The Classical Association of Ireland Newsletter June 2022

(Photo courtesy of the CANI Board)

CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND NEWSLETTER

Editorial Dear CAI members, This first half of 2022 has been packed full of Classics-related activities, a great many in-person, which I'm sure you will agree comes as an enormous relief after the difficulties of the past two years. Unsurprisingly, outreach initiatives have been especially popular, from the Schools Conference in the North pictured above (see the CANI report on p. 6) to the ClassicsNow festival, the Access Classics programme (pp. 4-5), and the very enjoyable Branch and Member-led events reported in these pages. We have continued to make lectures available online as much as possible, so that members and friends further afield can remain connected to the CAI even when life returns to more familiar patterns.

Maeve O'Brien's lovely photo (left) of a sunshine-dappled Maynooth Castle hints at the beautiful season to come. Wishing you an enjoyable summer, Photo (c) Maeve O'Brien

JUNE 2022

Selga Medenieks 2-3

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CIRIACO PIZZECOLLI

CLASSICS OUTREACH

BRANCH & UNIVERSITY NEWS

JUNE 2022

THE RESTORATION OF TIME: Ciriaco Pizzecolli

By PATRICK RYAN

O magnam vim artis nostrae, ac penitus divinam!

Siquidem dum vivimus quae diu vivis viva, et praeclara fuere, et longi temporis labe, longaque semivivum injuria obstrusa penitus, et defuncta jacebant, ex ea demum arte diva iterum vivos inter homines in lucem ab orco revocata vivent felicissima temporis reparatione.

I’m starting a campaign to have these words displayed on every archaeologist’s desk. We’ll get back to the translation, but they were written by Ciriaco Pizzecolli of Ancona (c. 1391–1454), an intrepid explorer throughout the Roman, Greek, Byzantine, and Ottoman lands, and a systematic recorder of antiquities who well deserves to be called the ‘Father of Classical Archaeology’.

Yet very few have heard of him. When I first began to explore his story, while confined to barracks during Covid, I put out an enquiry asking if anyone in the field had leads or sources. A facetious archaeologist (who shall remain anonymous) suggested that someone of that name might once have played football for A.C. Milan! Going further afield, I found a family history blog by one Ben Ciriacks, a retired accountant of Madison, Wisconsin, USA, who

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Greek text written by Pizzecolli, now in the Staatsbibliothek, Berlin (Gr. quarto 89, fol. 22v) (Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

claims a family connection with Ciriaco of Ancona. Ben proved most helpful; while he was primarily interested in the American side of the family, he was happy to pass on the many snippets of information he had collected on his relative's Italian ancestors.

Pizzecolli recorded his travels and drawings in six volumes of Commentaries. Unfortunately the passage of time has not been kind to him and much of his work is lost. In 1514, about 60 years after his death, the Commentarii were lost in a fire which destroyed the library in Pesaro where they were stored. Fortunately, some of Ciriaco’s friends and other scholars in the next generation had copied parts of his work, which circulated both in manuscript and in copies of his drawings.

In the succeeding centuries three volumes of his work were printed: Epigrammata reperta per Illyricum a Kyriaco Anconitano (Carlo Moroni, Rome, 1664), Cyriaci Anconitani nova fragmenta notis illustrata, (Pesaro, 1763) and Itinerarium (F. Scalamonti, Florence, 1742). The loss of a great deal of his commentaries may account for why he is not so well known in archaeological circles. A further series of Pizzecolli’s manuscripts about Ancona was destroyed in another a fire in the city’s archives in 1532.

There is a comment by a 19th-century Italian archaeologist, Giovanni Battista (Carlo) de Rossi (1822–1894), best known for his work on early Christian catacombs, Inscriptiones christianae Urbis Romae septimo saeculo antiquiores. He pays tribute to Pizzecolli saying: “his accuracy in copying ancient inscriptions is the chief credit and undying glory of Ciriaco of Ancona.”

