Guest Lecturers

Prof CARLA M. ANTONACCIO

Carla M. Antonaccio, Archaeological Institute of America lecturer and host, is Professor of Archaeology and Chair in the Department of Classical Studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Co-Director of the Morgantina Archaeological Project in Sicily. She was educated at Wellesley College (Massachusetts) and Princeton University (New Jersey), and has traveled and studied extensively in Italy and Greece.

Author of An Archaeology of Ancestors, Greek Tomb and Hero Cult and numerous articles on Greek cult practice, trade and colonization, the excavations at Morgantina and their results, and ethnicity and cultural identity in the ancient Mediterranean, Carla has been a member and officer of the American School of Classical Studies and currently serves as Academic Trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America. She says "I am looking forward to sailing the spectacular coastlines of the Mediterranean and threading our way in time, moving through historical periods to explore the sweep of history and culture in this well-travelled and settled sea."

Dr ELTON BARKER

Elton Barker is a lecturer in Classical Studies at the Open University, after having previously been a college lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford for five years. Author of a series of articles on epic poetry and the epic cycle, Sophocles and Herodotus, he has recently published a book with Oxford University Press entitled Entering the Agon: Dissent and Authority in Homer, Historiography and Tragedy (January 2009). Elton was awarded a special teaching prize while supervising for Pembroke College, Cambridge, and has been officially accredited as making an outstanding contribution to teaching by the University of Oxford on two consecutive years (2006-7).

He holds a PhD (Cantab.) as well as a first class honours degree in Classical Civilization from the University of Leeds, two Masters degrees (with distinction) in Greek and Latin from Leeds and Ohio State, and was elected to a Junior Research Fellowship at Wolfson College, Cambridge for 2003-4.

Prof BARBARA BARLETTA

Barbara Barletta, lecturer and host for the Archaeological Institute of America, is a Professor of Art History at the University of Florida. She earned her MA and PhD in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College, and her BA in Ancient History and Archaeology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research has long focused on the Greek architectural orders and she examined these for her first book, looking specifically at usage among the Greeks of southern Italy and Sicily. Her second book, entitled The Origins of the Greek Architectural Orders, investigated the beginnings of the Doric and Ionic styles in architecture. It has just appeared in paperback.

Barbara has been a Travelling Lecturer with the Archaeological Institute of America for several years and has presented numerous papers at their annual meetings. She has led several previous study tours to Sicily and southern Italy as well as Greece. She has published many articles, most recently In Defense of the Ionic Frieze of the Parthenon, which featured in the American Journal of Archaeology, October 2009. She also appeared in the PBS/NOVA film, Secrets of the Parthenon.

Prof MARY BEARD

Mary Beard is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge and is a fellow of Newnham College. She is the Classics Editor of the Times Literary Supplement, and author of the blog A Don's Life, which appears in The Times as a regular column.

Her frequent media appearances and sometimes controversial public statements have led to her being described as "Britain's best-known classicist". Her most recent publication is the highly regarded Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town.

Prof TREVOR BRYCE

Emeritus Professor Trevor Bryce (born 1940) is a Classicist and and Near Eastern historian. He has published extensively on the Classical and Near Eastern civilizations: his most recent publications are The Kingdom of the Hittites (new edition), The Trojans and their Neighbours, which includes a discussion on the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations, and The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and has held visiting Fellowships at Princeton, Oxford and Canberra. His university career has included appointments as Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of New England, Australia and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Lincoln University, New Zealand.

Dr DAVID CORDINGLY

Dr David Cordingly read Modern History at Oxford and has a doctorate from the University of Sussex. He was Keeper of Pictures at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and is the author of several books on marine art and naval history. His book Life among the Pirates: the Romance and the Reality, became a best-seller in England and the United States. His other books include Marine Painting in England, Ships and Seascapes, Cochrane the Dauntless and the much acclaimed Billy Ruffian: the Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon which was broadcast as BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week in 2003.

