Prof. Islam Issa to speak on Alexandria’s Homeric Roots
The Anglo-Hellenic League and the British School at Athens present a lecture by Prof. Islam Issa on The Alexandrian Dream on Monday 9 December 2024. Prof. Islam Issa, whose book Alexandria: The City that Changed the World (London: Sceptre, 2023) won the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2024, will speak about ‘The Alexandrian Dream’.
Alexandria was created from scratch, not through war or geographical division. The power of vision and the will to dream were key to the city’s conception and the formation of its subsequent character. As it maintained its position as a trading centre, transport hub and knowledge capital, millions of people — from powerful rulers to simple labourers — have been attracted to the Alexandrian Dream, whether by moving to its shores or by reminiscing on an imagined Alexandria.
Islam Issa is an award-winning British-Egyptian author, broadcaster and curator, named by the BBC as ‘one of the UK’s most significant new thinkers’. He is Professor of Literature and History at Birmingham City University, has written several academic books and curated internationally renowned exhibitions. As well as contributing to the Guardian, New Statesman and Times Literary Supplement, he has presented and featured in television and radio documentaries on the BBC and Netflix.
Islam Issa’s award-winning Alexandria: The City that Changed the World was praised by Prof. Judith Mossman, the chair of the 2024 Runciman judges, as ‘a little like the city it describes: teeming, sprawling, full of life and sunshine, learned and above all a place for many cultures to meet and mingle. It is a wonderfully personal history by an Alexandrian which celebrates the fertility of the city’s hybrid personality, the continuing relevance of its Hellenic origin and its unique contribution to the world. It’s a joyous read, full of fascinating detail, and a gentle humour.’
Combining rigorous research with myth and folklore, Alexandria is an authoritative history of a city that has shaped our modern world. Soon after being founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria became the crucible of cultural exchange between East and West for millennia and the undisputed global capital of knowledge. It was at the forefront of human progress, but it also witnessed brutal natural disasters, plagues, crusades and violence.
Major empires fought over Alexandria, from the Greeks and Romans to the Arabs, Ottomans, French, and British. Key figures shaped the city from its eponymous founder to Aristotle, Cleopatra, Saint Mark the Evangelist, Napoleon Bonaparte and many others, each putting their own stamp on its identity and its fortunes. And millions of people have lived in this bustling seaport on the Mediterranean. From its humble origins to its dizzy heights and its latest incarnation, Islam Issa tells us the rich and gripping story of a city that changed the world.
This event will take place in person at the BSA and online. A recording of the event will subsequently be uploaded to the BSA’s internet archive. There will be opportunities for Q&A after the lecture. A wine reception will follow.
To register to attend in person, click here . To register to watch the livestreamed Zoom webinar, click here. This event is generously sponsored by the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Foundation and the A. G. Leventis Foundation. The reception is generously sponsored by Kokotos Estate.
When: Monday 9 December 2024, 6pm (EET) / 4pm (GMT)
Where: Upper House, British School at Athens, 52 Souedias, Athens 10676 and by Zoom webinar
