The Classical Association of Ireland (CAI) is delighted to announce that this year’s Presidential Lecture will take place on Friday, 4 April at 7 p.m. in the UCD Village Auditorium.

CAI Honorary President Dr Christina Souyoudjoglou-Haywood will speak on “Archaeology and the (relentless) search for Homer’s Ithaca: a fraught relationship“. This is not to be missed!

Make sure to book your place here.

Here is a little preview of what to expect on the night…

Since the time of the ancient geographer Strabo (63? B.C. – A.D. 24?), over twenty-five different locations have been proposed for Homer’s Ithaca not to mention those based on pure fantasy. They range from the modern Ithaki or ‘Thiaki’ and other islands in the Ionian archipelago to locations further afield in Sicily, Spain, Denmark, and the Azores. The identifications are based on interpretations of the Homeric text from the viewpoint of geography, topography, geology, astronomy, cultural history and philology. Archaeology plays the most important part especially in the identifications that locate Homeric Ithaca firmly on one of the islands of the Ionian archipelago. In this lecture I will discuss the various proposals regarding the Ionian Islands in the light of past and recent projects and developments, and the ongoing complex relationship between archaeology as a professional discipline and the hypotheses of amateur ‘Homerists’ and ‘archaeologists’ – explorers, property developers, businessmen, politicians, farmers, chemists and others. The lecture will discuss the context of the searches, the publicity, the impact on the local communities, the convictions and misconceptions, hopes and impasses, and their value in supporting the engagement with Homer and the ancient past as subjects that defy class, education and background.