I believe passionately that it is the fundamental responsibility of every academic not only to engage the academic community in debate and discussion but also to work hard to interest and engage as wide a public as possible in the study of their subject. The ancient world is still all around us, still bound up in our institutions, cultures and languages, and we continually evoke it as an active guide for our present and future. As a result, it is more important than ever that there is a vibrant and on-going public debate about the nature of the ancient world. I seek to contribute to that debate through writing books aimed directly at people who have no previous knowledge of the ancient world, through presenting TV documentaries which aim to bring the ancient world back to life, by writing comment and news features for British and World Press about important aspects of the ancients and their impact on the 21st century and by working with schools across the country, as well as with holiday companies across the Mediterranean to encourage greater interest in Greece and Rome.

Click on the links below to see some of my most recent work in these different areas. Click here to see reviews of my work.

LATEST NEWS:

Books

In October 2009, Icon published my first popular history book entitled From Democrats to Kings - The Brutal Dawn of a New World from the Downfall of Athens to the Rise of Alexander the Great. Paperback is due out June 2010. For more information about the book, click here.

TV & Media

Take a look at my show reel here!
I have recently appeared as an on-screen historical consultant and presenter for several series about the Ancient World on the History channel. See TV & Media for more information

Lecturing (Cruises, School Talks, Comment)

BBC History Magazine

In the May 2010 edition of BBC History Magazine, I write about the 2500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon and its significance for today. Read my article in the magazine and listen to my podcast through the BBC History Magazine website.

Ancient Greece Column


On 1st February 2010, Neos Kosmos newspaper in Australia published the first installment of my regular column 'Ancient Greece: the reality'. Look out for new installments every fortnight during 2010, in which I will be investigating everything from Greek democracy to graves, punishments for adultery to prizes in athletic games and from Greece's great battles to its favourite tipple.

The column will also be published online by BBC History Magazine in the UK.

Guest Lecturing

In 2010, I will be lecturing aboard the Island Sky for Noble Caledonia cruises sailing from Istanbul to Cyprus.
See Noble Caledonia for more information.

In 2011, I will be guest lecturer aboard a Spirit of Adventure cruise from Rome to Barcelona via the coast of North Africa.

In 2007, I was an academic consultant to easyCruise, a venture by Stelios of easyJet fame, who is running a new cruise tour of Classical Greece. I was involved in planning and marketing the tour.

In November 07 and March 08 I was guest lecturer aboard easyCruise. See the reviews of my tour.