THE University of New England’s second Aspects of Antiquity lecture for 2013 will be given by Associate-Professor Peter Arzt-Grabner from the University of Salzburg in Austria.
He will speak on the topic, What do the papyri from Egypt tell us about the life of Jesus of Nazareth?.
Professor Arzt-Grabner has studied both theology and papyrology at the University of Salzburg and in Rome. He has also been a Visiting Professor of Classics at Baylor University in Texas.
He has published books and articles which straddle his two main interests.
The lecture will be held on Thursday 18 July, at 5.30 pm, however the regular venue for this lecture has changed.
Earle Page College is not able to host the Aspects of Antiquity lectures for the remainder of the year; so they will be held in the Arts Building at the University, in Lecture Theatre A2, quite close to the Museum of Antiquities.
The lecture and seminar are free and open to all interested people to attend.
On 19 July, Professor Arzt-Grabner will again draw on his training in papyrology and classical studies to present a seminar in the School of Humanities’ regular weekly research program, starting at 9.30am. This will be held in the Arts building Lecture Theatre A3.
His topic concerns slavery in antiquity, and is entitled Neither a truant nor a fugitive: the sale of slaves in Roman Egypt and other provinces.
Papyri, the ancient world’s equivalent of paper, survives mostly only where the climate is very dry, notably in Egypt. All sorts of information has survived about daily life especially from about the 4th century BC; and this material only began to be recovered in large numbers a little over a century ago.
The result has been a revolutionising of our understanding of large and important aspects of the ancient Greek and especially Roman world.
Professor of Classics and Ancient History Greg Horsley, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Humanities on 6773 2390.
