Mediterranean & Near Eastern Studies

The story of Europa, daughter of the Phoenician king of Tyre, carried off to Crete by the Greek god, Zeus, symbolizes the aims of our Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies project. The myth was used by the historian, Herodotus, to explain the animosities between Europe and Asia, but it can also exemplify the meeting of East and West and the indebtedness of Europe to the cultures of the Near East. It is this cultural interchange between the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds – an interchange that forms the very basis of western civilisation – which lies at the heart of our project.

This is a collaborative venture of research and teaching between Biblical and Theological Studies and the Schools of Classics at Trinity College Dublin. Under the Government's Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, funded by the National Development Plan, we received £276,000 for an initial three-year period, and €1,227,000 for a further five years (2002/3-2006/7). This has been, and will continue to be, used primarily to support postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and to facilitate academic association, by bringing international experts to Dublin and enabling our own participants to travel abroad for conferences, library research and fieldwork.

For more information on current research projects visit the website of Mediterranean & Near Eastern Studies.

Contact: jwelch@tcd.ie | Last updated: Sep 08 2008 | Back to top