Author: Discentes

BLM x CLST: A Series of Interviews with the Faculty of Penn Classics — Part 3: Professor Cynthia Damon
Sep 14

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 for fostering inclusivity in our classrooms and suggests reading material and resources for us to become better allies by listening, reading, and learning…

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Bar the Dawn from My Bed
Sep 10

Bar the Dawn from My Bed

Bar the Dawn from My Bed
By Alicia Lopez

One of my favorite parts of studying Classics is stumbling across little nuggets of relatable content. While of course, there are always big themes that span most works of literature (heroics, sacrifice, love, loss, etc.), I treasure the little similarities, like wanting to stay in bed, that are still wildly relatable thousands of years later…

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BLM x CLST: A Series of Interviews with the Faculty of Penn Classics — Part 2: Professors Kimberly Bowes and Sheila Murnaghan
Sep 5

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 series, Professors Kimberly Bowes and Sheila Murnaghan provide critical considerations of the exclusionary past of our field and discuss strategies for cultivating a climate of inclusivity here in our department, especially in light of recent statements made by members of peer departments…

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Graecia Capta: Catullus and Philodemus
Sep 2

Graecia Capta: Catullus and Philodemus

Catullus 85 and Philodemus AP 5.131
By Mati Davis

The famous saying by Horace, “Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit (In being conquered, Greece herself conquered her ferocious conqueror)” (Book II, epistle 1, lines 156-157), describes the way in which Greek art and culture seeped into Roman society and inspired Roman authors, artists, and architects…

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Blood, Lead, and Tears: The Cult of Cybele as a Means of Addressing Ancient Roman Issues of Fertility
Aug 28

Blood, Lead, and Tears: The Cult of Cybele as a Means of Addressing Ancient Roman Issues of Fertility

Blood, Lead, and Tears: The Cult of Cybele as a Means of Addressing Ancient Roman Issues of Fertility
By Jordan Reece Tayeh

Divinity has many faces in the Ancient Roman world, none more intriguing than the garland-wearing, lionhearted Phrygian mother-goddess Cybele. Whereas other Phrygian gods and goddesses were left behind, Cybele and a select few others remained alive in the Roman world. But why?

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BLM x CLST: A Series of Interviews with the Faculty of Penn Classics — Part 1: Professor Emily Wilson
Aug 24

BLM x CLST: A Series of Interviews with the Faculty of Penn Classics — Part 1: Professor Emily Wilson

A Translator’s Take on the Black Lives Matter Movement
By Elizabeth Vo-Phamhi, Sara Chopra, Cate Simons

Although several weeks have passed since the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Rayshard Brooks, amongst countless others, the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States continues to inspire many discussions among us students about how we can better address the issues of race and diversity in Classics. At Discentes, both individually and as a group, we have been joining our nation in long-overdue reflection and action, committing to creating an anti-racist future for our discipline…

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Damnatio Memoriae: On Facing, Not Forgetting, Our Past
Aug 21

Damnatio Memoriae: On Facing, Not Forgetting, Our Past

Damnatio Memoriae: On Facing, Not Forgetting, Our Past
By Mati Davis and Sara Chopra

On a rainy July 1st day several weeks ago, a crowd gathered along Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia to cheer on construction crews as they lifted and lowered a statue of the Confederate general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson from its pedestal. For many onlookers, the toppling of Jackson’s figure in their city —formerly the capital of the Confederacy—symbolized a step toward reshaping its racially oppressive past…

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“A Widow in the Halls”
Jul 24

“A Widow in the Halls”

An Examination of the Lamentations of Hector in the Iliad
By Abhinav Suri

Classical epics share many characteristics, among which is an expression of loss: lamentation.  From a literal perspective, a lamentation is an expression of sorrow or mourning. However, in the context of the epic, it takes on a far greater meaning in the storyline. As Murnaghan puts it, “Lament … confers praise … on the actions of heroes, and more particularly of dead heroes who have earned their right to be praised through the manner of their deaths” (Murnaghan 1999)…

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