Peter Davis

‘The greatest empire that the world had ever seen to that point’. As Virgil knew, empires exist in time as well as space. Alexander’s lasted about ten minutes. Lucan got it right: ‘lucky bandit’.

Poster showing a manuscript image and giving the following information: PUBLIC LECTURE: Dr Sarah Corrigan Newman Tàin Bò Cuailgne: How the Manuscript Tradition of the Irish Epic Ended, and Ended Up, in Melbourne. The St Mary’s Newman Academic Centre (SNAC), Manuscript Táin Bó Cuailnge (‘The Cattle Raid of Cooley’) is a nineteenth-century manuscript copy of the most famous Irish narrative of the Middle Ages. Although its oldest surviving copies were produced in the twelfth century, the story of the Táin is set in the first century, and it has been argued to have been written in several periods in between. This talk will highlight the dual significance of this beautiful manuscript by exploring the history of its contents, the physical object, and its creator, Seosamh Ó Longáin, the last official scribe of Ireland. Wednesday 11 March 2026 5–6pm Venue: The Oratory, Newman College, University of Melbourne, 887 Swanston Street, Parkville. Bookings / Free Entry Online: https://www.trybooking.com/DJULZ Email: outreach@snac.unimelb.edu.au Telephone: (03) 9342 1614

And will have more opportunity to talk about the fantastic project of getting @rialibrary.bsky.social MS 24 B 1 digitised and displaying and discussing it alongside the Newman College Táin manuscript here @unimelb.edu.au ...

In Gargantua (ed. princ. 1535) Rabelais has his narrator describe the accidental discovery and unearthing of a bronze tomb containing ancient writings. One of these he appends to his account, in fragmentary form, “par reverence de l’antiquaille” (sic). At the same time the whole rollicking account is a singular illustration of Rabelais’ irreverence, as the collection’s editor shows in his introduction, where he foreshadows the diversity of approaches to the ancient literary inheritance that the book explores. Some obvious diversities emerge in the titles of the four sections into which the book is divided, and the wide range of figures and topics discussed in them. The first three sections treat transmission and reception through the lenses of different categories: editors, commentators and translators; encyclopedists and philologists; and poets. The last returns to veneranda antiquitas via Guillaume Budé (“premier révérent de l’antique en France”, p. 198) and Rabelais himself.

#classicalreception @ BMCR #review Frances Muecke (Sydney) on Nicolas Le Cadet, "Révérence de l’antiquaille." Les diverses formes de transmission du patrimoine textuel antique à la Renaissance bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2026/2026.03...

Helios Vol. 51, No. 2 (2024) muse.jhu.edu/issue/56469 @projectmuse.bsky.social @ekmoodie.bsky.social

#CFP #PACRIM34 34th Meeting of the Pacific Rim Roman Literature Seminar. Theme: #TRAGEDY - Melbourne, July 20-22, 2026 - due by April 1 to pacrimlatin2026@gmail.com

Works and Days Remarkable wordless theatre from Belgium’s celebrated company FC Bergman.

March 5-8 Adelaide Festival: Works & Days (FC Bergman) - "Inspired by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod’s original verse.., eight highly physical performers embody the rituals of toil, tradition and transformation, without a single word spoken" Book $ www.adelaidefestival.com.au/whats-on/sea...

Canberra's museum of everyday objects from ancient history It doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside of the Australian National University Classics Museum in Canberra is akin to peering into the cupboards of a kitchen from 2,000 years ago.

Great to see the ANU Classics Museum and the work of Prof Elizabeth Minchin and Dr Georgia Pike-Rowney featured on ABC News! 🏛️🏺

"The collection has all the latest interior decor, gadgets and gizmos during ancient Greek and Roman times ... akin to peering into a kitchen cupboard 2,000 years ago"

Sappho’s Trajectory: The Construction of an Eschatological Experience | The Cambridge Classical Journal | Cambridge Core
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The International Ovidian Society is taking submissions of abstracts for our panel at the 2027 AIA/SCS in Boston! The topic is "The Voice of the Artist In and After Ovid." The deadline is approaching! Questions? Contact me and @thedancinggrad.bsky.social Full CFP: docs.google.com/document/d/e...

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Roman Arena Misha Glenny and guests discuss the origins and harsh realities of the gladiator life.

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Roman Arena
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Proving, pleasing and persuading: why ancient rhetoric still matters Challenge the standard picture of the ancient orator with Professor Henriette van der Blom and the role of rhetoric in contemporary society, in this lecture whe

events.humanitix.com/proving-plea...

It’s actually a complex matter. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other countries will have to agree.

I’m not sure that that question makes any sense.

Excellent news, Chelsea. Well done!

I do pay attention to prose style. Why would complex grammatical and rhetorical structures be seen as evidence of AI?

