Classics Chair to provide students with a personal odyssey

There is a common root in many knowledge fields – the influence of Ancient Greece and Rome.
Celebrating the critical importance of these civilisations will be a key goal of the newly established Elizabeth and James Tatoulis Chair in Classics, based in the Faculty of Arts.
Melbourne alumni Elizabeth and James Tatoulis provided support that was instrumental in establishing the Chair.
“The richness of our lives is enhanced by what we have inherited from ancient civilisations,” Mrs Tatoulis says.
“The Ancient Greek and Roman worlds influence our society in philosophy, politics, law, literature, language, culture, architecture, engineering, science and medicine – in short, they form the basis of western civilisation.”
Mrs Tatoulis is the eldest of five children of a Greek migrant father and a mother whose own parents emigrated from Greece in the early 1900s. Born in Ballarat, her early life centred on the goldfields city, where she went to school and teachers’ college. A journey back to Greece began a fascination with classical theatre, literature and architecture.
“I first went to Greece when I was 24, when I still had only a rudimentary understanding of Greek,” she says.
“There was a critical moment when my cousins took me to see the Aristophanes comedy Lysistrata at the ancient theatre of Epidaurus which kindled my interest in the ancient world.”
She spent two decades teaching English – largely at schools in Melbourne’s inner suburb – to children whose families came to Australia with no knowledge of English.
Throughout her teaching journey, Mrs Tatoulis witnessed the power of education.
“Education and knowledge have the power to enrich and transform lives, allowing people to transcend social, political and cultural barriers,” she says.
Her husband James was born in Greece – near ancient Olympia – and migrated with his parents to Australia in 1954.
He was educated at inner Melbourne primary schools and University High School, and completed his medical degrees in 1972. He became a cardiac surgeon in 1980 and continued postgraduate studies in the USA. He is currently Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Melbourne and Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Professor Tatoulis is a strong believer in the importance of a well-rounded education – one that values emotional as well as vocational knowledge.
“A general, humanist education encompasses much of what it is to be human,” Professor Tatoulis says.
“We want to support and encourage interest and scholarship in the humanities generally, but many of those lessons and much of the richness of our lives today is a consequence of the ancient world.”
Professor and Mrs Tatoulis find the recent resurgence in Classics heartening, with donors such as Believe – the Campaign for the University of Melbourne Chairman Allan Myers AO QC and Maria Myers AO being particular champions of the discipline.
The couple believe the support currently provided to the Classics sends a strong message to students that this is a progressive area of study encouraging students to develop a well-rounded, critical mindset that will be advantageous in their vocational endeavours.
Mrs Tatoulis is also a strong advocate for the education of women and encourages giving to educational bodies. She notes how much women can learn from Greek theatre, where gender relations were a common theme.
“Lysistrata is about women standing up for independence and it is a lesson that still resonates today,” she says.
Both acknowledge that they have benefited greatly from the fine education Australia provides and give back accordingly. Mrs Tatoulis is a volunteer teacher, while Professor Tatoulis teaches medical students and trains young heart surgeons.
Education is an odyssey – a journey the couple are driven to provide for the next generation of budding scholars. As with the Classics, they look to the past to provide a compass for the future. In their personal instance, there is also the motivation to honour their parents.
“Our parents were not formally educated and had no knowledge of how far we might go, but they were always incredibly supportive of us pursuing the careers we wanted,” Professor Tatoulis says.
“We are continuing the opportunities they worked hard to provide by encouraging young people to be well educated, well read and have diverse interests.”
This is the dream of a better life, incorporating travel, scholarship and a well-rounded personality. In short – a rich life.
“Our lives today are enriched in large part because of scholars who have documented and expanded upon the achievements of the ancient world,” Professor Tatoulis says.
“Now we have the opportunity to expand on that legacy.”
www.campaign.unimelb.edu.au