Carol Atack
Ancient politics and political thought, modern art, Plato and Xenophon. Fellow of Newnham College, FRHistS. Cambridge and elsewhere. Recent books: Plato: a civic life (Reaktion) and Xenophon (Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics, Cambridge).
- American Psycho at the Almeida - the Guardian has it right, Brett Easton Ellis's novel caught something about 80s culture that was not good then... interesting to hear the audience last night laugh at some dated references, gasp at others which have become more salient in the present moment...
- Fabulous Alexander the Great, painted by the Master of the Story of Griselda in the 1490s, currently visiting the Courtauld Gallery in London from the Barber Institute in Birmingham, originally from Tuscany.
- Fascinating Slade lecture in Cambridge from Professor Terry Smith, opening his series ’Frames of Vision: The Intelligence of Artists’ with ‘Visual Allegories of Seeing as Knowing, Plato and Giorgione’, showing how Plato’s Cave operates as a ‘hyper-icon’ across time and genre.
- For the start of term, here’s one of Axel Salto’s many takes on the story of Actaeon from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, currently on display at the Hepworth Wakefield in a fabulous show of his ceramic and other works.
- A long list of museums, archives and libraries - worth looking to see if any of your favourites are using this site.
- A Bluesky challenge! We've got so many great heritage/GLAM accounts here now, that some are flying under the radar From national organisations to niche collections, these active accounts are all (at time of posting) under 500 followers-lowest at 9-how many can we get over 500? go.bsky.app/U16Nwswat://did:plc:ftf7vbjjxo5a2evku73enyoe/app.bsky.graph.starterpack/3mc6grjyyjh24
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- It’s roughly the tenth anniversary of David Bowie’s death and of me playing my Sex and Gender in classical Greece students this video. No better illustration of early 1970s UK discourse on sexuality than the gap between performers & audience which Bowie bridges so well. m.youtube.com/watch?v=RIrH...
- One of my schools talks/taster lectures is called 'The Fragility of Democracy', and I've enjoyed sharing it with many school groups over the past few years, looking at how ancient Greek democracy handled political crises. Right now, am busy updating it for its next outing on Monday...
- The paperback of my 'Plato: a civic life' will be published on March 1st. I'll be doing some more talks and podcasts in support, and will add details to this thread as they're confirmed. More info and a pre-order link here: reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/plato
- I'll be speaking about Plato and his life in Athens at the Oxford Literary Festival on Wednesday March 25. oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-e...
- Happy New Year from the Yorkshire seaside. With best wishes to all for 2026 and especially those who’ll be spending the year completing overdue monographs…
- Manuscript now submitted!
- Hearing from @polphilpod.bsky.social that my 'Plato's tyrant' episode has made the top 5 of his Political Philosophy podcast this year, remembered to post a picture of the 'Plato's tyrant' protest sign which the artist Peter Liversidge made for me at his sign-making studio installation in October.
- So much enjoyed talking to Toby @polphilpod.bsky.social and glad that others enjoyed listening!
- most downloaded interviews in 2025: 5. plato's tyrant @carolatack.bsky.social 4. ignoring politics @chrisfreiman.bsky.social 3. the eu @simonhix.bsky.social 2. the political right & equality @mattpolprof.bsky.social 1. it's fascism @kjephd.bsky.social www.politicalphilosophypodcast.com
- If you’re looking for wholesome family content how about Giuliano Bugiardini’s delightful family group with Leda, Castor, Clytemnestra and a rather tame swan? Painted in the 1520s and now on display in the Casa Museo Ivan Bruschi, Arezzo?
- A very exciting start to the month as the final contribution to the Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Political Thought arrived in my inbox - heading now to submission of a complete and formatted manuscript! Partial contents list as a teaser below:
- Such sad news. I loved my lilac and silver mini dress from Pam Hogg's 1980s Kensington market stall. A truely original creative spirit.
- My review of Ryan Balot's 'Tragedy, Philosophy, and Political Education in Plato's Laws' now published by Sehepunkte (in English); while I wasn't sure about the book's overall claim about the dialogue's philosophical coherence, I found much valuable analysis in it. www.sehepunkte.de/2025/11/4010...
- Warmly recommend Harold Offeh 'Mmm Gotta Try a Little Harder, It Could Be Sweet' at Kettle's Yard - a friendly & generous exploration of identity, playful & participatory - impossible not to dance along to Haroldinho's samba moves, fun to make your own Afrofuturist record cover art.
- Published today! Really pleased to see Aristophanes and the Current Moment in print via @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social. My contribution, 'Aristophanes and the Gendered Politics of Performative Assembly' applies Judith Butler's analysis of public protest to Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Ecclesiazusae.
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- Lucky to catch the last weekend of the stunning San Casciano bronzes' visit to Berlin - these sculptures were ritually buried at a Tuscan healing sanctuary in the 1st century CE after a lightning strike, & were excavated in the last few years. So revelatory about ancient religious practice
- 'Nanti time like the present. come on, let's get it on...'. Loving Prof Jennifer Ingleheart's trio of translations of Catullus into Polari, the old language of gay Londoners, in Shearsman 145-6. www.shearsman.com/shearsman-ma...
- Cambridge’s Black Atlantic connections, a major research project for the Fitzwilliam Museum - commemorating Olaudah Equiano’s Cambridgeshire family, www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- The Almeida Theatre adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty captures the glamour and grime of 1980s London, where financial buccaneering, racial inequality and the AIDS crisis upended lives, but we all danced to excellent music. Five stars from me especially for the cast & the design.
- Great story and important history from the National Army Museum in today's @theguardian.com - a newly acquired portrait shines a light on a Black veteran of Waterloo, one of several Black soldiers honoured for their service in the Napoleonic wars. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
- On BBC4 tonight, Angie Hobbs on Bryan Magee's series the Great Philosophers, first broadcast in 1987, followed by the first three interviews: Myles Burnyeat on Plato, Martha Nussbaum on Aristotle, and Anthony Kenny on mediaeval philosophy: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
- Mixed verdict on the @nationaltheatre.org.uk Bacchae - amazing staging and design, loved the chorus, some great performances. Deeply unconvinced though by the back-story given to Pentheus, and some of Dionysus' story - and the omission of Cadmus. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/...
- Unmissable new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge - Made in Ancient Egypt explores this ancient culture through the makers of objects, their skills & the materials they used. Some exquisite objects - I liked this statuette. On show until April 2026.
- I've been podcasting again! This time I spoke about how 'Plato: a civic life' provides the historical background to Plato's thought and helps to explain how his ideas developed - with Morteza Hajizadeh from New Books Network: newbooksnetwork.com/plato
