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With classes officially back in session at ����AV, the St. Vincent De Paul Lecture and Concert Series, too, has resumed. Dr. Stephen Shivone, a tutor and the assistant dean for student affairs on the New England campus, came to the California campus last Friday to open the Series for the semester with his lecture, “The Extremity of Love: On Homer’s Achilles.” 

The subject of Dr. Shivone’s lecture, Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, was one that his audience knew well, as it is the very first work that students read and discuss in Freshmen Seminar. Dr. Shivone offered the students new insight into the epic, however, exploring the character of Achilles, whose infamous wrath causes such devastation, from an unusual perspective. 

“Love and friendship are probably the last things readers think of when they read The Iliad or contemplate its main character, Achilles,” he observed as he opened his talk. Nevertheless, he argued, “Achilles is not only an extreme in wrath and heroic excellence, as is commonly acknowledged, but in friendship and love.” Leading his listeners through passages of Homer’s poem, Dr. Shivone drew out an image of Achilles as a man whose very desire for peace and friendship drives him to a violence fueled by grief and rage.

Before he joined the College’s teaching faculty in 2017, Dr. Shivone served as a professor of English and assistant dean of academic affairs at Belmont Abbey College. After two years of teaching at ����AV’s California campus, he made the journey to Massachusetts to help the College open the New England campus in 2019. Having earned his master’s in English and doctorate in literature from the Institute of Philosophic Studies at the University of Dallas, Dr. Shivone has written and spoken on many topics, including liberal education, poetry, and the works of Shakespeare, Dante, and, of course, Homer. 

At the conclusion of his lecture, Dr. Shivone met with students and faculty for a discussion period, where he further expounded on the imagery, characters, and themes of Homer’s masterpiece.