Script death in the ancient world

Writing systems, like languages, can be lost from the historical record. But why do they 'die' and what happens to them? Dr Pippa Steele and Dr Philip Boyes from the CREWS project discuss two dead scripts of the Late Bronze Age - Linear B, the earliest writing system used for Greek, and the short-lived Ugaritic cuneiform alphabet of Syria.

The talk will run from 13.15-13.45, with 15 minutes for questions.

This is a Festival of Ideas event.

Becoming Classical: art and the revolution in values in fifth-century B.C. Greece

We associate Classical Greece with the impassive and remarkably uniform young men that populate the Parthenon frieze and classical gravestones. But we rarely ask why these young men dominate Classical art. Prof Robin Osborne looks at the revolution that brought the Classical man into existence, and the complete transformation of values that these Classical figures carry with them.

This is a Festival of Ideas event.

Battlegrounds: The economics of ancient warfare

Join Dr Manuela Dal Borgo to consider how war can move people away from their homes, work, family and sometimes even across the sea. These changes can have longlasting effects on the economy of the places from which they emigrate as well as the places to which they immigrate. This lunchtime talk will explore the economics of warfare in a few cases from the ancient world.

The talk will run from 13.15-13.45, with 15 minutes for questions.

Victorian Tales: The natural world of the 19th century

Join researcher Wanne Mendonck from the Faculty of English on a top-speed tour through the museum’s animal world … as the Victorians experienced it! Learn why Charles Darwin was obsessed with beetles and dined on owls, why late-century ostriches were worth their weight in gold, why everyone in the 1860s was suddenly into gorillas, and why John Ruskin really did not like penguins.

 

Suitable for ages 18+

Leonardo da Vinci 1519–2019: Art, history, science

With contributions by:
Peter Abrahams, University of Warwick
Laura Aldovini, Musei Civici, Pavia
Martin Clayton, Royal Collections, Windsor Castle
Maya Corry, University of Oxford
Iain Fenlon, University of Cambridge
Ian Hutchings, University of Cambridge
Domenico Laurenza, Museo Galileo Florence
Martin Kemp, University of Oxford
Alexander Marr, University of Cambridge
Luke Syson, The Fitzwilliam Museum
Evelyn Welch, King’s College London

Organiser: Lucia Tantardini, University of Cambridge

 

Early morning curators’ tour of Rembrandt and the Nude

You can remain in the exhibition for as long as you wish or you could be the first in the queue for coffee and pastries in the Courtyard Café, with tour attendees entitled to a 20% discount from 10.00 to 12.00 on production of their ticket.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL. Visit: Cambridge Live Tickets or tel: 01223 357851

Entrance via Courtyard Entrance. Gates open at 09.00 for a 09.15 start.

Subscribe to Adults (18+)