Professor Michael Wood of the University of Manchester recently visited Loreto for the second time to offer a lecture on the history of the ancient city of Troy.  As ‘A’ Level Classical Studies students read the works of Homer and Virgil in translation, as well as studying 350 years of Greek art, the lecture was enriching as it broached very many of the themes students come to learn within their two years at Loreto.  These included: language, the evolution of epic poetry and techniques of the epic poets; geography, archaeology, art, myth, society, contemporary events in the near east and the connection to the world of the Bronze Age heroes; the development of Indo-European language, some ancient Greek, links to the archaeology of the Levant and the Hittite and Egyptian civilisations.  Michael spoke for well over an hour and took questions for a further thirty minutes.  It was an invaluable experience for students of the ancient world.  They all found something amongst this breadth of knowledge to consolidate what they know, to enhance this knowledge, and give them the impetus to know more.

Michael also took time over lunch to sit with a good number of history and classical civilisation students who are in the process of considering university options.  He was more than willing to encourage and advise their applications.  We are grateful for his enthusiasm and care and look forward to his next visit to the Classical Civilisation Dept.