He was historical consultant for the movie Pirates of the Caribbean starring Johnny Depp, and has appeared on camera in several television documentary programmes for the BBC, the History Channel and the Discovery Channel.

Prof ROBIN CORMACK

Robin Cormack is a Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. He is an editor for the Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, and has written many books, including Byzantine Art. Robin was also curator of the highly successful exhibition "Byzantine 330-1453" at the Royal Academy, London in 2008/9.

NICK DAISLEY

Nick Daisley studied Classics and Archaeology at Bedford College and the Institute of Archaeology in London. He has researched the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations, ancient religion, the early Christian Church, and impacts of the Roman Empire on Mediterranean coasts and beyond, working on surveys and excavations in Greece, Italy and Cyprus.

From 1991 to 1998 he was director of an Early Music record company, and retains a keen interest in the development of European music. While earning his living in Information Technology, his research interests remain the Bronze Age Aegean; seafaring, migration and exploration; archaeological techniques and science; and the 'Orientalist' school of painters in the Near East.

Prof CHRIS EMLYN-JONES

Chris Emlyn-Jones is Emeritus Professor of Classical Studies at the Open University, UK. He has researched and taught extensively in Classical (particularly Greek) culture, specialising in the epic poet Homer, Athenian drama and Greek philosophy and science.

He has been involved in a number of educational radio and TV projects relating to Homer and archaeological sites in Athens, Troy and the Argolid (Mycenae, Tiryns), and is particularly interested in disseminating knowledge of Greek culture to wider audiences.

Dr KAREN EXELL

Dr Karen Exell took up her current post of Curator of Egypt and the Sudan at the Manchester Museum in October 2007. After completing a degree in Egyptology with Akkadian at Oxford University, and a PhD at the University of Durham, where she also worked as a curator at the University Museums, she worked at the Egypt Exploration Society, London, before moving to Manchester. Her particular research interests include the meaning and interpretation of ancient Egypt in the West, and social and ritual practice in Ramesside Egypt.

She has written a number of articles and conference papers on these subjects, and is currently writing a book on the social significance of Ramesside period votive stelae. Dr Exell takes regular tours to Egypt, teaches aspects of ancient Egypt for the University of Manchester, and lectures regularly to ancient Egypt societies.

JASPER GAUNT

Jasper Gaunt is curator of Greek and Roman art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University in Atlanta. He was born and brought up in Rome, and educated in England and at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York, where he wrote a dissertation on Greek vase-painting. He has published a number of books and articles on the decorative arts of archaic and classical Greece, particularly their vessels, in pottery, bronze and stone.

Of special fascination to him are the craftsmen, often identifiable, who made these marvellous works of art, and the light they bring to bear on other aspects of Greek history, literature and cultural exchange. He has travelled widely in Greece.

NANCY GILCHRIST

Being half American and wholly British, Nancy Gilchrist has worked on both sides of the Atlantic. After graduating from Cambridge University, she ran a wine bar close to the White House, later becoming wine columnist for The Boston Globe. On her return to England, Nancy ran Grants of St James's School of Wine, becoming a Master of Wine in 1995.

Now a much sought-after lecturer, she also teaches Masterclasses regularly for Christie's, and at Leith's School of Food & Wine. She adores her job and delights in creating custom-made tastings on almost any wine-related topic.

Dr EMMA GRIFFITHS

Emma Griffiths graduated with a double first from Oxford University in 1995 and won an Ashley Watkins scholarship to the University of Bristol, completing her doctorate in 1999. Since 2002 she has been a lecturer in Classics at the University of Manchester.

Emma has published widely on Greek drama and mythology, and is currently working on the Blackwell Companion to the Ancient Family (co-authored with Tim Parkin), plus a monograph about children in Greek Tragedy.

Dr JAMES HAMILTON

Dr James Hamilton is the acclaimed and productive author of the biographies Turner - A Life (1997), Faraday - The Life (2002) and London Lights (2007). He is the guest curator of Volcano, an exhibition for Compton Verney, UK, in 2010.

