The Villa Council Presents is an annual program related to the theme of antiquity made possible by the generous support of the Villa Council. Founded in 2001, the Villa Council is comprised of dedicated supporters of the arts who believe strongly in the mission and goals of the Getty Villa and support a variety of interdisciplinary programs including education, exhibitions, conservation, lectures, theater, and research.

All presentations are free and take place in the Auditorium at the Getty Villa.

Noted archaeologist, classicist, and historian Ian Morris of Stanford University delves into the themes of his critically acclaimed 2010 book Why the West Rules—For Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future and takes a fresh look at what ancient history meant for subsequent world history, comparing global developments from the Ice Age to the twenty-first century. Morris suggests that we have often looked for explanations of the shape of world history in the wrong places and proposes a new explanation of how the distant past formed the world we lived in.

About Ian Morris
Ian Morris is Jean and Rebecca Willard Professor of Classics and professor of history at Stanford University, where he has also served the university as senior associate dean of humanities and sciences, chair of the classics department, and director of the Stanford Archaeology Center. Between 2000 and 2007 he directed Stanford's archaeological excavations at Monte Polizzo in Sicily. He has published eleven books, his most recent being Why the West Rules—For Now: The Patterns of History, and What they Reveal About the Future (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010). It was named as a book of the year by The Economist, the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, the London Independent, and the Evening Standard, and it won the 2011 PEN Award for Research Non-Fiction and the 2011 GetAbstract Award. It is being translated into eleven languages. His next book, Measuring Civilizations: An Index of Social Development (Princeton University Press) will be published in 2012.

The Revolutionary Architecture of the North Baths at Morgantina, Sicily
March 2, 2011
Archaeologists Malcolm Bell and Sandra Lucore share their research on the ancient city of Morgantina, Sicily: its history, art and architecture, and the excavation of the North Baths, where a new form of thermal architecture, including domes and vaults, appears for the first time.

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Tracking the Cosmos: the Technology of the Antikythera Mechanism
March 4, 2010
Jo Marchant, author of Decoding the Heavens, and science historian and physicist James Evans join moderator Patt Morrison to discuss the Antikythera Mechanism, a unique object recovered from the wreck of a Greek ship lost 2,000 years ago. For over a century, its function intrigued scholars, and only recently have modern imaging techniques revealed the purpose of this unusual mechanical device.

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Balancing Fact and Fiction: The Ancient World of HBO's Rome
March 5, 2009
Classical historian and documentary filmmaker Jonathan Stamp spoke with award-winning journalist and author Patt Morrison about his experiences as the historical consultant on Rome, the celebrated HBO series that chronicled the fall of a republic and the creation of an empire.

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Writing Historical Fiction: The Ancient World in Modern Literature
March 6, 2008
In the inaugural event of the series, celebrated authors Steven Saylor and Steven Pressfield joined award-winning journalist, author, and local commentator Patt Morrison to discuss the art of writing historical fiction set in antiquity and the challenges of interpreting the classical past for modern audiences.

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Planning your visit
The main gate on Pacific Coast Highway opens to ticketed guests at 6:00 p.m. The auditorium opens at 7:00 p.m., and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The galleries and Museum Store will be open before and after the lecture. A selection of light dinner fare as well as beer and wine are available for purchase at the Café until 7:30 p.m. Complimentary refreshments will be served following the lecture.