By Vikram Balasubramanian In 79 AD, ash rained on Pompeii, burying the city. Pliny the Younger describes the catastrophe as white ash billowing miles into the air, hoards of country people unsure whether to leave their homes and run for the seas, and smoke casting a black shade over the sky. During the tragedy, […]
Turpis Fausta
Lesbia and her Sparrow, 1860, artist unknown Turpis Fausta by Lily Nesvold ōdī Faustam tantum, quae (ēn!) habet ōs, sane, turpe. Flaccus dīligit illud monstrum, nescio quārē. taedet mē vītae cum spectō fēminam et illum. omnēs noscunt esse scortum, prō pudor, illam. lector: nē stultē saevam, Iove, cēnsuerīs mē sōdēs. nōn ōdī Faustam vērō, […]
A Semester at Pembroke College, Cambridge – Studying Classics Abroad
Supervisions at Cambridge by James Nycz Studying abroad had been a goal of mine before I even arrived at Penn, but through my Classics courses I realized that studying abroad in Europe would allow me to explore a whole new experience of Classics. Not only would I actually be able to live in and visit […]
The Indo-European Hero
Photo Sources: Scoop Whoop A Comparative Study of the Aeneid and the Mahabharata By Kushal Modi Introduction The cultures of Ancient Rome and Ancient India are descendants of a common Indo-European culture that flourished in the steppes of the Caucasus several thousand years ago. As several world cultures developed from this proto-culture, they retained […]
Two Approaches to Examining Slave Presence in the Plautine Audience
Perspective view of a Roman Amphitheatre Reviewing Brown and Richlin in Conjunction & Comparison By Sara J. Chopra I. Background To the people of ancient Rome, spectacle was an immense aspect of daily life. Whether it be chariot races, festivals, or city-wide processions, these events collectively contributed to Roman arts and performance culture. […]
Antiquity’s Influence on Cutting-Edge Runway
Photo courtesy of Vogue By Anna Fighera Most accept classical influence as the sort which informs our present philosophical, political and legal fields. What would modern law, policy, and philosophy be without the guidance and inspiration of ancient thinkers? Despite acknowledgement of such relevance, many think classical influence ends there. Certain fields seem to require […]
The Hive
by Cate Simons Georgics 4.184-227 Omnibus una quies operum, labor omnibus unus: mane ruunt portis; nusquam mora; rursus easdem vesper ubi e pastu tandem decedere campis admonuit, tum tecta petunt, tum corpora curant; fit sonitus, mussantque oras et limina circum. Post, ubi iam thalamis se composuere, siletur in noctem fessosque sopor suus occupat artus. […]
BLM x CLST: A Series of Interviews with the Faculty of Penn Classics — Part 3: Professor Cynthia Damon
Future Directions and Resources By Elizabeth Vo-Phamhi, Sara Chopra, Cate Simons For the third installment of our Black Lives Matter & Classics series, we invited Professor Cynthia Damon to talk about the relevance of the Black Lives Matter movement and the current reassessment of past scholarship in the field. She also provides advice […]
Bar the Dawn from My Bed
By Alicia Lopez Amores 1.13.1-32, 35-48 Iam super oceanum venit a seniore marito flava pruinoso quae vehit axe diem. “Quo properas, Aurora? mane!—sic Memnonis umbris annua sollemni caede parentet avis! nunc iuvat in teneris dominae iacuisse lacertis; si quando, lateri nunc bene iuncta meo est. nunc etiam somni pingues et frigidus aer, et liquidum […]
BLM x CLST: A Series of Interviews with the Faculty of Penn Classics — Part 2: Professors Kimberly Bowes and Sheila Murnaghan
Looking Back, Thinking Forward: what Black Lives Matter means in our own department and discipline By Sara Chopra, Cate Simons, Elizabeth Vo-Phamhi In the first interview of the Black Lives Matter & Classics series, Professor Emily Wilson discussed the translation and reception of BIPOC voices in classical literature. In our second installment in this […]
