Letter from the Editor, Daisy Dunn
It is a question you may never have asked yourself. How much Greek did people in the Dark Ages actually know? In this issue you’ll find a fascinating answer with reference to Britain in particular. ‘I left school thinking that after the Romans departed Britain, so did a proper knowledge of the classical world,’ writes Bijan Omrani in our revelatory cover story. Don’t let anyone tell you that we owe our interest in Greek to an early Grand Tourist of the 15th century. The tradition is far older than that.
Knowledge of Greek, says Omrani, was quite widespread from AngloSaxon times forwards, and we have Christianity largely to thank. About AD 669, two monks ‘well-versed in sacred and secular literature’ arrived in Canterbury and founded a school. Turn to pp. 18-21 to find out what happened next. You may be tempted on your next visit to reflect upon the part Canterbury played in the history of Greek in this country. (Continue reading)
ANCIENT
SELENA WISNOM explains what classicists may learn about their own field by travelling back to the extraordinary world of Mesopotamia
JOSH BEER on how myth further divided the Spartans and Athenians during a time of war
CAOIMHE MCKEOWN, co-winner of this year’s Hellenic Society Undergraduate Essay Prize, explains how Greek culture was combined with local customs in Bactria following the conquests of Alexander the Great
TOM HODGKINSON explains why there’s more to Stoicism than Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations
CLASSICAL EDUCATION
BIJAN OMRANI argues that it’s time to rethink the idea that knowledge of Greek arrived late on Britain’s shores
PUZZLES set by Julian Morgan
ZENIA DUELL and ARLENE HOLMES-HENDERSON are surprised by which aspects of a classical education have the most impact upon people in prison
MODERN
DAISY DUNN talks to EDITH HALL about her book, Facing Down the Furies, for which she has been awarded the London Hellenic Prize
KATE HEADLEY is struck by the uniting power of female lamentation down the centuries
CAROLINE K. MACKENZIE interviews the multifaceted classicist RICHARD HUNTER
DAVID WILLS examines how Victoria Hislop’s multi-million selling novel has influenced fictional narratives about the former leper colony of Spinalonga
TRAVEL
PAUL WATKINS recalls the entertaining variants of a visit to the Holy Mount in the eighties
DIANA BENTLEY explores three of the great cities of ancient Macedon and feels the spirit of its shortlived king
SOCIETY
FIONA HAARER reveals the identities of the first seven women ever to join the Hellenic Society
HELLENIC SOCIETY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
REVIEWS
PAUL CARTLEDGE is impressed by a new translation of a canonical text
ALICE DUNN gains a fresh perspective on Athens through the ages from a stellar collection of short stories
J. W. BONNER gets to grips with an introductory guide to Classics for Christian Readers
A round-up of recent and forthcoming books