The principal modern expert on the subject is Edward W. Bodnar (d. 2011), a Jesuit scholar who taught at Georgetown University in

CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND

Gravestone in the facade of Ag. Iannis Keria, stolen in 1998 (courtesy of Ben Ciriacks) with Pizzecolli’s drawing (diatribe-column.blogspot.com).

Washington D.C. and travelled extensively in the footsteps of Pizzecolli.

Bodnar quotes a friend of the explorer who wrote after his death: “Nunquam quiescit Kyriacus.” That certainly rings true from his remaining journals. He tells of a voyage to ancient Ainos: “The sailors, on their hard benches beneath the oars, caught some sleep, but sleep did not hold your Cyriac. For long before the cock with his wakeful voice called forth the warm day, I roused the captain and his crew by singing ‘alleluia’.”

What the captain and crew thought about their passenger’s wake-up call is fortunately not recorded.

Among his lasting contributions is the rediscovery of Eretria in Euboea. During his 1436 visit to Greece, he described and sketched a plan of the ancient city walls, indicating the theatre and the fortifications of the acropolis and mentioning the existence of inscriptions. Since 1964, the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (ESAG) has been excavating the site, and has disclosed a Bronze Age settlement, important remains of the Geometric and Archaic periods, rich houses dating from the ClassicalHellenistic period, Roman workshops and Early Christian burials – but Ciriaco Pizzecolli was the first to reveal the site to the outside world.

He described many ancient artifacts which have since been destroyed and lost except for his sketches of them. He visited the Mani (the most southerly part of mainland Greece) on a number of occasions.

At Tainaron he sketched gravestones which were later built into the wall

of the local church, Ag. Iannis Keria. They survived into the age of photography but one is no longer there: in the winter of 1998 some of the light-fingered gentry decided to rob the whole piece out of the wall and it has never been recovered. It is now presumably decorating the garden or house of someone with enough money to keep it quiet. I hope it fell and broke his foot.

He has much to say about the looting of Greek antiquities which he witnessed in his own time. In August 1444 at Cyzicus, he commented on the temple dedicated to Hadrian: “But alas!

How unsightly a structure we returned to, compared to the one we inspected fourteen years ago! For then we saw thirty-one surviving columns standing erect, whereas now I find that only twentynine columns remain, some shorn of their architraves, ruined and dashed to the ground, evidently by the barbarians.”

He did something about it: he visited the Ottoman governor of the area, who was a Greek, and talked with him about the need to preserve such treasures. The governor took action to stop the looting.

I have been pleased to follow Pizzecolli’s career and to bring a talk to several branches of the Association.

There is a Podcast (audio only) from the Tel Aviv Review 2016, entitled ‘Cyriac of Ancona, Europe’s First Archaeologist’.

The broadcast is about 16 minutes long and consists of an interview with Dr Adar Yarum, an art historian at Ben Gurion University in Israel. (Enter the title followed

by TLV1 Podcasts.) It will help to introduce this fascinating story, but just while waiting for my talk, of course! Now the translation of Pizzecolli’s praise of archaeology: O great and utterly divine power of our art!

For while we are living, those things that once were alive and outstanding among the living, were lying dead, almost destroyed by the long ruin of time and the long injury of the half-living, are at last called back from the underworld into the light by divine art, and again live happily among living men by the restoration of time.

www.classicalassociation.ie

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JUNE 2022

ClassicsNow

By MAEVE O'BRIEN Maynooth University

Those of us who had the good health to be out and about in January of this year to attend the events of the ClassicsNow weekend were well rewarded by the array of exciting writers and artists using the ancient past to reflect on our world today. 'Persians: The Podcast – Unplugged', based on Conor Hanratty’s series of podcasts in 2021, introducing a new Irish-language translation of Aeschylus’ tragedy Persians by acclaimed poet Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, was one of the most exciting events on the first weekend when lockdown was lifted. The events in Ukraine had not yet happened but the futility of war for combatant and noncombatant alike flared in this retelling of one of the oldest pieces of theatre from ancient Greece. With outstanding performances by Caitríona Ní Mhurchú, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Owen Roe, and Iarla Ó Lionáird, the presentation was hosted by and introduced by director Conor Hanratty (www. persiansthepodcast.com in collaboration with Once Off Productions and the Abbey Theatre).

