Prof. Tim Whitmarsh - The View from the Barrel: Atheism in Ancient Greece

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Most people think of atheism as something modern and western, but in fact it has a rich, deep and weird history to rival any religion’s. In this talk we’ll meet some of classical antiquity’s most brilliant and engaging characters, including Diogenes (who lived in a barrel) and Socrates (who didn’t). We’ll also reflect on what it means, for us now, to think of atheism as something with a history older than Islam and Christianity.

Prof. Whitmarsh is the author of Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World, described by the New York Times as ‘excellent’, by the Guardian as ‘brilliant’, and by his mother as ‘alright if you like that kind of thing’. As well as another 6 books (about Greek literature, thought and culture), he has written for the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books, and has appeared a number of times on BBC TV and radio. He has held professorial positions in the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Exeter.

http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/directory/professor-tim-whitmarsh

Twitter -@TWhittermarsh

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