Photo: Rev. Dr Debono Montebello addressing the audience
The Malta Classics Association, in collaboration with the Department of Classics and Archaeology within the Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, paid tribute to Nicholas Debono Montebello in an evening dedicated to Classical Greek Literature on Friday 9 September. Rev. Debono Montebello was a senior lecturer in Classics with the Department until his retirement in 1995.
It is far from easy for a scholar to lucidly condense his thoughts on a subject to which he has dedicated his whole life. Rev. Debono Montebello has done just that in a recently-published volume, Greek Civilization as seen in its Literature (also available in Maltese as Iċ-Ċiviltà Griega kif tidher fil-Letteratura). Although slim in appearance, the book is certainly weighty in erudite content, and students will find it invaluable.
The Malta Classics Association officially launched this book during the evening which also included speeches by the author, Professor Anthony Bonanno, Maria Zammit, and an excerpt from Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Plato's Symposium performed by Carmel Serracino and Keith Borg. The memorable evening, compered by Classics student Jessica Farrugia, also marked the launch of the Association's third issue of its journal, Melita Classica, and was followed by refreshments.