Award-winning novelist and essayist Madeline Miller joined us online in the opening event on Friday, 21 January, to talk about The Song of Achilles, which won the Orange Prize for fiction, and Circe, her acclaimed reimagining of Homer’s Odyssey from a compelling perspective. Madeline's conversation with author and journalist Anna Carey attracted lively interest from some very erudite secondary school students!

Saturday, 22 January, saw author and Guardian journalist Charlotte Higgins in conversation with novelist and biographer Carlo Gébler. Charlotte writes brilliantly on Classics, from Roman Britain to Greek myth, and Carlo Gébler’s new novel, I, Antigone, about the unforgettable story of Oedipus as written by his daughter Antigone, encouraged a fascinating discussion on, to use Statius’ words, the ‘horrors of the house of Oedipus’! This live event took place in the magnificent round room at City Assembly House, Dublin, and was chaired by arts broadcaster Paula Shields.

Children adored ‘A Fox Fest for All the Family’ produced by Theatre Lovett, who invited us to stroll through the crinkly papyrus pages of history with helpful advice from Aesop’s Fables. Mister Fox rustled up fascinating facts from Ancient Greece and Rollicking Rome. This was a live, interactive performance in partnership with Dublin's Hugh Lane Gallery. We look forward to Louis Lovett’s 'The Tin Soldier' in the Galway Arts Festival in July. I, for one, can’t wait.

Daisy Dunn chatted engagingly with the learned Vincent Woods about her award-winning books Catullus’ Bedspread and In the Shadow of Vesuvius, online on Sunday, 23 January, rounding off a most successful festival which

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included events too numerous to mention in a short report: these ranged from Gavin Kostick’s dynamic new version of Homer’s Odyssey presented in partnership with Museum of Literature Ireland, to Akala’s Odyssey screening in the IFI, to the Classical Museum visit and drawing workshop live events at University College Dublin. Further details are available at https://www.classicsnow.ie/programme-2022.

All of this would not have happened without Helen Meany, Festival curator, to whom we owe huge thanks. Because of Helen we can look forward with excited anticipation to the third ClassicsNow festival on Friday, 27 to Sunday, 29 January 2023. See you all there!

Advanced courses in reading Greek texts One of the more positive results of Covid has been the development of online lectures and courses. One particular need was for advanced courses in reading continuous Greek texts, not easy to arrange as the number of participants is small and the time spent in reaching a centre on a regular basis is often prohibitive. The online format caters for a wider geographical reach and also cuts out travel time for both participants and teacher. Last year began with an experimental course of six one-and-a-half-hour sessions reading a continuous section of Plato’s Protagoras. It was aimed at those who had completed Reading Greek, though in fact many of the participants had not quite reached this standard. Some vocabulary notes were distributed and participants (10 from five different locations) diligently prepared to read and translate, guided in difficult passages by the teacher. This experiment was continued in the autumn with a 12-session course, roughly three sessions per month, in which we read the entire text (including choruses) of Euripides’ Medea. Six participants completed the whole course and a few others either partly attended or ‘listened in’. There is no doubt that the transition from reading selections to the reading of continuous, unadapted texts is one of the greatest challenges in mastering a language. Those who completed these courses were initially surprised at the amount of work they had to put in for each session, but at the end were pleased with the increasing facility acquired and their progress in the language. For the coming autumn I am proposing to read Thucydides III, a text that includes some dramatic narrative (the siege of Plateia), as well as the treatment of the revolt in Mytilene, and the profound and deeply disturbing analysis of political turmoil in Corcyra. We may then move onto Plato texts such as Crito and the Apology, which feature in the Classical Studies courses. As before, further details of these courses will be sent out to members and there will be no charge for participation. In the meantime, you may register your interest by contacting me at andrew.smith@ucd.ie.

