Wife of Heracles Talks
All three pre-performance talks for “The Wife of Heracles” are now converted and uploaded. Listen to them singly or as a set on the Stage Page.
Aristotle and Darwin
Eleanor’s Talk Added
With apologies for the delay, which was due to a technical hitch! The audience asked so many questions that we over-ran our allotted time with questions. So, rest assured, this talk was worth waiting for. Listen to Eleanor Brooke on “Homes and Interiors: Classics and Victorian Design” on the Museum Talks page.
Other Talks
As promised I’m filing up the back catalogue of talks, so first up is Emma Stafford, author of a newly-published book on the Greek hero Herakles (Herakles in the series Gods and Heroes in the Ancient World by Routledge: November, 2011) on “The Afterlife of a Hero” for the New Classical Research Day, 21st October 2011.
I missed this myself, so was glad of an opportunity to catch up!
Steve’s talk added
Now you can listen – especially as I’ve sorted the interface out properly! – to Steve Green on “Middle-Eastern Politics in Gladiator (2000) and Troy (2004)”. A technical hiccup resulted in a slightly stilted beginning and a couple of comments on the poster disappearing, but we hope that won’t detract from your enjoyment. We also owe a great debt of thanks to the Museum’s technical staff for sorting it all out in record time!
I must say, I’d never thought about the landscape that appears as a backdrop as a significant factor in shaping the way you identify a culture – amazing what you do subconsciously in the cinema…
Plato, Aristotle and the Psychology of Fiction uploaded
Last night at Ilkley’s Café Humanité 45 people enjoyed Prof. Malcolm Heath’s entertaining and challenging talk on “Plato, Aristotle and the Psychology of Fiction”, which explored the perceived value and effects of literary and dramatic fiction in the ancient world and today. The 45-minute talk is now uploaded as an MP3 on the Other Talks page, so those who weren’t there can listen to four stories while discovering that Plato is a pessimistic idealist, Aristotle an optimistic pragmatist and Keith Oatley a closet Platonist!
Penny’s talk uploaded
67% of the audience thought that Penny’s talk on “Doctor Who, the Romans and Us” was “Excellent”, 24% that it was “Very Good” and 13% that it was “Prettty Good” – everyone thought it was better than “OK”.
Her talk, and its Powerpoint presentation, are now uploaded to this site on the Museum page, so if you couldn’t be there you can still hear her and see if you agree with them!
Other talks
Dr Eleanor OKell at Secret Bettakulcha on stories from the ancient world in Leeds art/architecture today – in 20 fifteen second slides! Includes information about In the Footsteps of Hercules (a Light Night 2011 factasy walking tour project inspired by and incorporating the research of world expert Dr. Emma Stafford on Heracles/Hercules) and Underworlds Live in Leeds (a Light Night 2010 factasy walking tour project inspired by the city of Leeds).
Other talks
As other talks are given they will be uploaded or, in some cases, linked to. I’ll post details of each one as I add it, but if you’d like to see what’s in store, take a look at this new page.



