Tros Anchisiade, facilis descensus Averno:noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis;sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras,hoc opus, hic labor est. 'Trojan, son of Anchises,It is easy to descend into Avernus.Death's dark door stands open day and night.But to retrace your steps and get back to upper air,That is the task, that is the undertaking'- … Continue reading A Final Foray – Seamus Heaney on Virgil’s Aeneid

Our final lecture of the 2021-22 season was delivered by the fabulous Dr Paul Roberts, Sackler Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Classics Ambassador Ruth W recaps his brilliant talk: Last Supper in Pompeii, as well as the title of this lecture, was the name of the hugely successful and fascinating exhibition … Continue reading Last Supper in Pompeii

In 2020, we started our Virtual Book Club - an informal group meeting online to discuss classically-themed books - and we've enjoyed ourselves so much that something born out of lockdown has become a permanent fixture in our events calendar, and you're very welcome to join us (it's free and open to all - just … Continue reading LSA CA Book Club Recommends…Part Two

This March, we were treated to a visit from Emeritus Professor at University College London, Chris Carey, who shared his expansive knowledge on Greek drama with us in his lecture 'The Gods in Greek Tragedy', as Classics Ambassador Caroline recounts: "Professor Carey began his talk by looking at the nature of the performance of tragedy … Continue reading The Gods in Greek Tragedy

On Thursday 10th February, we were delighted to be joined online by Dr Janina Ramirez to deliver her much-awaited talk on Ancient Knossos for the branch. Classics Ambassador Caroline recaps the lecture, which you can watch in full here. Dr Ramirez began her talk by focusing on her experience of visiting Knossos while filming her … Continue reading Knossos: The Lost Women

Classics Ambassador Tracy R takes us on a voyage of discovery through 1000 years of history on the island of Delos, following a brilliant talk by our President, Professor Michael Scott. On Thursday 13th January, it was a pleasure to welcome Professor Michael Scott to Lytham St Annes for his eighth annual presidential lecture, live … Continue reading An Island Without An Anchor

On 18th November, Charlotte Higgins joined us to discuss her latest book Greek Myths: A New Retelling, and explain, as Classics Ambassador Declan Boyd recounts, why ancient stories have such enduring power and appeal. Higgins began by highlighting how we might be familiar with many Greek myths but that, in reality, there was never one … Continue reading Why Greek Myths Persist

On 14th October, we welcomed bestselling author Douglas Jackson to AKS Lytham for a fascinating lecture in which, as Classics Ambassador Caroline tells us, he argued that Hadrian’s Wall was far less of a success than we might think... Douglas Jackson opens his talk for the LSA CA Hadrian’s Wall separated Britannia from the 'barbarians … Continue reading Hadrian’s Wall: Masterstroke or Folly?

We're back! Classics Ambassador Caroline writes about the visit of the inimitable Professor Robin Osborne - our first lecture event held in-person in eighteen months: On Thursday 16th September, Professor Osborne opened our 2021-2022 lecture programme with an excellent talk: ‘Turning Art into History - The Case of Classical Athens’. The lecture was the first … Continue reading Turning Art into History

It’s been another strange and challenging year, but thanks to support from the national Classical Association, we’ve been able to move online in 2020-21 and not only hold a lecture programme but also keep in touch with members, reach new audiences and grow our Classics community virtually! Our webinars started with Polly Low’s excellent talk … Continue reading A year together – online