I work on the visual arts of the Roman empire. My doctoral thesis (2000, Courtauld Institute of Art, London) studied the elite art of the middle Roman empire in its social and cultural contexts, particularly in relation to the flowering of Greek culture known as the Second Sophistic. My monograph on Greek Athletics in the Roman World looks at the visual representation of athletic subjects in the Roman empire and the roles played by athletic activity in the self-representation of cities and individuals and I have also published an introductory book to ancient athletics: Athletics in the Ancient World (Duckworth, 2006) as well as various articles on athletic representation and ancient festival culture.

I am also interested in the links between art and text: I have co-edited a volume on Art and Inscriptions in the Ancient World and have written a number of articles on the viewing of visual images in imperial Greek literature.

My current research is a book project on the representation of Greek mythology in Roman art, with a particular focus on domestic and funerary contexts. I have also published a number of articles on mythological sarcophagi and intend to continue research into the active roles played by images in the contexts of grief and remembrance. In future research I also intend to return to the study of the festival culture of the Greek east.

Online Resources:

• Contribution to the Open University OpenLearn module on The Ancient Olympics, which recently gained an award for OpenCourseWare Excellence at the Open Educational Resource 2012 conference.