Competitions

Guidelines for the Essay Competition:

Astyanax is proud to announce a yearly essay competition for students in Years 10 to 13!

A submission should include:
- A completed registration form
- The essay. The title of the file should be the title of the essay.
Essays can be written on any aspect of Ancient Greece and/or Rome or other ancient cultures and their reception.
The length of the essays can vary from 500 to 1,500 words. The title of the file should be the title of the essay.
All primary and secondary material should be properly quoted with at least the author’s name and text. A bibliography is encouraged but not required.
Please use Arial font, 12-point, and line spacing of 1.5. Subsections (if included) should appear underlined, and the title of the article must be in bold. Please use footnotes rather than endnotes.
Generative AI should not be used at any stage of the production of this piece.
Essays MUST be submitted by 11:59pm GMT on Friday 27th February 2026. Please send all inquiries and/or submissions at: astyanaxjournal@reading.ac.uk.
The winning essay will receive a prize of £80 and is published in the next journal issue. The editors encourage students from a non-Classics specific education to submit essays. The best essay by a student with non-Classics specific education will always be mentioned in the journal even if it is not the winning essay. The two runners up will also be included in the next issue of the journal.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at astyanaxjournal@reading.ac.uk

Sixth Form Essay Competition Registration Form

Please read our submission guidelines before submitting.

Full Name

School Address

School Year and Age

Name of Teacher (to verify that this is in fact a submission from a student at the named school)*

Essay Title

Essay Submission

Drag and drop or click to select a file.

Titles of GCSEs and/or A Levels or equivalent

*Please notify the teacher that they may be contacted as part of this process.

Guidelines for the Ancient Greek and Latin Composition Competition(s):

Astyanax is proud to run a yearly competition on composition in ancient Greek or Latin from Undergraduate students, at any stage of their study!

A submission consists of:
- A completed registration form
- A composition in Ancient Greek or Latin: if the composition is poetry, approximately 20 verses. If it is prose, it should be approximately 250 words. This should be preceded by title in both the original ancient language and English and a short introduction in English only of up to 50 words. The introduction should briefly describe the content of the composition and key aspects such as the genre, dialect, and stylistic or literary influences. The composition should be accompanied by an English translation. The title of the file should be the title of the composition in English.
Please use Arial font, 12-point, and a line spacing of 1.5.
Of importance for poetic compositions are metre, style, and vocabulary.
Of importance for prosaic compositions are flow, style, and vocabulary.
The compositions can be on any subject the author desires. This subject is to be made clear in the introduction. The title of the file should be the title of the composition in English.
Generative AI should not be used at any stage of the production of this piece.
The deadline for submission is 11:59pm GMT on Friday 27th February 2026. Please send all inquiries and/or submissions at astyanaxjournal@reading.ac.uk
The winning piece of composition will receive £80. The two runners up will also be included in the next issue of the journal.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at astyanaxjournal@reading.ac.uk

Please read our submission guidelines before submitting.