Translation and the Magnitude of Historical Figures

Panel 1: Homer, Lorca and Seferis

📍 Location: Cyprus House, London

🕔 Time: 17:00 (UK) / 19:00 (Greece)

🎟️ Attendance: In person or online, reserve your spot via link here

The Cyprus High Commission in London opens its new cultural season with a distinguished international panel exploring the creative, intellectual, and political challenges of translating monumental literary figures across languages, histories, and cultures.

Chaired from the Cyprus House by Dr Gonda Van Steen, Koraes Chair of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature at King’s College London, the discussion brings together four leading scholars, poets, and translators: Dimitra Kotoula, Andry Christofidou-Antoniadou, Jennifer Kellogg, and Afroditi Athanasopoulou. Through the figures of Homer, Federico García Lorca, and George Seferis, the panel examines what it means to engage creatively and critically with authors whose lives and works loom large in world literature.

The event will take place in a hybrid, radio-style format. While all speakers will join online, the chair will host the discussion live from the Cyprus House, creating an intimate setting for those attending in person and an internationally connected conversation for online audiences. This format highlights the spoken word, attentive listening, and the shared experience of ideas unfolding in real time.

Special emphasis is placed on the participation of Cypriot scholar Andry Christofidou-Antoniadou, whose extensive research and translations of Lorca have been internationally recognised, as well as on Seferis’ enduring relationship with Cyprus — a thread that connects literature, history, and diplomacy.

The evening will conclude with an informal reception, offering an opportunity for continued conversation.