HellBel (Hellas Belgica) – FWO (2024–27)

From Hellas to Haarlem:
New Ancient Greek literature on the cultural scene
of the early modern Low Countries (ca. 1484–1700)

While it is well-known that Latin served as a major literary language in the early modern period (ca. 1400–1700), it is much less known that authors from that era also produced a rich literature in the language of ancient Greece. There is as yet no systematic study of this intriguing phenomenon, which flourished across the European continent from Italy to Scandinavia, and especially in the cultural and linguistic melting pot that were the Low Countries. New Ancient Greek (NAG) literature was a product of the Renaissance intellectual trend known as humanism, which reached the Low Countries at the end of the 15th century. Thanks to pioneers such as Agricola and Erasmus, NAG writing developed into a cultural phenomenon that became deeply anchored in elite society.

This project will for the first time (1) collect the NAG literary corpus in an open access database, (2) investigate the socio-cultural embedding of NAG authors and texts in early modern society, and (3) analyze the varied media through which they reached their audience, and what impressions they left on them. As such, we will produce a more complete picture of early modern NAG literature than is currently available, zooming in on the texts themselves, their authors, and their audience. The project will result in 2 PhD theses, 1 edited volume, 12 papers, and a database that will contribute to literary studies, cultural history, visual studies, and classical reception studies, by means of a digital humanities approach.

Conference ‘New Ancient Greek Literature: Contexts, Audiences, Legacies’ (Leuven, 8-10 July 2026)

The ongoing HellBel project organizes an international conference devoted to the vibrant but understudied phenomenon of New Ancient Greek (NAG) or Humanist Greek literature (also known as e.g. Neo-Greek). This body of texts, composed primarily during the Renaissance and the early modern period but by no means limited to it, sought to revive and reinvent classical Greek as a living literary language, bridging antiquity and Byzantium with the authors’ contemporary intellectual landscapes. Our conference aims to explore NAG literature not simply as a philological curiosity but as a dynamic cultural practice — crafted by specific authors, for specific audiences, and shaped by particular literary and performative conventions.

Keynote speakers:

• Malika Bastin-Hammou (Université Grenoble Alpes)
• Han Lamers (Norwegian Institute, Rome)
• Filippomaria Pontani (Ca’ Foscari University, Venice)

We invite proposals for papers on any topic relevant to the subject matter of the conference.

Call for Papers (call closed)

Register here before June 24