Science & Society: World War I And The Ancient World

This is part of 'Science & Society', a series of free public talks about science, technology, and the humanities from the Canterbury Branch of the Royal Society

World War I and the ancient world

Dr Gary Morrison, Head of Classics, University of Canterbury

Gary will present a lecture on his WWI project, where he will introduce how New Zealanders’ reflections on and ultimately memory of WWI (and in particular Gallipoli) is influenced by the ancient world. Heroic imagery from antiquity helps frame the narrative of WWI. He will show that the allusions to antiquity are present in the personal diaries of combatants and the newspaper articles at home.