Coordination : Christine Angelidi
Members: Ilias Anagnostakis, Eftychia Papadopoulou, Katerina Nikolaou, Niki Tsironis
External Research Associates: G. T. Calofonos, S. Bousses, T. Papamastorakis

The Program explores aspects of Byzantine everyday life, their relation with material culture and their formalisation into coherent systems of representation. Therefore, research activity includes analysis and interpretation of the evolution of Byzantine perceptions, and the response expressed by literature and art to the demands of collective or individualised audiences. Research relies on a variety of sources: texts and works of art, objects and other remains of material culture. For achieving its objectives the Program established an important network of collaborations with academics and independent researchers in Greece and abroad. Furthermore, the team's activity includes the organisation of academic meetings and conferences and participation in advisory boards set by independent cultural foundations and associations.

Currently the Program covers two directions:

1. ''Technology and management of olive oil and wine''.

Research focuses on (a) the development of technology for producing and storing wine, olive oil, honey and milk, and (b) the impact of the products' cullture, production and trade in the economy of Byzantium and Eastern Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.

Two reference works are currently under preparation:

• ''A glossary of the Greek terminology for the wine-press''.
• The first volume of ''A history of olive tree and olive oil''.

2. ''Perceptions, attitudes and modes of expression''.

Research focuses on (a) stability, change and renewal of the social and moral regulations that regard the body, the senses and the emotions, and their gender implications, and (b) the passage from collective to individual attitudes. Investigation of cult practices and discourse is an important component of the project.

The following themes are studied:

• ''Age and ageing in Byzantium (eleventh-twelfth centuries)''.
• ''Rhetoric and representations of the Virgin in Mid- and Late Byzantium''.
• ''Byzantine woman: Gender and historiography''.
• ''Dreaming in Byzantium. A digital database''.