Trinity College Dublin Classics

We are delighted to be hosting this exciting event series DIVA on June 9th-10th in Trinity College Dublin with support from our Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Please join us!

The event series “DIVA” created by visual artist PASHIAS, focuses on the art of performance, as framed by academic research, bringing forth the significance of Cyprus’ cultural heritage and reconnecting historical evidence with current social urgencies.

It takes place over two days: the first part is a live public visual performance on June 9th at 1 pm in Trinity's Front Square, while the second is the performance screening followed by a discussion with the artist and project participants on June 10th from 7 pm in the Old Anatomy Lecture Theatre in Trinity. The panel discussion features Dr. Giorgos Papantoniou, Prof. Carmel O'Sullivan, Prof. Christine Morris, Evi Numen, PASHIAS and Aggelika Gana. Booking is essential for the screening and discussion.

No booking needed for the live performance - all very welcome.

Booking essential for the screening and discussion: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/diva-by-visual-artist-pashias-screening-and-discussion-forum-tickets-1990343261273

Further information
Arriving in Dublin, internationally acclaimed visual artist PASHIAS, widely known for his research exploring the relationship between human body, historical artefacts and mythological narratives, approaches the "Aphrodite of Soloi" - presented and reproduced without the bodily parts that would enable her to move, act and react - as means for understanding contemporary contingencies.

By identifying Cyprus as a sanctuary to the female divine, exemplified in the statue "Aphrodite of Soloi", the goddess can be approached as an emblem of beauty and eroticism, fertility and care, strength and resilience. Her versatile character directly reflects the multifaceted cultural identity of Cyprus, connecting it with regions in the Eastern Mediterranean, such as the Levantine Astarte or Egyptian Hathor, the Hellenistic “Aphrodite of Milos”, and the Renaissance-era Venus of Botticelli. Via the Cypriot Goddess image, the island is diachronically manifested as a crossroads and a connecting bridge of cultures, as fertile ground for dialogue between countries and communities.

Beyond the societal persistence of assigning binary characteristics to each gender, the artist’s body and the body of Aggelika Gana are publicly exhibited together on a raised pedestal. Framed by the arch of Trinity College’s bell tower - one of Dublin’s most iconic landmarks - the performance on June 9th signifies again an in-between threshold of crossings.
In a child-like game, through their stillness and interaction, the figures complete, reshape and contrast with the paradigm of Aphrodite, and with their own social positioning. An evolving live sculpture projects a set of corporeal images that challenge notions of gender, status and socially-bound relationships. By blurring the divisions between creator and artefact, author and narrative, "DIVA" signals the significance of coexistence and unity - from the island of Cyprus to the island of Ireland at the two edges of Europe, and from Ireland to the world.

*Under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the project “Fostering Cypriot and Greek Studies in Ireland”, and the network “Unlocking Sacred Landscapes”, in collaboration with Dr. Giorgos Papantoniou and Prof. Christine Morris, celebrating 30+ years of Cypriot Studies at Trinity College Dublin, and marking the transition of the Presidency of the European Union Council 2026 from Cyprus to Ireland.

Cyprus in Ireland Hellenic Community of Ireland Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute

* Information: www.pashias.art/diva, [email protected]

Want to learn Late Antique & Byzantine Greek this summer? We are still accepting late course applications for the International Byzantine Greek Summer School 2026, hosted online by Trinity College Dublin Classics. Course and application information at www.tcd.ie/classics/byzantine/.

On 27 April last, TCD Classics colleagues Charlie Kerrigan, Sabrina Tamanti, and Miguel Andriolo visited the County Library, Tallaght, to work with fifth-class children and their teachers from St. Anne’s Primary School, Fettercairn.
The theme was ‘Ancient Worlds’, and featured storytelling, problem-solving, and shield-making inspired by the poetry of Homer. This was the third annual event in the 'Books Are Good for You' series, organised by Lena Doherty in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Thank you to Lena, Emma, Emma, and the rest of the Library staff, as well as the teachers from St. Anne's, for their help.

📣 Upcoming workshop on Virginian Reflections: Readers, Commentators, Reception
🗓️ June 4th 2026.

