DURHAM, N.H - The University of New Hampshire will celebrate the culture and history of Greece during three days of events, including the 2013 Rouman Lecture, Wednesday, Oct. 23 to Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. All events are free and open to the public.

The classics program at UNH is proud to present valuable and enriching lectures and other events, both to the university community as well as the wider public, and sees this as an important part of the university's commitment to outreach," said Robert Scott Smith, associate professor of classics.

The John C. Rouman Classical Lecture at UNH was created in 1997 by a generous gift from the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Charitable Foundation. This series of lectures and events promotes and enhances awareness of the classics in New Hampshire, throughout New England, and beyond. Topics explored each year by the series cover a range of subjects within Greco-Roman civilization including mythology, literature, history, philosophy, art, and language. Lectures are delivered by internationally-recognized speakers and scholars.

The lecture honors Professor Emeritus John C. Rouman, who taught in the UNH classics program for many years. One of UNH's most distinguished scholars and faculty members, John C. Rouman has exhibited and continues to display extraordinary devotion to the field. A former Fulbright Scholar in Byzantine Greek, Rouman won the prestigious National Award for Excellence in Teaching of Classics and the Distinguished Teaching Award from UNH.

The events, which are presented in partnership with the Onassis Foundation USA, are as follows:

"A Cavafy Celebration"
Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Modern Greece's Most Famous Poet
Wednesday, Oct. 23
7 p.m., M223 Paul Creative Arts Center (PCAC)

Distinguished professors Martin McKinsey (UNH) and Peter Bien (Dartmouth), along with renowned poet and author Dinos Siotis, offer a series of readings and lectures on Cavafy and his reflections on the past.

"Was the Trojan War Real? Recent Excavations at Troy"
The Annual Fall John C. Rouman Lecture
Thursday, Oct. 24
7:30 p.m., Strafford Room, Memorial Union Building

Brian Rose, James B. Prichard Professor of Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania and Curator-in-Charge, Mediterranean Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, shares his experience as excavator at and scholar of Troy.

"Zoe, Eros, and Thanatos: Greek Heroines in Opera"
A Lecture with Narrative and Performance
Friday, Oct. 25
7 p.m., in M223 Paul Creative Arts Center (PCAC)

Professor Ioanna Sfekas-Karvelas teams up with pianist and UNH alum Robert Herschbach to present an evening of opera and lectures on Greek heroines in opera, focusing on such topics as female sacrifice, family curses, determinism and hubris vs. free will, and much, much more.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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