The Iris Project - Iris Magazine

Iris Magazine

In September 2006, the first issue of Iris magazine was published, a new classics magazine which aimed to present classical topics in a fun, accessible, light-hearted, modern and unusual way. The first issue featured articles such as the academic Dylan Evan's quest to re-establish Plato's Academy, a mock report on the ancient Olympian messenger system, a look at the prevalence of melting women in Ovid, amongst others. Later issues have included an article by Sarah Annes Brown on modern re-interpretations of the classics, a piece on the more gruesome elements of ancient medicine by Professor Helen King and interviews with prominent classicists.

As well as serious articles by enthusiasts and academics on classical topics, the magazine set out to have a quirky and gently irreverent approach to the ancient world, and therefore included a fashion page, quizzes, a myth debunk page, advice from ancient deities and even a soap-opera inspired by the BBC's Life on Mars series.

All of these things were intended to make the subjects fun and accessible to school students and adults who may not have had any access to the subjects before.

From issue two, Alex Williams joined Iris as co-editor and since then has written the myth pages and advice column, amongst other things.

The sixteenth issue of Iris was the last regular edition of the magazine. In November 2012, it switched to an annual edition.

Notable issues include:

Issue One (Autumn 2006) “If Ovid and Horace were alive today, they would be the biggest paid executives in Hollywood ”: Iris chats to Colin Dexter about Classics and the modern world"

Issue Two (January 2007) A chat with Boris Johnson

Issue Three (Summer 2007) An interview with Bettany Hughes, TV historian

Issue Six (Summer 2008) A chat with Ian Hislop, Editor of Private Eye

Issue Thirteen (Autumn 2010) An interview with Jonathan Evans, Director General of MI5