Ruby Blondell
Professor, Classics
"Advertised for 2700 Years and Now You Get Her!" - Helen of Troy on the Silver Screen
In an era that believes beauty is in the eye of the beholder, how can one possibly cast any individual performer as the most beautiful woman in the world? This talk explores how harnessing the glamour of stardom is the most persuasive means of capturing Helen of Troy’s mythical celebrity on screen.
Professor Ruby Blondell is the author of Helen of Troy: Beauty, Myth, Devastation (Oxford University Press 2013) and has presented on the subject at GeekGirlCon 2013 and the Getty Villa.
2014/2015 Performing Arts Lecture Series
From Helen of Troy to the Kardashian sisters, celebrities, or (in Joseph Roach’s definition) “abnormally interesting people,” have fascinated the public imagination over the centuries. This series of lectures from scholars and art practitioners across academic disciplines considers why certain historical figures or fictional characters have possessed a special power to fascinate their public.