Andrew Smith

CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND

Access Classics

By BRIDGET MARTIN Director, UCD Access Classics

Access Classics, the second-level outreach programme run by the UCD School of Classics, enjoyed another very successful academic year, travelling to schools, welcoming students to UCD, and spreading the word about our outreach initiatives! From its inception, school visits have been at the heart of Access Classics’ outreach and, although we were restricted by Covid-19 regulations, we managed to visit lots of schools, both online and in person.

Two particular highlights were visiting Gonzaga College SJ in December, where, with the invaluable support of the teachers, we ran four simultaneous activities, meeting all first-year students in one morning, and visiting Loreto Bray in the new year, where all TY students learned the Greek alphabet and attempted to write and translate some Greek!

With the easing of Covid-19, schools increasingly requested visits to UCD, and we were delighted to work closely with the UCD Classics Museum to accommodate them: students were given the opportunity to visit the museum, handle some of the artefacts, and design their own vases. In May we combined our forces to run two large student visits from Gorey Community School and St Conleth’s College. The students rotated between activities in and outside the museum: this involved lots of planning and running around campus, but we were delighted to see their interest! Access Classics also combined forces in May with UCD Access and Lifelong Learning (ALL) to present a sample lecture (on ancient monsters!) to 150 students from DEIS schools in Dublin. We look forward to working further with ALL in June to contribute to the Creative Arts Summer School, a multi-college initiative funded by the Department of Education and Skills Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH) fund that aims to introduce participants from underrepresented groups to different pathways to higher education. We look forward to meeting the students in person this year!

During the autumn term, Dr Martin Brady, Dr Christopher Farrell, and Dr Bridget Martin ran the Access Classics module in UCD for the second time, this time face to face! During this module we trained the students to “design and deliver a portfolio of teaching materials in a variety of media” to second-level students. As with last year, the students enthusiastically threw themselves into the module and produced some great work, including a weekly radio show on UCD’s Belfield FM to discuss Classics! As an added bonus, two of the students visited their former secondary schools (Loreto College, Foxrock, and St Fintan’s High School, Sutton) to talk to some of the students there.

With the beginning of the new academic year, it was great to see the Access Classics Transition Year (TY) Unit used (in whole or in part) in so many schools, and we have really enjoyed hearing how teachers are using it, what aspects students enjoy, and also some ideas for future iterations of the Unit. It was particularly gratifying to visit Ardgillan College, Balbriggan, to chat about the introduction of Classics to the school using the TY Unit as a pilot. All going well, the TY students will be able to delve into the world of Classics in September 2022! Speaking of delving into the world of Classics, Access Classics’ Dr Bridget Martin and Dr Christopher Farrell put on their judging hats for the second year in a row and joined colleagues from Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin and the Classical Association of Ireland Teachers (CAIT) to judge the CAIT Young Classicist Awards in May. The level of creativity and engagement was incredibly high and it was no small feat to pick the winners from among the many deserving entries. Judging by the quality of the entries, Classics is going strong at second level!

Access Classics made it a priority this year to spread the word about our outreach initiative, presenting to our colleagues in UCD at a dedicated outreach forum and at the College Council meeting for Arts and Humanities, both in May. Dr Bridget Martin was delighted to join Lisa Doyle (Trinity College Dublin) and Helen Meaney (ClassicsNow festival) for the Hublic Sphere Podcast in January to talk about bringing Classics to the public, and to join Dr Louise Maguire, Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson, and Ms Aryn Penn to speak about “Classical Subjects in Schools: An Update from Ireland” for the 'Classical Influences and Irish Culture' (CLIC) seminars.

Using Access Classics as an example, Bridget spoke about Classics outreach in Ireland, making sure to highlight the other amazing outreach activities and bodies in Ireland. Rounding out a great year, we were delighted to attend a long-delayed in-person ceremony for the UCD Values in Action Award that the Access Classics team won in 2020!

Although it was a hectic year, the return to in-person visits was very energising, and we really look forward to meeting even more students and teachers next year!

Rt: Access Classics module participants Jake Walsh and Niamh Scully.

www.classicalassociation.ie

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JUNE 2022

Classical Association in Northern Ireland Our CANI programme has been very busy the past few months. Just before Christmas we had celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae with our CANI film night showing 300 Spartans (1962).

