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Why do you study Ancient History? To this type of platitude questions Takashi has learnt to react with a series of solemn and ‘academic-ish’ answers. To be honest, however, his interest in the field took root when he became fascinated by the beautiful scenery of Italy and the exciting writings of Herodotus, the father of history. In his Hakubi project, Takashi is conducting research on the death of ancient Greeks. How can the death of Greeks be considered an important question? What attracts Takashi’s interest most are the Greek’s funerary inscriptions, where the processes of dying, emotions expressed for the dead, and the life of the bereaved are vividly described. This ‘thick narrative’ of death may appear bizarre, but Takashi actually thinks that the study of Greek narratives of death can serve to enrich our vocabulary and imagination to narrate our own death.