Lea Niccolai

Lea Niccolai is an Italian Late-Antique historian specializing in religious philosophy and socio-political thought.[1] In particular, she examines the various processes of the Christianization of the Roman Empire. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Classics at Cambridge and Director of Studies in Classics at Trinity College.[1]
Education
[edit]Niccolai studied Classics at the Scuole Normale Superiore di Pisa and Ancient Near East Studies with a focus in Syriac at the University of Pisa.[1] She later attained a PhD in Ancient History at King's College, Cambridge.[1]
Research and career
[edit]In 2023, she published her first monograph, Christianity, Philosophy, and Roman Power: Constantine, Julian, and the Bishops on Exegesis and Empire, which has been described in the Journal Mythos as a "rich contribution to the history of the late Roman Empire".[1][2]
In 2024, she was awarded the Phillip Leverhulme Prize for outstanding achievement in research in Classical Studies.[3]
Selected publications
[edit]- Christianity, Philosophy, and Roman Power: Constantine, Julian, and the Bishops on Exegesis and Empire. Cambridge University Press, 2023.
- "From Epic to Parable. A Syriac reading of the Fall of Troy", Le Muséon 132.1-2, 2019.
- "Synesius of Cyrene, Sophist-Bishop: Rhetoric and Religion in the Greek East at the Turn of the Fifth Century CE", Rhetorica 39.2, 2021.
- "Malalas the Syrian", in O. Gengler, M. Meier (eds.), Johannes Malalas, der Chronist als Zeithistoriker. Stuttgart, 2022.
- "Julian the Emperor and the reaction against Christianity: a case study of resistance from the top", in J. Elsner, D. Jolowicz (eds.), Articulating Resistance under the Roman Empire. Cambridge, 2023.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Thompson, Mr N. M. (2021-09-22). "Dr Lea Niccolai". www.classics.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
- ^ Cellamare, Dario. "Lea Niccolai, Christianity, Philosophy, and Roman Power. Constantine, Julian, and the Bishops on Exegesis and Empire". Mythos (18).
- ^ "2024 Philip Leverhulme Prize Winners". 18 October 2024.