About
Aaron Gebler, born in Erkelenz in 1994 and raised near Greifswald, is an assistant professor in Ancient History at the University of Freiburg. He previously held research and teaching positions at the University of Leipzig, where he earned his PhD in Ancient History in 2022 with a dissertation on the political and social functions of sortition in Ancient Greece. In 2026, he completed a second doctorate in political science at Chemnitz University of Technology, focusing on deliberative mini-publics in the European Union; the book is currently in preparation. Since October 2024, he has been working on his habilitation project examining forms and dynamics of collective violence in ancient Sicily.
Research
Aaron Gebler takes an interdisciplinary approach to the ways in which ancient societies reached collective decisions, played out conflicts, and established order under conditions of uncertainty and violence. His doctoral dissertation examined the role of sortition in the Greek world; he subsequently turned to the history of emotions, with a particular focus on the social significance of fear. His current habilitation project analyses forms and dynamics of collective violence in the societies of ancient Sicily. Alongside his historical research, his political-science dissertation analysed the enabling conditions, diffusion, and political effects of deliberative mini-publics across the EU.
Publications
Selection of publications
- Gebler, A., Die Verwendung und Bedeutung von Losverfahren in Athen und im griechischen Raum vom 7. bis 5. Jh. v. Chr., Stuttgart 2024.
- Gebler, A./Teuscher, A., Καὶ τὰς οὐσίας δὲ κοινὰς ποιησάμενοι. Gesellschaftsordnung im antiken Lipara, in: Hermes 153 (1), 2025, 13–27.
- Gebler, A./Oppermann, K., Angstpolitik in den Internationalen Beziehungen. Ziele und Wirkung verängstigender Kommunikation in der internationalen Politik, in: Lanfer, J./Schnell, M., Angst und Angstpolitik. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven, Wiesbaden 2024, 251–265.
- Gebler, A./Lanfer, J., Überlegungen zur Entwicklung der Tyrannenangst in Athen, in: Historia 74 (1), 2025, 23–55.
Teaching
Aaron Gebler’s teaching spans a range of areas, from the emergence of democracy in ancient Greece to the study of collective violence. He also integrates digital methods into the study of antiquity, such as the digital text-analysis tool eAQUA. In a seminar on the video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, he explored the reception of antiquity in the present. His current courses can be found in the course catalogue.