Inger Kuin (University of Virginia)
Harvard Classics Lectures
In the first two centuries CE, inhabitants of the Roman Empire of all persuasions considered going through
life without gods, or without recognition of divine interference, as a potential feature of human psychology
deserving serious attention. Many saw it as a threat both to the well-being of individuals and to the socio ethical fabric of communities, while for some it was their own lived experience and a wholesome outlook
worth propagating. Atheism and disbelief were understood to be integral components of the over-all
phenomenology of belief systems and ways of life that could not be ignored.
In my paper I will present from my research project in progress which aims to produce the first
book-length study of atheism in the mediterranean in the first and second centuries CE. Earlier research on
atheism and disbelief in antiquity has focused either on classical Athens, or taken a diachronic approach
covering both the Greek and Roman periods. My project combines a narrow synchronic focus with a
uniqu…
Event Series: Harvard Classics Departmental Seminar Series.
Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Barker Center 133.
Robin Osborne (University of Cambridge)
"Dionysos and Theater in Ancient Athens"
Estelle Shohet Brettman Memorial Lecture
Tragedy and comedy in Athens were performed at festivals of the god Dionysos, but even in antiquity the connection between drama and Dionysos was unclear. Recent scholarship has been skeptical of any link. Making use of neglected visual evidence for Athenian ways of thinking about Dionysos, revisit this question and think further about what connects the gods to the acts by which they were worshipped. Changes in the nature of the Dyonisiac imagery found on Athenian pottery—including drinking cups in MFA the collection—indicate the ways in which Dionysos was conceived of as the god who presided over individuals in their personal and peculiar situations, not simply as members of civic or other groups.
Ticket Information
Free. To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-440-6975 ($6 processing fee applies); to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk.
Thursday, September 24, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON, Harry and Mildred Remis Auditorium (Auditorium 161), 465 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA.
For more info visit www.mfa.org. Antioch Today: Archaeology, Labor, and Knowledge Production
Antioch Today: Archaeology, Labor, and Knowledge Production Friday, September 25, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Collins Cinema and Davis Museum Galleries In conjunction with the exhibition Excavating Antioch: The Archaeology of an Ancient City, this daylong, interdisciplinary symposium brings international scholars, curators, and conservators to Wellesley College for a public conversation about the ancient city of Antioch (now Antakya, Türkiye) and the modern afterlives of archaeological knowledge. Using Antioch as a case study, the program explores how the past is excavated, interpreted, and displayed, with particular attention to the ethical questions surrounding cultural heritage today. Speakers will address the history of excavation at Antioch, the labor involved in archaeological work, and ongoing debates about provenance, restitution, and global museum practice.
The program includes two panels, a keynote lecture, and guided tours of the exhibition. Presentations will consider the responsibilities of museums…
Event contact to appear in listing: Dr. Nicole Berlin, nb100@wellesley.edu.
Friday, September 25, 2026, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
WELLESLEY COLLEGE, The Davis Museum, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02131.
For more info visit www1.wellesley.edu. Emilia Barbiero (New York University)
Title: Women at Center Stage, Or: Plautinisches im Aristainetos
Description: It is well established that the Letters of Aristainetos are replete with intertextual references to New Comedy. But what about Roman Comedy? In my paper, I reveal a sustained engagement with the Plautine corpus throughout this late-antique epistolary collection, showing that Aristainetos borrows from Plautus' cast of characters and typical premises, even reproducing specific scenes. And yet this Latin model material is transformed in Aristainetos' hands:in the Letters, various scenarios drawn from the fabula palliata have been inverted, retold from a particularly female perspective to create paralogical narratives spun out of Plautus' plays.
Sponsors: This event has been generously funded by the Boston University Center for the Humanities.
Event contact to appear in listing: sds74@bu.edu. Event Series (if not listed): New Approaches to Classics.
Monday, September 28, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 745 Commonwealth Ave. STH B19.
For more info visit www.bu.edu. Odysseus Returns: Reflections on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
Sponsored by the Mahindra Humanities Center and the Center for Hellenic Studies.
Featuring a panel discussion with Emily Greenwood (Harvard University), David Elmer (Harvard University), and Jie Li (Harvard University), moderated by Robin Kelsey (Mahindra Humanities Center).
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; the Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop (Speaker TBD)
Speaker TBD.
Event Series: Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop.
Friday, October 16, 2026, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Boylston Hall 237.
The John C. Rouman Classical Lectures Series, UNH (Emily Wilson)
The John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire. Created in 1997 by the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Charitable Foundation, this extraordinary series of lectures and events continues to promote and enhance awareness of the Classics in New Hampshire. throughout New England, and beyond. Topics explored each year by the series will cover a range of subjects wthin Greco-Roman civilization including mythology,literature, history, philosophy, art and language, and will feature lectures delivered by internationally recognized speakers and scholars. Each year of lectures and special events will be unique in its scope and focus.
"Translating and Reimagining Homer" by Dr. Emily Wilson
For more information, contact the Classics Program directly at the University of New Hampshire, Murkland Hall, Rm. 316, Durham, NH 03824; (email) scott.smith@unh.edu or lisa.hartford@unh.edu.
Event contact to appear in listing: scott.smith@unh.edu or lisa.hartford@unh.edu. Event Series (if not listed): The John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series (University of New Hampshire).
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, Memorial Union Building, Strafford Room, Durham, NH 03824.
Rex Wallace (UMass Amherst)
Event Series: GSAS Workshop "Indo-European and Historical Linguistics”.
Thursday, October 22, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Boylston Hall 335.
Michèle Lowrie (University of Chicago)
"Caesar, Carmen, and the Rule of Law.".
Event Series: Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: Classical Traditions and Receptions.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; TBD.
Black Cicero: A Conversation with Mathias Hanses
Sponsored by the Department of the Classics and the Hutchins Center, Harvard University
Featuring Professor Mathias Hanses (Associate Professor of Classics, Penn State University) on his new book Black Cicero: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Ancient Romans in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Oxford University Press, 2026.
In conversation with:
· Hannah Čulik-Baird (Associate Professor of Classics, UCLA)
· Harriet Fertik (Associate Professor of Classics, Ohio State University)
· Andrea Kouklanakis (Associate Professor of Classics, CUNY)
· Professor Jesse McCarthy (John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Harvard University)
· Jackie Murray (Associate Professor of Classics, SUNY Buffalo)
· Dan-el Padilla Peralta (Professor of Classics, Arizona State University)
· Diontay Wolfries-Thomas (Department of the Classics, Harvard University)
The panel will be followed by an EOS Reads event (from 3:30-5 pm), focusing on Du Bois’s classicism: details and readings to follow.…
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Venue: Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Hip Hop Archive & Research Institute, 104 Mount Auburn Street.
Book Celebration in honor of Leah Whittington
Harvard Classics Lectures
Celebration in honor of Leah Whittington’s book, Antiquity Made Whole: The Renaissance Continuation of Ancient Literature.
Event Series: Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: Civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome. Event Series (if not listed): The Early Modern Workshop at Harvard University.
Tuesday, November 17, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Thompson Room, Barker Center, Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit emworkshop.fas.harvard.edu. Harry Saunders (Harvard)
Event Series: GSAS Workshop "Indo-European and Historical Linguistics”.
Thursday, November 19, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Boylston Hall 335.
Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop (Speaker TBD)
Speaker TBD.
Event Series: Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop.
Friday, November 20, 2026, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Boylston Hall 237.
Zachary Rothstein-Dowden (Harvard)
Event Series: GSAS Workshop "Indo-European and Historical Linguistics”.
Thursday, December 3, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Boylston Hall 335.