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We offer a wide range of free taster talks for schools, which can be in person or online, depending on the timing and location. Speakers will be happy to adapt talks to your needs.
Our talks are fully accessible for those interested in the ancient world, and do not require any prior knowledge.
The talks are given by experts in the field from the Department of Greek & Latin.
Take a look at the list of talks and speakers below, and get in touch to request a talk:
- Mark Weeden, Outreach officer (mark.weeden@ucl.ac.uk)
Ancient philosophy
| Talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|
Plato's expulsion of poets from the city | Dr. Peter Agócs |
Body and soul in Aristotle’s ethics and biology | Dr Elena Cagnoli Fiecconi |
| Epicurus on why death is nothing to us | Dr Elena Cagnoli Fiecconi |
| Plato’s Symposium: becoming good with the help of one’s friends | Dr Elena Cagnoli Fiecconi |
Greek literature and culture
| Talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Greek tragedy | Dr. Peter Agócs |
| Greek lyric | Dr. Peter Agócs |
| Homer and popular media | Dr. Antony Makrinos |
| Introduction to Homer | Dr. Antony Makrinos |
| Homer in cinema | Dr. Antony Makrinos |
| Heroism in Homer | Dr. Antony Makrinos |
| The gods in the Iliad and the Odyssey | Dr. Antony Makrinos |
| Modern reception of Homer | Dr. Antony Makrinos |
| Greek travel narrative and experiences of Asia | Dr. Rosie Harman |
| Love and war: Paris in Troy (Iliad, Book 3) | Prof. Phiroze Vasunia |
| Euripides, Bacchae: an interpretation | Prof. Phiroze Vasunia |
| Greek papyri | Dr Enrico Prodi |
| Heroes in Greek religion | Dr Enrico Prodi |
| Women in Homer | Dr Antony Makrinos |
| UCL's Classical Play | Dr Giovanna Di Martino |
| Greek tragedy and its reception | Dr Giovanna Di Martino |
| Transgender Antiquity | Dr Mairéad McAuley |
Latin literature and culture
| Talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Roman drama | Professor Gesine Manuwald |
| Cicero | Professor Gesine Manuwald |
| Latin literature in 17th-century England | Dr. Victoria Moul |
| Late Roman republic | Professor Gesine Manuwald |
| Roman epic | Professor Gesine Manuwald |
| Neo-Latin literature | Professor Gesine Manuwald |
| Transgender antiquity | Dr Mairéad McAuley |
| Achilles in Rome | Dr Mairéad McAuley |
| Motherhood in Roman literature | Dr Mairéad McAuley |
| Agrippina, mother of Nero | Dr Mairéad McAuley |
| Metamorphosis: Ovid and myth | Dr Mairéad McAuley |
| The Death of the young in Virgil's Aeneid | Dr Fiachra Mac Góráin |
Linguistics
| Talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Where does the Roman alphabet come from? | Prof. Stephen Colvin |
| English and Indo-European (or Latin and Indo-European) | Prof. Stephen Colvin |
| The decipherment of Linear B | Prof. Stephen Colvin |
Ancient Middle East
| Talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Antolian hieroglyphs and their decipherment | Dr. Mark Weeden |
| The Epic of Gilgamesh on life and death | Dr. Mark Weeden |
| Hittites: Empire of mountains | Dr. Mark Weeden |
Classical Reception
| Talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Manuscipts and the transmission of classical texts | Dr Enrico Prodi |
| Ancient Rome on Film | Professor Maria Wyke |