The Philadelphia Classical Society
Classics Events and News
An Iliad
PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE
Lantern Theater Company
By Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare
Based on Homer's The Iliad, Translated by Robert Fagles
Directed by M. Craig Getting
November 10 - December 11, 2016
The war in Troy is over – and the Poet saw it all. Back from the frontlines, he spins a tale of unquenchable rage, disputatious gods, and grieving widows. Telling the story of the war, like the war itself, both seduces and ravages the Poet; it emboldens, burdens, and threatens to overwhelm him. Featuring Lantern favorite Peter DeLaurier and virtuoso musician Liz Filios, An Iliad weaves humanity's unshakable attraction to warfare with the music of the muses, capturing the contradictory conditions of glory and violence with spellbinding modernity.
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Ranieri Colloquium on Ancient Studies
New York University Center for Ancient Studies
October 27-28, 2016
free and open to the public
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Sophocles' Electra at Villanova University Theatre
Villanova Theatre is proud to present Frank McGuinness’ gripping and suspenseful adaptation of Sophocles’ classic tragedy, Electra, directed by Rev. David Cregan, OSA, PhD, and on stage September 20-October 2, 2016. Student tickets are just $8 and chaperones attend for FREE.
Group sales can be booked by calling Audience Services Manager Eileen Ciccarone or Educational Dramaturg Kevin Esmond at 610-519-7474. You can visit our Group Sales website at http://villanovatheatre.org/group-tickets/
Villanova is also offering in-class visits and post-show talkbacks with our Educational Dramaturg, Kevin Esmond (MA Theatre '17), schedule permitting. Educational Dramaturgy links the play and production to your curriculum. To inquire about an Educational Dramaturgy presentation for your group, contact Educational Dramaturg Kevin Esmond at kesmond1@villanova.edu.
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The Psychopathy of Alcibiades: Applying a Modern Psychological Construct to an Ancient Leader
A lecture by Dr. Norman Sandridge, Howard University
Monday, September 19, 2016
4:00 p.m.
Villanova Room, Connelly Center, Villanova University
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ITER ZOOLOGICUM
The Philadelphia Zoo
Saturday, April 16, 2016
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
High school and college Latin students are invited to experience Latin as a living language at the Paideia Institute's Iter Zoologicum. Participants will compete in small teams to complete a Latin scavenger hunt by interacting with Paideia's Latin-speaking staff members stationed throughout the zoo. Winners will receive prizes inspired by the ancient world for their Latin classes. The event will also feature a talk on ancient animals by Professor Matthew McGowan of Fordham University.
The Iter Zoologicum will take place at the Philadelphia Zoo at 3400 W Girard Avenue. Philadelphia PA on There will be a $30/person and includes admissions to the zoo. Participants must register and pay by Friday, April 8th.
Visit our website to register or learn more.
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Classicism, Humanism, and Modernity: Poggio Bracciolini's Legacy in Florence and Beyond
Bryn Mawr College
Carpenter Library B21
April 8-9, 2016
The Italian Studies Department at Bryn Mawr College (in collaboration with David Cast, History of Art, and Eric Pumroy, Head of Special Collections) presents a two-day symposium designed to foster interdisciplinary dialogue around the legacy of Italian Humanist Poggio Bracciolini, who is important both for his rediscovery of classical texts and his design of a new script, later the model for the first printed books. This conference, in memory of Phyllis Goodhart Gordan, a BMC alumna of 1935, will be concerned with all of Poggio Bracciolini’s activities and will bring to campus distinguished scholars in different fields (Italian Literature, Comparative Literature, Philology, Paleography, Latin and Greek Literature, History, and Intellectual History).
Click here for details.
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THE PAIDEIA INSTITUTE: CAESAR IN GAUL
A Summer Program for Latin Teachers
July 16-30, 2016
There are still a few spots available in Caesar in Gaul, a two-week seminar designed to enhance participants’ appreciation of Julius Caesar and the Bellum Gallicum. Developed specifically with the new AP curriculum in mind, the program includes lectures and seminars led by Christopher Krebs and Luca Grillo, two scholars reshaping the field of Caesarian studies today, as well as visits to key sites of the Gallic Wars and other important monuments of Gallo-Roman culture.
The first week of the program, focusing on Caesar as a man of letters and the monuments of the Roman provincia, takes place in a spa-hotel in Aix-en-Provence. In the second week, participants will travel through the beautiful French countryside of Lyon and Burgundy for a closer look at Gallic culture and battle sites from the Bellum Gallicum.
Continuing Education Units (CEU's) and graduate credits are available.
Click here for more information.
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New Yorkers in the Land of the Pharoahs:
Fieldwork in Egypt by New York Institutions
Rose-Marie Lewent Conference
Presented by NYU Center for Ancient Studies in conjunction with the Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian Studies Program, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
March 31-April 1, 2016
Hemmerdinger Hall, Silver Center for the Arts and Science, Room 102
32 Waverly Place or 31 Washington Place (wheelchair access)
Free and open to the public
Click here for event poster.
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Inter Versiculos
The University of Michigan and The American University of Rome are pleased to announce Inter Versiculos, a week-long workshop in Latin verse composition to be held in Trapani, Sicily July 9 - 16, 2016. The workshop will be led by Dr. David Money, of Cambridge University. For details click here.