Fast forward to March and CANI’s Honorary Patron Natalie Haynes gave her Inaugural Address at Queen’s University Belfast. The very next day we had our annual (almost, thanks to COVID) School’s Conference. We had over 100 primary pupils and post primary pupils attend and they were delighted to take part in object handling, Greek mask making, and talks from Natalie Haynes, Helen McVeigh, and Amber Taylor. A great day had by all! Our very first winner of the School’s Conference competition, Áoife McMahon’s brilliant poem 'Greek Gods (not Roman)' is up on our TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube:

Above: CANI convenor Amber Taylor and Honorary Patron Natalie Haynes.

https://youtube.com/shorts/h-rtAxrFh_U?feature=share In May we screened the film Agora (2009), starring Rachel Weisz. We were treated to a fantastic final talk of the academic year by Dr Shane Wallace of TCD on ‘The epithet Megas/Magnus in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds'. Coupled with summer drinks and the CANI bookshop, it was a lovely evening! We look forward to the HM Summer School rounding off our academic year.

Amber Taylor

(Photos courtesy of the CANI Board)

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CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND

CAI Branch & University News CORK Due to a surge in Covid numbers, it was decided to cancel the February meeting, but Cork Branch held lectures in each of March, April and May! 7 March: Unfortunately, the listed talk for March had to be postponed until October 2022; however the breach was filled by a continuation of the Marvellous Mosaic talk which took place in December last. A broader insight was given by Jennifer O'Donoghue into a number of specific mosaics and an informative night was had by all.

4 April: This month we welcomed Michael J. Kelly, a visiting Fulbright Fellow from the department of Judaic Studies, Binghamton University, SUNY. Michael spoke about 'Visigothic Catholicism: Religion or Ideology?' The lecture centred around post Roman Spain, AD 630-690. In 636 Isidore of Seville died and the Catholic Church declared Jews to be inhuman. By 694, the seventeenth Council of Toledo, the king and the Church were fearful of the Jews leading an insurrection against the state. Jews were to be stripped of all their property and Jewish girls were to marry Catholic men.

Visigothic kings had power over the Church until they wanted the religious institutions to work and pay taxes. The Visigothic Catholic Church had the belief that its adherents should defend a man’s right to private property.

None of the church money was to be given to the poor. The primary role of the Catholic Church was to protect against the Church becoming a religion of the poor! The poor were merely there to show what could happen if you did not uphold the tenets of Catholicism. The Visigoths were a long way from the Beatitudes, it would seem!

9 May: Patrick Ryan of the Limerick Branch made a welcome return to Cork and spoke to us on the father of Classical Archaeology, one Ciriaco Pizzecolli of Ancona.

The eighteenth century saw a burgeoning of archaeology.

Pompeii was being uncovered in the 1700s and discovering the past or antiquarianism was haphazard before the onset of the method and technical approach of the modern archaeologist. Pizzecolli was a man before his time with his keen eye for detail and meticulous approach to recording, and all this in the late fourteenth, early fifteenth centuries!

He lived from 1391 until 1453 or perhaps 1455! His real mission was to ‘wake the dead’ of antiquity and he was fortunate that his connections with kings, bishops, and even a pope allowed him unfettered access to sites, monuments, and artifacts from the past. He travelled widely and

recorded well over one thousand Latin inscriptions. Pat provided us with a lively insight into this almost-forgotten archaeologist.

The Cork Branch is delighted to be back in person; however, each year it is more difficult to source speakers, balance the books, and provide an audience for our speakers. Good will is great and much appreciated, but we need members to attend the lectures and get involved in the Branch. To the faithful who turn up each month, thank you. To all the others, there will come a time when you will want to attend but we may not be here! Have a good summer and we hope to see you all again in October 2022.

