“Bee, Yourself: Apian Metaphor in Ancient Greek & Roman Political Thought.”October 11, 2023 at 7–7:45 p.m.

“Humans are famously (as put by Aristotle, Politics 1253a) the “political animal,” but they are not the only one. According to the same passage, bees also have politics. In fact, this notion recurs frequently in ancient – and subsequent – political thought. In this talk we will look at what ancient Greek and Roman authors meant when they ascribed political structures and motivations to bees, ideas that touch on their understanding of bees’ origins, use, and inner lives. Additionally, we will think about how these communities used bees as a metaphor for thinking about their own, human political lives. In doing so, we will see that people’s thoughts about bees can tell us much about how they organize the world around them."

Lecture is followed by Q/A from 7:45 to 8:15 p.m.