For this workshop, we seek to assemble an international group of Latinists including undergraduate and graduate students, teachers of Latin at the secondary, collegiate and graduate level, as well as interested amateurs. As the website states: "Open to anyone Latin poetry curious."
For additional information, please contact:
Gina Soter, PhD
Head of Latin Program at the Residential College
and Lecturer IV in the Department of Classical Studies The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
soter@umich.edu
http://www.umich.edu/~rclatin/IV2Website/index.html
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Penn Museum High School Latin Day
Explore Ancient Rome Through Text and Artifacts
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is hosting a special day for high school Latin classes, during which they will explore the cultural and historical context of Latin texts with:
- Keynote address from Associate Professor of Classical Studies Campbell Grey
- Special tours led by Penn Classical Studies students
- Workshops led by Art and Archaeology in the Mediterranean World Ph.D. students
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Click here to download flyer.
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The Paideia Aequora Program
Aequora is a weekly introductory Latin course for elementary school students. Students work with talented Latin teachers and mentors to learn the language through translation, games, and activities. Aequora's Philadelphia program will begin in January and meet at the West Philadelphia Community Center each week from 5pm-6pm. Volunteers will have completed at least two years of Latin at the high school level (or two semesters at the college level) and will commit to participating at least once every other week. For more information, or to express interest in volunteering, please contact Liz Hestand, Philadelphia Site Coordinator, at hestand@paideia-institute.org
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Fundraising efforts for the Central High School Urbs Aeterna Trip
Students of Latin in the 275th class of Central High School will be traveling to Italy to study from the monuments and museums of Rome. They will read everything from the letters of Pliny on Mt. Vesuvius to the poems of Martial at the Coliseum to the Latin inscription on the elevator at the Vatican! Fundraising efforts ensure that this trip can be financially accessible for each of our students. The Paideia Institute has helped CHS find a private donor whose contribution will match the donations from our crowdfunding campaign. Please consider contributing in any way that you can. Online donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/Roma275 Checks can be sent to Central High School - Student Activities with Rome Trip in the memo section.
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“Telling Mesopotamian History: Bringing to Life the Stories of Cuneiform Writing”
In Honor of Jack M. Sasson
Ranieri Colloquium on Ancient Studies
New York University Center for Ancient Studies
October 22-23, 2015
free and open to the public
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Integrating Judaism and Christianity into the Study of the Ancient World
Ranieri Colloquium on Ancient Studies
New York University Center for Ancient Studies
March 26-27, 2015
free and open to the public
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Cornell University’s Scholar-Author Barry Strauss To Visit the Philadelphia Area, March 7:
The Death of Caesar and the Facts Behind the Legend
Gladiators, Cleopatra, King Herod. A murder orchestrated with military precision; a forgotten conspirator who held the key to the plot; soldiers willing to be bought by the highest bidder; barbarians, cutthroats, and a political wife who was the brains behind Mark Antony’s “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech. None of these is found in Shakespeare’s reception of the Ides of March, yet they are all part of the real story of history’s most famous assassination. Historian and Classicist Barry Strauss, the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor of Humanistic Studies at Cornell and author of the new book, The Death of Caesar (Simon & Schuster), offers a new and unexpected look at one of history’s pivotal events.
Several organizations and academic institutions are “partnering” to welcome Professor Barry Strauss to Valley Forge Military Academy and College and to The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Along with those two hosting institutions, Classics Department Chairs Valentina DeNardis (Villanova University), Maria Marsilio (Saint Joseph’s University), and Radcliffe Edmonds (Bryn Mawr College), as well as Robert Sutton (President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America), and Mary Brown (President of The Philadelphia Classical Society) are involved in promoting Dr. Strauss’ two talks and book-signing events.
[On Friday, March 6, 2015, beginning at 7:30 pm, VFMAC is hosting a reception, book-signing, and lecture in Eisenhower Hall on campus. Dogfish Head Brewery of Rohobeth Beach, DE is providing a “tasting” of Etrusca and Midas’ Touch, both craft brews designed according to ancient recipes by Penn Museum’s biomolecular archaeologist Patrick McGovern.] The Friday, March 6th event has been canceled due to inclement weather.
On Saturday, March 7, at The Penn Museum, from 2 pm-4pm, Professor Strauss will conduct a meet-and-greet and book-signing, followed by his lecture and a Q&A period.
Both events are open to the public, based on space availability. The event at VFMAC is free; the Penn Museum event is free with Museum Admission. To register for a seat at either event, contact Mary Brown [mbrown@vfmac.edu]. Also, Professor Strauss’ new book The Death of Caesar, hardcover edition published by Simon & Schuster, is now available at a premiere price of $15. To purchase a copy, order through Mary Brown. Pick-up will be set up at both book-signing lecture venues.
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"The Excavation of 'Horace's Villa' in Vacone, Italy: The First Three Seasons of Excavation"
Dr. Gary D. Farney (Rutgers University)
Villanova University, Mendel Hall 102
February 11, 2015 at 3:00 PM
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Written by Charles Mee, based on The Suppliant Women by Aeschylus
Villanova University Theatre
November 11-23, 2014
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Fresh-Baked Theatre Company
Widener University
Sunday Nov. 9 and Nov. 16, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.
Admission: free will cash donation
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Rose-Marie Lewent Conference
NYU Center for Ancient Studies
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
free and open to the public
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