CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
November 2018
The annual CAI Summer School
Queen’s University Belfast, 17-19 August 2018
Queen’s University Belfast was the setting for the 2018 Classical Association of Ireland Summer School. Upwards of 50 delegates arrived on the afternoon of Friday, 17 August, and business kicked off at 7pm with the CAI AGM, which was well-attended by representatives from all corners of Ireland. Following the AGM, the summer school proper began with welcomes from Dr John Curran (QUB) and Helen McVeigh (CANI). The guest speaker for the summer school was Natalie Haynes. She describes herself as a former comedian, but she is known for being a classics advocate and author of classically-themed novels, as well as the excellent non-fiction work, The Ancient Guide to Modern Life. Natalie’s fast-paced talk discussed female characters in Greek tragedy and how they are not the focus of the works which have been named after them. She highlighted Aristotle’s theory of tragedy and how
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producers of contemporary soap operas have been known to “Greek it up” when they are in need of an exciting plotline. Natalie’s talk concluded with a reading from her latest novel, The Children of Jocasta, which tells the Oedipus myth from the point of view of the women in the story. Saturday morning dawned with a meeting of the CAI Central Council, followed by a Q&A with Natalie Haynes. With CANI’s Helen McVeigh asking the questions, Natalie discussed her BBC Radio 4 programme Natalie Haynes Stands up for the Classics, in which celebrity and classicist guests discuss personages from ancient history such as, in the current fourth series, Phryne, Livy, Horace and Euripides. Natalie talked about her forthcoming novel, A Thousand Ships, which retells the story of the Trojan War, its causes and its consequences, from the perspectives of its women. Questions from the floor followed. Our next speaker was Professor Helen Lovatt from the University of Nottingham, introduced by Dr Laura Pfuntner (QUB). Helen’s lecture was entitled ‘Fun and Games in Ancient Epic’ and Laura began by asking the audience what the epic heroes do for fun. Helen’s answer was feasting, and ritualistic and commemorative games. She considered Roman architecture; the sheer size of the Colosseum and Circus Maximus suggest the importance ancient Romans placed on the activities which took place there. Helen discussed a number of epic representations of funeral games, including Homer’s Iliad 23, Virgil’s Aeneid 5 and Statius’ Thebaid 6.