I’m delighted to announce – for those readers who don’t bother with social media – that I’ve been welcomed into the Lego Classicists Family!

It’s been an ambition of mine ever since I first saw Mary Beard’s Lego figure on the BBC.

The Lego minifigure portraits of classicists are created by Liam D. Jensen, ‘The Lego Classicist’, from Australia – and they’re tiny works of art. You can read more about Liam’s process in this SCS interview; but essentially he imagines what the person would look like in a Lego world, representing their character as much as their appearance. For many members of the Lego Classicist Family he does this at a distance, relying on photographs and his sense of them as individuals, since face-to-face meetings are not always possible.

The Lego Classicist sources the precise Lego elements he needs; but sometimes the right pieces do not exist, and then he needs to design custom-made components. It’s a labour of love, and can take a long time to get precisely right. It’s been fascinating to observe the process, and the extraordinary attention to detail it involves.

Members of the Lego Classicist family come from all areas of academia, from university professors to librarians and games designers, all united by their enthusiasm for the ancient world. It’s an honour to be invited to join their family – and I couldn’t be more thrilled at this start to 2020!

So here is Lego Cora Beth – and when my minifigure arrives, I’ll update this post with more photos of Me and Mini-Me!

Happy New Year, everyone!