SCS Blog

A large metal object covered in barnacles and seashells sits on top of a bed of ropes aboard a ship

Blog: Ancient Ramming Warships: The Greek τριήρης and the Chinese 突冒

Stephen DeCasien |
In exploring the ancient world, we are reminded that distant civilizations were often not so different from one another. Whether in Greece or China, the challenges of defense, trade, and power led societies to place immense value on naval strength, on par with their armies and fortifications. One compelling example of this cross-cultural comparison can be seen in the study of two fascinating ancient warships: the Greek τριήρης (triḗrēs), commonly known by its Latinized…
A woman in a beige dress kneels on the floor touching part of a large quilt of red and purple fabrics sewn into pointed feather shapes

Tantalids: take ii - A New Play for an Ancient Horror

Vanessa Stovall |
What does it mean to use the stage to educate oneself about tragic texts?
A sail with an image of a turquoise human eye on it

Blog: The Backstory to We Players’ Upcoming Odyssea Performance in San Francisco

Ava Roy, James Ker, Nina Papathanasopoulou |
As we look ahead to the Odyssea event at the SCS and AIA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, co-organizers James Ker and Nina Papathanasopoulou spoke to Ava Roy, Artistic Director of We Players, and discussed how this piece began its 13-year journey from a sailboat in San Francisco Bay to Angel Island to the San Francisco Hilton Union Square.
A bar graph titled "Q16 Do you feel like you belong in the field of Classical Studies?"

Blog: Results from the first SCS Census

Rachel Philbrick, Zachary Quint |
Last fall, more than 1,500 members of the Classical Studies community participated in the first SCS Census. The aim of this survey, a project of the SCS Data Committee, was to learn about the careers and demographics of our community’s members, with the bigger goal of providing timely, accurate, and actionable information about the field to its members. One of the Data Committee’s main projects this year is to begin analyzing the data collected, and we would now like…
A medieval manuscript illustration with a red and gold patterned background. On it, a man holds a container in his left hand and with his right hand touches the face of a figure who is lying horizontally on a wooden table in front of him. The figure has a woman's head and face, but a formless body.

SCS Blog: Part 2 of 2: Gender, Purity, and Artificial Women

Amy Norgard, Joshua Nudell |
This is the second in a two-part piece about gender, myth, and AI.
On the left, a white statue of a seated, nude woman holding a bird looks down at a man in an orange toga, who looks up at her with his left hand raised.

SCS Blog: Part 1 of 2: Pygmalion in the Age of AI Companions

Amy Norgard, Joshua Nudell |
This is the first in a two-part piece about gender, myth, and AI. Find Part 2 here.
An orange eye in a gray-skinned head in a circle in the middle. Atop the eye, the text reads "The Society for Classical Studies presents We Players' Odyssea" and beneath it reads "January 9, 2026, 8pm, Society for Classical Studies 2026 Annual Meeting"

We Players Bring the Odyssey to Life at the AIA/SCS in San Francisco

Nina Papathanasopoulou |
During the 2025 AIA/SCS Joint Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, the SCS Classics in the Community Committee inaugurated a new initiative: the integration of an ancient Mediterranean-themed public event hosted within the context of the annual meeting and aimed at both conference attendees and the public community. This programming is spearheaded by James Ker, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Chair of the Classics in the Community…
A large room with shelves of books lining the walls and wooden tables with red chairs and turquoise lamps across the middle

Blog: Biographies of Latin via the endangered TLL Fellowship

Kathleen Coleman |
Why does the Thesaurus linguae Latinae matter? Because it is based upon analysis of every single instance of every single work surviving from classical antiquity down to approximately 200 CE, and all the lexicographically significant examples from 200 to 600 CE. This means that an article in the TLL crafts a portrait of a word in all its complexity and idiosyncrasy, from its earliest attestation until Latin morphed into the Romance languages. It is a bit like reading a…
A silver coin with a short-haired man's head facing right. Around the right edge of the coin is written "SVLLA COS"

Blog: Elon Musk, Sulla, and the American “Crisis Without Alternative”

Will Szymanski |
Elon Musk’s views range from the unsavory to the bizarre. The political odyssey he has been on, from a self-described moderate who voted for Democrats to performing a Nazi salute on Donald Trump’s inauguration stage, defies straightforward analysis. But to the Roman historian, one view stands out from all the strangeness: his admiration for the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
A stone inscription in Latin whose first line reads A Caedicius Successus. Subsequent lines are too small to read.

