In a world often dominated by narratives of conflict, it can be easy to overlook the significance of peace—what it means, how it is built, and how it is represented. In the latest collab with the Visualising War and Peace podcast and Two Friends Talk History, director of the project and host, Dr. Alice König, offers a compelling exploration of ancient peace studies. Her insights reveal why understanding how past societies visualised and practiced peace can offer valuable lessons for today’s world.
If you haven’t yet tuned in, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in history, conflict resolution, and the power of storytelling to shape both ancient and modern societies. Here’s a glimpse of the fascinating conversation that awaits you.
From Visualising War to Visualising Peace
When Dr. König and her colleague, Nicolas Wiater, first launched the Visualising War project in 2017, their goal was to explore how representations of war throughout history have shaped cultural perceptions of conflict. However, as they delved deeper, they realized that one side of the story was missing.
Why was there so much emphasis on war, but so little on peace?
This observation inspired the expansion of the project into Visualising War and Peace, creating space to explore how peace and peacebuilding have been imagined, experienced, and remembered. Through this new lens, König aims to challenge the imbalance in historical narratives and bring peace studies into the spotlight.
Special Episode: The Ancient Peace Studies Network with Alice König – Two Friends Talk History
The Rise of Ancient Peace Studies
One of the most exciting aspects of the podcast episode is Dr. König’s introduction of the Ancient Peace Studies Network. This groundbreaking initiative, which she recently founded, is the first of its kind. While ancient military history is a well-established field, ancient peace studies is still in its infancy.
In the podcast, Dr. König explains that the network aims to:
- Foster interdisciplinary research by bringing together scholars from both ancient and modern peace studies.
- Challenge the dominance of elite perspectives in historical sources, seeking to reconstruct the lived experiences of ordinary people in times of peace.
- Generate new insights into how concepts of peace were defined, visualized, and practiced in antiquity.
The network’s ambitious plans include the publication of a multi-authored book titled New Visions of Ancient Peace, which will present fresh perspectives on peace narratives and their real-world implications.
Stories of Peace: What Do We Imagine and Why?
One of the most thought-provoking segments of the interview focuses on peace storytelling. Dr. König highlights how certain depictions of peace became dominant in antiquity while others faded into obscurity. This disparity raises intriguing questions:
- Why were some peace narratives celebrated while others were ignored?
- How did stories of peace shape people’s expectations and experiences of stability or conflict?
In the podcast, Dr. König explains that ancient sources often reflect elite biases, focusing on peace as a political achievement of rulers and conquerors. Yet, by reading against the grain, scholars can reconstruct glimpses of peace from the perspective of ordinary citizens—farmers, artisans, and families—who lived through these times of fragile stability.
Why This Matters: The Real-World Impact of Peace Studies
As Dr. König eloquently argues, studying ancient peace is not merely an intellectual exercise—it has real-world implications. By expanding the scope of peace studies to include the ancient world, we gain new insights into how societies have constructed, preserved, and sometimes failed to maintain peace.
In a time when the world faces ongoing conflicts and the challenge of peacebuilding, looking back to the past can provide valuable lessons. The podcast episode leaves listeners with a powerful message: the stories we tell about peace—whether ancient or modern—shape the realities we strive for.
Don’t Miss Out – Listen to the Full Interview
This episode of the Visualising War and Peace podcast offers a rare opportunity to rethink how we conceptualise peace. Dr. Alice König’s passion for unearthing forgotten peace narratives and her commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration make for a captivating conversation that will leave you with plenty to reflect on.
🎧 Tune in now to gain a deeper understanding of the history of peace and its enduring relevance today. And if you find the episode as compelling as we did, share it with friends, colleagues, and anyone interested in exploring the human experience of peace—past and present.
If you would like to check out the volume, Visualising War Across the Ancient Mediterranean, out this month, you can purchase it here.
You can follow the Visualising War and Peace project on social media or get in touch directly by emailing: vispeace@st-andrews.ac.uk.
✨ Let’s keep the conversation going—and keep visualising peace.
ArchaeoArtist 