Bettany Hughes
Encyclopedia
Bettany Hughes is an English academic historian, author and broadcaster.
Hughes' father is the actor Peter Hughes
and her brother is the cricketer and journalist Simon Hughes
. Hughes was educated at the private Notting Hill & Ealing High School
, in Ealing
and won a scholarship to read Ancient and Modern History at St Hilda's College
, University of Oxford
where she received an upper second degree.
She has taught at Bristol, Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge Universities and is a currently a Research Fellow of King's College London
and an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University
. Her first book Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore has now been translated into ten languages. Her second book The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life was Book of The Week on BBC Radio 4. The Hemlock Cup has been extremely enthusiastically reviewed and was chosen as Book of the Year in a wide range of publications for 2010. In 2010 Hughes was awarded the Naomi Sargent Prize for Broadcast Excellence and was given a Special Award for services to Hellenic Culture and Heritage. She has written and presented documentary films and series for National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, PBS, The History Channel and Channel 4. Her television programmes have now been seen by over 100 million worldwide.
In 2010 she gave the Hellenic Institute's Tenth Annual lecture 'TA EROTIKA: THE THINGS OF LOVE. She was also asked to chair the 2011 Orange prize for Fiction, the UK's only annual book award for fiction written by a woman. In 2012 Bettany will be hosting the 'Real Olympics in London' and curating an Olympiad Exhibition at the British Library that explores the theme of 'Idea'.
She is a long-standing patron and supporter of educational and campaigning charity The Iris Project
, which has been promoting and teaching Latin and Greek in state schools since 2006. She is also an honorary patron of Classics For All, a national campaign to get classical languages and the study of classical civilisations back into state schools in the UK launched in 2010. She is also an advisor to the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation which fosters large-scale collaborative projects between East and West.
Her husband is Adrian Evans, the producer of Archaos
in the UK and the director of the South Bank Thames Festival
. The couple have two children.
Hughes' father is the actor Peter Hughes
Peter Hughes (actor)
Peter Hughes is an English actor.Hughes has extensive film, television and theatre experience as a character actor. In the 1950s he was a stalwart of the Richmond Theatre repertory company with actress Anne Ridler...
and her brother is the cricketer and journalist Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes (cricketer)
Simon Peter Hughes is an English cricketer and journalist. He is the son of the actor, Peter Hughes, and the brother of the historian Bettany Hughes.-Cricket career:...
. Hughes was educated at the private Notting Hill & Ealing High School
Notting Hill & Ealing High School
Notting Hill and Ealing High School is an independent school for girls aged 4 - 18, located in West Ealing, a suburb of London. Founded in 1873 it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust...
, in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
and won a scholarship to read Ancient and Modern History at St Hilda's College
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
where she received an upper second degree.
She has taught at Bristol, Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge Universities and is a currently a Research Fellow of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
and an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
. Her first book Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore has now been translated into ten languages. Her second book The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life was Book of The Week on BBC Radio 4. The Hemlock Cup has been extremely enthusiastically reviewed and was chosen as Book of the Year in a wide range of publications for 2010. In 2010 Hughes was awarded the Naomi Sargent Prize for Broadcast Excellence and was given a Special Award for services to Hellenic Culture and Heritage. She has written and presented documentary films and series for National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, PBS, The History Channel and Channel 4. Her television programmes have now been seen by over 100 million worldwide.
In 2010 she gave the Hellenic Institute's Tenth Annual lecture 'TA EROTIKA: THE THINGS OF LOVE. She was also asked to chair the 2011 Orange prize for Fiction, the UK's only annual book award for fiction written by a woman. In 2012 Bettany will be hosting the 'Real Olympics in London' and curating an Olympiad Exhibition at the British Library that explores the theme of 'Idea'.
She is a long-standing patron and supporter of educational and campaigning charity The Iris Project
The Iris Project
The Iris Project is an educational charity which was started in 2006 by Dr Lorna Robinson in order to bring ancient languages and culture to inner city state schools and communities...
, which has been promoting and teaching Latin and Greek in state schools since 2006. She is also an honorary patron of Classics For All, a national campaign to get classical languages and the study of classical civilisations back into state schools in the UK launched in 2010. She is also an advisor to the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation which fosters large-scale collaborative projects between East and West.
Her husband is Adrian Evans, the producer of Archaos
Archaos (circus)
Archaos is a French contemporary circus created by Pierrot Bidon in 1986. It is an alternative, theatrical circus without animals, featuring dangerous stunts like chainsaw juggling, fire breathing, wall of death, etc. Archaos found fame in the UK through Pierrot's association with Adrian Evans, who...
in the UK and the director of the South Bank Thames Festival
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
. The couple have two children.
