Spotlight on the history of Ancient Greece

Press release issued: 26 April 2007

A prestigious series of lectures on ancient Greece, sponsored by Blackwell Publishing, will be hosted by the University of Bristol this Spring.

The four lectures will be given by Professor Ian Morris of Stanford University and will subsequently be published in book form.

This is the first of five annual Blackwell lecture series which will take place in Bristol every Spring for the next five years. Each year, a world-leading academic in the field of Greece, Rome and the Classical Tradition will give four public talks on their subject.

This year’s series begins on Monday 30 April with Did the Athenian Empire Change Greek History? The talk will be followed by wine reception.

The talk on Thursday 3rd May is entitled Cleopatra's Nose and the Athenian Empire.

On Tuesday 8th May, Professor Morris will tackle the question Why did the Athenian Empire Fail?

The final lecture in the series How much did the Athenian Empire Matter? will be held on Thursday 10th May. This event will be followed by wine reception

All lectures start at 5.15 pm, in Lecture Theatre 2, Department of Classics and Ancient History, 11 Woodland Road, University of Bristol (entrance at rear of 21 Woodland Road). The lectures are free and all are welcome. Please inform sam.barlow@bristol.ac.uk if you wish to attend.

Ian Morris is Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Stanford University. His research interests include the social, economic and cultural history of ancient Greece, the Mediterranean Iron Age and social revolution of the eighth century B.C. in the Mediterranean. Publications include Death-Ritual and Social Structure in Classical Antiquity, Classical Greece: Ancient Histories and Modern Archaeologies (editor) and A New Companion to Homer (co-editor, with Barry Powell). His forthcoming book is entitled Darkness and Heroes: Manhood, Equality, and Democracy in Iron Age Greece.

Professor Charles Martindale, Director of Bristol’s Institute of Greece, Rome and the Classical Tradition which organised the lectures, said: “We are delighted to host this series of lectures in Bristol. Thanks to the generous sponsorship from Blackwell Publishers over the next five years, we will welcome major scholars of international reputation to give talks which we hope will be of interest not only to specialists but members of the public wishing to learn more about ancient Greece and Rome.”