Balliol College and the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford are happy to announce the eighth Martin West Memorial Lecture, to be held in the Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies (66 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LU), at 5.30 pm on Friday, 5th June 2026.
In honour of one of the college’s and faculty’s most distinguished alumni, Martin Litchfield West (23rd September 1937–13 July 2015), these lectures focus on ancient Greek poetry and music, two of the many fields in classical scholarship to which Professor West made an extraordinary contribution.
We are delighted that Professor Douglas Cairns, of the University of Edinburgh, will be delivering the lecture this year; his paper is entitled ‘Performing consolation in the Iliad’.
The lecture will commence at 5.30 pm, and will be followed by a drinks reception in the Ioannou Centre. Everyone is welcome to attend. Those who wish to dine afterwards in Balliol with the speaker should notify Adrian Kelly (adrian.kelly@balliol.ox.ac.uk) before 25th May. Dinner costs £55 (3 courses, with wine).
Note: this is not a Classical Association event – please contact the organisers directly with any enquiries.