J. O'Donoghue

DUBLIN In March the Dublin Branch was joined by Dr Jacqueline Cahill Wilson for an online lecture entitled 'From Tacitus to eBay: a historiography of the Romans and Ireland'. In an engaging and wide-ranging lecture, Dr Cahill Wilson took us through the major archeological digs of the 20th century in Ireland, and highlighted all of the latest work on Ireland in the Iron Age and Roman periods, drawing on her experience as the Project Director of the Discovery Programme’s Late Iron Age and Roman Ireland project (2011-15). We learned about noteworthy finds such as the ogham stones inscribed with Latin names in Kilkenny and a manufacturing site with Roman and Irish materials at Drumanagh. Dr Cahill Wilson finished her talk by indicating exciting avenues for future research. This was another well attended Branch lecture, with 59 people in attendance.

For the final Dublin Branch lecture of the term, Dr Gregory Darwin (Uppsala University) presented his research on allusions to Classical heroism in Irish literature, especially bardic poetry. Dr Darwin took us through examples which demonstrated the attempts of Irish literati to elevate the literary-historical tradition of Ireland with references to Classical mythology and poetry.

He touched on the attitudes and priorities of the Irish translators of Classical texts and highlighted the frequency with which Hector was referenced as a model of heroism in medieval Irish literature, explaining that Hector's role as the 'last defender of Troy' was pertinent to the experience of the increasing threat of the Crown in 16th and 17th

www.classicalassociation.ie

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JUNE 2022

Above: an image from the lecture of Dr Jacqueline Cahill Wilson.

Below: image of a manuscript from the presentation of Dr Gregory Darwin.

century Ireland. There were 47 attendees at this online event, with a large portion tuning in locally and from the US, and a fascinating discussion followed in the Q&A.

For this year's presidential event, the CAI co-hosted a special screening of the film Young Plato at the Irish Film Institute on 23 March, which was organised by the CAI Honorary President Gráinne Humphreys (Festival Director of the Dublin International Film Festival). Young Plato is an entertaining and moving documentary about Holy Cross Boys' School in Ardoyne, Belfast, where the headmaster Kevin McArevey teaches philosophy as a way of empowering and encouraging critical thinking in the young boys at his school. As part of the special screening, audience members were treated to a Q&A with one of the directors, Declan McGrath, and the star of the show, Kevin McArevey. We are grateful to Sunniva O'Flynn of the IFI for hosting the event and expertly chairing the Q&A. Lisa Doyle

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CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND

LIMERICK The sad loss of two Limerick Branch members, the late Michael Donnellan and Mary O’Sullivan, who were remembered warmly in December’s CAI newsletter, means that our numbers are down since the last count.

Nevertheless, our activities continue to flourish. We launched into 2022 with a lecture programme comprising five lectures, as well as taking part in both Latin and Greek reading sessions, all on Zoom.

Ms Jennifer O’Donoghue (of the CAI Cork Branch) was first off at lectures, in February, with a wonderfully illustrated talk, ‘Marvellous Mosaics’.

Matthew Potter (Director, Limerick Museum) followed later that month with ‘Nero, the worst emperor?’ In March, Patrick Ryan, of our own parish, was scheduled to offer a lecture, ‘Selene: the Moon in Ancient Greece’, in two parts. Having delivered the first part, however, he had to postpone the second part due to a clash of dates. He will give this second part later on. The lecture programme concluded just before Easter with an excellent presentation with multiple illustrations, ‘The Fosse Way: Past and Present’, by Dr Edward MoxonBrowne (ex Dept of Politics, U.L.).

The reading sessions, which were facilitated through the good offices of Liam Bairéad, were led by a string of scholars: Dr Catherine Ware guided us through Petronius’ Satyricon, Dr Lisa Doyle did likewise on Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica, Prof. Andrew Smith read Euripides’ Medea, and Dr Alexander Thein dealt with inscriptions in a most interesting way. Tribute must go to Patrick Ryan for keeping members informed of the meetings of both reading groups.

Our year ends with a soirée. The aforementioned Patrick Ryan invites members and guests to his residence in The Orchard Yard, Newport, Co. Tipperary, on Saturday, 18 June, at 2.30 p.m., where The Orchard Yard Players will present a reading of Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus. This being the first time since 2019 that Patrick has hosted this annual event, he is expecting a large attendance.

