Victor Caston (University of Michigan)
Idealism and Greek Philosophy: Appearance and Reality in Aristotle & Alexander of Aphrodisias
Victor Caston, University of Michigan
Myles Burnyeat famously claimed that idealism is “one of the very few major philosophical positions which did not receive its first formulation in antiquity” and so Bishop Berkeley was wrong to find his own views in Plato and Aristotle. But this is mistaken. Aristotle attacks idealism in Metaphysics Gamma 6: those who accept Protagoras’ homomensura, that “man is the measure of all things,” he claims, make all things relative, because anything that appears appears to a subject. His arguments presuppose not just the Measure Doctrine – that anything that appears to someone is (exists, is the case) – but its converse as well, that anything that is (exists, is the case) appears to someone. Protagoras’ homomensura is often assumed to involve both directions. But the Converse Measure Doctrine is much more radical, for it implies that nothing can be (exist, be the case) unless it…
Friday, April 17, 2026, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Emerson Hall Rm. 305.
Dimitris Kyriakides
Poverty, Resilience, and the Meaning of the Marathon: The Legacy of Stylianos Kyriakides
On the 80th anniversary of Stylianos Kyriakides’ victory in the 1946 Boston Marathon, the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, in collaboration with the 26.2 Foundation and the Consulate General of Greece in Boston, hosts a public conversation with Dimitris Kyriakides, former athlete and longtime sports administrator. Reflecting on his father’s life and legacy, Dimitris Kyriakides will discuss how, in the aftermath of war and poverty, Stylianos Kyriakides transformed athletic achievement into a civic and humanitarian act, drawing international attention to the plight of Greece. The event explores the marathon as a site of resilience, solidarity, and moral purpose, and considers the continuing relevance of these themes today, followed by discussion with students and the broader public.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 12:45 PM – 2:45 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies
27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge MA.
Rebecca Moorman (Boston University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
Event Series: Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Boylston 237, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA.
Jesse McCarthy (Harvard University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Terence and the 'black figura': A Manuscript Talk by Professor Jesse McCarthy"
Terence’s play Eunuchus bears a special relationship to the representation of blackness in Roman New Comedy and a significant place in Erich Auerbach’s 1938 essay "Figura." Drawing out the implications of this coincidence, Professor Jesse McCarthy offers an introduction to his next book project, Dark Figures: The Representation of Blackness in Western Literature, a study of the representation of blackness in selected works from antiquity to the 20th century. Taking inspiration from Auerbach’s Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, his book traces what Auerbach called a "figura," and his book calls the “black figura,” as the effect of repeatedly reconstructed figural representations that transmit and refashion the Western encounter with racial blackness across succeeding periods of literary history.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 6:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Barker Center 110 (Thompson Room), 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA.
Lecture: "Rediscovering the Discovery: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Their First Audience" - Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Rediscovering the Discovery: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Their First Audience"
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. This presentation examines the first public exhibition of the scrolls in 1949 as a case study into how scholars, journalists, and public figures taught the world about the scrolls in the early years after their discovery. The Library of Congress exhibit “Ancient Hebrew Scrolls” showcased three scrolls. The impact of this event on public excitement about the scrolls cannot be overstated. The scrolls were brought to Washington D.C. under the protection of the Secret Service. Extended hours accommodated the overwhelming interest as thousands of guests visited over two weeks. The world’s most famous Bible scholar, William F. Albright, gave an opening night lecture to a packed audience in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium. Paramount News and Fox Movietone News sent crews to document the opening night and these newsreels played in theaters and h…
Event Series: Ancient Studies at Harvard Visitors Series.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Sever Hall 103, Quincy Street, Cambridge MA.
Byron Hamann (University of Pennsylvania)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Fantasies of Latin and Nahuatl in Clement VII's Rome"
Co-sponsored by the Humanities Center Seminar in Book History and the Early Modern Workshop in the Dept of History, Harvard.
Event Series: Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: History of the Book.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 6:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CGIS S250, Harvard University, 1730 Cambridge St. Cambridge MA.
For more info visit bookhistory.harvard.edu. Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture, David G. Wigg-Wolf (Leicester University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture: "Gods? Beasts? Warriors? Interpreting the Imagery of Celtic Coinages"
Speaker:
David G. Wigg-Wolf, Honorary Professor, Leicester University
Free admission, but seating is limited and registration is encouraged. Register here.
Celtic coins present a remarkable world of varied, often fantastic images. The earliest coinages were generally close copies of Hellenistic coins from the Mediterranean world, but gradually they developed a distinct visual language. Elements of the original prototypes were adapted or became disjointed; because these were combined with new elements, the resulting designs can be difficult to understand today. Different regions also followed different iconographical traditions, leading to a wide variety of designs. In a later phase, the arrival of Rome on the political stage led to the re-appearance of coinages with a classical look, particularly in Britain. In this lecture, David G. Wigg-Wolf, of Leicester University, will trace the iconography…
Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Harvard Art Museums, Menschel Hall, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit harvardartmuseums.org. Conference—Past and Present: Cultural Politics in Byzantium and Beyond
Harvard Classics Lectures
Convenors: Panagiotis Roilos and Dimiter Angelov
See complete program for details.
Event contact to appear in listing: contact: roilos@fas.harvard.edu.
Friday, May 1, 2026 – Saturday, May 2, 2026.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Boylston Hall 110 (Friday) and Robinson Hall 125 (Saturday), Cambridge MA.
For more info visit classics.fas.harvard.edu.