Placing the Odyssey in the 21st Century

Name: Placing the Odyssey in the 21st Century
Start: 2026-06-26T18:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-06-26T18:00:00+10:00
Location: Upstairs at Gleebooks

About

6pm for 6.30pm Friday 26 June

What does Homer’s Odyssey have to say to the 21st century?

The Classical Association of New South Wales invites you to join us for an evening of discussion as a panel of the most exciting scholars working in Australia today speak about Homer’s Odyssey and how this epic poem shapes them and their thinking about the 21st century. From migration and exile to war, identity, hospitality, homecoming, storytelling, and the longing for meaning, the Odyssey continues to speak uncannily to contemporary concerns.

Placing the Odyssey in the 21st Century brings together an interdisciplinary array of academics to consider why love for and intrigue about this ancient poem persist into the present and what questions drive their engagement. How should we interpret the character of Odysseus today? What about its other characters, including its women who are often overlooked? What does the epic reveal about power, violence, gender, and survival? Could it be that the journey home—as an idea and especially as a feeling—is bound to become ever more compelling in our age of growing global instability, uncertainty, and the desire to escape?

Whether you are a long-time lover of the classics, you're simply curious about why ancient literature still matters or you want to become better acquainted with the text before the upcoming release of Christopher Nolan's film adaptation, this event invites you into a rich and accessible conversation about one of the foundational works of world literature.

Audience Q&A will follow.

Please note that the CANSW will also be hosting a screening of Nolan’s film on Thursday 23 July, 6.00pm at The Ritz, Randwick, with a special pre-film presentation by Dr. Ben Ferris. Tickets $25 (students $20). Places are limited, so book your seat at this Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/cansw-x-gaius-gracchus-present-christopher-nolans-the-odyssey-tickets-1990147444580?aff=oddtdtcreator

Ben Brown is senior lecturer in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney where he studies and teaches Greek history, literature, and thought. Ben is a founder and co-director of the Critical Antiquities Network and author of The Mirror of Epic: The Iliad and History (2016).

Ben Ferris is a Sydney-based film director, academic, and producer at Breathless Films. He completed his PhD on Homer’s Odyssey in the University of Sydney’s Department of Classics and Ancient History in 2024. His film adaption of the Odyssey, Penelope (2009), was awarded Van Gogh Award for Best Fantasy Film at the Amsterdam Film Festival in 2010.

Anthony Hooper is Lecturer in the School of Liberal Arts at the University of Wollongong. He specialises in Ancient Philosophy with a focus on intersections between Greek philosophy, poetry, and religion.

Tamara Neal teaches ancient Greek and Latin at the University of Sydney. Her research interests are Homeric poetry and pedagogy. She is the current president of the Classical Association of New South Wales.

Elizabeth Stockdale taught Ancient Greek Studies and Classical Languages at Macquarie University for just under 10 years. She is currently an Honorary Associate of the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney. Most recently she was a Visiting Research Fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge. Her recent book published by Routledge is titled 'Female Agency and Virtue in the Odyssey. ' Her research is focused on Homeric epic, Female figures in Greek literature, and Ancient Greek Thought.

The Classical Association New South Wales Incorporated exists to promote the development of classical studies in New South Wales. The Association was founded in 1909 and conducts a range of activities, including lectures, social functions, workshops, and a Latin and Greek reading competition for school students. For more information, go to classics.org.au.