Tom Seaver (Branch Hon. Sec.)

MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY We have had a busy semester in Maynooth. Our Departmental Review process continued with the participation of colleagues from within the University and outside, and was expertly co-ordinated by Professor Ed Herring from Galway. We applaud the work of the entire review committee and especially our Head of Department

here in MU, William Desmond, and colleagues Cosetta Cadau, Jon Davies, and Kieran McGroarty.

Maynooth Classics Seminar (MCS) series: this semester, all meetings took place on Friday at 4pm. The papers, hosted online via Microsoft Teams, continued during this very busy semester for us, ably organised by Dr Jon Davies who invited a most interesting selection of speakers, and sent instructions on how to join the sessions along with advertisements for each individual lecture.

On 25 March Prof. Martin Goodman (Oxford University) informed us about ‘Herod and the Roman Revolution’ in a clear and humorous presentation, complemented by a superb handout. On 8 April Dr Brahm Kleinman (McGill University, Montreal) at some unearthly hour for him told us about ‘Accounting for Civil Violence in Sulla’s Wars and Dictatorship’ in a very exciting and detailed talk. And, finally, on 29 April our own Dr Cosetta Cadau (Maynooth University) spoke expertly on a complex literary topic ‘Power and Parenthood in Two Late Antique Tales of Abduction: Claudian’s Abduction of Proserpina and Colluthus’ Abduction of Helen’; Cosetta’s talk started a lively after-presentation conversation between her and the attendees, including Dr Catherine Ware, which was very much enjoyed by me as moderator. Cosetta also organised the very successful ‘Careers with Classics’ on Thursday, 3 February: watch it here! https://youtu.be/zHtrqE8MNhw Cosetta tells me that another conference on this topic is scheduled for September. Details to follow on the Maynooth website: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/study-maynooth/ undergraduate-studies/news/careers-classics ClassicsNow 2023 is scheduled for Friday, 27Sunday, 29 January: save the dates! As with previous festivals, this one invites audiences to explore contemporary artistic interpretations and reimaginings of the literature, arts and ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It will highlight the rich tradition of Irish writers and playwrights reflecting on Ireland through the Classics, which goes back centuries. The Festival Committee is especially pleased to have the support once again of the Classical Association of Ireland and our chairperson Dr Helen McVeigh.

Finally, we bid a fond farewell with very best wishes for the future to our colleague, Roman historian Dr Jon Davies. We welcome Dr Eoghan Moloney to our team, who returns to his alma mater in September 2022. On a personal note, I want to thank all my colleagues in the department of Ancient Classics here, including our administrative assistant, the wonderful Megan Browne, for all their good-humoured support and professionalism during this past academic year.

And to all CAI Newsletter readers, hope you all have a great summer!

Maeve O’Brien www.classicalassociation.ie

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JUNE 2022

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN UCD returned to face-to-face teaching in September, and the School of Classics was delighted to meet first-year students and, for the first time on campus, second-year students at our welcome orientation in the Classical Museum in September 2021. In November the Classical Museum was delighted to welcome visitors to an exhibition of contemporary art entitled The Museum of Ancient History, in homage to the UCD museum’s name when it was first established in the 19th century. Curated by Pádraic E. Moore and Dr Jo Day, it featured mixed-media works by six contemporary artists and welcomed almost 400 visitors over its 10-week run. Many thanks are due to the Arts Council and UCD College of Arts and Humanities for funding, and to the exhibition assistants Iseult Devaney, Dil Green, and Leah Moloney.

Over two weeks in October, the School and the UCD Classical Museum welcomed our Erasmus+ partners from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Coordinated by Dr Annalisa Christie in the School of Archaeology, the three visitors participated in a range of activities across both our Schools to facilitate knowledge exchange in the field of cultural heritage. Neema Munisi, a graduate student from UDS, created a new display in the museum (supported by Susannah Kelly, conservator) about the uses of beads over time. This presents results of her own archaeological and ethnographic work in Tanzania and features some of the Museum's beads. The UCD team are looking forward to a return visit to Dar es Salaam when possible.

