July 2016
CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
CAI BRANCH NEWS CAI CORK The Cork Branch resumed lectures after its Christmas break in February! Like the Dáil, we take longer holidays than the norm. We are pleased to say that we had a very successful Spring term with really good attendances. First up for the February lecture was Dr Maeve O’Brien from NUI Maynooth. Maeve’s topic was ‘Women in Ancient Rome, Matrons and Rebels’. We learned about Junia Tertia, Lucretia, Tarpeia and Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, amongst others. All seemed rather formidable dames who, though they were presented as ideal women, were well able to take care of themselves. While it was a man’s world, these ladies were eloquent and by 100BC were being commemorated in eulogies usually by their husbands. March saw the Presidential Address coming to Cork. It is nice for this to occur because it is not always possible for members who live outside of Dublin to attend this special event. This year it was held in November, but we were delighted that Prof. John Madden, Emeritus Professor of Classics, NUI Galway, came to deliver his lecture, entitled ‘The Jewel in the Crown: The Royal Library of Alexandria’. We learned that it was built in the third century BC and it was the greatest library known before printing. Alas, today there is nothing really left of this wonder, just a few fragments. Demetrius, a peripatetic philosopher, instigated a state funded library. Books were collected, classified and identified. The library was reputed to contain every book ever written in Greek. At its height, the library contained in excess of seven hundred thousand papyrus scrolls. Over time the library declined: papyri were hard to use and their condition deteriorated. Politics, religion and technology finally put and end to it. As Christianity became more popular, Christians recorded the sayings of Jesus in a Codex and, as
Christianity became more established, papyri became neglected like the religions they supported. Prof. Madden’s lecture was a wonderful walk through the ages of this truly fascinating library and we are extremely grateful he and his wife Ann were able to come to Cork and share the Presidential Address with those beyond the Pale! April saw a change from the advertised schedule. Dr David Woods, Head of Classics at UCC, spoke on ‘The Christianisation of the Roman Coinage, 303-625AD’. Alas, the coins in our pockets today do not tell as interesting a story as those hundreds of years ago. As this was well into the Christian era, pagan gods were disappearing from the coins. There were three exceptions though: Victory, Roma and Constantinopolis. Over time the images were undergoing change. The Labarum replaced the Aquila. This was followed by the Cross replacing the Trophy, then the Globe with the Cross replaced the Globe with Victory and, at this stage, Christian slogans were gradually being introduced. In another thousand years, when scholars come to examine our currency, one wonders what they will make of its uniform appearance and what story it will be able to tell! Finally, our May lecture is the time when members have their say. This year we had three topics. Sheila O’Sullivan gave a wonderful visual talk on the ‘Ara Pacis’ in Rome. This singular building has been fully restored and the function, sculpting and story were explained. If your travels take you to Rome this summer, a visit to see this magnificent building will not disappoint. Mary Kelleher, another Cork member, spoke about ‘Philosophy’ and how we could benefit by reflecting as the ancient Greeks did. A number of questions were posed: what it is to be human, how can we be the best we can be, and what is it all about. Thought evolves and we evolved listening about Anaxagoras, Socrates and Aristotle. The final speaker on the 7