In the ancient Mediterranean world, the sea was an essential domain
for trade, cultural exchange, communication, exploration, and
colonisation. In tandem with the lived reality of this maritime
space, a parallel experience of the sea emerged in narrative
representations from ancient Greece and Rome, of the sea as a
cultural imaginary. This imaginary seems often to oscillate between
two extremes: the utopian and the catastrophic; such
representations can be found in narratives from ancient history,
philosophy, society, and literature, as well as in their
post-classical receptions. Utopia can be found in some imaginary
island paradise far away and across the distant sea; the sea can
hold an unknown, mysterious, divine wealth below its surface; and
the sea itself as a powerful watery body can hold a liberating
potential. The utopian quality of the sea and seafaring can become
a powerful metaphor for articulating political notions of the ideal
state or for expressing an individual's sense of hope and
subjectivity. Yet the catastrophic sea balances any perfective
imaginings: the sea threatens coastal inhabitants with floods,
tsunamis, and earthquakes and sailors with storms and the
accompanying monsters. From symbolic perspectives, the catastrophic
sea represents violence, instability, the savage, and even
cosmological chaos. The twelve papers in this volume explore the
themes of utopia and catastrophe in the liminal environment of the
sea, through the lens of history, philosophy, literature and
classical reception. Contributors: Manuel Alvarez-Marti-Aguilar,
Vilius Bartninkas, Aaron L. Beek, Ross Clare, Gabriele Cornelli,
Isaia Crosson, Ryan Denson, Rhiannon Easterbrook, Emilia Mataix
Ferrandiz, Georgia L. Irby, Simona Martorana, Guy Middleton, Hamish
Williams.
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