On the cruise he will be talking about Vesuvius, Etna and the Lipari Islands, and the art they have inspired. James has been the curator of many exhibitions, including Turner and the Scientists (1998) and Turner and Italy (2008/09), and is University Curator at the University of Birmingham.

Prof JAMES HIGGINBOTHAM

James Higginbotham, Archaeological Institute of America lecturer and host, is Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and holds a PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan. His scholarly interests focus on ancient Greek and Roman colonies, as well as the social history of the late Roman Republic. Jim was a regular member of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and the recipient of several fellowships, including a Fulbright-Hays Research Grant to Italy and the Oscar Broneer Fellowship in Classical Archaeology at the American Academy in Rome.

In his capacity as Curator for Ancient Art, Jim oversees the collection of antiquities housed in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. His recent publications include Ars Antiqua: Treasures from the Ancient Mediterranean World at Bowdoin College (Brunswick, 2005) and Piscinae: Artificial Fishponds in Roman Italy (Chapel Hill, 1997).

Dr MICHAEL HIGGINS

Michael's interest in the Mediterranean started with a cruise at age 16 and continued as a geology student on many backpacking trips during his degree at Cambridge. In 1974 he set off from the UK to Canada for his PhD at McGill University and has worked there ever since, except for research sabbaticals overseas. Dr Higgins will bring to life the history of the Great Volcanoes including Vesuvius, Etna and Stromboli.

His co-authored book A Geological Companion to Greece and the Aegean, explores the geology of archeological sites, including aspects such as bedrock, building materials, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Dr PETER HOWELL

Peter Howell taught Classics for 35 years in the University of London, first at Bedford College, then at Royal Holloway. His teaching covered not just Latin language and literature, but art and architecture. He has published three books on Martial, whose epigrams give a vivid insight into social life at Rome. He is now working on a book on triumphal arches. He has always had a strong interest in architectural history, and has published and lectured, especially on Victorian architecture.

As a member, for nearly fifty years, of the Victorian Society, he has given many lectures and guided many visits. He was joint author of two Companion Guides to Wales.

CLARISSA HYMAN

Clarissa Hyman is an award-winning food and travel writer. Twice winner of the prestigious Glenfiddich Award for food writing, she contributes to a wide range of national newspapers and magazines, and also works as a food consultant.

A former TV producer, she has also written three books - on Sicily, Spain and Jewish food - that combine her interests in food, cookery, travel and culture. She is the current Chair of the UK Guild of Food Writers.

ADAM LEVINE

Adam Levine is an art historian specializing in Late Antiquity, Early Christianity, and Early Byzantium. Adam has published and presented on all three periods. His main interest in these epochs is how these nominally and chronologically separate entities actually overlapped and 'interacted' with one another. As a Rhodes Scholar, Adam received his MSt and is currently completing his DPhil at Oxford University.

Adam, a born and bred New Yorker, majored in Anthropology, Art History, and Applied Mathematics at Dartmouth College before his move across the pond. At Dartmouth Adam was a golden gloves semifinalist and at Oxford was a varsity middleweight boxer, which might explain his secondary interest in boxing in the ancient world.

BRUCE LOEFFLER

Bruce Loeffler, study leader for the American Museum of Natural History, is both a geologist and an art historian. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry and has a PhD in Geology and an MA in Art History both from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

An enthusiastic and gifted educator, Dr. Loeffler has taught various courses in Geology and Ecology, including Physical Geology, Volcanology, Earthquakes, and Plate Tectonics. In art, he has taught Art Appreciation, Survey of Western Art, Classical and Medieval Art, Renaissance and Baroque Art, and American Art, as well as Introduction to American Ethnic Studies. He has traveled with many AMNH groups including previous trips to Sicily and Croatia.

