What did the Greeks and Romans ever do for Art?

Ancient Greek art blossomed and the Romans took the sculpture, frescoes, vase painting and architecture and made it their own.  What did the Greek and Roman artists achieve that was so world changing? Their unforgettable creations echoed for millennia were a mind-set that established how art has been viewed for centuries. 

Gillian Hovell

After graduating in Latin & Ancient History from Exeter University in 1983, Gillian spent several years working in BBC Television on everything from live television at No.10 to the Domesday Project and a spell in Children’s Programmes, as well as Drama Series & Serials and Science & Features.

Moving to North Yorkshire, Gillian began to throw herself (often literally) into archaeology and started an award-winning writing and public speaking career.

She loves to share history through teaching Latin and Classical History, community archaeology projects, writing books and articles, or presenting in person, on-line, in the media and on tours and cruises to demystify the past – she aims to open our eyes to see that it’s all around us, if we just know where to look …

“But what use is Latin and Ancient History?” is a question Gillian is frequently asked, to which her answers were, and are, many and varied but which nearly always include the concept “because it’s FUN!”.

For history and archaeology are all around us. We see it every day of our lives and use Latin and classical echoes all the time, often without even realising it – and it can be great fun. And it’s a privilege to be at the cutting edge of unearthing and sharing muddy history when she's out on community archaeology sites or major international sites too.

Lecturing on tours has taken her around the ancient civilisations of the Mediterranean and from there right up into the glorious Northern Isles too.