Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Dr Alastair Daly

Assistant Professor in Classical Greek Language and its Legacies

I am a Dubliner. I completed my PhD in Classics here in Trinity in 2024 with a thesis on humour and comic literature in Apollonius’ Argonautica. A Hellenist by training, I also have a degree in English Literature from TCD.

Research Interests

My main area of research is Greek comic literature (comedy, mime, iambic poetry, epic parody) and its reception. At present, this involves finishing a book on Apollonius’ Argonautica entitled Playful Epic and a project on slavery and simulacra in the poetry of Herodas. In a broader sense, I am interested in punning and wordplay and the challenges and opportunities they present for how we make meaning out of ancient texts. In particular, I have been thinking about the relationship between wordplay and ‘worldplay’ as a central feature of Greek utopian thought and its legacies. I am especially interested in rethinking what we do with ancient Greek literature now and in the future alongside its long histories of influence and imitation. I am also interested in intertextuality, translation studies, simile and (cognitive) metaphor, and how Latin and Greek are used in comic and satirical English literature (Swift, Fielding, Sterne, Joyce, Beckett, and Flann O’Brien). I would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in discussing or collaborating on any of these topics.

Selected Publications

“The Muse’s Keeper: Myrtale and Metapoetics in Herodas’ Mimiamb 2.” In M. Alexandrou and A. Petrides (eds.) Constructing Gender in the Comic Mode. De Gruyter Brill. (forthcoming, February 2027)
Argo Crossing: Studies in Apollonius’ Argonautica and its reception,co-edited withL. Doyle and J. Lam. De Gruyter Brill. (2026)
“Ogres in love: Heracles and Polyphemus in Apollonius’ Hylas episode” in Argo Crossing (see above), 69-95
“What will you do then, poor things? Rereading Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.685.” The Classical Quarterly. (forthcoming, December 2026)
“Putting Phryne’s Clothes Back On: Posidippus fr. 13 KA revisited.” Phoenix 78.1-2: 1-19(2024)
“Throwing Jason Off the Scent: ἀμαλδύνω and the Lemnian odour in Apollonius’ Argonautica.” Mnemosyne 77.4: 572-588 (2024)

Teaching & Supervision

I primarily teach Elementary Greek alongside other Greek language modules. I am currently redesigning Elementary Greek I and II in order to incorporate UDL principles and to place a greater emphasis on the development of language acquisition skills for future study of Greek.