Research-Creation in the early Middle Ages: the example of Hibernicus Exul : Find an Expert : The University of Melbourne <p> The pivotal role played by Irish scholars in preserving and transmitting ancient learning during the early Middle Ages is well known even beyond the academy, thanks to popularising works such as ‘How the Irish Saved Civilization’. Yet a great deal of work remains to be done on individual Irish figures working in continental Europe during the eighth to tenth centuries in order to establish more rigorously the Irish contribution. The shadowy figure known as ‘Hibernicus Exul’ (‘the Irish exile’) provides an ideal test-case for this work: the author of thirty-eight Latin poems, on scholarly, political, and comic topics, his works appear in a single manuscript, Vatican Reg. Lat. 2078. This is an important and influential poetic anthology from the heart of the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of intense cultural and intellectual activity in eight- and ninth-century Europe during which the literature and learning of the ancient Graeco-Roman world was rediscovered and concerted efforts were made to standardise and widen access to educational systems, with significant consequences for the intellectual history of western Europe. The PhD student recruited will write the first monograph-length study of Hibernicus Exul, setting his work in the context of the manuscript, addressing the controversial question of his possible identification with the better- known Carolingian scholar Dúngal, and demonstrate how the poet exemplifies the nature of medieval Irish literature, which simultaneously aims to educate and to entertain, and can in many ways be seen as a predecessor of today’s Research-Creation. </p> <p> <strong>Please note below additional requirements when submitting your Expressions of Interest:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Additional requirements: <ul> <li> <strong>Statement of research interest [max. 1000 words]</strong> </li> <li> <strong>MA in a related field, or equivalent, to be completed by the programme start date.</strong> </li> <li> <strong>Evidence of at least six semesters of Latin, or equivalent, with grades of B+ or higher, or equivalent</strong> </li> </ul> </li> </ul>

#MEDIEVAL #LATIN #PHD OPPORTUNITY:
Co-supervised by myself and Cillian O'Hogan, University of Toronto

Project start: September 2027, with time in #Toronto, France, & @unimelb.edu.au. #Scholarship includes tuition fees, living allowance, health insurance, and relocation support.

Get in touch!

Antichthon Vol. 58 (2024) www.cambridge.org/core/journal... @selsvold.bsky.social @quidamabo.bsky.social @stephanieframpton.bsky.social @catharineedwards.bsky.social @universitypress.cambridge.org

Why are so many conservative leaders from NSW former Rhodes Scholars? I suspect that it says more about the Rhodes than about their intellectual brilliance.

Reappraising the Choruses of Greek Tragedy - Lesche: Ancient Greece, New Ideas Rosa Andújar joins me in the Lesche to discuss her new book, Playing the Chorus in Greek Tragedy (Cambridge, 2025).Tragedies mentionedAeschylusAgamemnon (chorus fragmentation)Seven Against Thebes (use...

I was a Greek tragedy person until it came time to write a dissertation perspective. This episode is wonderful and really makes me want to get back into it.

Surprise, surprise: another Alexandria

Landmark High Court ruling finds Catholic Church liable for harm A man who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a priest in the 1960s has won his High Court battle over liability, but had his compensation nearly halved.

A man who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a priest in the 1960s has won his High Court battle over liability, but had his compensation nearly halved.

🎓 Want to find out about our MA Classics programme?

💥 Watch our new video from Prof. Ioannis Ziogas, Director of Taught MA Programmes, to learn more

🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?si=cyz...

👉 And see full details of our postgraduate provision here: www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...

In the new Emperors of Rome podcast Diocletian sets up the Tetrarchy in an effort to create more stability throughout the Roman empire. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

New Loeb:

LUCIAN
Volumes I–II
Edited and Translated by Peter Thonemann

Out in a few days.

www-hup-harvard-edu.liverpool.idm.oclc.org/books/978067...

journal cover

Arethusa Vol. 59, No. 1 (2026) muse.jhu.edu/issue/56385 @projectmuse.bsky.social @hopkinspress.bsky.social #openaccess

Tetrarchy Podcast Episode · Emperors of Rome · 02/06/2026 · 40m

Tetrarchy - Emperors of Rome - Apple Podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Thanks for an interesting thread. One aspect of Heroides that earlier scholars disliked was the verbal play. Hall of course deletes all of this as ‘absurd’. But Ovid can’t help himself. It doesn’t bother me. I love it.

Fortunate to attend #ASCS47 at the last-minute in Auckland this week. A great chance to see old friends and meet new ones! Always wonderful to see the supportiveness of our community on full display.

If anyone wants to put together a panel on Roman Social History for ASCS in Feb 2027, let’s chat!

Volcanic vulvas and hermaphrodite marble: Ovid’s Metamorphoses reshaped at the Rijksmuseum Artists from Bernini to Louise Bourgeois are brought together in a new exhibition exploring the uncomfortable erotic parables of the ancient Roman poet

Volcanic vulvas and hermaphrodite marble: Ovid’s Metamorphoses reshaped at the Rijksmuseum | Museums | The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

eadh2026 conference logo and title 'linking europe'

Deadline for the EADH 2026 Conference has been extended to 27 February 2026.
Conf. theme: "Linking Europe: Digital Humanities Without Borders", 5-19 Sept. 2026 at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland)
CFP: https://eadh2026.confer.uj.edu.pl/cfp […]

[Original post on scholar.social]