Friday, March 27, 4:30-6:00pm
Social Sciences Tea Room
SSRB 201

Published in 2014, the Newest Sappho papyrus continues to provoke controversy thanks to the absence of reliable information about its provenance, as well as related queries about its authenticity. After setting out the nature and chronology of that controversy, this lecture addresses two questions. First, does the papyrus contain poetry by Sappho? Second, should the absence of a secure provenance for the papyrus lead scholars to disregard it? It is further argued that both these questions (not just the second) deserve, indeed require, the closest scrutiny.

Patrick Finglass is a Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Bristol. His research focuses on classical Greek literature, especially tragedy and lyric poetry, and covers both long-familiar texts and recently-discovered papyri. He is the President of the Bristol branch of the Classical Association.