Carol Atack
@carolatack.bsky.social
Ancient politics and political thought, modern art, Plato and Xenophon. Fellow of Newnham College, FRHistS. Cambridge and elsewhere. Recent books: Plato: a civic life (Reaktion) and Xenophon (Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics, Cambridge).
Published today! Really pleased to see Aristophanes and the Current Moment in print via @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social. My contribution, 'Aristophanes and the Gendered Politics of Performative Assembly' applies Judith Butler's analysis of public protest to Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Ecclesiazusae.
November 13, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Published today! Really pleased to see Aristophanes and the Current Moment in print via @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social. My contribution, 'Aristophanes and the Gendered Politics of Performative Assembly' applies Judith Butler's analysis of public protest to Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Ecclesiazusae.
Another dedication made on behalf of a child - this small boy also holds a ball in his left hand, and is wearing a protective bulla (amulet) round his neck. Very moving to see parents' dedications on behalf of their children.
November 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Another dedication made on behalf of a child - this small boy also holds a ball in his left hand, and is wearing a protective bulla (amulet) round his neck. Very moving to see parents' dedications on behalf of their children.
Another statue from San Casciano, showing a woman at prayer, with beautiful details of her dress.
November 11, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Another statue from San Casciano, showing a woman at prayer, with beautiful details of her dress.
Lucky to catch the last weekend of the stunning San Casciano bronzes' visit to Berlin - these sculptures were ritually buried at a Tuscan healing sanctuary in the 1st century CE after a lightning strike, & were excavated in the last few years. So revelatory about ancient religious practice
November 11, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Lucky to catch the last weekend of the stunning San Casciano bronzes' visit to Berlin - these sculptures were ritually buried at a Tuscan healing sanctuary in the 1st century CE after a lightning strike, & were excavated in the last few years. So revelatory about ancient religious practice
'Nanti time like the present. come on, let's get it on...'. Loving Prof Jennifer Ingleheart's trio of translations of Catullus into Polari, the old language of gay Londoners, in Shearsman 145-6. www.shearsman.com/shearsman-ma...
November 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
'Nanti time like the present. come on, let's get it on...'. Loving Prof Jennifer Ingleheart's trio of translations of Catullus into Polari, the old language of gay Londoners, in Shearsman 145-6. www.shearsman.com/shearsman-ma...
The Almeida Theatre adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty captures the glamour and grime of 1980s London, where financial buccaneering, racial inequality and the AIDS crisis upended lives, but we all danced to excellent music. Five stars from me especially for the cast & the design.
October 31, 2025 at 9:32 AM
The Almeida Theatre adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty captures the glamour and grime of 1980s London, where financial buccaneering, racial inequality and the AIDS crisis upended lives, but we all danced to excellent music. Five stars from me especially for the cast & the design.
Unmissable new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge - Made in Ancient Egypt explores this ancient culture through the makers of objects, their skills & the materials they used. Some exquisite objects - I liked this statuette. On show until April 2026.
October 2, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Unmissable new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge - Made in Ancient Egypt explores this ancient culture through the makers of objects, their skills & the materials they used. Some exquisite objects - I liked this statuette. On show until April 2026.
'Histories' by Kerry James Marshall at London's Royal Academy - a powerful survey of the American artist's work, his long practice of exploring Black experience and challenging simple stories. Full of humour and moments of delight as well as profound commentary, as in 1994's 'Great America'.
September 17, 2025 at 6:54 PM
'Histories' by Kerry James Marshall at London's Royal Academy - a powerful survey of the American artist's work, his long practice of exploring Black experience and challenging simple stories. Full of humour and moments of delight as well as profound commentary, as in 1994's 'Great America'.
From Burton Agnes Hall, a glorious late Elizabethan (1590s-1600s) country house near Bridlington, a riot of religious and moralising imagery with some classical moments, including a door jamb decorated with Saturn and Jupiter, in which Saturn is devouring a child...
August 29, 2025 at 4:29 PM
From Burton Agnes Hall, a glorious late Elizabethan (1590s-1600s) country house near Bridlington, a riot of religious and moralising imagery with some classical moments, including a door jamb decorated with Saturn and Jupiter, in which Saturn is devouring a child...
Apparently this c.1330 hare with a satchel, in the gorgeous St Mary’s Church, Beverley, was an inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s white rabbit. Just one of the exceptional mediaeval sculptures and carvings in Beverley’s two great churches.
August 5, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Apparently this c.1330 hare with a satchel, in the gorgeous St Mary’s Church, Beverley, was an inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s white rabbit. Just one of the exceptional mediaeval sculptures and carvings in Beverley’s two great churches.
A bit of classical reception in William Kentridge's show at @yspsculpture.bsky.social - this large-scale plaster work is titled Laocoon, after the classical sculpture. In his studio films, displayed in an adjacent gallery, he talks about classical myths - Perseus, the sibyls.
August 4, 2025 at 7:16 PM
A bit of classical reception in William Kentridge's show at @yspsculpture.bsky.social - this large-scale plaster work is titled Laocoon, after the classical sculpture. In his studio films, displayed in an adjacent gallery, he talks about classical myths - Perseus, the sibyls.
