Leverhulme Visiting Professor David M Pritchard will undertake a national speaking tour of Britain on 'Children of Athena: The armed forces of Ancient Democratic Athens'. IntroductionAncient Athens perfected democracy. The plays of this Greek state are still staged today. Athens is famous for these democratic and cultural successes. It is matter of real national pride that the United Kingdom remains at the forefront of the study of them. It is ancient historians here who have written the best comprehensive studies of the democracy and the cultural festivals of classical Athens. Less well known is the other side of this success story. Athenian military might The classical Athenians transformed warfare and became a superpower. Their armed forces were unmatched in size and professionalism. Because Athens is not famous for war today, there is no comprehensive study of this military success. Not many in the United Kingdom even study this warmaking, even though it was, for the ancient Athenians, their topmost public priority. The University of Edinburgh is filling this significant gap by hosting Leverhulme Visiting Professor David M. Pritchard, who is, arguably, the world leader on Athenian military history. His Leverhulme Lectures, which Cambridge University Press will publish in 2027, will be the comprehensive study of the Athenian armed forces that is sorely needed. As a Leverhulme Visiting Professor, he is going on a Leverhulme National Speaking Tour, seeing him give seminars, lectures and masterclasses at 18 British universities. Leverhulme Visiting Professor David M Pritchard You can find the staff profile of Leverhulme Visiting Professor David M. Pritchard, and further information about his publications at the links below. Professor Pritchard's staff profile Publications Leverhulme National Speaking TourThe national speaking tour of Leverhulme Visiting Professor David M Pritchard runs from 7 October to 9 December 2026. The titles and the abstracts of the 10 talks that he is delivering on this tour will be available shortly.You will be able to download a poster for his Leverhulme National Speaking Tour shortly. The 18 Official Stops of this Leverhulme National Speaking Tour – as well as the dates – are as follows:LocationDateVenueEdinburghWed 7 OctoberUniversity of Edinburgh St AndrewsFri 9 OctoberUniversity of St Andrews GlasgowWed 14 OctoberUniversity of Glasgow BristolTues 20 OctoberUniversity of Bristol ExeterWed 21 OctoberUniversity of Exeter CardiffFri 23 OctoberCardiff University NewcastleMon-Wed 26-28 OctoberNewcastle University DurhamThu 29 OctoberDurham University OxfordMon-Wed 2-4 NovemberUniversity of Oxford LondonThu-Fri 5-6 NovemberInstitute of Classical Studies Milton KeynesFri 13 NovemberOpen University LeedsMon 16 NovemberUniversity of Leeds LiverpoolWed 18 NovemberUniversity of Liverpool ManchesterThu-Fri 19-20 NovemberUniversity of Manchester CoventryWed 25 NovemberUniversity of Warwick CambridgeThu-Fri 26-7 NovemberUniversity of Cambridge BirminghamWed-Thu 2-3 DecemberUniversity of Birmingham ReadingWed 9 DecemberUniversity of Reading Follow the School You can keep up with the latest School news, events and developments by following us on Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook. The School also has a blog, and an Eventbrite account. Instagram Bluesky Facebook School blog Eventbrite Find out what else is onThe School of History, Classics and Archaeology offers an exciting programme of seminars across many subjects areas. Visit the research seminars website to find out what else is happening. Research seminars and events calendar Tags Classics Research Lecture This article was published on Thursday 1 August 2024
