The Bristol Institute of Greece, Rome and the Classical Tradition promotes research into all aspects of Greco-Roman culture from antiquity to the present day, in the belief that classical culture remains a vital influence in the modern world. It embraces research from many fields, including history of all kinds, archaeology, literary studies, art history and philosophy, and has a particular focus on research that explores the links between ancient and modern.

The Institute was formed in 2004 through the merger of the Bristol Institute of Hellenic and Roman Studies, founded in 2000 by Robert Fowler, and the Bristol Centre for the Classical Tradition, founded by the late Thomas Wiedemann. It achieves its aims by hiring postdoctoral research fellows and supporting their research, inviting distinguished scholars to give seminars and lectures, holding symposia and conferences, cultivating international links with other scholars and organisations, and supporting the development of research projects in the faculty.