Senecta ista iuuenilis est, senecta ista uiridis est
Crossed perspectives between youth and old age in sources of Greek and Latin languages
Perspectives croisées entre jeunesse et vieillesse dans les sources de langues grecque et latine
Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Abstract
At a time when debates are intensifying on the reversal of the age curve in Europe and, more broadly, in the Western world, the notions of “youth” and “old age”, considered as social categories, strongly resurface. However, these categories—for which consensual definitions may be lacking—are far from neutral.
Announcement
Argument
At a time when debates are intensifying on the reversal of the age curve in Europe and, more broadly, in the Western world, the notions of “youth” and “old age”, considered as social categories, strongly resurface. However, these categories—for which consensual definitions may be lacking—are far from neutral. They are at the heart of major debates :
- Work organisation : raising the retirement age ; speeding up the entry of younger people into a labour market that is increasingly under pressure.
- Breakdown of solidarity : digital gap that isolates the elderly ; poor handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Dynamics of migration, finally, instrumentalised through racist and conspiracy rhetoric around the so-called “Great Replacement” : a Europe described as incapable of perpetuating its “civilisation” because of its aging, and as allegedly threatened by Africa’s abundant youth.
An expression has flourished and now occupies a predominant place in public discourse : clash of generations. Behind this rhetoric, one question remains : are we talking about age groups or are we talking about power ?
Citing Plato’s Laws, Moses Finley (“Les personnes âgées dans l’Antiquité Classique”, Communications 37, 1983, p. 36) recalls this striking formula that resonates with astonishing acuity in the face of the issues we are grappling with today : “‘One of the best of your laws’, the old Athenian declares to the old Spartan in Plato’s last work (Laws, 643 D), ‘is the absolute prohibition upon every young man to inquire whether any of the laws are good or not.’”
This evokes a series of questions, first and foremost about those who preceded us : what does “being young” or “being old” mean in Greek and Latin sources ? Are these categories based on biological criteria or social markers ? If they are operative, are they only for male citizens—de facto excluding their mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and slaves ? Questioning age groups then means questioning the way in which the Ancients thought about social order, hierarchy of bodies and voices. From this starting point, we might ask what kinds of continuities and ruptures the medieval world developed in relation to its ancient heritage : what was preserved, what was altered, what was reinvented ?
There are multiple possibilities to explore youth and old age, as the subjects lend themselves to varied approaches. We therefore wish to offer a series of crossed perspectives shedding light on these questions, both in regard to the eras and societies studied, the sources used or the chosen methods. This reflection may extend broadly : Classicists and Medievalists, whether they are philologists, historians or linguists, are therefore invited to contribute with a 20-minute communication (+ 10 minutes of questions and answers) in French or English.
Thus, the doctoral students from the Greek-Latin Languages and Literatures services of the University of Liège are pleased to invite you to their first doctoral seminar, on October 22nd and 23rd 2026, open to early career researchers and doctoral students eager to exchange about reception, representation, or interactions between youth and old age in Greek and Latin sources.
Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos 91.11 (CCSL 39).
On this occasion, we invite you to submit your contributions which may integrate the following (non-mandatory) orientations :
- The expressions of youth and old age : What are the specific associated lexical fields ? What strategies are used to describe the different ages indirectly ? How do their representations highlight thematic and stylistic characteristics of certain authors, works or literary genres ?
- Being (more or less) young in written sources : How do literary representations of youth and old age contribute to building cultural topoi ? In what way do animal, mythological or scriptural figures contribute to constructing a particular image of “age” ? How do the sources depict relationships between young and old (conflict ; solidarity ; hierarchy ; age gap in marriage) ? How does the treatment of age differ according to literary genres (epigrams and epitaphs ; treatises ; consolatory genre…) ? How is the opposition between idealisation of youth and moralising discourses on old age dealt with ?
