Separating Ancient Greek fact from fiction

In his inaugural lecture as Cambridge’s new Leventis Professor of Ancient Greek Culture, Professor Paul Cartledge will suggest that one of the biggest challenges facing scholars of the period is the need to put right many factual inaccuracies which most people still believe to be true.

The idea that the Greeks were technologically backward, that they invented something resembling modern democracy, or even that there was an “Ancient Greece” in any real sense, are all commonly held myths which his presentation will seek to address. The lecture, which will take place on Monday, February 16th at 5pm is free and open to all.

Professor Cartledge will argue that we need to reassess the Ancient Greeks’ legacy, and question how far our existing knowledge of their civilisation is the product of Hollywood – rather than Hellenic – culture.

The Leventis Professorship is both a new chair and a new kind of chair in its own right. While there have been plenty of Professors of both Ancient History and Modern Greece, there has never before been a Professor dedicated specifically to the study of Ancient Greek culture.

The position is also the first chair in Classics to have been established at Cambridge since World War II. Professor Cartledge will study more than 1,000 years of Greek Cultural Achievements, highlighting the lasting influence that they continue to have on modern society.

“The Greeks are in many fundamental ways the key cultural ancestors of us in the West, particularly in areas such as science, politics, philosophy and the performing arts,” he said.

“What we tend to forget is that their culture was also very different in fundamental ways. For example, many people fail to understand that there was no such thing as an ‘Ancient Greece’, but lots of different Greek communities and cities – about 1,000 at any one time. Each one of these had its own cultural identity.”

As well as examining common misconceptions about the Ancient Greeks, the lecture will also touch on the influence of Hollywood in misshaping our understanding of their civilisation – but also inspiring enthusiasm to study it.

Professor Cartledge, for example, was a consultant on the 2007 movie '300' – a depiction of the Spartan stand at Thermopylae which was as flawed as it was gruesome – but admits that such films can be beneficial in a wider sense.

“Such movies can excite a genuine and ultimately even a scholarly passion for studying the ancient Spartans,” he said. “Since becoming involved with '300' I have had official requests for copies of my book, 'Thermopylae, The Battle That Changed The World', from US marines!”

The new chair has been endowed by a generous donation from the Cyprus-based Leventis Foundation. Established in 1979 as a result of provisions made by Anastasios G. Leventis, this organisation aims to support educational, cultural, artistic and philanthropic causes with an emphasis on Greek and Cypriot cultural heritage.

The lecture is entitled ‘Forever Young: Why Cambridge Has a Professor of Greek Culture’. It is being dedicated to the late Constantinos “Dino” Leventis, who studied Classics at Clare College, where Professor Cartledge is a Fellow. The Foundation has also established a graduate scholarship fund for Classics at Clare.

The talk will be held at 5pm on February 16th in the Mill Lane Lecture Theatre at, 3, Mill Lane, Cambridge. The event is free and open to all.