The reception of classical antiquity in popular culture

Career overview

Dr Gideon Nisbet attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he completed his undergraduate studies before pursuing doctoral research on Greek satirical epigrams from the early centuries AD. He earned his DPhil in Classical Languages and Literature in 1998, with a version of his thesis published as *Greek Epigram in the Roman Empire: Martial''s Forgotten Rivals* by Oxford University Press in 2003. While completing his doctorate, he worked as a researcher on the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus Project, maintaining a keen interest in the insights that surviving fragments of ancient texts provide about literary culture and life in antiquity. Dr Nisbet''s teaching has fostered a strong interest in classical reception studies, particularly how modern cultures interpret and engage with the ancient past. This interest culminated in his second book, *Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture*, published by Exeter Press in 2006. He has since returned to the study of epigram, co-authoring the Greece and Rome New Survey on *Epigram* (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and contributing to various edited volumes. His recent academic work includes *Greek Epigram in Reception* (Oxford University Press, 2013), which explores the interactions between nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain and ancient Greek literature. He has also translated a selection of Martial’s Epigrams for the World’s Classics series (Oxford University Press, 2015) and is currently working on a book about the modern reception of Lucian of Samosata.

Research interests

Dr Gideon Nisbet''s research focuses on Greek and Latin literature, particularly epigram and Greek writers in the Roman Empire. He has a keen interest in ancient books on papyrus and the reception of classical antiquity in modern culture. His doctoral research centred on Greek satirical epigrams from the early centuries AD, which culminated in the publication of his thesis as *Greek Epigram in the Roman Empire: Martial''s Forgotten Rivals*. He has been involved in the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus Project, exploring what surviving fragments reveal about ancient life and literary culture. Dr Nisbet has also published works on classical reception, particularly how modern cultures represent the ancient past, as seen in his book *Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture*. His recent academic work includes *Greek Epigram in Reception*, which examines the interaction between nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain and the ancient Greek past. He is currently working on a monograph titled *Hallucinating Lucian: The Twilight of a Classical Reputation*, focusing on the modern reception of Lucian of Samosata.