University of Melbourne launch 2020 Greek History and Culture Seminars with ‘The Colossus of Rhodes’

Professor Tim Parkin, of the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Melbourne, will launch the 2020 Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne. The Seminars will begin with a lecture titled “The Briefest of Wonders: the Colossus of Rhodes’ on Thursday 5 March 2020, at the Greek Centre.

Shakespeare has Cassius speak of Caesar bestriding the narrow world like a Colossus under whose huge legs we petty men walk. So, what do we know of the original Colossus, the third-century BC statue of Helios erected in the harbour of the city of Rhodes?

How, where and why was it built, and what became of it? In this illustrated talk, Tim Parkin will attempt to bring this short-lived wonder back to life and consider why, despite being so short-lived, it looms so large still in modern imaginations.

Tim Parkin joined the Classics and Archaeology department at the University of Melbourne in 2018 as the inaugural Elizabeth and James Tatoulis Chair in Classics. Before this he had spent over eleven years as Professor of Ancient History at the University of Manchester (UK).

Tim’s teaching covers both Greek and Roman history and classical languages. Among his publications are Demography and Roman Society (1992), Old Age in the Roman World: A Social and Cultural History (2003), Roman Social History: A Sourcebook (2007), and The Oxford Handbook of Childhood and Education in the Classical World (2014). He is currently working on, inter al., ancient sexual health, in particular sexually transmitted diseases. 

The Greek History and Culture Seminars will enter their tenth year.

“The success and appeal of the Seminars in the Greek and Australian communities have exceeded all expectations and precedents,” said a statement by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The Seminars are free of charge for the Community, financially supported by organisations and individuals.

When: Thursday 5 March 2020, 7.00pm
Where: Greek Centre (Delphi Bank Mezzanine, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne)

Program: greekcommunity.com.au/seminars