#120 ArtsNational Gold Coast Lecture - Sat 8 August 2026
Location
The Lakeside Room, HOTA
About
#120 ARTSNATIONAL Gold Coast
August 2026 Lecture and Morning Tea
'The World of Homer.'
This talk examines the history and cultural legacy of the two earliest works in the western literary canon: the Iliad and the Odyssey. After an outline of each plotline, the talk will focus on how and why these poems have cast such a spell on artists and writers ever since, from ancient Greek tragedy and vase painting, through renaissance artists such as Botticelli and Bernini, and up to modern authors such as James Joyce and Madeleine Miller. Understanding the world of Homer is an essential element for understanding the history of western art.
Biography: Following a degree in Classics from Oxford University, James Renshaw has taught Classics at secondary school level since 1998, including early in his career at Sydney Grammar School. He currently teaches at Godolphin and Latymer in London; here he runs the school’s Ancient World Breakfast Club, which has an ethos similar to that of The Arts Society. Since 1998, James has published a number of textbooks related to the classical world, including In Search of the Greeks and In Search of the Romans. James has also lectured for the V&A Academy, most recently on their Classical World and its Afterlife and Classicism from the Ancients to the Renaissance courses. James is a keen traveller and photographer of ancient sites.
Our speaker from The Arts Society (UK) is James Renshaw.
Morning Tea included.
**Please be seated by 9.20am. Lecture commences at 9.30 am**