Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire--Classics Week Events


	*New Hampshire* Classics Week Celebration 2007 Schedule of Events


Return to the Main Page \| History of the Lecture Series \| Classics Program at UNH \| About John Rouman \| About Michael Wood \| Sponsorship Opportunities \| Anniversary Brochure


Date		Event


October 2007 (exact date and time to be announced)		NH Gov. Lynch declares the beginning of Classics Week (October 21-27) in the state.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007		5:00-6:00pm, NHPTV Pre-lecture Reception for Michael Wood, Holloway Commons, UNH, Durham. Room location to be announced. 6:30-8pm, public lecture, "The Golden Fleece: Legend, History, and Geography" Memorial Union Building, UNH, Durham. Room location to be announced The legend of Jason and the Argonauts is one of the greatest Greek myths, told and retold for nearly three thousand years, right down to Hollywood. The story of the expedition to seize the Golden Fleece was already famous in Homer's day. But where does the tale come from? How old is it? And what was the Golden Fleece? Recently Michael Wood retraced the route of the mythic Greek expedition to Georgia in the Caucasus. In this lecture he looks at the various retellings of the tale and their expansion to accommodate geography as the ancient Greeks colonized the coast of the Black Sea and South Russia. Remarkable new archaeological finds at Jason's palace of Iolkos in Greece are combined with fascinating recent discoveries about the Aeolian roots of Greek epic poetry before Homer, and the Anatolian roots of the Golden Fleece legend--a legend adopted by the Greeks during the 'orientalizing revolution' of the tenth-eighth century B.C.

Wednesday,October 24, 2007		7-8:30pm, public lecture, "The Trojan War: Legend and History" Memorial Union Building, UNH, Durham. Room location to be announced Recently the subject of a Hollywood epic with Brad Pitt, what is the truth behind the tale of Troy? Was there a real Troy and a real Trojan War? Did Helen of Troy really exist? Over 20 years after his groundbreaking TV series Michael Wood returns to the story taking in the first incredible discoveries made in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann (using unpublished photos), down to the current excavations which are throwing dramatic new light on the tale. Also discussed in this lecture will be the latest work on a Bronze Age archive of diplomatic letters found in Turkey which may contain first hand evidence for a real Trojan War.

Thursday, October 25, 2007		12:40-2pm, public lecture, "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: New Light on the Greek Invasion of Asia" Memorial Union Building, UNH, Durham. Room location to be announced A lecture about history and the Classics. Ten years after his epic TV journey in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, with the help of stunning images and video, Michael Wood looks over some of the great events of Alexander's expedition, in Egypt, Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan and India, with new material drawn from a dramatic journey into Northern Iraq made last summer with US forces, on which he was able to pin down for the first time the site of the greatest battle of the ancient world. 7:30-9pm, public lecture, the annual John C. Rouman Classical Lecture, "The Point of the Classics: The Enduring Image of Greece" Memorial Union Building, Granite State Room, UNH, Durham A lecture about the continuities of Greek culture from the deep past to the modern age, and its continuing relevance to us all.

Friday, October 26, 2007		5pm, Tenth Anniversary Dinner New England Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham Remarks by Michael Wood and other Distinguished Guests at award-winning culinary arts center of the university in celebration of the decennial anniversary of the lecture series. Following the dinner, the Hellenic & Near Eastern Musical Society Orchestra will give a concert. Open to public. Tickets $30 each. Contact Thelmas Sidmore of the L.L.C. Dept. at the University of New Hampshire or any Rouman Classical Lecture Series Advisory Board member for tickets.

For more information, contact Thelma Sidmore, Secretary of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (L.L.C.) at the University of New Hampshire (University of New Hampshire, Department of L.L.C., Murkland Hall, 15 Library Way, Durham, NH 03824, tel. 603-862-3522, tss@cisunix.unh.edu). Event information updated as additional details announced.

Return to the Main Page \| History of the Lecture Series \| Classics Program at UNH \| About John Rouman \| About Michael Wood \| Sponsorship Opportunities \| Anniversary Brochure
(Updated 12 September 2007) Hosting of webpages sponsored by Hellenic Communication Service, the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Charitable Foundation. For more information, contact the Classics Program at UNH or Hellenic Communication Service (PO Box 710, Rye Beach, NH 03871; helleniccomserve@papcoholdings.org).