Quarterly, 54 (1). pp. 18-32. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/cq/54.1.18