Dr THOMAS MANNACK

Dr Thomas Mannack studied Classical Archaeology, Ancient History and European Archaeology in Kiel, Heidelberg and Oxford and gained a first class doctorate at Kiel University. He has published books and papers in English and German on Greek sculpture, Greek pottery and the reception of ancient art. Dr. Mannack is an internationally known expert on Greek decorated pottery and Reader of Classical Iconography at the University of Oxford. He has taught Greek and Roman Art and Architecture in Oxford and lectured at Oxford and King's College, London, on Greek Sculpture, Classical Iconography, and Greek Vase-Painting.

He was selected to participate in a prestigious course on Athenian burial customs by the German Archaeological Institute at Athens, and has been invited to present papers by many universities and academies including New York, Berlin, Tours, Brussels, Munich, Copenhagen, Vienna, Basel and Zurich.

Prof JAMES MORWOOD

James Morwood read Classics at Peterhouse, Cambridge's oldest college, before a year at Merton College, Oxford. For many years he was Head of Classics at Harrow School before moving on to teach Latin and Greek at Oxford University as a Fellow of Wadham College, where he was Dean and is now an Emeritus Fellow.

He has written and co-written many books concerning the ancient world, his main interest at the moment being Greek drama. At Harrow he led many expeditions to classical climes, he has been on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, and he retains a deep love of Greek culture. He recently presented a paper to the American Classical League Institute in Los Angeles, one of the many classical associations he has contributed to.

Dr OSWYN MURRAY

Oswyn Murray is one of the leading historians of the ancient world; he has been lecturing on Mediterranean cruises since 1987. He was a Fellow of Balliol College Oxford for nearly forty years, and held the posts of Senior Tutor, Vice-Master and director of the Graduate Centre. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and an honorary member of the Royal Danish Academy and the Scuola Normale of Pisa; he has been a visiting lecturer in Paris, and at Bryn Mawr and MIT in the United States. He is the author of Early Greece and history editor of the best-selling Oxford History of the Classical World; his books have been translated into many leading European languages and into Chinese.

His current interests are in the ancient author Herodotus, the modern history of classical scholarship, and the history of pleasure. He is an expert on Greek drinking customs, and in his spare time makes his own cider.

Prof ILI NAGY

Ili (Helen) Nagy, Archaeological Institute of America lecturer and host, has recently retired from her position as Professor of Art History at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. She specializes in the art and archaeology of Greece and Rome, early Christian and Byzantine Art, and Etruscan archaeology.

Ili received her PhD, MA, and BA from UCLA. She is a fellow of the American Academy in Rome, where she also held the position of Director of the Classical Summer School. She has served as Professor-in-Charge at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. Ili is a former President of the Archaeological Institute of America's local Seattle society, and is currently an Academic Trustee of the AIA's Governing Board.

CHRIS NAUNTON

Chris Naunton is Deputy Director of the Egypt Exploration Society. He studied Egyptology at the universities of Birmingham and Swansea. Among his responsibilities at the EES he is in charge of the extensive archives which provide a rich source of information for his research on the history and development of Egyptology and archaeology in Egypt.

Chris is also director of the EES Oral History Project and has worked in the field at Abydos and in El Asasif, Western Thebes.

Dr MATTHEW NICHOLLS

Dr Matthew Nicholls read Greats (Literae Humaniores) at the University of Oxford, at St John's College and graduated with a double first. He began his graduate work there and was then elected to a Junior Research Fellowship at The Queen's College. His doctoral thesis was on Roman public libraries and he is now writing a book on that subject for Oxford University Press, as a lecturer at Reading University. His research interests include the buildings and cities of the Roman and Greek world, and he also has an interest in 3D computer reconstructions of ancient architecture.

Matthew been a consultant to the BBC TV programme Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections and appeared on BBC Radio 4 In Our Time in his quest to bring Classics to a wider audience. He spends part of each summer in Rome and enjoys travel throughout the sites of the ancient world and beyond.

Lord JOHN JULIUS NORWICH

John Julius, 2nd Viscount Norwich, is a historian, broadcaster, journalist and humourist. Joining the British Foreign Service after Oxford, John Julius served in Yugoslavia and Lebanon, and as a member of British delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva. In 1964, Norwich left the diplomatic service to become a writer: his publications include The Normans in Sicily, a three-volume history of Byzantium and A History of Venice.

