Academic interests
Cognitive Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Religious Studies, Greek Rituals
Background
I hold a BA in Classical Studies from the University of Pavia that I attended as a scholar of Borromeo College, member of the network of the Italian Colleges of Merit.
After one academic year as an Erasmus student in Canterbury (University of Kent), I moved to Oxford, where I took my MSt in Archaeology, developing an interest in Cognitive Archaeology.
I continued to nourish my passion for this field thanks to a Phd in Classical and Archaeological Studies with a specialization in Cognitive Archaeology at the University of Kent. My thesis is entitled Apolline Divination at the Sanctuaries of Delphi, Claros and Didyma: a Cognitive Analysis. This research dealt with divination procedures at the sanctuaries of Apollo in Classical Greece. Within this study, I applied a methodology that is innovative and interdisciplinary, by merging neuroscience, psychology, and behavioural studies with the archaeological field. The results of my doctoral research have been published by Routledge in the scholarly monograph A cognitive analysis of the main Apolline divinatory practices. Decoding divination.
I joined the University of Oslo in 2023, where I am currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow within the project “Female Bodies in Sacred Spaces: Re-evaluating Women’s Agency in the Greek World. (FemBod)”. The project aims to re-evaluate women’s agency in ancient Greek sacred spaces, through interdisciplinary approaches including cognitive archaeology. The religious role of women in Ancient Greece has been either overlooked or described as controlled. The described methodology will allow the researcher to reach the set goals by shedding new light on the role of women and by providing insights into the ancient mind and into historical attitudes towards female agency and religious power.
Currently, I am organising a conference with Prof. Silvio Bär.
Education
- PhD in Classical and Archaeological Studies, University of Kent, 2022
- MSt in Archaeolgy, University of Oxford, 2018
- BA in Classical Studies, Università degli Studi di Pavia, 2017
- High School Diploma, Liceo Classico G.Leopardi (Lecco)
Courses taught
My academic teaching portfolio spans across three main fields: Classical Languages; Greek Civilization; Roman Civilization. I have taught these subjects at both undergraduate and graduate levels, in the UK, at the University of Kent.
- As an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Kent (2022-2023) I taught a wide range of modules including: Classical Mythology, Beginners' Greek, Beginners Latin , Intermediate Latin, Advanced Latin Poetry, Introduction to Greek Civilization, Introduction to Roman Civilization, Classical Literature and Mediterranean Empires from Carthage and Rome to the Indus. I also supervised both bachelor's and master's theses in the subjects above.
- As a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Kent (2018–2021) I taught modules in Ancient Greek Language and Classical Mythology.
Publications
Frigerio G., ‘The evolution of Apolline divination in Asia Minor: the architecture of Claros and its cognitive inputs’, submitted in May 2022 to Journal of Cognition and Culture, accepted for publication for JOCC 2024 1-2.
Frigerio G., A cognitive analysis of the major Apolline divinatory practices: DECODING DIVINATION, London: Routledge, 2023, 10.4324/9781003356516-2.
Frigerio G., ‘The use of laurel in Apolline divination: a cognitive approach’, Time & Mind, February 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2023.2175618.
Frigerio G., Quaderni Borromaici, Saggi Studi Proposte 5 (2018), “The Myth of the foundation of the Oracle of Delphi”, pp. 15-34.