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Faculty of Classics

 

The Corbett Lecture

The Corbett Lecture is an annual lecture by a distinguished scholar on a theme connected with ancient Greece. The list of past Corbett Lectures can be found HERE.

Did you know that we also have a collection of audio recordings of some of the previous Corbett lectures? These can be found HERE. 

The Corbett lectures are open to all members of the University and others who are interested, so please do feel free to come along.

 


Recent Corbett lectures

 

The 2025 Corbett Lecture

Professor Paul Kosmin (Harvard University) gave the 2025 lecture on Thursday 13 November:

"The Rain of Kings"

 

The 2024 Corbett Lecture

Professor Gabriel Richardson Lear (University of Chicago) gave the 2024 lecture on Thursday 7 November: 

"Targeting the Good: Archery as an Image of Wisdom in Aristotle and Plato"

 

The 2023 Corbett Lecture

Professor Daniel Kölligan (University of Würzburg) gave the 2023 Corbett lecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2022 Corbett Lecture

Professor Alex Purves (UCLA) gave the 2022 Corbett lecture.

 

 


 

The J.H. Gray Lectures

The Reverend Joseph Henry Gray, one-time Fellow and Vice-President of Queens', honorary canon of Peterborough, decided to endow a lectureship in Classics and the first set of Grays were given in 1928.

 

The 2026 J.H. Gray Lectures

CANCELLED DUE TO ILL HEALTH

The Faculty regrets that the lectures which were due to take place, 19 - 21 May, in the Faculty of Classics and delivered by Professor Denis Feeney on “Abandoning Ariadne”, are cancelled.

Lecture:  Ariadne on Naxos
Seminar: "Catullus 64 and Virgil Aeneid 6"
Lecture: Ariadne in the Underworld

 

Recent J.H. Gray Lectures

 

 

 

17th May

A recording of the lecture on Geographies of Power is available here.

19th May

A recording of the lecture on Acculturation and Authority is available here.

 

The 2021 J.H. Gray Lectures

In 2021 the J. H. Gray Lectures were delivered by Prof. Philomena Probert (Wolfson College, Oxford). Recordings of livestreams can be found below.

Video of lecture given on Tuesday 9th March: 

Did the ancient Greeks do historical Linguistics?

A bibliography is available here.

Wednesday 10th March, 2pm: 

κακῶς λέγεις: how did Greek grammarians argue?

The seminar handout is available here

Video of lecture given on Thursday 11th March:

Did the Romans do historical linguistics?

The bibliography for the second lecture is available here.

 


Latest news

Prix des Libraires Payot 2026

23 June 2026

The Faculty is delighted to report that Prof. Josephine Quinn was awarded the Prix des Libraires Payot 2026 on June 18 for her book, Et le monde créa L'Occident (or, How the World Made the West).

Faculty wins University Outreach Award

22 May 2026

The Faculty is delighted to announce that we have been named the recipient of the University Outreach Award at Classics for All ’s 6th annual Impact Awards. The award recognises the Faculty’s extensive outreach and widening participation initiatives designed to break down barriers and make classical subjects accessible to...

Sapienza awards an honorary degree to Prof. Michael Reeve

23 June 2026

On Thursday, June 18, 2026 the Recorate's Senate Hall hosted the ceremony to confer an honorary degree in Philology, Literature and History of the Ancient World upon Prof. Reeve, a foreign member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. The honour was conferred in recognition of his extraordinary scholarly achievements in...

Report of the General Board on the outcome of the Academic Career Pathways (Research and Teaching) 2025–26 exercise

16 June 2026

The Faculty is delighted to report that, with effect from 1 October 2026 to the retiring age, the following will be appointed to University Associate Professorships (Grade 10) Dr Lea Niccolai, T Faculty of Classics Dr Henry Lawlor Spelman, CHR Faculty of Classics