The European Festival of Latin and Greek returns in Reading Classics after two years of pandemic, and we gathered the most exciting info about it in a Q&A covering all you need to know! Enthusiasts of Classical Literature are more than welcome to participate! Find out below what the European Festival of Latin and Greek is and how you can sign up!
What is it?
An international (not just European!) event when people celebrate the ancient world by getting together in a public place to read aloud a text from Ancient Greece or Rome.
Are they mad?
No, they are just really enthusiastic!
How does the Department come into this?
The Department is going to participate in the Festival again, as we did pre-Covid; we are going to meet in the Edith Morley Quad, at 1pm on Wednesday March 23rd , to read Sophocles Oedipus the King!
Oedipus the King? That’s the one about mums and dads, yes?
And about human striving and its limits – about our understanding of our own identity – about plague and recovery, blindness and insight, life and death! People have been fascinated by this play for centuries, and always find something important in it.
Have you done this before?
Yes, the Department participated in the 2019 Festival in 2019 when colleagues gathered in Edith Morley Quad to read book 6 of the Iliad in various languages. You can have a taste at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na3odYx9CXU! In the pictures, you can see us reading Homer Iliad 6 in 2019, along with the Chinese translation that one of us used.
OK, I’m convinced. But do I have to speak Greek?
No, the whole point is that people can read in whatever language they like. Across the world, the Festival is celebrated in Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Mandarin, Afrikaans, English, French – you get the picture. And, we don’t have to read the whole thing, just the juicy bits.
Where do I sign?
Try https://forms.office.com/r/Bq84DfPb3z to sign up: https://festival-latingrec.eu/english-2/ for more information. And feel free to email Barbara Goff at hod-classics@reading.ac.uk to tell her how keen you are.
