During his time in the UK, Professor Van Nijf will prepare a monograph on Greek athletics in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. These were the heydays of a highly complex festival culture that took the form of athletic (and theatrical or musical) contests. Professor Van Nijf will study this phenomenon based on a comprehensive investigation of the source material, using social network theory and other recent (digital) approaches to ancient history. He will also work on an on-line database of athletes, performers and festivals. He will further develop the database with a view to integrating it with other initiatives in the field of digital humanities.
