Prolegomena

This introductory chapter discusses ancient and modern responses to migration. Though the plight of migrants and refugees in the Greek-speaking world would have been similar to their plight today, absent the halting efforts of humanitarian agencies and the distracted gaze of the international community, there are some striking differences. Many people are at least somewhat sensitized to the predicament faced by displaced persons today, whereas the best minds of Greek antiquity show virtually no concern for their welfare. Another striking difference is that migration in the Greek-speaking world, whatever its cause, often represented a far more radical upheaval in people's lives than it does today.

Gaze · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Refugee · Sociology · Welfare · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical and Architectural Studies · History · Law · Psychology