Last week, the UC Classics Department had a tea to celebrate 15+1 years of its Outreach program. Since 2008, the outreach program has reached over 30,000 people in more than 1,200 presentations to local schools, libraries, and community centers. The program not only demonstrates to the public how active, dynamic, and relevant the field of Classics is today, but also shows students, no matter their background, that they too can pursue Classics. The free program includes topics stretching from gladiators to plagues and pandemics, and are perfect for those interested in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and the sciences--in other words, everyone! Congratulations to the many individuals that have participated in the Outreach program since it's inception, and we look forward to bringing new and ever more interesting material next fall!

On April 2, Jack Davis, Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology, was honored as the University of Cincinnati's 2024 Distinguished Research Professor of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The annually awarded title represents the highest level of recognition for achievements and contributions in AHSS research at the University of Cincinnati. The ceremony opened with remarks by UC President, Neville G. Pinto, before the presentation of the awards by Patrick Limbach, UC's VP of Research. Davis returned to the University of Cincinnati in 1993 after completing his PhD here in 1977. Since his return, he has pioneered the development and application of anthropological and scientific approaches to the study of the ancient Mediterranean world through archaeological explorations of the Greek Peloponnese, Greek islands, and Albania. His most recent project in Pylos (Greece) explores the Palace of Nestor and uncovered the Griffin Warrior tomb. Please join us in congratulating Jack for his significant achievement!

On Saturday, March 2, the UC Classics Club staged a Roman comedy, Plautus’ Amphitruo, using a new translation by Prof. Caitlin Hines and Ph.D. candidate Allie Pohler. Prof. Anna Conser directed a cast of students and faculty, including Classics undergrads Alyssa Hoffman, Jaimee Booth, and Meara Couvillon; CCM actor Patrick Comunale; Ph.D. candidate Alessandro Battaglia; and professors Marion Kruse and Kathleen Lynch. Classics students filled many production roles, including stage managing (Meara Couvillon), producing (Matt Wabler and Michael Shobe), creating the poster and program (Sarina Duncan), and arranging original musical accompaniment (Amanda Stokes and Hunter Torosian). The evening was filled with mischief. As Prof. Marion Kruse narrated a battle scene, musicians came in with a military drum beat that eventually – and hilariously – culminated in sampled guitar riffs from Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.” At a point where several pages are missing from the manuscript tradition, Prof. Caitlin Hines stepped on stage to explain, only to be interrupted by the characters Mercury and Jupiter, in what turned out to be a very clever meta-theatrical scene. Around 70 people attended the performance, held at Probasco Auditorium. The show was followed by a lively Q&A addressing translation and production choices, as well as the historical context of Roman comedy more generally. Classics Club plans to make this an annual tradition, so stay tuned for Fall 2024!

On Tuesday, February 20, UC Classics celebrated Peter van Minnen’s J. M. Burnam Professorship, which included a panel and the presentation of a festschrift in his honor, titled "Unending Variety. Papyrological Texts and Studies in Honor of Peter van Minnen." The panel included remarks from Drs. Rebecka Lindau (John Miller Burnam Classics Library), Valerio Ferme (Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs), Jay Twomey (Associate Dean), and Daniel Markovich (Head of the Classics Department). Papers were presented by Drs. Matthijs Wibier, Andrew Connor, and Cisca Hoogendijk. After the presentation of the papers and the festschrift, attendees joined Peter at a reception in the Blegen Library. Please join us in congratulating Peter on his Professorship and festschrift! You can find out more about Unending Variety at Brill's website. 

Anna Belza, a Ph.D. candidate in the UC Department of Classics, has received the Archaeological Institute of America’s Harriet and Leon Pomerance Fellowship for AY 2024-2025. The award supports her dissertation project, entitled "The Cyclades in the Mycenaean Period: A View from Ayia Irini, Kea,” which is a study of the pottery, small finds, and architecture dated to Late Bronze Age IIB–IIIC from the port town of Ayia Irini, on the Cycladic island of Kea in Greece. Her study provides the first site-wide presentation of Mycenaean period activity at Ayia Irini, Kea, which is contextualized within the Cyclades in order to provide an up-to-date understanding of the efficacy and reach of maritime distribution systems in the Late Bronze Age, ultimately contributing to debates about the role of the Cycladic islands in the Mycenaean Aegean.

Our alumna Kathleen Kidder (University of Houston) received the Mary White Prize for Best Article in Phoenix, the journal of the Classical Association of Canada, for her recently published article on “‘Like a Mole (?)’: Proteus’ Subterranean Journey (Alex.118–127) and the Poetics of Hidden Space,” Phoenix 75.3–4: 181-202.