To fear or not to fear. The power of an emotion – A response

How did ancient people fear? How did ancient people react to fear? The essays in this issue deal with these aspects, taking into account ancient texts, as well as material and visual culture from archaeological contexts. Fear is considered a basic emotion and can be seen and even inflected in different ways, distinguishing two natures: an induced fear and a derived fear. The analysis of emotions and feelings entered the field of ancient studies and has provided additional evidence and information on the interaction among people and even between people and objects (investigating how material culture and things shape the mind and impact on the emotional level). This collection of papers tackles this subject and the way ancient people controlled fear as a practice, using its effect for different purposes and on different occasions and contexts, from religion to politics and even to moments of daily life.