Dr Nick Kanellakis recording at the Ashmolean

Dr Nikolaos Kanellakis, Stipendary Lecturer in Pathology, has contributed a voiceover to the Ashmolean’s new Voices of the Empire audio trail.

The Voices of the Empire is a new audio trail accompanying the Ashmolean’s reimagined Rome Gallery, which recently reopened to the public. The trail brings to life the lived experiences of real individuals who lived, worked and died in Roman Britain and the wider empire.

The trail uses real funerary and dedicatory inscriptions from the museum’s collection, each delivered in the original language (Greek, Latin, or Aramaic), followed by a modern English translation and character-led narration. These voices reveal the multicultural makeup of Roman society – from Syria and Greece to Britain and beyond. The Rome Gallery and audio trail were curated by Dr Paul Roberts, Sackler Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean.

Marble tombstone of the doctor Claudius Agathemerus and his wife Myrtale

The characters featured in the trail include: Claudius Agathemerus, a Greek doctor, Regina, a Catuvellaunian woman married to a Syrian soldier and Tricunda, an enslaved Italian bailiff and temple official. Dr Kanellakis voiced Claudius Agathemerus, a Greek doctor remembered in a touching Greek inscription, shared with his wife Myrtale, performance captures the dignity and humanity of a man who straddled both Greek and Roman identities. The inscription reads: “I am resting here, Claudius Agathemerus the doctor, skilled in the swift healing of all manner of disease. I set up this shared monument for myself and Myrtale, my wife. We are with the blessed in Elysium.”

The Ashmolean announced the character voiceover opportunities via the University’s volunteer forum, asking people to come forward if they had an authentic accent that reflected the people represented in the trail. Dr Kanellakis’  Greek heritage and classical expertise made him a perfect match for the role of Claudius, and he recorded the voiceover in the University’s podcasting studio.

The trail is now live and can be experienced in the new Rome Gallery. You can find out more here: ashmolean.org/rome-gallery

Published: 11 August 2025

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