Cambridge academic stresses importance of classical education

As she walked in looking poised and cool despite the summer heat, British Hellenist Dr Jennifer Wallace, who is senior lecturer and director of studies in English at Peterhouse, Cambridge, seemed right at home in the classic family restaurant in the upscale Athens district of Kolonaki.

"It is true that in our line of work, the pressure to produce is constant. But I believe that to write a book you need five years of isolation at the library and in your study. I also believe that solitude is a source of inspiration," she said, smiling.

Wallace first came to Athens in the early 1970s, "when there was no such thing as a traffic problem," and ever since, her career has been intrinsically linked to Greek culture and history. She is also on the jury panel of the annual London Hellenic Prize, which is what brought her back to the Greek capital earlier this summer. At our...