Call for Papers
‘The Deities and their Drinks’
University of Exeter, 8-10 July 2025
Organisers: Rebekah Welton, Matthew Wright & John Anthony Dunne
The Deities & Their Drinks conference is a two-and-a-half-day academic gathering investigating the role of wine, beer, and other fermented beverages in the iconography and cultic worship dedicated to Mesopotamian, Levantine, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman deities. We will be hosted by the Classics, Ancient History, Religion and Theology Department at the University of Exeter, and supported by funding from the Jackson Knight endowment.
We welcome papers (abstracts of 300–500 words, due 31 March 2025) on topics related to libations, tithes and offerings, ritual consumption, agricultural provision, and more from a variety of methodologies and approaches, including the analyses of sacred texts and material culture, or any related aspect of ancient literature, ritual and society.
Please send your abstract and bio (c. 100 words) to M.Wright@exeter.ac.uk
Our Keynote Speaker for the conference will be Dr. Tate Paulette, Associate Professor in the Department of History at North Carolina State University and the author of In the Land of Ninkasi: A History of Beer In Ancient Mesopotamia (Oxford University Press, 2024).
After the event we hope to publish a proceedings volume (publisher TBA).
In addition to a stimulating array of papers, our conference will also include a wine tasting and charcuterie event at a local winery— Pebblebed Vineyard.
Postgraduate Students and Early Career Scholars can join us at no cost. This includes the cost of attending the full conference, the vineyard outing, accommodation for 8th & 9th & UK transport (* within the department Travel policy).