Television
- Breaking the Seal (2000). BBC/OU
- Mysteries of the Ancients (2002).
- The SpartansThe Spartans (documentary)The Spartans was a 3-part historical documentary series first broadcast on UK terrestrial Channel 4 in 2003, presented by Bettany Hughes. A book, The Spartans: An epic history by Paul Cartledge accompanied the series.-Episodes:...
(2002) - produced by Lion TV, three 60-minute episodes. - Ancient DiscoveriesAncient DiscoveriesAncient Discoveries is a documentary television series that premiered on December 21, 2003 on The History Channel. The program focuses on ancient technologies. The show's theme is that many inventions which are thought to be modern have ancient roots or in some cases may have been lost and then...
(2003) - produced by the History Channel. - Seven Ages of BritainSeven Ages of Britain (Channel 4 series)Seven Ages of Britain is a 2003 British documentary television series. The seven part series was shown by Channel 4 between 15 November and 20 December 2003.- Episodes :- External links :* at Channel 4...
(2003) — a social history from the Ice AgeIce ageAn ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
to the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. - The Minotaur's Island (2003) - produced by Lion TV.
- The Minoans (2004) - produced by Lion TV.
- Helen of Troy (2005) — produced by Lion TV.
- When The Moors Ruled In EuropeWhen The Moors Ruled In EuropeWhen The Moors Ruled In Europe is a documentary movie presented by the English historian Bettany Hughes. It is a two-part series on the contribution the Moors made to Europe during their 700-year reign in Spain and Portugal ending in the 15th century. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 Saturday 5...
(2005). - Athens: the Dawn of Democracy (2007). Former title Athens: the Truth about Democracy.
- Engineering Ancient Egypt (2008).
- The Roman Invasion of BritainThe Roman Invasion of BritainThe Roman Invasion of Britain shows us how for several centuries, immediately after the time of Christ, the people of Britain found themselves if not the slaves then certainly the servants of one of the mightiest empires the world has ever seen - the empire of Rome. In this three-part series every...
(2009). - The Bible: A History - (2010) Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
: one episode (4 of 7) titled Daughters of Eve. - Time TeamTime TeamTime Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
(2010) Channel 4: season 17, episode 1 - Atlantis: the Evidence (2010): A TimewatchTimewatchTimewatch is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29th September 1982 and is produced by the BBC, the Timewatch brandname is used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual...
special about the lost continent being the volcanic island of SantoriniSantoriniSantorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera... - Alexandria, City of Dreams, More 4, 2010
- The Day Jesus Died, BBC One, 2010
- Countrywise, ITV, 2009–2011
- Forgiveness, BBC One, 2011
- The Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World, BBC Two, 2011
- The Story of the East, Channel 4, 2011
- Nefertiti - The True Face, Discovery Channel, forthcoming
Radio
- There's Something About Eleanor of Aquitaine - BBC Radio 3, 2004
- Amongst the MediciAmongst the MediciAmongst the Medici is a radio documentary series by historian Bettany Hughes. The series aired in 3-parts on BBC Radio 4 between February-March 2006....
- 3 parts, BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, February–March 2006. - Sisters of Aphrodite - BBC Radio 3, 2007
- Byzantium Unearthed - 3 parts, BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, October 2008 - Call Yourself a Feminist - 3 parts, BBC Radio 4, 2009
- Great LivesGreat LivesGreat Lives is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol. It is presented by Matthew Parris. A distinguished guest is asked to nominate the person they feel is truly deserving of the title "Great Life". Matthew and a recognised expert are on hand to discuss the life...
- SapphoSapphoSappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
episode 2 of series 22, BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, 10 August 2010 - In Search of the Aryans Sunday Special - BBC Radio 3, 2010
- Banishing Eve - 3 parts, BBC Radio 4, 2010
Books
- Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore, 2005. ISBN 0-224-07177-7.
- The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life, 2010. ISBN 0-224-07178-5
Academic Publications
- "Terrible, Excruciating, Wrong-Headed And Ineffectual": The Perils and Pleasures of Presenting Antiquity to a Television Audience - Dunstan Lowe, Kim Shahabudin (ed.), Classics for All: Reworking Antiquity in Mass Culture. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
- "Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore - European Cultural Centre of Delphi, XIII International Meeting On Ancient Drama 2007, The Women in Ancient Drama, Symposium Proceedings
External links
- Bettany Hughes Official Website