Lecture by Dr. Mary Beard (University of Cambridge), presented by Prof. Carmen Fernández Ochoa (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) and Dr. Javier Salido Domínguez (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), first in the series “Dialogues with the Classical World”.

Ancient Rome has provided two great legacies to today’s world: public works and law. But alongside these are an infinite number of lesser legacies, many of which we are not even aware exist.

It was never easy to return from Troy! After nine years of fierce fighting, the valiant Idomeneo, King of Crete, son of Deucalion and grandson of Minos, will meet his terrible fate on his return to the island, as he will be the cause of his son’s death. The myth will know different versions and will go beyond the frontiers of antiquity until it reaches the 18th century, where numerous recreations will take place, including Mozart’s famous opera, Idomeneo, premiered in 1781.

Cycle of conferences whose aim is to disseminate astronomy through initiatives in numerous cultural entities in Madrid, disseminating their collections and promoting meetings and communication between the different areas of knowledge.

Our satellite is an integral part of our culture, an inexhaustible source of mythology and symbolism, and has also been fundamental to the advancement of science. From synergy comes knowledge: the only way for the Babylonian eclipse lists to make sense is to accept that the days in 500 BC were shorter than they are today. The clay markings of an ancient civilisation contain extremely precise astronomical information that we know how to interpret because we have placed scientific instruments on the surface of the Moon. No other celestial body is so ubiquitous in human cultures. They have all named it after themselves (Diana, Artemis, Thoth, Chandra, Chang’e, Nanna). The Moon will take us by the hand on this journey of human cultures with scientific knowledge.