Classical Societies
In recent years there has been something of a resurgence in interest in the Classics, following such blockbuster films as Gladiator, Troy and Alexander, and plays like Hecuba in the West End. The poetic and theatrical works of Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Brain Friel, to name but a few, have combined to do the world of Classics a great service, in making Classical literature more accessible to a modern generation. This general renewed interest has been reflected more specifically in increased numbers of pupils wanting to study a Classical subject, be it Latin, Greek or Classical Literature and Culture.
There are two 'societies' - one Junior Society known as 'Curia', and the Senior as 'The Academy'. The list below indicates the range of recent topics that have been arranged here at Wellington for each group:
'The Academy'
Talks
| Dr Efi Spentzou - Royal Holloway | Aeneas, the New Achilles? |
| Prof Stephen Oakley - Reading University | Livy |
| Prof Richard Alston - Royal Holloway | Augustus and 'his story' |
| Dr John Eidenow - Merton College, Oxford | Aeneas |
| Dr Rosalind Thomas - Balliol, College, Oxford | Classics and Admissions to Oxford |
| Dr Barbara Goff - Reading University | Women in the Ancient World |
| Dr Llewelyn-Morgan - Brasenose College Oxford | Oxford Classics Day for Sixth Form Students |
Sixth Form students also attend talks at other schools.
Plays
| London Greek Drama Festival | Euripides' Medea |
| Kings College London Greek Play | Aristophanes Wasps and Lecture |
| The poet and playwright Graham Mitchell | Readings from his production of Aeschylus' Agamemnon |
'Curia'
Talks
| Amanda Claridge, author of the Oxford Archaeological Guide to Rome | An Illustrated Guide to Rome |
| David Bomgardner, author of The Story of the Roman Amphitheatre | Gladiators and the Colosseum |
| Dr Anthony Makrinos, University College, London | Homer, Now and Then |
| Icon Theatre Group | Homer's The Odyssey |
| Actors of Dionysus | Euripides' Bacchae, Medea and Trojan Women |