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Elena Claudi

Classics, University of Warwick

Thesis title:

The Representation of Otherness in the Imagines of Philostratus

Research Area

  • Classical Literature
  • Classics

Conferences

10th January 2026: “Vivid Illusion in the Imagines of Philostratus: negotiating boundaries in the ekphrasis of Polyphemus, paper at the Society for Classical Studies 2026 Annual Meeting (San Francisco and online) 

26th September 2025: Looking forward in ekphrasis: Illusion in the Imagines of Philostratus and the Descriptions of Callistratus”, paper at “Romancing Rhetoric: Imperial Fiction and Late-Antique Rhetorical theories and practices” conference organised by Dr. Nicolò D’Alconzo and Prof. Koen De Temmerman (Ghent University) 

16th July 2025: “Performing and experiencing a tour of an art gallery through rhetoric: a comparison between the Imagines of Philostratus and the Satyricon of Petronius”, paper at the 16th Celtic Conference in Classics (University of Coimbra) 

25th April 2025: “Visualising images through words: the challenges of ekphrasis in the Imagines of Philostratus”, 30-minutes workshop presentation at “Why Study Imperial Greek Texts, and How?” workshop organised by Dr. Francesca Modini, Prof. Laurent Pernot and Dr. Caroline Petit (University of Warwick) 

27th February 2025: “Viewing the female object through ekphrasis: Rhodogoune in the Imagines of Philostratus”, invitation to deliver a 1-hour Research Seminar, supported by Leeds Centre for Ancient World and Classical Reception Studies, University of Leeds (University of Leeds)  

27th November 2024: "Love and bestiality: Polyphemus and Galatea in the Imagines of Philostratus", paper presented at the Work In Progress Seminars (University of Warwick) 

12th April 2024: “A Visit to an Art Gallery of Antiquity: the Imagines of Philostratus, paper presented at the Virginia Fox Stern Center for the History of the Book in the Renaissance as part of T&S Society Meetings (Johns Hopkins University) 

24th March 2024: “The ekphrasis of Rhodogoune: a Persian Woman in the Imagines of Philostratus, paper presented at CA conference (University of Warwick) 

15th February 2024: “A Vivid Ekphrastic Fiction of a Persian Queen: Visualising Rhodogoune in Philostratus’ Imagines with Words and Images”, presentation of 6000-word paper submitted before the event with feedback by Prof. Jaś Elsner, CRASIS Masterclass “Between Images and Words” (University of Groningen) 

1st November 2023: “The Representation of Antaeus’ Monstrosity: his Fight with Heracles in the Imagines of Philostratus”, paper presented at the Work In Progress Seminars (University of Warwick)

 

Conference organisation

24th October 2025: "The Ideal and the Ugly: bodies through senses, media and cultural memory" (University of Warwick) – interdisciplinary conference co-organised with Katarina Kompauerova (University of Leicester) and funded by the Cohort Development Fund of AHRC M4C. Keynote speaker: Dr. Anastasia Meintani (University of Vienna); number of papers: 26

22nd May 2024: Annual Postgraduate Colloquium of the Department of Classics and Ancient History (University of Warwick) – co-organised with Shekinah Vera-Cruz (Warwick)

4th October 2023: M4C Research Festival (Austin Court, Birmingham) – Research Relay Team


Fellowships

Johns Hopkins University and Charles Singleton Center for the Study of Premodern EuropeWarwick PhD and Early Career Research Fellowship 

I collaborated with the Singleton Center and the Virginia Fox Stern Center for the History of the Book in the Renaissance; I investigated the reception of Philostratus’ Imagines by Blaise de Vigenère (1523-1596) and used the resources of the Sheridan Libraries and the Centers; I collaborated with the Department of Classics at Johns Hopkins University under the tutorage of Dr. Nandini Pandey to develop my research (28th March 18th April 2024). 

See report here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/jhu/claudi/


Teaching

October 2025-May 2026: Latin Reading Group (University of Warwick, Department of Classics and Ancient History)

13th March 2025: Lecture "Looking backwards and forwards with Imperial Greek Literature" for the module "Encounters with Greek Texts" (University of Warwick, Department of Classics and Ancient History)

October 2024-May 2026: Ancient Greek Reading Group (for two academic years) (University of Warwick, Department of Classics and Ancient History)

January-April 2024: Weekly seminars for the module "Politics of Archaic and Classical Greek Literature: New Mythologies of the Social" (University of Warwick, Department of Classics and Ancient History)



Other Activities

October 2024: Peer Reviewer for the "New Classicist" Journal – peer-reviewed journal funded by the Institute of Classical Studies (London)

2nd-26th August 2023: Summer School: Intensive course in German Language (B1 level) – University of Freiburg (Germany)

13th-22nd May 2023: Gender and Research – online training by Sharon Elliott, Co-Director, The Researcher Development Partnership, Cambridge