📣 Go along to hear our TCD Classics colleague Rebecca Usherwood on the discussion panel next Friday! ❤️

Vive la Résistance!' Imagining Gaul from Asterix to Norma
Part of Alliance Francaise’s comic book festival, in collaboration with Irish National Opera

Friday, May 22, 2026
18:00
Alliance Française Dublin
Register- https://www.alliance-francaise.ie/event-details/?eventId=1877 #/

From magic potions to tragic arias, discover how Roman-occupied Gaul has inspired storytelling for centuries. This lively conversation brings together the comic world of Astérix and the dramatic landscape of Bellini’s opera "Norma", exploring why this ancient setting continues to spark humour, resistance, and powerful narratives. Featuring comics scholar and journalist Fabien Tillon, Dr Rebecca Usherwood (Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin) and Madeleine Boyd (Set & Costume Designer of the "Norma" production at Gaiety Theatre 24 May - 6 June).

Event in English moderated by Diego Fasciati (Executive Director of Irish National Opera) followed by a short performance by INO opera singers Deirdre Higgins & Heather Sammon singing 'Mira O Norma'.

Find out more about this recent discovery in an excellent piece by Sarah Bond.

Archaeologists Discover Mummy Buried With Lines From Homer’s Iliad Found in Egypt, the papyrus confirms that Homer was everywhere in the ancient Mediterranean.

‘The excerpt from Homer’s epic poem features his catalog of ships, a famous passage listing the Greek forces that sailed to Troy. It may be the first Greek literary text found in the context of mummification.’

Archaeologists Unearth a Papyrus Fragment From the 'Iliad' Tucked Inside the Wrappings of a 1,600-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy The excerpt from Homer's epic poem features his catalog of ships, a famous passage listing the Greek forces that sailed to Troy. It may be the first Greek literary text found in the context of mummification

🎉👏 Warmest congratulations to our four new Scholars in Classics this year:
Cian Coughlan (Classical Civilisation and Philosophy); Francis Grzeszczak, Alexander O'Keefe, and Sophie Weiser (all Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology).
Each year the names of new Scholars and Fellows are announced by the Provost from the steps of the Public Theatre, beginning the celebrations of Trinity Monday.

Our warmest congratulations to Facundo Peirano Corrigedor on being awarded a Taighde Éireann/
Research Ireland postgraduate scholarship.

‘My research project focuses on Books 14–20 of Aulus Gellius’ Noctes Atticae. This antiquarian miscellany (so to say) preserves a remarkable range of material, including fragments of early Latin literature that would otherwise be lost. Among these is the opening verse of Livius Andronicus’ Odusia (uirum mihi, Camena, insece uersutum). Gellius also transmits intriguing testimonies about the transmission of canonical authors: for example, he reports (on the authority of a now-lost work by Hyginus) that Hyginus himself would have seen an autograph manuscript of Vergil. While such a claim is difficult to accept at face value, it remains an important witness to ancient ideas about authorship and textual authenticity.
The Noctes Atticae is equally valuable for the history of the Latin language. Gellius records observations on grammar, usage, and linguistic change, often preserving debates or uncertainties characteristic of his period. A small but telling example is his discussion of the vocative of egregius: in his time, should it be egregi or egregie? Questions like this illuminate broader patterns of diachronic development and linguistic self-awareness in the second century CE.
Given the text’s complexity, variety, and deliberate lack of systematic arrangement (as Gellius himself acknowledges in his preface) I argue that a philological commentary is the most effective way to approach Books 14–20. This format allows for close engagement with Gellius’ sources, linguistic notes, and literary strategies, while also making sense of the work’s multifaceted structure.
I am fortunate to be supervised by Professor Anna Chahoud, whose expertise in Latin linguistics and in Lucilius (an author preserved in part through Nonius Marcellus and Gellius) aligns perfectly with the aims of my project.
I am also very glad to be based at Trinity College Dublin, where I benefit from an excellent research environment and a supportive academic community. Beyond my work, I take part in college life as the current Postgraduate Officer for Trinity Barbell, the university’s powerlifting team.
I am grateful to Trinity College Dublin and Research Ireland for supporting this project and providing the opportunity to pursue it in such an enriching setting.’ Research Ireland Researchmatters

Warmest congratulations to our lovely MPhil in Classics students who graduated today. 🎉🎉