This career move was a stroke of good fortune for Voyages to Antiquity as John Julius's wonderful history of the Mediterranean, The Middle Sea, and his expert advice have been invaluable to us. Indeed, we are delighted that John Julius will be accompanying our Venice to Istanbul departure in June and sharing his in-depth knowledge of the fascinating history of Sicily on our Athens to Rome sailing in September.

DAVID RAEBURN

David Raeburn made his name as a teacher of Classics in English schools and as a headmaster in South London for 28 years. An ardent enthusiast for making Classics widely accessible, he set up and for 18 years directed a still flourishing Summer School in Ancient Greek. Since his 'retirement', he has continued to teach and to share his love for classical literature at Oxford, where he himself graduated. Now an octogenarian, he is still Lector in Classical languages at New College.

His special interests are in Greek tragedy, Roman poetry and the spoken delivery of Greek and Latin. His chief hobby is the directing of plays with young people and his productions have included many Greek tragedies, both in the original and in translation. His recent translations for Penguin Classics have been well received in the UK and USA.

Lady ALEXANDRA RICHARDSON

Alexandra Richardson was born in New York and has lived much of her adult life in Italy. She has worked in Bangkok for USIA, New York for Newsweek Magazine, and Milan for Selezione dal Reader's Digest. Since marriage, she has been a freelance feature writer and columnist for various Italian, American and English periodicals.

She has collaborated on books with James Michener and Lawrence Elliott and contributed the entire Italian section of A Dictionary of Foreign Quotations, edited by Anthony Lejeune and published by Stacey International.

Passionate Patron: The Life of Alexander Hardcastle is her own first book.

SIR TOM RICHARDSON

Sir Tom Richardson was a career diplomat in the British Foreign Service until he retired in 2000. Amongst other postings, he served three times in Italy (Milan and Rome) and twice with the British Mission to the United Nations. His last post was Ambassador in Italy, and he has travelled extensively around the Mediterranean. A historian by training, he has a particular interest in medieval (especially Byzantine) and modern European history.

His American wife, Alex, a journalist by profession, has just written a biography of the man who financed the restoration of the Greek Temples of Agrigento. They have a house in Tuscany.

SARAH SAUNDERS

Sarah Saunders' passion for food is second nature and she simply absorbs the food culture, influences and tastes of the places she travels to around the world. Sarah describes herself as a food explorer. She finds people who intuitively understand how to grow food and how to combine ingredients. The geology and cultural traditions of a place also have tremendous significance for Sarah in her cooking and research on food.

Born in America, Sarah was educated in England but also spent time living in France, Italy and Cuba, which provided a wealth of inspiration for her modern simply delicious food. She has a BA in History of Art and is an experienced homeopath. Sarah is currently an Ambassador Chef for Armagnac and spends a lot of time creating special dishes to promote this elixir. On a recent visit to Italy she represented the UK as a chef at the Terra Madre Conference and Salone del Gusto in Turin organized by the Slow Food Movement endorsed by HRH Prince Charles.

Prof CAROL SIMON

Professor Carol Simon, American Museum of Natural History herpetologist and animal behaviourist, is broadly trained in ecology, behaviour and evolution. Her research on the social behaviour of reptiles, particularly lizards, has taken her to many areas of North and Central America, with a strong focus on fieldwork at the Museum’s Southwestern Research Station in Arizona. Dr Simon is Professor Emerita of Biology at the City College of the City University of New York, and was a member of the AMNH research staff for over 30 years.

She has lectured on more than 50 tours in many parts of the world. Her lectures on the Cairo to Amman program focus on the natural history of the region.

Prof HOWARD TOPOFF

Professor Howard Topoff, American Museum of Natural History study leader, has spent 40 years researching the social behaviour, interrelationships, and community structure of animals. His field research has been conducted in Central and South America, Africa, and in desert habitats at the Museum’s Southwestern Research Station in Arizona. Dr Topoff is Professor Emeritus of Biopsychology at Hunter College, City University of New York.

