Alastair reveals how ancient Greece and Rome are still recognisable to us today.

Alastair began his love of the ancient at Cambridge, completing his doctorate in Greek History before going on to teach at Oxford.

He spent time living in Athens, studying with archaeologists and scholars in Greece where he could imagine the ancient world coming to life.

Alastair's renowned for his vast knowledge and infectious enthusiasm for the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome.

He says that in the ancient world, cheese is the protein hero, not meat, and that Greek statues are disfigured fantasies that represented ideals that could never be attained.

According to Alastair, we also have the ancients to thank for our modern attitudes towards body hair.

He has written books and articles on the Roman orgy, the popularity of abdominal muscles, and representations of Greece and Rome in cinema.

Further information

Alastair is currently the Paul Eliadis Chair of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland.

He has written several books including: Hercules: A Heroic Life, Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity, and Classics on Screen: Ancient Greece and Rome on Film.

Alastair Blanshard returns with more tales of men and gods in Classical Greece and Rome.