Dr. Floris Van Den Eijnde

Biography

Floris van den Eijnde is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, specializing in Ancient History and Classical Civilization. His research explores processes of social and cultural integration in the premodern Mediterranean world, focusing particularly on the interplay of religious institutions, political organization, and material culture. By combining archaeological evidence with anthropological and sociological theories, his work investigates ritual practices, communal feasting, and sacred spaces that structured civic life and collective memory in the Greek world. His early scholarship centered on the formation and rise of the Athenian polis from 1200 to 500 BCE, culminating in his doctoral dissertation entitled 'Cult and Society in Early Athens' (Utrecht, 2010). In addition to his written work, which includes the monograph 'Feasting and the Polis: Institutions' (Brill, 2018), van den Eijnde is an active participant in archaeological fieldwork and landscape studies, contributing to projects such as the Thorikos Fieldwork Project near Lavrio, Greece. He also teaches Greek history with a special emphasis on material culture and written sources, while having directed the Research Master in Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies from 2018 to 2024. His academic interests encompass cultural interaction in the Mediterranean, Athenian polis formation, and the significance of Greek sanctuaries.

Research Interests

Experience