A celebration of classics with Dr Jan Haywood (University of Leicester) on 'Xenophon's Religious Outlook'

We convene at 18:00 starting with tea and delicious cake. The talk begins at 18:30.

Registration is free. Participants will be asked to pay a nominal fee of £2 on arrival at the venue.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Dr Jan Haywood, University of Leicester

Xenophon's religious outlook

This lecture reassesses Xenophon’s religious outlook by exploring how piety, divination, and human decision-making interact across his diverse corpus. Rather than treating Xenophon as either a straightforward advocate of traditional ideas concerning the gods or a pragmatic military thinker, it argues that he presents divine guidance and human reasoning as complementary modes of understanding the world. Drawing on recent scholarship by, amongst others, Michael Flower and Edward Halper, the talk shows that Xenophontic piety functions not only as a religious obligation but also as a foundation of leadership, ethical behaviour, and sound judgement. Particular attention is given to Xenophon’s conception of divination, which serves not as a substitute for rational planning but as a means of navigating uncertainty and recognising the limits of human knowledge. Xenophon’s religious outlook thus emerges as a coherent vision in which successful action depends upon the integration of practical wisdom, moral virtue and attentiveness to the gods.

Description supplied by the event organiser.