Luxury and beauty in the classical world

At The British Meuseum

Classics Day

Classics Day is the annual collaboration between City Lit and the British Museum.

At City Lit

Lectures and Seminars

City Lit will host several talks, lectures and seminars at our Keeley Street all throughout the week.

Dr Jamie Fraser

Introducing 'Luxury and power: Persia into Greece'

Michael Scott

Watch out for fish fanciers and tunic-trailers! Ideas of luxury in ancient Athens

Bettany Hughes

Venus & Aphrodite and the search for physical and spiritual beauty

This session will conclude with the presentation of Bettany’s City Lit Fellowship Award.

Caroline Vout

The Ugliness of Ancient Art

The Panel

Lecture 

All that glitters: perceptions of ancient luxury in Neoclassical Europe

From flowing robes and diamond-encrusted cameos to political ceremony and archaeological plunder, discover the connection of classical luxury and political power in age of Napoleon.

Lecture

Latin: a taster

Get a taste of one of the most important languages of the ancient world, Latin.

Lecture

Persian Luxury and Athenian Democracy

Discover the link between the riches coming from Persia and democracy in Athens.

Lecture

Gold, gemstones and enamel: the fascinating story of Islamic jewellery

This course will offer an overview on the most interesting pieces of jewellery produced by Islamic dynasties along the centuries.

Lecture

Fashion and beauty in Ancient Egypt

Find out how cosmetics and make up were used in Ancient Egypt.

Lecture

A culture of luxury: ancient China and modern fantasies

Explore the material culture of imperial China and its influence on modern and contemporary visual cultures.

Lecture

Ancient Beauty – Modern Stories: Helen from Homer to Modern Film and Literature

Come and discover how Helen has been represented in both books and films.

Lecture

Power, Allegory and and Resistance: Iranian Cinema in the Last Years of the Shah

This course will examine the context of 1970s Iranian cinema, in which a New Wave movement emerged under the brutal, autocratic regime of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. 

Lecture

Bathing and washing in ancient Rome

Find out more about the washing and toilet habits that were common in ancient Rome.

Lecture

Disastrous wealth: resources waste and sustainability in ancient Greek Drama

How would ancient Greece fare if we were to compare it to today's standards? Come and find out in this fascinating session.

Lecture

The enduring fascination of Medea: adapting Euripides for the modern stage

Euripides’ Medea has fascinated audiences for centuries, its tragic action confronting spectators with scenarios almost too terrible to contemplate. Successive generations have adapted the play for their own times, ensuring its place in theatrical repertoires and the cultural consciousness. 

Lecture

Showing the goods: luxury in Greek vascular painting

A the saying goes, “what’s the point of being rich if you cannot brag about it?”; well, the Ancient Greeks were masters at this art to the point of depicting it in plain sight across their vases and vessels. Let us look through this kaleidoscope into the lives of Athenian well-to-dos to see what form their wealth assumed and how its depiction became a synonym for luxury across the Mare Nostrum.

Lecture

Ancient Greek: a taster

Get a taste of one of the most important languages of the ancient world.