Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives: A National Conversation

The DC Public Library is proud to host Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives, a major national initiative bringing humanities-based public programming to 100 public libraries, arts centers, theaters and museums across America.

Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives aims to inspire people to come together to read, see and think about classical literature and how it continues to influence and invigorate American cultural life. Over five weeks, we will host six public events in libraries around the city, each on a different theme. We invite you to come and be a part of the conversation.

Programs

Stranger in a Strange Land
Encountering the Other, with Brett Rogers
Monday, April 30, 7 p.m.
West End Library
1101 24th St. NW

Participants will discuss how the Greek mythic hero Odysseus helps us understand the experience of being a stranger both in foreign (strange) lands and in one's own home upon return to it. We will explore how Homer's Odyssey helps us think about ideas, about the idea of the 'strange', the joys and difficulties of encountering difference (the Other), the virtues of (and problems in) hospitality and the very ways we define 'home'.

Homecoming
The Return of the Warrior, with Judith Hallett
Tuesday, May 1, 7 p.m.
Palisades Library
4901 V St. NW

For Home[r]coming, we will explore the Roman poet Vergil's rewriting of the post-war journeys and experiences of the Greek mythic hero Odysseus, ascribing them to his hero, the Trojan Aeneas, in the Aeneid. We will focus on the problems Aeneas confronted because he was not going home, and chose to relate to the woman who "rescued" him, the Carthaginian queen Dido, as both his lover and his therapist.

From Homer to Hip-Hop
The Art of Storytelling, with Brett Rogers
Wednesday, May 16, 7 p.m.
Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library
1630 7th St. NW

Participants will discuss how Homer and various Greek poets are, despite their distance in history, very similar to all sorts of modern storytellers and singers -- in particular, filmmakers, writers of comic books and even hip-hop artists. For example, the heroes of Homer's Iliad and Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes compete with each other in boasts and battle, whereas Homer's Odysseus shows us how a crafty storyteller works and even outsmarts (and gets outsmarted by) his audiences.

Rites of Passage
Changing Worlds, Transforming Lives, with Judith Hallett
Tuesday, May 22, 7 p.m.
Georgetown Library
3260 R St. NW

We will explore Roman holidays for males in their roles as warriors, participants in the political process and husbands/lovers during the month of March, named after Mars, the Roman god of war, as well as the work of our one surviving Roman female love poet, and the women of Julius Caesar's family. Compare these ancient celebrations with modern holidays such as Mother's Day, the music of Madonna and the connections between love and war!

Acting Workshop
with Aquila Theatre Company
Tuesday, May 29, 5:30 pm
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Great Hall
901 G St. NW

Aquila Theatre Company will present an introduction to acting workshop hosted by three classically trained actors. Participants do not need any acting experience and they can opt to watch rather than participate. The workshop will last approximately one hour, followed by discussion.

Actor-Staged Reading
with Aquila Theatre Company
Tuesday, May 29, 7 pm
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Great Hall
901 G St. NW

The reading event will include a repertoire of scenes from Greek drama. The event will feature professional actors, will last approximately 90 minutes and will include an introduction, performed readings, a post-show discussion and a town-hall-style meeting, including audience comments.

For the past 20 years, Aquila’s productions have received critical and audience acclaim. The New York Times describes Aquila as “a classically trained, modernly hip troupe.” After the performance, program scholar Brett Rogers will moderate an audience discussion focused on the themes of the program.

The Scholars

Judith Peller Hallett, University of Maryland

Professor of Classics at the University of Maryland, College Park, Judith has published widely in the areas of Latin language and literature; ancient Roman and Greek civilization; women, sexuality and the family in classical antiquity; and the classical tradition in America. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Philology from Harvard University. While attending Harvard, she studied at the American Academy in Rome; after receiving her doctorate, she spent a year at the Institute of Classical Studies at the University of London. She was Blegen visiting scholar in classics at Vassar College, and has held fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Named a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at Maryland in 1992, she has received the College of Arts and Humanities Award for Excellence in Teaching, and twice been a recipient of the university’s Celebrating Teachers Award. A member of the Maryland Humanities Council, she is currently the American Philological Association Vice-President for Outreach.

Brett Michael Rogers, Gettysburg College

Brett M. Rogers is Assistant Professor of Classics and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Gettysburg College. He received his B.A. in Classics from Reed College and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has published articles on Greek and Roman drama, Socrates and Athenian democracy, (super)heroes in comics, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he is currently working on a book on troubling teachers in Greek epic, lyric, and drama. He is a 30-year veteran of the stage whose most recent credits include serving as dramaturg for a production of Euripides’ Trojan Women at the University of Georgia (2007) and executive producer of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata at Gettysburg College (2009), as well as roles in adaptations of classical and medieval dramas, performing in such distinguished roles as “Satyr #2,” “Demon #2” and “Jupiter with a splitting headache.”






Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives: Poetry-Drama-Dialogue is made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.





Additional funding provided by the Friends of the Georgetown Library, Friends of the Palisades Library, Friends of the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library and Friends of the West End Library.