Alexia Burrows Charalambidou
Alexia completed the 'Communicating the Past' module in 2020. She created an Instagram based project on women in Greek mythology.
Tell us about your project...
"My project was an Instagram based project on women in Greek mythology. I focused on changing the opinion of these women from their mythological perspective by informing my followers about the lesser-known stories of these women.
For example, so many people do not know Clytemnestra's backstory, or that of Medea. Many people are aware of the Ovidian story of Poseidon's assault on her, but not of her origins in which it is proposed that the Gorgon was used in iconography on temples, related to earth and fertility goddesses, and Minoan snake goddesses."
What made you choose this topic?
"I have an interest in women in the Greek world, and it is what I have gone on to specialise in for my undergraduate dissertation, and now my masters.
I chose the Instagram format to represent the move to social media where influencing and information sharing is becoming the norm. This was of course before the explosion of various TikTok historians’ popularity."
View some example posts and the account logo below:
What did you enjoy the most about your project?
"I really enjoyed seeing the public interact with my content; I did polls before and after my posts, so I could gauge engagement, but also see how opinions may have changed."
Did you learn anything new, or surprising?
"Many, even those who study classics were unaware of the backstory of the women I discussed."
Would you recommend this module?
"Absolutely, it remains one of my favourite modules. If you would like to check out my project, look for @femmemythology on Instagram!"
Visit the project Instagram account