Dante’s 9 Circles of Hell Introduction After reading Dante’s Inferno in high school, I was inspired to write a descriptive piece that mimics his style of writing but presents a modern twist and incorporates the Latin language. Set forty years in the future, my rendition of the classic depicts a sin—hubris—tacked onto the end of […]
Classics Must Be Anti-Racist
Dan-el Padilla Peralta teaching Roman history at Princeton in 2016. Classics Must Be Anti-Racist: The Classics Studies Department’s Anti-Racism Working Group at Penn By: Cecelia Heintzelman Classics is at breaking point, one where it must decide to be actively anti-racist. Our seemingly small field exploded into public controversy after the recent publishing of the […]
Catullus 101: Hello and Goodbye
Amiternum relief, first century BCE, showing a Roman funeral procession, in the Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo, L’Aquila, Italy. By Sara Albert Catullus 101 Multās per gentēs et multa per aequora vectus adveniō hās miserās, frāter, ad īnferiās, ut tē postrēmō dōnārem mūnere mortis et mūtam nēquīquam alloquerer cinerem. quandoquidem fortūna mihī tētē abstulit ipsum. heu […]
The Discobolus of Qin
The Discobolus of Qin 秦 By: Millie Huang The Discobolus of Qin (links to external file) is a multimedia piece by Chinese-Canadian Millie Huang. It is an encapsulation of the scholarly dialogue speculating that Greek and Hellenistic artwork inspired the creation of China’s terracotta army. Consisting of over 8000 soldiers, the army was sculpted […]
Athens: Cruel Imperial Power or Falsely Maligned?
Photo: Acropolis of Athens is a painting by Leo von Klenze Athens: Cruel Imperial Power or Falsely Maligned? An Analysis of Greek Perceptions of Athenian Hegemonic Behavior By: Andrew Liu I. Introduction The Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Plataea is read by many as a clear repudiation of tyranny and empire—the […]
Sophocles’ Creon and the illusion of polis
Sophocles’ Creon and the illusion of polis By Julia Ongchoco One of the most salient binaries in Sophocles’ Antigone is the distinction between polis (or state) and oikos (or family). In this tragedy, Antigone, the main character, goes against Creon, the king and her uncle, out of the desire to properly bury her brother. […]
Virgil’s Rumor and “Fake News”
Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502) By: Ryan Cooper Aeneid 4.173-188 Extemplo Libyae magnas it Fama per urbes Fama, malum qua non aliud velocius ullum; mobilitate viget, viresque adquirit eundo, parva metu primo, mox sese attollit in auras, ingrediturque […]
Acting Onstage and Off
Emperor Nero Chariot Racing. Credit: History Collection Acting Onstage and Off An Analysis of the Role Theatrical Performances Played in Nero’s Popularity By Lily Nesvold I. Introduction Tyrant, murderer, debauchee, monster, rapist—just a small selection of the dreadful words that have been used for thousands of years to characterize Nero and his controversial reign. […]
A Check-In with Classics Students about Remote Learning
Claudia Cohen Hall (Photo Credit: Penn Facilities) A Check-In with Classics Students about Remote Learning By: Cecelia Heintzelman With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, life has looked different for most people. For Penn students, it meant online classes and learning from home. Remote learning meant adjusting to online meetings, online clubs, and distance from friends. […]
Eclipse
Still shot from video essay. This video essay (Links to an external file) by Millie Huang was created for CLST143 – Great Books of Ancient Greece and Rome (Fall ’20). It is a response to a class project asking for a presentation-style analysis of any work of classical scholarship. The central topic of the essay is […]
