The Guardian’s chief culture writer, Charlotte Higgins, writes brilliantly on all aspects of Classics, from Roman Britain to her latest book, a revelatory retelling of the key Ancient Greek myths, focusing on female figures, including Athena, Andromache, Helen and Penelope. Comparing her new book to an ancient mythological compendium, Charlotte Higgins writes that it sets out ‘to underline the power of the Greek myths to produce resonance for every new reader and writer, and for every generation’.

Charlotte Higgins will be in conversation with novelist and biographer Carlo Gébler, whose latest novel, I, Antigone, is the unforgettable story of Oedipus, as written by his daughter, Antigone. In this vigorous and original new telling, Antigone’s ‘biography’ of her father asks us to re-evaluate the extent to which any of us can be entirely blamed for the actions by which we will be defined.

‘When we are in trouble, as we are today, we revert to the literature of the ancients,’ Gébler wrote in his recent version of Aesop’s Fables. Together these two superb authors will explore the ways in which the Greek myths are, in Higgins’ words, ‘the opposite of timeless: they are timely.’

This event will be chaired by arts broadcaster and journalist, Paula Shields

ClassicsNow is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland

To read more information about this event, see https://www.classicsnow.ie/

In line with government guidelines announced on 17 December, this event is capped at 50% capacity. All events will finish before 8pm.

• Covid Certification is required for entry for everyone over 18 years of age.

• Proof of ID may also be requested.

• Mandatory mask wearing will remain in place throughout the event.