Activities and Events
2014-2015
Spring Semester
Classics Luncheons
Classics students & faculty gather for food and conversation in the Test Kitchen of
the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall once a month for a Classics lunchtime symposium. Lunch
tickets provided if requested.
Annual Classics BBQ
Please join us for the annual Classics Department BBQ and festivities. This is our
opportunity to celebrate the year, to wish our graduating seniors well, to welcome
new students to our departmental community.
Date: April 28, 2015
Time: 6.00pm
Location: Thomas Amphitheater
Annual Parilia Conference
The Classics Department of Skidmore College will attend a one-day undergraduate research
conference in the discipline of Classical Studies -- Greek, Latin, Ancient History
and Archaeology. Faculty and student participation will be from Union College, Hamilton
College and Colgate College, with students presenting papers followed by discussions.
Date: Friday, April 17, 2015
Time: 9:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Location: Union College, Schenectady, NY
Annual Classics bus trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Each spring students in CC200 The Classical World travel to NYC to study and present
objects in the Greco-Roman galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2015
Departure time: 7:30 AM - Bus departing from Skidmore (Case Parking Lot)
Meeting at the Met at 7:00 to depart at 7:15 PM
Returning to Skidmore: 11:00 PM
The David H. Porter Classical World Lecture
Named for President and Professor emeritus David Porter, this lecture is a highlight of the spring semester and is part of the
department's gateway course, CC200 The Classical World.
Date: April 7, 2015
Time: 5.30pm
Location: Gannett Auditorium
Guest speaker and lecture title: Prof. Lily Panoussi, College of William and Mary:
"Isis at a Roman Wedding: Gender and Ethnicity in Ovid's Metamorphoses." Prof. Panoussi led the audience on an examination of the gender-bending tale of
Iphis, born female and changed into a male by the Egyptian goddess Isis. Illustrated
with passages from Ovid's epic poem, Prof. Panoussi discussed Roman conceptions of
ethnicity, gender, and identity.
Homerathon 2015
Homerathon! (a marathon reading of the Greek poet, Homer) is one of the Classics Department’s
most anticipated yearly events, a time for students, faculty, staff, and other friends
to gather in celebration of our earliest Western poet. Coupled with our Classical
World course (CC 200), the Homerathon! reminds us that the ancient art of storytelling
is alive and well.
Date: February 24, 2015
Time: 5.30-9.00pm
Location: Murray-Aikins Dining Hall: pizza, cookies and Homer!
Fall Semester
Guest Speaker, Prof. Angela Commito (SUNY-Albany)
Title: “Digging Up Divine Waters: The Hypostyle Fountain Excavations at Labraunda.”
You may not have heard of Labraunda, but you probably know the name of its most famous
patron, Mausolus, whose tomb – the Mausoleum – was one of the seven wonders of the
ancient world. During the 4th century BCE, Mausolus and his family transformed Labraunda
from a rustic shrine in the mountains of western Anatolia (modern Turkey) into an
elaborate sanctuary, where pilgrims feasted, athletes competed in games, and priests
made sacrifices to Zeus of the Double-Axe, a local version of the Anatolian storm
god. New excavations of a monumental fountain at the sanctuary are revealing details
about the peculiar vernacular architecture of the site and the experience of worshipping
at this unique place in antiquity. This talk presents the preliminary results of
these excavations and explores how water nurtured the sanctuary’s growth into a major
focus of regional religious activity and political power. Prof. Commito (Ph.D., University
of Michigan) is the Assistant Director of Brown University’s Labraunda Project.
Date: November 10, 2014
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Somers Room