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Research on the historian Herodotus, the history of the Achaemenid Persian empire, and the complex relationship between Greek and Persian worlds in the Classical period has had an impact in two main ways:
Public understanding of the classical world has been informed and enhanced through new editions of the prestigious and internationally acclaimed Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD) and its spin-off publications. These key reference items, which have sold in high numbers and been translated into several languages, are available in specialist, university, college and public libraries worldwide, thereby benefitting a wide range of users, including the general public, students, school pupils, and fellow professionals.
Reappraisals of modern responses to antiquity by members of Liverpool's Receptions Research Group (Paul, Hobden and Harrison) from 2004 to 2013 have had impact upon the methods, perspectives, and practices of members of creative communities internationally. Our research thus enables new ways of thinking and forms of expression and benefits practitioners in terms of their personal and professional development.
Three separate examples are included in this case study:
(1) Film-makers: Analysis by Paul of the biopic Alexander (2004) led Hollywood director Oliver Stone to re-appraise his approach to the subject (2009) and thereby reflect upon his methods as cinematic story-teller.
(2) Media practitioners: Hobden's research into ancient world documentaries and the associated Documenting Antiquity workshop (2013) has created opportunities for British media professionals to explore and refine understanding of their own practice, thus contributing to their professional development.
(3) Theatre producers: Harrison's work on Herodotus and empire inspired Australian artist Alison Richards to reconceptualise how performance theatre might contribute to political conversations in `X marks the spot', a theatrical performance paper by the artist (performed in August 2010).
The Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama (APGRD) project approaches the understanding of Greek and Roman tragedies and comedies through gathering evidence about their performance and traces their evolving significance through the way they have been received in performance practice. The APGRD has had significant impact on theatrical performance through its lively interaction with practitioners in the theatre and other performing arts, which has expanded the repertoire of classical drama, and through the commissioning of new work. This research has provided significant cultural and pedagogical benefits through being presented in various public forums (radio, lectures, exhibitions) and through the creation of a searchable open-access online database of more than 11,000 productions from the Renaissance to the present.
Durham University research on Homeric epic has had four main forms of impact:
A. Broader and better informed public appreciation of Homeric poetry, established through collaborations with publishers, museums, and the media.
B. Enhanced learning and teaching of Homeric epic in secondary and tertiary education. This has been achieved through publications and collaborations with schools, teacher associations, private education and teacher-training providers.
C. Homer in the local community: in collaboration with community arts companies, and not-for-profit associations for cultural regeneration, Homeric research has reached new audiences.
D. Improved understanding, treatment and prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, through a close collaboration with a clinical psychiatrist and leading international authority on the condition.
Research by Irene Lemos and Robin Lane Fox on Euboean culture and its dissemination across the Mediterranean has provided cultural, pedagogical, and economic benefits to a range of users. Archaeological investigation by Lemos has contributed to a radical reconfiguring of views of the Iron Age of Greece and of links between Greece and the Near East. Lane Fox integrated this archaeological evidence with research into landscape and mythographic traditions in a monograph Travelling Heroes. The main beneficiaries of the research have been, internationally, readers of Lane Fox's book, viewers of the BBC television programme Greek Myths, and visitors to exhibitions in Athens and Switzerland; within Greece, the people of the village of Lefkandi; and in the UK, the BBC, which has gained revenue from the sale of the TV programme to other broadcasting corporations.
Following on earlier research which re-examined the construction of modern Greece, in 2008-12 Beaton researched the contribution of Byron (and Romanticism) to the creation of the Greek nation-state in the early 19th century, and has published the results in his 2013 book (3.4). The principal impact of Beaton's researches has been to challenge traditional Greek cultural and social assumptions about the continuity of their national identity from the ancient world. The main pathway is his distinctive contribution to the 200-year Greek debate about their national identity which has been intensified by the current socio-economic crisis. The principal beneficiaries are the Greek people, as reflected in public discourse in their mass media, and the non-Greek public interested in these issues. Other nascent beneficiaries are the worldwide community of Byron enthusiasts through cultural enrichment in their knowledge and understanding of Byron's role in creating modern Greece.
Classical Receptions at the OU raises awareness of how Greek and Roman texts, ideas and material culture have been interpreted, used and reworked, particularly in society today. Our research provides cultural and arts practitioners around the world — translators, poets and actors — with the tools to interpret ancient texts in modern contexts. Much of our research is presented in open-access assets — website, journals, seminars, workshops, conferences — thus providing resources both nationally and internationally. Working with the creative industries and beyond, we also help the wider public to gain a fuller understanding of the place of the classical within the contemporary world.
Research 2005-12 has opened up new perspectives on Herakles-Hercules, tracing links between the ancient hero and his post-classical incarnations, and laying the foundations for further study of Hercules' long-lasting cross-cultural significance. The impact has three strands:
Papyrological research since 1993 by Oxford scholars has led to important new discoveries that have promoted increased public understanding and discussion of ancient literature and history. Research on documentary papyri has led to greater awareness of daily life in Oxyrhynchus, a Graeco-Roman provincial capital in central Egypt. The publication and translation of a new poem by Sappho has led to its inclusion in new translations of Sappho and ancient Greek lyric by leading publishers. Major Digital Humanities projects, Oxyrhynchus Online and Ancient Lives, have made the Oxyrhynchus papyri available to the public through the use of a web interface. Mass participation facilitated by the project has received wide publicity for increasing the engagement of the public with the methods and materials of scientific research. The website has had a major pedagogical impact through its use in schools.