Blog: SCS Contingent Faculty Blog Series: Classics and Unionization

SN Yeager, Victoria Austen |
Interview between Victoria Austen (VA) and SN Yeager (SNY) This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. VA: How did you become involved in the graduate student union? What were your initial motivations?
A yellow page with a large capital letter M on the top left, followed by handwritten lines of ancient Greek

Blog: Letting the Language Lead and the Meter Follow

Peter Kotiuga |
Peter Kotiuga discusses how having students learn the prosodic features of ancient Greek and Latin (e.g. syllable length, elision, and accentuation) early, as elements of pronunciation and independent of metrics, provides fresh opportunities to make lessons on meter more accessible, engaging, and discovery-driven.
A red circle made up of red and maroon chevrons, followed by gray text reading ACLS

Blog: Help Support the ACLS

Joy Connolly |
On May 1, the organization I run, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), filed suit to redress the damage done in April to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), with the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association serving as co-plaintiffs. Most readers of this blog will already know the devastation DOGE wrought: roughly 65% of the NEH staff were laid off, and most grants made under the Biden administration were cancelled,…
Small, dull lime green stones scattered in a pile. On top of them sits one shining, faceted gem stone in the same color green.

Blog: On Gems, Poetry, Peridot, and Classics

Kevin Solez |
Kevin Solez reflects on the parallels between working with gems and ancient poetic texts while offering a new translation of Posidippus Lithika 7.
An archaeological site featuring rows of stone stelae and cippi on the ground

Blog: The Importance of Names: The Carthaginian ‘Tophet’ at 100

Nathan Pilkington |
Nathan Pilkington calls for the abandonment of the term “tophet,” generally, and a renaming of the “tophet” at Carthage, specifically. Based on the epigraphic record at Carthage, a more proper name for the site is The Sanctuary of Ba'al Hamon.
A black and white image of a stone votive figure of a man wearing a tunic and hat with a small node on the top. In his right hand, he holds a spear, and in his left hand, he holds up a round shield.

Blog: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Roman Army

Michael Taylor |
Michael Taylor reflects on the Roman army as a multi-ethnic force, where the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion underpinned its effectiveness in the field. Recoiling against Trump’s recent erasure of the contribution of women and minorities in the nation’s service, he examines Roman traditions celebrating the contribution of non-citizen Italian officers and their contingents.
Six of the Fayum mummy portraits, contemporary portraits of people in Roman Egypt. They have dark hair and different colored eyes and skin. All look straight ahead.

Blog: The Benefits and Costs of DEI Research in Classics

Arum Park |
Over the past half-decade or so, I’ve written and spoken a lot about race, diversity, and Classics. As a woman of color in a historically white and male field, I have experienced my “fair” share of race- or gender-based injustice, so it feels rewarding (and overdue) to witness and participate in the discipline’s current moment of critical self-reflection. Each of my DEI-focused projects, essays, and speaking engagements has given me a kind of satisfaction that I do not…
A banner with images of dancers on either side of text, which reads "The Martha Graham Dance Company: Two Greek-Themed Modernist Works by Martha Graham. January 4, 2025: 8-10pm"

Blog: Greek Myth, Martha Graham, and the Society for Classical Studies: Classicists, Archaeologists, and the Public in Philadelphia Enthralled by Martha Graham Dance Company Performance

Ronnie Ancona |
On January 4, 2025, the Martha Graham Dance Company, with sponsorship by the Society for Classical Studies, which was holding its annual meeting in Philadelphia along with the Archaeological Institute of America, performed two Greek-themed dances: a duet, Errand into the Maze (1947), loosely based on the Ariadne, Theseus, and Minotaur myth; and Cave of the Heart (1946), based on the story of Medea, for a sold-out audience at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Graham’s…
A black and white photo of a round medallion depicting a woman in a toga wearing a laurel crown holding a long papyrus scroll that reads "In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the American Numismatic Society"

Blog: What I Learned at Coin Camp

Patricia Hatcher |
Patricia Hatcher reflects on her interdisciplinary studies during the American Numismatic Society’s summer graduate seminar. The ANS taught skills to succeed in academia and unsuspectingly showcased alternative careers for those studying the ancient world.
A snowy village with brick house with sloped roofs covered in snow. Crowds of people gather around the entry to one building, and horse-drawn carriages approach it. In the distance, people work and play in the snow.

Introducing the SCS 2024 Census

Rachel Philbrick |
The Newly-formed SCS Data Committee Announces its First Annual Census
Photo of a woman standing with one foot on a smooth rock holding a crown made of bone above her head. Behind her, long sticks poke out in either direction.

Blog: Medea and Ariadne Reimagined: Honoring Martha Graham’s Deep Engagement with Greek Myth

Nina Papathanasopoulou |
Nina Papathanasopoulou discusses in further detail the two Martha Graham Greek-themed dances that will be performed as part of this year’s joint SCS/AIA 2025 Annual Meeting.