Event

A historical and archeological  presentation about the time that Britain was part of the Roman Empire. What did the ancient Romans bring to the Celtic Britons--and therefore to us?

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Presented by:

Blaine Paxton Hall,

who recently studied at Oxford University, England, under tutor Steve Kershaw, Ph.D--his course of study: "Roman Britain: History and Archeology."

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Date

Saturdays, January 11 , and continuing on January 18th, 2025

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Time

2 to 4 pm

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Location:

Chapel in the Pines,

314 Great Ridge Pkwy

Chapel Hill, NC

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Cost

No cost to attend.

Donations to The School of Athens are graciously accepted.

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A course to inspire awe for the beauty of math, its ubiquity and symmetry in nature, the power of math, and examples of the many applications of math. We'll introduce Euclid's Elements; look at a visual proof of the Pythagorean Theorem, Platonic solids-- and examples of fascinating numbers such as prime  and transcendental numbers.

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Dates: 

Saturdays, June 22 and 29, 2024

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Time:    2 to 4 pm

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Location: Chapel in the Pines, 314 Great Ridge Pkwy, Chapel Hill, NC

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Instructor:

Blaine Paxton Hall; 

Bio on website:
https://www.theschoolofathens.net/founder)

Cost: Free and open to the Public

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The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest, extant literary work. It was written before any/all of the books of the Bible and predates Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey by some 1500 years.

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Dates:

Wednesdays, February 14, 21, 28, 2024

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Time:   10 to noon

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Location:

Chapel in the Pines

314 Great Ridge Pkwy

Chapel Hill, NC

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Cost: $30.00

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Instructor:

Blaine Paxton Hall

(Bio & CV on website)

Ekphrastic poetry is written upon an inspirational encounter with a work of visual art--such as a painting, a sculpture or a photograph. 

Dates:

Thursdays, March 2, through March 23, 2023 (4 classes)

Time:  10:00 am to noon

Location:

Old Lystra Inn

1164 Old Lystra Road,

Chapel Hill, NC

 

Limited to 10 participants

 

Instructor: 

Blaine Paxton Hall

(Bio & CV on website)

Cost:  $75.00

A foundation myth about the founding of Rome--the travels and adventures of  Aeneas, a survivor of the Trojan War--he and his ancestors are said to have founded Rome.

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Dates:

Saturdays:

April 6, 13, 20, 27, 2023

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Time:  2 to 4 pm

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Location:

Chapel in the Pines, 314 Great Ridge Pkwy,

Chapel Hill, NC

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Cost:

$40.00

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Instructor:

Blaine Paxton Hall (Bio and CV on website)

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We will trace the direct paternal line of Moses Hall--born 1685 in England--initially settling in VA, then to NC-- from which they emigrated to Ohio, to escape "that peculiar institution."  

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Presented by:

Blaine Paxton Hall​

Date:  TBD

Time: TBD

Location:  CitP

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We will analyze this short play including looking at Shakespeare's sources: the ancient Greeks Plutarch, Suetonius and Cicero .

Instructor:

Al Duncan, Ph.D of UNC Classics Dept

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Dates:

Saturdays,

October 2025

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Time:

2 to 4 pm

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Location:

Chapel in the Pines,

314 Great Ridge Pkwy,

Chapel Hill, NC

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Cost:

Donations to The School of Athens are graciously accepted

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Formal debate can be traced to the philosophers and scholars of ancient Greek as a means of critical inquiry.

We will look at various formats of formal debate, skills of effective debate, and examples of great historical debates, such as the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 and the Wm. F. Buckley v. James Baldwin 1962

 
Dates:

2 December 2023

13 January 2024

Time:  2 to 3:30 pm

Location:

Chapel in the Pines

314 Great Ridge Pkwy, Chapel Hill

Instructor: 

Blaine Paxton Hall

(Bio & CV on website)

Cost:  Free & open to the public

 

The Iliad  about  the "wrath of Achilles," and is set during the last year of the Trojan War.  Achilles is the protagonist among many characters, male, female, gods and goddesses. Themes include revenge, war, mortality, love, friendship, honor, pride and fate vs.

free will

Dates:

Wednesdays, Sept 27, Oct 4, 11, 18; Nov 8th, 2023.

Time:  10:00 am to noon

Location:

Chapel in the Pines

314 Great Ridge Pkwy, Chapel Hill

Limited to 10 participants

Instructor: 

Blaine Paxton Hall

(Bio & CV on website)

Cost:  $45.00

 

Participants will enjoy afternoon High Tea and Talk, in the British tradition.   

Date

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Time:  3 to  5 pm

Location:

A private home in Fearrington Village

Limited to 6 participants

Cost:  $40.00

 

A cooking class by a Japanese native; participants will enjoy a light meal of authentic Japanese cuisine and sake. 

Dates:

Saturday April 8, 2023

Time:  11:30 am to 1:30 pm

Location:

A private home in Fearrington Village

Limited to 6 participants

Cost:  $40.00

Event:

A lecture presentation

​about questions considered by ancient and modern-day moralists

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Presented by:

Michael Vazquez,Ph.D,

UNC Philosophy Dept & Dir. of Outreach, The Parr Center for Ethics

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Date: 

Saturday, Nov 2, 2024

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Time:

2 to 4 pm

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Location:

Chapel in the Pines,

314 Great Ridge Pkwy

Chapel Hill, NC

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Cost:

No cost to attend.

Donations to The School of Athens are

graciously accepted

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A foundation story attributed to the blind bard, Homer.  We'll join the mythical hero Odysseus and his mariners, on their adventures, as they journey back home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.   

Dates:

Wednesdays, May 17, 24 & 31, 2023

Time:  10:00  am to noon

Location:

Chapel in the Pines,

314 Great Ridge Pkwy, Chapel Hill

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Instructor:

Blaine  Paxton Hall

Cost:  $45..00

 

A cycle trilogy of Greek tragedy about Orestes and the curse on the House of Atreus, written by the playwright Aeschylus. The Oresteia is the only extant, complete Ancient Greek dramatic trilogy. It was performed at the Greater Dionysia Festival in 458 BC, where it won First  Prize.  Its themes are still relevant today.

Dates:

Wednesdays, September 13 & 20, 2023

Time:  8:30  am to 10:30

Location:

Chapel in the PInes, 314 Great Ridge Pkwy, Chapel Hill

 

Instructor:  Professor Al Duncan, UNC Dept of Classics.  Bio & CV:  https://classics.unc.edu/people-3/faculty-2-2/al-duncan/

Cost:  $45.00

 

We will look at examples of contemporary and historical literary memoir. We will  learn techniques for writing literary memoir. Participants will receive a free, new copy of Hestia's House, a literary memoir.

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Dates:  TBD

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Location:

Chapel in the Pines

314 Great Ridge Pkwy., Chapel Hill

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Instructor: 

Blaine Paxton Hall

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Cost:

TBD

An  historical overview of gender variant persons in art, ancient and modern history, mythology and cross-culturally. Presentation will  Include many slides and photo examples.  Mr. Hall recently presented this at Duke OLLI Symposia on Feb 14.

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Date:

Saturday, May 13th, 2023 

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Time:

10 am to noon

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Location:

Chapel in the Pines

314 Great Ridge Pkwy, Chapel Hill

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Speaker:

Blaine Paxton Hall

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Cost: 

Donations to The School of Athens are graciously accepted

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