A leading classical scholar is set to explore the work of academics from Northern Europe, including Aberdeen and the North-east, in uncovering the fascinating world of ancient Greece in a University public lecture series.
Dr G Patrick Edwards, this year’s Geddes-Harrower Professor, will give six talks on the theme Exploring the Past in a Northern Light: Stages in the Rediscovery of Greek Art and Civilisation. They will take place at the King’s College Conference Centre every Tuesday at 6.30pm from October 13 until November 17.
Dr Edwards, who will be the twenty-second holder of the Geddes-Harrower Chair of Greek Art and Archaeology, was born in Shrewsbury in 1933, and educated at the Priory Grammar School for Boys and Christ’s College, Cambridge. After National Service with the Royal Artillery in West Germany, he undertook further research at Cambridge before being appointed Lecturer in Humanity at the University of Aberdeen in 1960.
He became Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, and headed the Classics Department for nine years. His wife, the Rev Dr Ruth Edwards, is a former Senior Lecturer in New Testament at Aberdeen.
Dr Edwards said the ancient Greek world was for centuries known chiefly through its own surviving literature and that of the Romans, rather than from its material remains.
“The process of its rediscovery and its importance for our understanding of Greek civilisation, art and prehistory did not begin until around the middle of the eighteenth century.
“The archaeological exploration of particular sites and periods was greatly extended in the nineteenth century, and the twentieth century has seen further remarkable discoveries of new techniques and methods.”
The present series of Geddes-Harrower lectures will consider this process of rediscovery and its importance for our understanding of Greek civilisation, art and prehistory. The lectures will give special attention to work done by scholars from Northern Europe, including contributions from Aberdeen and North-east Scotland.
The lectures will take place in the King’s College Conference Centre, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Old Aberdeen, at 6.30pm. Admission Free. A wine reception will follow the first and final lectures. A leaflet containing details of all the lectures is available from the Public Relations Office on (01224) 272014, or e-mail: pubrel@admin.abdn.ac.uk
Tuesday, October 13 Founders and Forerunners: Scottish Venturers to the Mediterranean, from Elphinstone to Elgin.
Tuesday, October 20 New Horizons in the Lifetime of William Geddes: 19th Century Excavations at Olympia, Mycenae and elsewhere.
Tuesday, October 27 Discoveries at Pergamon and Ephesus on the Eastern side of the Aegean:
Aberdonians and others in Asia Minor.
Tuesday, November 3 The Heyday of John Harrower: Archaeological work at Delphi and Knossos in the early twentieth century.
Tuesday, November 10 Archaeology and the Study of Greek Art since the time of Harrower: finds from Thera, Vergina and elsewhere.
Tuesday, November 17 The Recovery and Restoration of Ancient Athens: some reflections.