Subject:

The cultures of the Mediterranean world in Ancient times (Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian) offer unique insights into an anthropological constant: the need for a future. From this need arise two central concerns: understanding and knowledge of the future; and mastering it or ensuring it aligns with expectations. Both of these concerns stem from the difficulty of defining this need, whose metaphysical nature is intertwined with a desire to act in accordance with it.

The study of the need for a future among the ancients immerses us in an investigation of how they conceived of the future, represented it, and understood it from a cosmological perspective, in order to determine to what extent the purpose of humanity is defined by the end of time—that is, its conclusion and its goal. Thus unfolds a series of questions regarding the possible source of knowledge—or, failing that, an intuition of the future—and regarding the authority of those who claim it. The question is whether this source is given or acquired; whether it is accepted or rejected, not only by its holder but also by its intended recipients; what is the scope of its intended audience—from the particular (an oracle for a merchant) to the universal (the Gospel)—as tested by its reception, from the individual (believing) to a community (transmitting).

Prophecy constitutes an approach to the future that is distinct enough to warrant attention as a primary area of study. Greek mantics and Italic divination—due to their methods, which are based primarily on induction through the interpretation of phenomena taken as signs—represent another area of study with its own specific issues. Finally, the ancient world’s preoccupation with the future has had such a profound influence on Western literature and thought that it is also important to examine its reception and critical transmission across the centuries that have shaped European modernity.

Practical Details and Further Reading:

• First conference on Friday, March 21, 2025, at ENS de Lyon: “Embodying the Oracle—Prophetic and Divinatory Figures, Between Authority and Visionary Delusion.”
• Second conference on Friday, June 6, 2025, at ENS de Lyon: “The Prophet in the World: Oracle and Divination in the Face of the Need for a Future.”
• A symposium is scheduled for fall 2025 at ENS de Lyon.

Creation date:

April 2024

Closure date:

December 2026

Project leaders:

• AUBERT Gustin (ENS de Lyon, Greek Language and Literature)
• BARREAU William (Sorbonne University, 17th-Century Literature)
• KALETA Justine (University of Paris-Nanterre, Latin Language and Literature)
• LAGALLE Julien (University of Caen, Philosophy)
• Hugo LACOUE-LABARTHE (University of Paris X, Comparative Literature)
• Alix MICHAUD (ENS de Lyon, Latin Language and Literature)
• Etienne PITTONI (ENS de Lyon, Greek Language and Literature)
• Valentin PONCET (University of Nice, Philosophy)
• Thibault ROBERT (ENS de Lyon, Greek Language and Literature)