Ancient Studies at Harvard

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The Future of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife

Hybrid Lecture, The Future of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife, Wednesday, March 11, 6:00–7:00 pm ET, Advance registration recommended for online and in-person attendance, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, Speaker: Rune Nyord, Associate Professor and Chair, Art History Department, Emory University, Could some of our familiar ideas about the ancient Egyptian afterlife be more Christian than Egyptian? Recent studies suggest that themes we often assume to be central, such as judgment, salvation, and eternal life, were profoundly shaped by the Christian expectations of early Egyptologists. This poses a significant challenge for contemporary Egyptology: how should we think about ancient Egyptian religion when our basic framework has been shaped so strongly by Christianity rather than by Egyptian evidence? Rune Nyord proposes a new way forward that re-centers the social setting of the ancestor cult and considers funerary texts such as the Book of the Dead as ritual texts—continuous with… Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Harvard Museum of Science & Culture. For more info visit hmsc.harvard.edu.

Kimberly Cassibry (Wellesley College)

Influence, Fame, and Infamy: Legacies of Classical Celts in Ancient Art Ancient Celts (also called Gauls and Galatians) crafted exquisite metalwork with abstract designs and they only rarely depicted their many defeated enemies in art. In contrast, their Greek and Roman foes commissioned countless caricatures of defeated Celts stripped of their well-crafted belongings. This talk focuses on the classical Greek and Roman sculptures known as the Dying Gaul and the Suicidal Gaul and Wife. Reframing their ancient influences, modern fame, and potential for infamy, the lecture considers the future of famous works that celebrate violence and demonize enemies. Event contact to appear in listing: Contact: classics@fas.harvard.edu. Event Series: Harvard Classics Departmental Seminar Series. Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM. HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Barker 133, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Greg Woolf (NYU ISAW)

"The Resilience of Empire and the Weakness of the Emperors". Event contact to appear in listing: contact: classics@fas.harvard.edu. Event Series: Loeb Classical Lecture. Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM. HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBD, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East Tours Led by Harvard Students

Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East Tours Led by Harvard Students, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, 6 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, 02138, Available during the Harvard academic year Sundays at 1:00 pm, October 5, 2025–April 26, 2026. See blackout dates.*  *Blackout dates: November 30, 2025–January 25, 2026, March 15, 2026 and March 22, 2026   This free tour, led by Harvard students, explores the Mediterranean Marketplaces: Connecting the Ancient World exhibition and how the movement of goods, peoples, and ideas around the ancient Mediterranean transformed the lives and livelihoods of people at all levels of society. Touch replicas and smell “ancient” scents as the students bring the past alive. Visitors may drop in at the scheduled times. No reservation is required. Tours meet in the lobby and last approximately 45 minutes.  Groups of 10 or more may contact reservations to request other times. Please complete the reservation request form. Sunday, April 5, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM. Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. For more info visit hmane.harvard.edu.

Public Symposium: Celtic Art Up Close

Saturday, April 11, 2026. HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Harvard Art Museums, TBA, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Brian Krostenko (University of Notre Dame)

TITLE TBD Krostenko’s research centers on the culture and law of the Late Roman Republic, Cicero, rhetoric, and Latin linguistics. He is the author of Cicero, Catullus, and the Language of Social Performance (Chicago, 2001), which discusses the problem of aestheticism in Roman culture by means of historical semantics. He is also the author of The Voices of the Consul: The Rhetorics of Cicero's de lege agraria I and II (Oxford, 2024), the first book-length study of the rhetoric of those speeches, which uses the techniques of discourse analysis to reveal how and why Cicero lays claim to contested political slogans and ideologies in the turbulent late Republic. Thursday, April 16, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM. HARVARD UNIVERSITY; LOCATION TBD.

Master Class: "Persecution, Victimhood, and Storytelling in the Dead Sea Scrolls" - Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU)

"Persecution, Victimhood, and Storytelling in the Dead Sea Scrolls" A Master Class with Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU) Violence is one of the key themes in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It captured the imagination of the Sectarians who wrote these scrolls, and who saw themselves as victims of persecution. In this class, we will explore a wide range of passages where the Dead Sea Scrolls Sectarians tell stories about themselves as perpetual victims of empowered others: Rome and the local Jewish priestly and political authorities. Most scholars read these passages through a historical lens, seeking data about the origins and historical development of the Dead Sea Scrolls Sectarians. We will draw on social psychological approaches to violence and victimhood in order identify these texts as a form of storytelling that seeks to narrate the Sectarians’ perception of collective victimhood and a siege mentality. The Sectarians’ perception of the world is told through master narratives such as the biblical commentaries that present… Event Series: Ancient Studies at Harvard Visitors Series. Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM. Barker 133 Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street.

Rebecca Moorman (Boston University)

Event Series: Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop. Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM. HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Boylston 237, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA.

Lecture: "Rediscovering the Discovery: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Their First Audience" - Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU)

""Rediscovering the Discovery: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Their First Audience" A Lecture by Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU) The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. This presentation examines the first public exhibition of the scrolls in 1949 as a case study into how scholars, journalists, and public figures taught the world about the scrolls in the early years after their discovery. The Library of Congress exhibit “Ancient Hebrew Scrolls” showcased three scrolls. The impact of this event on public excitement about the scrolls cannot be overstated. The scrolls were brought to Washington D.C. under the protection of the Secret Service. Extended hours accommodated the overwhelming interest as thousands of guests visited over two weeks. The world’s most famous Bible scholar, William F. Albright, gave an opening night lecture to a packed audience in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium. Paramount News and Fox Movietone News sent crews to document the opening night and th… Event Series: Ancient Studies at Harvard Visitors Series. Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Sever Hall 103 Quincy Street, Cambridge MA.

Arsen Nisanyan (Harvard University)

TBD. Event Series: Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop. Friday, April 24, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM. Boylston 237.

Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture, David G. Wigg-Wolf (Leicester University)

Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture: "Gods? Beasts? Warriors? Interpreting the Imagery of Celtic Coinages" Speaker: David G. Wigg-Wolf, Honorary Professor, Leicester University Free admission, but seating is limited and registration is encouraged. Register here. Celtic coins present a remarkable world of varied, often fantastic images. The earliest coinages were generally close copies of Hellenistic coins from the Mediterranean world, but gradually they developed a distinct visual language. Elements of the original prototypes were adapted or became disjointed; because these were combined with new elements, the resulting designs can be difficult to understand today. Different regions also followed different iconographical traditions, leading to a wide variety of designs. In a later phase, the arrival of Rome on the political stage led to the re-appearance of coinages with a classical look, particularly in Britain. In this lecture, David G. Wigg-Wolf, of Leicester University, will trace the iconography… Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM. HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Harvard Art Museums, Menschel Hall, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. For more info visit harvardartmuseums.org.

Conference—Past and Present: Cultural Politics in Byzantium and Beyond

TBD. Event contact to appear in listing: contact: roilos@fas.harvard.edu. Friday, May 1, 2026 – Saturday, May 2, 2026. HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBA, Cambridge MA.