In April, the UCD Classical Society welcomed Professor Edith Hall, Durham University, to deliver the annual Inaugural Lecture on ‘Classics and Social Class in Ireland, 1689-1922’. The School also hosted the annual College Lecture for the UCD College of Arts and Humanities, and we were very pleased to invite Professor Isabelle Torrance, Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded Classical Influences and Irish Culture project at Aarhus University, Denmark, to deliver a lecture on ‘Classical Culture and Irish Identities: Diachronic and Polyphonic Perspectives’. Prof. Torrance’s lecture was recorded, and it is available to view on the Youtube channel of the UCD College of Arts and Humanities: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=1T2amkqKuKE The School would like to express its deep appreciation to Michelle McDonnell, who leaves the School as School Manager after sixteen years.

"It has been an absolute pleasure working with you all.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kindness, friendship and support over the years. I very much enjoyed my time in the School of Classics and have gained invaluable experience during my time as School Manager." - Michelle McDonnell.

Alexander Thein

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Above: Richard Proffitt, 2020, Night was dead, see-thru dark (photo by Louis Haugh). Below: Susannah Kelly (conservator) and Neema Munisi (University of Dar es Salaam).

CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND

Classical Association of Ireland

Latin Summer School 2022 Join us this summer for a full immersion in all things Roman!

Beginners welcome!

Join in person (Trinity College Dublin) or on Zoom

• Three classes per day for two weeks • Minimum age: 12 • Course fee: €200

20 JUNE – 1 JULY 2022 Information and registration: cosetta.cadau@mu.ie Visit the Classical Association of Ireland at www.classicalassociation.ie

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Announcing the CAI Latin Summer School 2022!

We are delighted to return to in-person classes after two years: the Summer School will be hosted at Trinity College Dublin from Monday, 20 June until Friday, 1 July 2022. We look forward to welcoming 24 young Latinists with a great passion for Rome!

The Summer School will run as a hybrid event this year, with pupils aged 11-17 joining us remotely from all parts of Ireland.

www.classicalassociation.ie

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JUNE 2022

Careers with Classics 2022 Where do Classics graduates go after graduation?

What can I do with a Classics degree?

Careers with Classics returns at Maynooth University for the second year in a row, in the second week of September 2022!

Careers with Classics is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the value of a degree in Classics and to learn about the professional experiences of past Classics graduates.

A panel of international Classics graduates will share their professional journey with us in an interactive and fun dialogue. Join us!

Watch the 2021 edition of the event here: https://youtu.be/zHtrqE8MNhw The event is open to all pupils and students in secondary and third-level education in Ireland, to guidance counsellors and parents, and to anyone interested in studying Classics in Ireland.

This year we are excited to welcome everybody in person at Maynooth; the event will be also accessible remotely through Microsoft Teams for anyone who would like to join from elsewhere in Ireland!

The Classical Association of Ireland Cumann Clasaiceach na hÉireann Notice of Annual General Meeting The Secretary wishes to inform members that the Annual General Meeting of the Association for 2022 will take place upon a date to be notified by the Membership Secretary. Documentation and access codes will issue not later than two weeks before that date.

(Giroust 1788)

Σοφοκλέους Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ OEDIPUS AT COLONUS by SOPHOCLES THE ORCHARD YARD, NEWPORT on SATURDAY, 18 JUNE 2022 at 2.30 p.m.

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The Council at its meeting on 23 April 2002 made nominations under Article 12 as follows: Chair: Helen McVeigh Vice-Chair: Joan Wright Secretary: Patrick J. Ryan Treasurer: Alexander Thein Members by Election: 1. Cosetta Cadau; 2. Adam Conry; 3. Bridget Martin; 4. Amber Taylor The dates and procedures for nominations made by Branches and for Article 14 Special Motions will be advised when the arrangements for AGM have been made.

Patrick J. Ryan, Secretary.

Contacts: Post: The Orchard Yard, Newport, Co. Tipperary.

E-mail: p.strepsiades@gmail.com