Porphyry of Tyre on Theology and Theurgy: Oracular Voices and Luminous Intellect
Porphyry of Tyre on Theology and Theurgy: Oracular Voices and Luminous Intellect
Tuesday, February 17, 5:30-7pm
Preston Williams Chapel
45 Francis Avenue
The late-ancient Mediterranean world was shaped by three competing yet mutually formative dynamics: the spread of Christianity, the proliferation of the cults known as Mysteries, and the systematization of Neoplatonic philosophy. Porphyry of Tyre, one of late antiquity's most important philosophers, sought to negotiate the tensions between these dynamics. Arguing that philosophical thinking about the gods—“theology”—and ritual interaction with them—“theurgy”—are mutually compatible, Porphyry maintained that one can participate in ceremonial practices all while remaining committed to Neoplatonist metaphysics. In doing so, he worked to hold together intellectual and religious traditions that were increasingly at risk of fragmentation. Porphyry’s Letter to Anebo and Philosophy from Oracles—newly translated as part of the CSWR’s 4T initiative—are his most sig…
Event Series (if not listed): Transcendence and Transformation (Center for the Study of World Religions).
Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Preston Williams Chapel, 45 Francis Avenue.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Workshop: Scott McGill and Susannah Wright (Rice University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
Dr. Susannah Wright and Dr. Scott McGill will talk about their new translation of the Aeneid, published by W. W. Norton in August 2025, and lead a public workshop.
Event Series: Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: Rethinking Translation.
Thursday, February 19, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:45 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBD, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu. Lecture: Scott McGill and Susannah Wright (Rice University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
Dr. Susannah Wright and Dr. Scott McGill will talk about their new translation of the Aeneid, published by W. W. Norton in August 2025.
Event Series: Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: Civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome.
Thursday, February 19, 2026, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBD, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu. Cynthia Damon (University of Pennsylvania)
Mantlets and sallies and tribes, oh my! On Caesar’s empire-building in translation
Cynthia Damon is a Professor of Classical Studies, Emerita, at the University of Pennsylvania. Her books include The Mask of the Parasite (1997), commentaries on and translations of Tacitus (Histories 1) [2003], Agricola [2017], Annals [2013]), texts of Caesar’s Gallic and Civil Wars (2015, 2016, 2025), and, with Will Batstone, Caesar’s Civil War (2006). With colleages she produced edited volumes on Roman civil war (2010) and Ennius (2020), and with students a digital critical edition of the Bellum Alexandrinum (2022). Current projects include studies of Pliny’s Natural History and its reception.
Friday, February 20, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Plimpton Room (Barker 133), Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu. Panagiotis Roilos (Harvard University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"The Cultural Politics of Imagination: From 'Paganism' to Christianity".
Event contact to appear in listing: Contact: classics@fas.harvard.edu. Event Series: Harvard Classics Departmental Seminar Series.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Barker 133, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
I-Kai Jeng (Yenching Institute)
Harvard Classics Lectures
I-Kai Jeng, a fellow at the Yenching Institute, will give a lunchtime/brown-bag talk on his fellowship project, which features Plato and Aristophanes.
Thursday, February 26, 2026, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Boylston 203, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Opening Conversation for Celtic Art Across the Ages
Free admission, but seating is limited and registration is encouraged. Register here.
We invite you to the opening conversation for the special exhibition Celtic Art Across the Ages, on view from March 6 through August 2, 2026. Susanne Ebbinghaus, Laure Marest, Penny Coombe, and Catherine McKenna will take a close look at elaborate Celtic bronze objects and gold coins, examine religious imagery from Roman Gaul, and highlight moments of Celtic revival in modern times.
Celtic Art Across the Ages offers an unprecedented opportunity to explore masterful metalwork, including exquisitely decorated weaponry, jewelry, and horse and chariot trappings of the first millennium BCE Iron Age and early medieval times, all brought to light through archaeological discoveries of the last 200 years. See how imagery transformed under Roman rule, and trace the revival of Celtic art and identities in the modern era. From shape-shifting ancient ornaments to the more well-known Celtic iconography of medieval Ireland and Scotland,…
Thursday, March 5, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Harvard Art Museums, Menschel Hall, Lower Level
32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA , Enter at Broadway for evening programs.
For more info visit harvardartmuseums.org. Kimberly Cassibry (Wellesley College)
Harvard Classics Lectures
Title TBD.
Event contact to appear in listing: Contact: classics@fas.harvard.edu. Event Series: Harvard Classics Departmental Seminar Series.
Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Barker 133 (tentative), 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Konstantinos P. Nikoloutsos (St. Joseph's University)
"1956 is Greek to Filmmakers": Recreating the Ancient Battlefield in Cold War Hollywood
This lecture examines the sociohistorical conditions that led to the emergence of Greek antiquity as a cherished theme in American cinema during the early Cold War years. It traces Hollywood’s fascination with armed conflict in the classical world and explores how cinematic re-creations of ancient warfare reflect, and refract, the geopolitical tensions of the modern era.
Sponsored by the Hellenic Studies Program at UMass Lowell, the History Department, and the generosity of the Zamanakos Family.
Event contact to appear in listing: Jane Sancinito, Jane_Sancinito@uml.edu. Event Series (if not listed): Zamanakos Annual Lecture.
Thursday, March 26, 2026, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL; Coburn Hall 255, 850 Broadway St, Lowell, MA 01854.
For more info visit www.uml.edu. Greg Woolf (NYU ISAW)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"The Resilience of Empire and the Weakness of the Emperors".
Event contact to appear in listing: contact: classics@fas.harvard.edu. Event Series: Loeb Classical Lecture.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBD, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Public Symposium: Celtic Art Up Close
Saturday, April 11, 2026.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Harvard Art Museums, TBA, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
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.
Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture, David G. Wigg-Wolf (Leicester University)
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.