Always a delight to pass the house with the spolia in Montepulciano, home town of the great classical scholar Politian.
July 23, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Always a delight to pass the house with the spolia in Montepulciano, home town of the great classical scholar Politian.
An amazing week at the Collegium Phaenomenologicum in Città di Castello with the smartest students and friendliest colleagues, thinking about life/bios. Here’s an earlier encounter between Diogenes, Plato & a featherless biped in the Pinacoteca Comunale.
July 21, 2025 at 7:13 AM
An amazing week at the Collegium Phaenomenologicum in Città di Castello with the smartest students and friendliest colleagues, thinking about life/bios. Here’s an earlier encounter between Diogenes, Plato & a featherless biped in the Pinacoteca Comunale.
Yes, it's beautifully displayed at the Royal Academy! I would have loved to have seen it in Amsterdam though.
July 10, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Yes, it's beautifully displayed at the Royal Academy! I would have loved to have seen it in Amsterdam though.
Anselm Kiefer's sunflowers are both a homage to van Gogh and an evocation of classical myth - here, Clytie and Cameiro the daughters of Pandareus (whom Polygnotus depicted as crowned with flowers) - on display at White Cube Mason's Yard to tie in with the Royal Academy Kiefer/van Gogh exhibition.
July 10, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Anselm Kiefer's sunflowers are both a homage to van Gogh and an evocation of classical myth - here, Clytie and Cameiro the daughters of Pandareus (whom Polygnotus depicted as crowned with flowers) - on display at White Cube Mason's Yard to tie in with the Royal Academy Kiefer/van Gogh exhibition.
It's time for our graduation feast at Newnham and the @newnhamcollege.bsky.social college flag is flying as we celebrate the achievements of our undergraduate finalists. So pleased for and proud of the students I've taught and advised.
July 2, 2025 at 4:11 PM
It's time for our graduation feast at Newnham and the @newnhamcollege.bsky.social college flag is flying as we celebrate the achievements of our undergraduate finalists. So pleased for and proud of the students I've taught and advised.
Last night at the Royal Festival Hall: the multi-talented Little Simz closing her curation of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival with her band and lively backing from the Chineke! orchestra. Warm, vibrant and inclusive, a great example of London creativity.
June 23, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Last night at the Royal Festival Hall: the multi-talented Little Simz closing her curation of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival with her band and lively backing from the Chineke! orchestra. Warm, vibrant and inclusive, a great example of London creativity.
Ithell Colquhoun’s Judgement of Paris, an early work in the retrospective at Tate Britain, very 1930 and interesting to compare with her later surrealist works.
June 18, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Ithell Colquhoun’s Judgement of Paris, an early work in the retrospective at Tate Britain, very 1930 and interesting to compare with her later surrealist works.
Helen Chadwick (1953-96) was a visionary and radical artist. Her powerful work is showcased in a retrospective at the Hepworth Wakefield. Her autobiographical 'Ego Geometria Sum' ('I am geometry') presents her life in geometrical form and alludes to her Greek heritage.
June 13, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Helen Chadwick (1953-96) was a visionary and radical artist. Her powerful work is showcased in a retrospective at the Hepworth Wakefield. Her autobiographical 'Ego Geometria Sum' ('I am geometry') presents her life in geometrical form and alludes to her Greek heritage.
Intrigued by Francis Upritchard's classical references in her new show 'Sing Siren' at Kate MacGarry in Shoreditch. This snaky Medusa was especially striking, keeping some mermaids company in the gallery.
June 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Intrigued by Francis Upritchard's classical references in her new show 'Sing Siren' at Kate MacGarry in Shoreditch. This snaky Medusa was especially striking, keeping some mermaids company in the gallery.
Reminded of how central Presocratic thought is to the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay, who saw himself as a kind of Heraclitean figure, certainly a contrarian. This is on display at Victoria Miro in London but there are other shows for his centenary in Edinburgh and elsewhere.
May 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reminded of how central Presocratic thought is to the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay, who saw himself as a kind of Heraclitean figure, certainly a contrarian. This is on display at Victoria Miro in London but there are other shows for his centenary in Edinburgh and elsewhere.
The @newnhamcollege.bsky.social Iris Garden is bursting into bloom.
May 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
The @newnhamcollege.bsky.social Iris Garden is bursting into bloom.
I asked EndNote support (who've been unfailingly helpful over the years and a good reason for paying for software) and they came up with the following, don't know if it helps?
May 14, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I asked EndNote support (who've been unfailingly helpful over the years and a good reason for paying for software) and they came up with the following, don't know if it helps?
Reading proofs of a chapter on Aristophanes, I wrote based on a paper from 2018 - another world. But I’ll stick with my analysis that ‘Praxagora is not an intersectional feminist’.
May 7, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Reading proofs of a chapter on Aristophanes, I wrote based on a paper from 2018 - another world. But I’ll stick with my analysis that ‘Praxagora is not an intersectional feminist’.
The perfect day for start of term meetings with students - my attic windows in Newnham's Kennedy building are now open, and the scent of the wisteria outside is wafting through them.
April 30, 2025 at 10:51 AM
The perfect day for start of term meetings with students - my attic windows in Newnham's Kennedy building are now open, and the scent of the wisteria outside is wafting through them.