Verses from the Antique 2: Poems of Love and War from the Ancient World

In each session, a scholar will read out three or four ancient poems in translation and then discuss them informally. The session is open to all and assumes no prior knowledge of the poems. The theme for the term is ‘love and war’, which we have asked our colleagues to interpret as broadly and narrowly as they see fit: the poems they choose may be about love or war or both.

In this second session of the series, we will be joined by Mark Weeden who will share his favourite poems from Babylonian. Weeden is Associate Professor for Ancient Middle Eastern Languages in the UCL Department Greek & Latin. He mainly works on the history and literature of the cuneiform world. Cuneiform texts are three-dimensional physical objects which date directly from the ancient world, and a good deal of his work is taken up with that materiality - reading original texts and trying to understand their functions or meanings. He works closely with archaeologists and during the summer works as an epigrapher at a number of excavations in Turkey, preparing newly excavated cuneiform and Anatolian Hieroglyphic inscriptions for publication. View his UCL profile here. 

The event series includes readings of poems from the Sanskrit, Babylonian, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. 

Come and join us for what promises to be a lively and thought-provoking hour of verse and conversation. No registration required. Tea & biscuits will be served!
 

Image: Head of Krishna: cartoon for a mural of the Raslila.  Attributed to Sahib Ram (Rajasthan, India), ca. 1800.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1918. Accession Number: 18.85.2. www.metmuseum.org