Editorial Note

The cold hand of financial restraint has been placed on Classics Ireland but has only checked its growth not stunted it. The range of topics is wide but certain themes emerge: the relationship between Greeks and Romans is explored by Dauphin, Erskine and Hardie, and that between moderns and Homer by Luce and Ricks. There are two pieces on late Rome by Higham and Humphries, and I am extremely pleased to be able to continue our series on George Thomson with an article on his contribution to the study of ancient Greece by Richard Seaford. This volume also contains five illustrations which is not an innovation I wish to repeat. I must thank Andrew Erskine for his help and extreme patience in dealing with these and me, and also for the time-consuming task of putting Classics Ireland on the Internet.

It is an enormous pleasure to announce our short story competition. We are looking for the best short story which must be set in the ancient world, be not more than 3,000 words and can be as short as you wish. It should be previously unpublished and only one entry per person can be considered. If the judges decide no entry is worth publishing, we reserve the right not to award a prize. But I am sure this will not be the case! The judges are Victor Connerty and myself from UCD's Classics Dept, Sheila Barrett, author of the novel, Walk in a Lost Landscape, Poolbeg 1994, and Professor Ciarán Benson, Chairman of the Arts Council of Ireland. The winning entry will be published in Classics Ireland and the author will receive a cheque for £100 and 5 free copies of that volume. Please send 3 typed copies to me at the address below with your name, address and length of your story clearly marked, before 28 February 1997.

This journal is produced primarily for the members of the Classical Association of Ireland. The only requirement for membership is an interest in the ancient world. . If you would like to write something for us, we would ask that you keep articles short and footnotes to a minimum. Contributions, on paper only, should be sent to me at the address below. As our readers often have at least some suggested alterations it is less expensive for you if you send me disks at a later stage. To keep costs down this end, we are also insisting that articles should not be more than 5,000 words and book reviews not more than 800 words unless we agree otherwise. All contributions are sent out to readers before a decision to publish. Please do keep writing!

Dept of Classics
University College
Belfield
Dublin 4
Republic of Ireland