معرفی
Ombretta Cesca is an Assistant Professor of Greek Language and Literature in the Section of Archaeology and Ancient Sciences (IASA) at the Faculty of Arts, University of Lausanne (UNIL), a position she began on August 1, 2022. She specializes in Greek literature from the Archaic and Classical periods, particularly Homeric poetry, and her academic work bridges philology, narratology, and ancient communication studies.
- Bachelor of Arts, University of Turin (2008)
- Master's Degree, Philology and Literature of Antiquity, University of Turin (2011)
- Doctor of Arts, University of Lausanne (2018)
Her research focuses on communication technologies in the ancient world, the power of speech, and the transmission of knowledge in oral cultures. She investigates how verbal messages are conveyed across distances in Homeric and classical texts, analyzing messenger scenes, embassies, and speech reporting. Her work often explores the narrative and formulaic functions of repetition, divine messengers, and linguistic authority in epic and dramatic literature.
The recent scholarly articles by Ombretta Cesca reveal a consistent thematic trajectory centered on narratological and communicative structures in ancient Greek literature. Her publications span Homeric epics, Athenian tragedy, and comedy, with a particular emphasis on how information is transmitted, controlled, and transformed across different genres. She frequently examines the role of intermediaries—such as divine messengers, human envoys, and poetic narrators—and the epistemological implications of their speech. Her research integrates philological precision with narrative theory, contributing significantly to the understanding of oral performance and textual coherence in antiquity.
Her notable recognition includes:
- Constantin Valiadis Prize (2018)
Ombretta Cesca has led a research project on the practice of oaths in ancient Greece in collaboration with UMR 8210 Anhima (Anthropology and History of Ancient Worlds) in Paris, where she was an FNS postdoc.mobility fellow from June 2021 to July 2022. She has authored a monograph based on her doctoral thesis, published by De Gruyter in 2022, and several peer-reviewed articles on divine messengers and communication media in Greek literature. There is no public information available about her advising of students or laboratory affiliations.
