Im/Politeness Research is already a well stablished research field which offers interesting insights for the analysis of Ancient Greek and Latin texts, and the interpersonal dynamics of the societies that spoke those languages throughout time. This chapter gives a broad and accesible overview of the history of Im/Politeness Research, including its origins, the main stages of its development, its key concepts and methods and the current research trends. It also discusses the tools of Conversation Analysis and their possible contribution to our understanding of im/politeness, includuing the ways this methodology can help to extend the scope of study. Special emphasis is also given to the particular problems faced by classicists when examining im/politeness phenomena in ancient languages, and the ways to overcome those issues with the help of suitable methodologies. Finally, the chapter presents the structure and contents of the rest of the volume.