500 participants are expected at Goethe University: 7–11 April 2026, Westend Campus
Under the patronage of Boris Rhein, Minister-President of Hesse, the German Association of Classical Philologists will hold its national congress from 7 to 11 April 2026 in collaboration with the Institute of Classical Philology at Goethe University. This is the largest biennial professional development event for teachers of Latin and Greek, at least in the German-speaking world, and probably even worldwide (approx. 500 participants expected).
In lectures and workshops, subject specialists (including three Leibniz Prize winners) and educationalists will speak on the overarching theme ‘Learning from antiquity for the democracy of today and tomorrow – exempla et errores’. In addition, there will be presentations on spectacular new discoveries in the field of Greek studies: Prof. Oliver Primavesi (Munich) on the latest fragment by the early Greek philosopher-poet Empedocles, and Prof. Christian Marek (Zurich) on a defamatory inscription found in Teos, Asia Minor, which he attributes to the poet Anacreon. The close ties between the university and the city are evident not only in excursions to the Städel, the Liebieghaus and the Saalburg, but also in the fact that the Lessing Gymnasium, a school specialising in classical languages, is making several rooms available for the conference.
At the opening ceremony on the evening of 7 April, where, in addition to the university management, Mayor Dr Eskandari-Grünberg and State Secretary Dr Lösel from the Hessian Ministry of Culture, Education and Opportunities, will deliver welcoming addresses, the German Association of Classical Philologists’ Humanism Prize is to be awarded to the British classical scholar Mary Beard, who, through her books and her contributions to the press and television, has inspired a wide audience with an enthusiasm for Roman history and culture.
The head of the local organising committee, Prof. Hans Bernsdorff of the Institute of Classical Philology, explains: “By choosing Frankfurt as the venue for its national congress, the German Association of Classical Philologists is highlighting the importance of Greek and Latin studies and other classical disciplines at Goethe University. At the same time, it highlights the connection between the Institute of Classical Philology and the museums and grammar schools specialising in classical languages in the city of Frankfurt, which boasts a humanist tradition dating back to the Reformation.”
Further information on the National Congress of the Association of Classical Philologists
