Professor Chiara Meccariello

Project Lead

https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/39195-chiara-meccariello

I received a PhD in Classics from the University of Pisa, and then held research and teaching positions in Vienna, Oxford, Goettingen and Cambridge, before moving to Exeter in 2022.

My research explores ancient cultural practices and their historical significance, drawing on both literary sources and papyrological evidence. Thanks to my technical training in Papyrology, I work on written artefacts to recover, decipher, interpret and contextualise primary material, combining a philological approach to ancient texts with the investigation of their contexts of use against the backdrop of broader socio-cultural dynamics. This approach informs all strands of my research, especially in the following interrelated areas:

• Ancient Greek education in its Afroeurasian context. Leveraging fragmentary written artefacts such as papyri and potsherds used by learners and teachers, I explore how educational practices evolved and adapted to diverse cultural and political contexts, particularly in Graeco-Roman Egypt. This is the topic of my project Education in Graeco-Roman Egypt: An Intercultural Approach, which has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant (2025-2030).
• Greek drama and its ancient reception. I examine how Greek drama was transmitted, reperformed and reimagined in antiquity, focusing on the interplay between innovation and tradition. This is the subject of my forthcoming book Tragic Papyri and the Art of (Re)Performance (under contract with Cambridge University Press).
• Paraliterary texts and ancient readers. This strand of my research investigates the explanatory texts that accompanied Greek poetry to reconstruct how ancient readers engaged with literature. These texts often changed shape to suit their users, and so I have become increasingly interested in how modern editorial practices can best capture their multiversion nature.