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Leaders, Lecturers & Tour Managers

Dr Christopher Gribbin

Christopher has been fascinated by the ancient world since the age of four, when he saw an exhibition of objects from Pompeii. That led (some time later) to a Ph.D. in Classics, looking at the interaction between religion and philosophy in sixth century BC Greece. Christopher has a particular interest in understanding how people make sense of the world, whether through religion, philosophy, story-telling, art or architecture. He is an Adjunct Lecturer at La Trobe University and has previously lectured in Classics at Melbourne and Monash Universities.

In 2002, Christopher set up the University of Melbourne’s popular Classics Summer School and ran it for 15 years. In 2018 he began teaching with the Hellenic Museum Summer School (www.hellenic.org.au/summer-school). Christopher’s summer schools provide short courses on ancient Greece and Rome for the general public each January. Participants particularly enjoy his relaxed but enthusiastic and thought-provoking style and the summer school have become an annual fixture for many people.

Christopher has also been involved with some less traditional means of bringing the ancient world alive for modern audiences. He was an academic advisor for the Hellenic Museum’s Retrial of Socrates, which featured prominent barristers arguing about Socrates’ guilt before a panel of Supreme Court and County Court judges. He worked on the ABC’s award-winning website Winged Sandals, which brings ancient myths to life for modern children. A highlight of that for Christopher was developing an interactive recreation of the Delphic oracle. He also runs regular Socratic discussion groups, where people use the techniques of the ancient philosopher Socrates to discuss modern issues.

Christopher first joined ASA as a tour lecturer in 2016. His tours include An Adriatic Journey: from Trieste to Dubrovnik (2016-2019) and Cyprus: Civilisations of the Eastern Mediterranean (2023-2024). In 2025 he co-leads ASA new tour Andalucía: Cultural Landscapes of Southern Spain.

Find out more about Christopher at classicsmelb.wixsite.com/cgribbin

Travel Tuesdays: Explore the World Virtually:
The Late Bronze Age was a period of prosperity and transformation for the island of Cyprus. Explore the culture that developed during this period.

Past Tours

Christopher first joined ASA in 2016.

  • An Adriatic Journey: from Trieste to Dubrovnik (2016-2019)