Our age is aware of problems of discrimination as never before. Despite this, ageism constantly lurks. Progress of medicine and the wide availability of technological assistance enable people of older age to take responsible positions. Some world leaders indeed are of advanced age. But isn’t this a thing that worries a society where youthful looks and actions are cherished as they were before? Would the reactions to older rulers be very different in the ancient world?

Our conference themes include, but are not restricted to:
1. The social and cultural perceptions of the aged rulers in a trans-Mediterranean perspective.
2. The literary stereotypes associated to elderly (and/or disabled) rulers.
3. The epigraphical and artistic portrayal of the aged politician/tyrant/king/emperor. To what extent was the old age of the elderly statesmen represented (or hidden?) in mediums such as reliefs, sculptures, and coins?
4. The experience of age and disability. Can we reconstruct the day-to-day experience of ruling a city, kingdom or empire being old (and/or disabled)?
5. To what extent was the aged (and disabled) rulers vulnerable? How did they react to such situations? Did they carry out strategies to hide their physical and/or intellectual limitations?

Submission Guidelines:
Proposals, in English, should be sent both to christian.laes@manchester.ac.uk and mendezsborja@uniovi.es by 31 August 2023. In your email, please include the title of your proposal and a brief abstract (maximum 300 words) for a 20-minute presentation. Do not forget to add your full name, institutional affiliation, and email address. Please confirm us as soon as possible if you plan to attend the Conference in person or remotely. The speakers should also provide a c. 3000-word draft at least two weeks before the Conference. The papers of this Conference will be published by the organizers either in a well-known publishing house or in a journal monographic number.