The Cycladic island of Anafi is the site of a temple dedicated to Apollo Asgelatos (Aigletes), visited by (among others) Hiller von Gaertringen. It is now the shrine of the islanders' patron saint.  The island has also been used as a place of exile and is now visited by travellers and tourists in seach of  'an unspoilt Greek island.

Roman emperors were special, but not in a good way: they were more often murdered than any other rulers in the history of Europe, and they were far less often succeeded by family members than rulers in any other major monarchy in the history of the world. How can we demonstrate and explain Roman exceptionalism? This lecture highlights the crucial importance of a global cross-cultural comparative perspective for our understanding of ancient (or any) history.

The history of Roman comedy confronting the togata playwright Afranius (late second century BCE) included a century of traditionalism and experimentation in performances in Latin as well as a substantial ‘pre-history’ of Greek drama. In this talk I explore how Afranian comedy extended those traditions and experiments, focusing especially on the comic treatment of marriages and families. I seek to argue that Afranius drew extensively on and reworked that comic past to create innovative theater that also had a role to play in contemporary Rome.