Name: Nikolaos-Anargyros Cheimaras

Research: My research project bears the title 'The ambiguous nature of treason and the evolution of the notion and its content in Classical Greece'. Betraying some palpable entity or some intangible ideological principle, not only in terms of nomos but also in respect of moral values, is a central and ubiquitous issue considered a punishable and reprehensible crime in both ancient and modern societies. What is at issue in this PhD project is the question of the discursive construction of the concept of treason, with particular emphasis on why some individuals or groups that present elements of potentially treacherous behaviour get treated as traitors while others exhibiting a similar kind of behaviour do not. More specifically, my aim is to investigate where the line of treason is drawn, and how and why individuals and communities differ, particularly from case to case and also over time, in their assessment of what does and does not count as treason. I ask how and why what is or is not deemed as treason is established in different cases and contexts by different historical ‘actors’, what the motives and the reasons are for different reactions to and evaluations of similar treacherous behaviours, what the potential origins of condemnatory or exonerative historiographical narratives concerning acts of potential treason are and whether there are historical trends in the evolution of this phenomenon. To answer these research questions on the issue of prodosia, my analysis takes advantage of the numerous references to treason and treacherous attitude in the writings of both classical and later historians, fourth century orators, tragic or comic playwrights, philosophical debates and inscriptions. I first establish a methodological and conceptual basis by theoretically exploring the potential meaning, content and most importantly the difficulties and limitations of a definition of treason in both its moral and judicial sense. As a theoretical schematic approach to treason seems to provide more interpretative difficulties, structurally embedded in the notion itself, rather than many core characteristics of its meaning, I then comparatively seek juxtaposed practical cases of behaviours that were treated as treacherous, or that, despite their objectively similar nature, were not dealt with in that way. In practice, I employ a series of antithetical pairs drawn specifically from the pattern of ‘ethnic panhehellenic treason’, concerning betraying Greece or some of its conceptual components, where two ‘actors’ demonstrating similar behaviours in specific historical circumstances, potentially equally recognizable as treason, receive different responses, with one seen as treason and the other evading direct confrontation as treacherous. After having a close look at panhellenic prodosia during the Persian Wars, especially concerning the cases of Argos and Thebes, I am currently focusing on prodosia during the Peloponnesian War. My research allows for a more practical examination of treason based on contrastive examples of applied differentiated reactions and not only on broad moral ambiguity. It also enables a dynamic understanding of historical events, the function and tendencies of Greek societies and the relations between individuals and communities. My research promotes a deeper understanding of ancient values and the usage of concepts like belonging to a certain group,  patriotism and Greek or parochial identity, as treason is linked with ancient social and moral principles. A study of treason can reveal the identity of the traitor, the character of the collective entity betrayed and also the beliefs or interests of those assessing a potentially treasonous act. Finally, my research questions can lead not only to a deeper understanding or reassessment of some ancient texts, but also to a decoding and reinterpretation of what authors are doing when they play with the motif, what their audiences and sources could be and what ‘historical actors’ could shape the authors’ narratives to achieve certain political results and for what reasons. 

Recent papers/presentations given: Durham-Muenster PGR Conference, where I presented the content of my PhD research with a paper under the title 'The ambiguous nature of treason and the evolution of the notion and its content in Classical Greece' (same as my PhD title).