“Homer 2.0”: Can artificial intelligence breathe new life into 3,000-year-old epics?
School of Education postgraduate researcher, Maria Pavlopoulou, discusses an event she co-hosted, seeking out routes to making the ancient world more accessible to modern learners through AI.
Can a chatbot help a teenager feel the weight of Achilles’ rage, or can Generative AI visualize the twenty-year longing of Penelope in a way that a traditional textbook cannot? As the digital revolution reshapes our classrooms, the humanities sector faces a pivotal question: how do we keep the ancient world relevant for a generation that speaks the language of algorithms? During the final year of my postgraduate studies at the University of Leeds, I co-delivered a large-scale professional development event entitled “Homer 2.0: Teaching the Iliad and the Odyssey Like Never Before,” designed to answer exactly that.
The event was a collaborative effort between myself and my colleague, Stefanos Alifierakis (an MSc student in Digital Education from the University of Edinburgh). Together, as co-creators of the @heromathesis educational platform, and in partnership with Professor Savvas Chatzichristofis, Vice-Rector of Neapolis University Pafos, we set out to bridge the gap between classical philology and cutting-edge technology. The response was overwhelming: nearly 900 educators registered, with over 400 joining us live for an intensive exploration of the "Homer 2.0" era.
Moving beyond the common anxiety surrounding AI in education, our session framed Artificial Intelligence as a pedagogical co-pilot. We demonstrated how tools such as HeyGen, Canva, and NotebookLM can be used to transform dense, archaic texts into immersive, multi-modal learning experiences. By utilizing the research-informed frameworks I have studied at Leeds and Stefanos’s expertise from Edinburgh, we showed how AI can handle time-consuming tasks – like vocabulary simplification or quiz generation – thereby freeing the educator to focus on critical analysis and human-centered mentoring.
The heart of the webinar was a Live Workshop titled “Penelope’s Digital Diary.” In a powerful display of collective creativity, hundreds of participants used AI to generate reflective texts and evocative imagery, capturing Penelope’s psychological journey. This exercise proved that technology, when guided by a strong pedagogical hand, can actually enhance empathy and emotional connection with ancient characters rather than distancing them.
During the event, we also presented the “AI Odyssey” Handbook, a comprehensive resource we developed featuring AI-powered classroom activities. The feedback from the community underscored a profound desire among educators for practical, ethical, and creative ways to navigate this new digital landscape.
For me, this event served as a vital bridge between my MA research at the University of Leeds and the global educational community. It was a testament to the power of bridging theory with practice, proving that even the oldest stories in Western literature can find a vibrant, new home in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
Maria Pavlopoulou currently studies at the School of Education on the course MA in Digital Education. Find out more about the Masters courses offered by the school here.
