Χαίρετε! Salvete! Greetings!
You must all be well entrenched by now. We trust that the holidays were good and examination results as expected or better.
We were thrilled to support the Classics for All Impacts Awards last June and meet winners and teachers with whom we work. John and Vishal had a wonderful time. Congratulations to all!
NEW ITINERARIES
We’ve been working through the holidays to create new Itineraries – both Classical and Cross Curricular.
They’ll be arriving in your In Boxes under separate cover, so please peruse and share with other colleagues. Not only are they fascinating in their own right, but they will also further enrich your pupils’ experiences and offer more opportunities to combine Trips with other Departments if numbers are looking lean.
TEIRESIAS OR CASSANDRA?
The Chris Nolan “Odyssey”craze is beginning to die down but did the predicated classics programs global surge and rising UK Interest in the Greek Language actually happen?
“Inside Higher Ed” rightly warns that Homer Is Having a Resurgence—but You Wouldn’t Know It in Higher Ed
Popular demand for The Odyssey couldn’t be higher, even as classics departments find themselves targeted for cuts.
The success of the movie shows there is an audience and a hunger, that these stories still matter, but the bigger question is who will tell the story when all the lights go out for classical studies? Who will teach it to students who clearly sense a need to hear it?
Why are classics teachers needed? Because the poem (like most of classical studies) never survived on its own. It has no natural habitat. The blockbuster is a marvelous machine, but it is a flare, not a lamp; it goes up once a decade, if that, and burns out in a season. The carriers of this knowledge, the teachers, are the lamp.
Penn State University has added a scholarly voice to the conversation, separating Homer from Hollywood, with a new video featuring classics and ancient Mediterranean studies professors Anna Peterson and Laura Marshall. In the video, the two professors react to the film trailer and discuss where Hollywood spectacle meets Homeric tradition.
There has also been a rising engagement in the secular sphere.
Predictably, An epic journey home: The Odyssey and its history at Christie’s (look back at past Christie’s sales, from rare translations of the work to Greek and Roman antiquities depicting its titular hero) but also an off the wall advert for a TCL washing machine!
“Some journeys end at the shore. This one ends in the wash. Every adventure leaves its mark. Every hero deserves a fresh start.”
OUT and ABOUT
Travel Blogs by Colleagues
i – James Heath in Florence. Reconning the Renaissance Attachment A
The Great Hall of Palazzo Vecchio
The Chimaera of Arezzo at the Archaeological Museum
Bust of Antoninus Pius in Palazzo Pitti’s Galleria Palatina
ii – Dr Kerry Phelan in Thessalonika My Macedonian Mission – Kings, Christians, and a lot of bling!
iii – Ben Pullan (HoD Bryanston) Turkish Coast Driveathon!
a – Istanbul – A city of contradictions
b – Istanbul to Gallipoli to Canakkale to Troy to Assos to Bergama
c – Pergamum and Ephesus – Two ancient mega-cities
d – Hierapolis – The Lycian coast (Kalkan / Xanthos / Letoon / Patara)
iv – 2027 Puy du Fou bookings open on 6th October Attachment B
TRAVEL UPDATES and SUGGESTIONS – New Resources
i – How to Read an Archaeological Site
Here’s how to get better at visiting archaeological sites in Greece – and start seeing the ancient city hidden among the ruins.
ii – Ancient Athens 3D
iii – Hellas Revival Become an ancient Greek philosopher debating at Plato’s Academy Park, or an ancient Athenian Citizen speaking & voting in a Democratic Assembly, or an ancient Greek child playing family games, or even an ancient Greek Marine rower on a formidable trireme!
iv – OmnesViae: Roman Route Planner
WHAT ELSE HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN THE CLASSICAL WORLD?
As a space saving initiative New Rules and Regulations, Museum & Site openings and closures are now included highlighted in red in the following attachments, interspersed amidst reports of new archaeological discoveries.
Please note –
ii – August’s Postcard from Rome – by Agnes Crawford
A special opening of the newly restored and intriguing site of the “Syriac” sanctuary iii – Entry to the Ancient Agora will take place exclusively through the entrance on Adrianou Street. The entrance from Apostolou Pavlou Street, in the Thissio area
iv – New ‘Cool Routes’ Map Helps Pedestrians Beat the Athens Heat Work on a full version of the platform is expected to begin this autumn, with a broader rollout planned for summer 2027.
vi – Student brings spoken Latin back to The Roman Baths with new audio guide recorded by Sir Stephen Fry
vii – Secrets from a Mycenaean warrior’s grave
The couple that discovered the soldier’s tomb in the Peloponnese talks about armor, rosettes and Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’
viii – Pompeii launches augmented reality. Thanks to an app called Portyl, it is now possible to explore the city as it was in 79 AD, experiencing a journey that combines scientific rigor, technological innovation, and immersive enjoyment. The House of the Citharist, one of the largest houses in Pompeii and the first to be involved in this digital project, opens to the public on June 24, 2026
ix – Greece Opens the Restored Archaeological Museum of Argos
The museum’s location in the center of Argos, near the Byzantine Museum of Argolis and the future Epigraphic Museum, is contributing to the formation of a new cultural core, described as a “museum neighborhood,”
x – Should you be in the vicinity of Wigan, take note. Thanks to Fiona Forsyth (author) for pointing out Roman artifacts in the Museum of Wigan Life including a gold aureus from the reign of the Emperor Vitellius and a furniture leg from Pompeii.
Courtesy of Fiona Forsyth
These and SO many new exhibitions and museum reopenings are highlighted in the following attachments
SWITZERLAND, GERMANY/AUSTRIA, FRANCE, SPAIN – Attachment G
TURKEY, EGYPT, ISRAEL, IRAN, IRAQ, LIBYA – Attachment H
IN CELEBRATION OF INTERNATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY DAY
i – Excellence Through Classics Celebrates Odyssey Day: Weave like Penelope
Join Excellence Through Classics as we celebrate Odyssey Day! Magistra Nathalie Roy will guide teachers and students in learning to weave on a simple frame loom. Want to try it in real time? See more information here
ii – Build Your Own Monument Challenge – Archaeological Institute of America
In celebration of International Archaeology Day, the AIA invites you to design and build your version of your favorite monument or archaeological site!
All are welcome to participate – no membership or AIA affiliation required.
MODERN INTERPRETATION OF ANCIENT CLASSICS (Theatre, TV, Cinema, Literature) Attachment J
Reimagining classical literature from a canine perspective
Homer’s Lyre by Peter Bond (HoD Bristol Cathedral School. Rtd)
RESOURCES AND RESEARCH Attachment K
CONTENTIOUS ISSUES FOR CLASS DISCUSSION Attachment L
FINALLY – a selection of Classical (mis)appropriations, which should, at the very least, raise a wry smile.
Apologies for lack of accompanying visuals, the vulture bots are about………..
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
i – How Greek Mythology Became a Weapon of Political Satire
ii – The incredible story of the man who built a fake Roman theater in Italy and sold tickets to visit it
iii – Athletes Use Classical Sculpture Replicas as Gym Weights
v – Greek nail designs inspired by The Odyssey
vi – Vacheron Constantin and the Louvre pay tribute to great civilisations of antiquity
vii – Gods of advertising: why ads keep returning to Ancient Greece
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has rekindled public interest in Greek mythology. But for advertisers it’s never really gone away
Very Best Wishes,
The Hellene Team
Sarah, John, Claudia, James, Kerry, Nidhi and Vishal