Personal profile

Research interests

My research focuses on the political, legal, and institutional history of the Greek city-states during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. I am particularly interested in the intersection of institutions, political systems, and the history of ideas and values in the Greek world.

My first book, Divided Power in Ancient Greece: Decision-Making and Institutions in the Classical and Hellenistic Polis (Oxford University Press, 2024), explores how political sovereignty was divided in the institutionalization of Greek decree-making procedures. By engaging with models from Historical Institutionalism and legal theory, the book challenges the monolithic concept of sovereignty located in a single institution. Instead, it introduces the concept of divided power. I argue that Greek decree-making in Athens, Sparta, and other Hellenistic case studies was the result of a multi-layered system of delegation and judicial control over deliberation. This system shaped the collective behavior of citizens, who acted as decision-makers in various institutions, each reflecting distinct ideological concerns embedded within those institutions.

My interest in Athenian law and Greek institutions from a New Institutionalism perspective has led to a series of articles on various aspects of Greek law and politics. More recently, I co-edited a volume with Edward M. Harris on the close relationship between legal institutions and rhetoric in Athenian forensic oratory (Edinburgh University Press, 2025). I also co-edited an upcoming volume with Matteo Barbato and Mirko Canevaro, which applies different strands of New Institutionalism to the study of Ancient Greek politics, to be published by Edinburgh University Press by 2025. 

My next major research project aims to trace the history of Ancient Greek political offices (archai/timai), including their institutional design, prerogatives, intellectual conceptualizations, and symbolic power. I seek to explore how these offices shaped Greek political culture in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, their implications for a shared Greek 'republican culture,' and their intellectual legacy.

Areas of expertise

  • DE The Mediterranean Region. The Greco-Roman World
  • Greek political and legal history
  • Greek political institutions
  • Attic Orators
  • Classical Sparta
  • Greek historiography
  • Greek Epigraphy
  • Hellenistic History
  • Ancient political thought

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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  • Elites, Democracy and the Empire in Fifth-century Athens

    Esu, A. & Barbato , M., 2026, F. Daubner, P. Reinard, Ch. Rollinger (eds) The Attic Empire: The Athenians and their Allies in the Fifth Century . Oldenbourg, p. 153 148 p.

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

  • Institutions and Legal Discourse in Classical and Hellenistic Sparta

    Esu, A., 30 Nov 2025, (Accepted/In press) Rediscovering Greek Institutions: New Institutionalist Approaches to Ancient Greek History. Barbato, M., Canevaro, M. & Esu, A. (eds.). Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, p. 42-64 23 p. (New Approaches to Ancient Greek Institutional History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

  • Introduction: New Institutionalism and Greek History

    Barbato , M., Canevaro , M. & Esu, A., 30 Nov 2025, Rediscovering Greek Institutions: New Institutionalist Approaches to Greek History . Barbato, M., Canevaro, M. & Esu, A. (eds.). Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, p. 1 12 p.

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

  • Introduction

    Esu, A. & Harris, E. M., 31 Jan 2025, Keeping to the Point in Athenian Forensic Oratory: Law, Character and Rhetoric. Harris, E. M. & Esu , A. (eds.). Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, p. 1-23 (New Approaches to Ancient Greek Institutional History).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

  • Keeping to the Point in Athenian Forensic Oratory: Law, Character and Rhetoric

    Harris, E. M. (Editor) & Esu, A. (Editor), 31 Jan 2025, Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press. 304 p. (New Approaches to Ancient Greek Institutional History )

    Research output: Book/ReportBookpeer-review