- Social and cultural sphere of youth and old age : How are youth and old age defined and valued in pagan and Christian social spheres ? What relationships do the young and less young cultivate (rites of passage and transmission of knowledge ; educational and pedagogical practices ; forms of authority and contestation ; affective and sexual relationships ; tensions between love and hatred ; inheritance of (in)tangible capital ; family and extra-familial dynamics…) ? How does the law define and prioritise individuals’ rights and duties on the basis of their age ?
Submission guidelines
To participate in these two days, we ask you to send us a title, an abstract (maximum 500 words) in French or English, as well as your affiliation before April 30th 2026 at the following address : mahubert@uliege.be. Please make sure to include “[Senecta]” in the subject line of your email.
We will inform you of your participation no later than June 30th, 2026.
The Organising Committee
- Prof. Pierre Assenmaker (UNamur, Professor – pierre.assenmaker@unamur.be)
- Prof. Dominique Longrée (ULiège-UCLouvain, Full Professor – dominique.longree@uliege.be)
- Prof. Nicolas Meunier (UCLouvain, Professor – nicolas.meunier@uclouvain.be)
- Marc-Antoine Hubert (ULiège, PhD Candidate – mahubert@uliege.be)
- Arianna Rosa (ULiège, Research Fellow FRS-F.N.R.S. – arianna.rosa@uliege.be)
- Hugo Simons (ULiège, Academic Assistant – hugo.simons@uliege.be)
- Valérie Thon (ULiège-Paris Cité University, Research Fellow FRS-F.N.R.S. – valerie.thon@uliege.be)
The Scientific Committee
- Dr. Sarah Fascione (ULiège, Lecturer – sara.fascione@uliege.be)
- Prof. Bruno Rochette (ULiège, Full Professor – bruno.rochette@uliege.be)
- Dr. Koen Vanhaegendoren (ULiège, Lecturer – koen.vanhaegendoren@uliege.be)
Reference list
T.C. CARP, “Puer senex in Roman and Medieval Thought”, Latomus 39.3 (1980), p. 736-739.
Th.M. FALKNER & J. de LUCE (eds.), Old Age in Greek and Latin Literature, New York, 1989.
M.I. FINLEY, “Les personnes âgées dans l’Antiquité classique”, Communications 37 (1983), p. 31-45.
M. HARLOW & R. LAURENCE, Growing Up and Growing Old in Ancient Rome. A Life Course Approach, London, 2002.
M. HARLOW & R. LAURENCE, Age and Ageing in the Roman Empire, Portsmouth, 2007 (Journal of Roman archaeology. Supplementary series, 65).
Chr. LAES, Children in the Roman Empire : Outsiders Within, Cambridge – New York, 2016.
Chr. LAES & J. STRUBBE, Youth in the Roman Empire. The Young and the Restless Years ?, Cambridge – New York, 2014.
D. LETT, L’enfant des miracles. Enfance et société au Moyen Âge (XIIe-XIIIe siècle), Paris, 1997.
G. MINOIS, Histoire de la vieillesse en Occident. De l’Antiquité à la Renaissance, Paris, 1987.
Subjects
- Europe (Main category)
- Periods > Prehistory and Antiquity > Greek history
- Periods > Middle Ages
- Periods > Prehistory and Antiquity > Roman history
- Zones and regions > Europe > Italy
- Zones and regions > Europe > Mediterranean regions
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Corpus approaches, surveys, archives
Places
- Bâtiment A1 - Place du Vingt Août 7
Liège, Belgium (4000)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Thursday, April 30, 2026
Attached files
Keywords
- jeunesse, vieillesse, youth, old age
Contact(s)
- Marc-Antoine Hubert
courriel : mahubert [at] uliege [dot] be
Information source
- Valérie Thon
courriel : valerie [dot] thon [at] uliege [dot] be
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Senecta ista iuuenilis est, senecta ista uiridis est », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, https://doi.org/10.58079/15re9
