In March 2026, we were lucky to welcome Professor Helen Lovatt (University of Nottingham) to High Storrs School, for a special talk about Virgil’s Aeneid. Written around 30-19 BCE, Virgil’s Aeneid is a 12-book Latin epic (29–19 BC). The poem follows the journey of the Trojan hero, Aeneas. (Aeneas is the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty.)
Here is a blog post written by Professor John Drinkwater, a lecturer in Roman history and Chair of the Sheffield & District branch of the Classical Association.
On Wednesday 25th March 2026 the Branch was treated to an unusual and thought-provoking talk by Professor Helen Lovatt (University of Nottingham) on ‘The Power of Sadness in Virgil’s Aeneid’.
Referring to passages throughout the epic, Professor Lovatt demonstrated how different characters are depicted as reacting in different ways to extreme sorrow. Thus, in a neat contrast, while the tragedy of defeat makes Hecuba stay and cling to the altar as a suppliant, Priam has already donned his ancient armour to fight to the death.
In addition to its intellectual richness, the lecture offered students the valuable opportunity to experience scholarship delivered by a blind woman, a group still significantly underrepresented within academia. Seeing academic authority embodied in someone whose lived experience challenges assumptions about disability provided a powerful and inclusive model of who can produce and share knowledge.
The lecture, held at High Storrs School, Sheffield, attracted a gratifyingly large audience of around 70 people. This included pupils and staff from all three schools still teaching Classical subjects in Sheffield: High Storrs School, Sheffield Girls’ High School and Birkdale School.
Thank you to our Classics and Latin department for arranging this wonderful talk! And thank you very much to Professor Lovatt for joining us and to Professor Drinkwater for this blog post. It was wonderful to welcome over 60 guests to the lecture, including visitors from neighbouring schools, all of whom shared a keen interest in Classics and ancient Roman poetry.
To keep up with news and events from the High Storrs Classics department, follow them on Facebook here.