His lecture topics on the Cairo to Amman programme include the unique geological features of the region and desert ecology.

Prof MICHAEL VICKERS

Michael Vickers is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, Curator of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum and a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College. He has taught at University College, Dublin, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has been a Visiting Member of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton.

His academic interests are archaeology, history and literature of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine worlds. His publications include works on the history of Athenian drama and ancient Greek silverware and pottery.

BRIAN WHEATON

Brian joined the Agency and Shipping company of Hall & Bramley Ltd. of Liverpool in 1957, and in 1959 was awarded the Michael Gordon Clark Trade Scholarship. He became a Master of Wine in 1967 (the only candidate to pass in that year), and in 1968 became Wine Buying Director of Mackay & Co of St. Peter Port, in Guernsey, C.I. In 1970 he took Massel's Oenological Diploma, and also became a Fellow of the British Bottlers Institute. Shortly afterwards, he was inducted into the Burgundian Order of the Chevaliers de Tastevin.

In the course of more than thirty years in the Wine Trade, Brian has been Executive Secretary to the Wines & Spirits Association of Great Britain and Wine Buyer for both British Home Stores and Littlewoods of Liverpool, finishing his full-time career as Buyer for Bethell Robertson of Nassau, in the Bahamas. In retirement he produced a series of night school lectures/tastings for Adults at the Birkenhead Sixth Form College, and in 2007, he was invited to write and record a 36-part Audio Wine Course for NowYouKnow Media Inc. of Maryland, USA.

He is a member of the Association of Wine Educators, and in recent years has concentrated on giving Talks on cruise liners. He also records Talks for the Newspaper for the Blind.

Prof KATE WILSON

Kate Wilson was educated at Oxford where she read English, and in Italy. The author of twelve books on a wide variety of topics from Marriage to Adoption and foster care, Kate is now Emeritus Professor in Social Work at the University of Nottingham, having previously lectured at the universities of Hull and York. Before that she was a probation officer in London, and a sales assistant at John Lewis, an experience about which she has good stories to tell.

As well as lecturing in many parts of the world on her own professional subjects, Kate frequently presents and discusses the work of her mother, the poet Anne Ridler, who worked and shared friendships with such notable writers as TS Eliot, Lawrence Durrell and WH Auden, whom Kate also met. Widely travelled, especially in Italy, Kate has now returned with her husband Richard to the family house in Oxford where she grew up.

Kate has served as a member of the Arts Council, has been a non-executive director of a hospital trust, and continues as external examiner at two British universities and to chair a number of social work study groups and committees. Already a keen tennis player, she hopes to learn more about playing bridge on board ship. Kate and Richard have three sons.

Prof RICHARD WILSON

Richard Wilson was educated at Cambridge, Oxford and in France. His recent academic appointments were as international visiting professor at Portland State University and as visiting professor at Northwestern University. After an early career as a British Council lecturer in Africa and the Middle East he was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in the United States where he worked for and lectured at a number of leading North American organisations and universities, including the Council for Foreign Relations, the Humanities Institute, and Columbia and Northwestern universities.

In the UK he has lectured and been visiting fellow at the universities of Hull, York and Aberdeen. As Staff tutor in Arts, and chair, Literature in the Modern World, at the Open University and director of the Open Universities Drama summer schools, he worked with John Gielgud, Ben Kingsley, Patrick Stewart, Janet Suzman, and other prominent actors and directors.

A fiction prize-winner and BBC-trained presenter, Richard wrote and presented the BBC series Writers and Places, a theme he returns to in his talks on the ship. He and his wife Kate Wilson gave a keynote presentation at the annual general meeting of the USA Humanities Institute in Chicago, and Kate will join him from time to time in his presentations during the voyage. Richard is a former barge-hand, farm labourer, dishwasher at London restaurants, and Lyke Wake walker.