Archive

Oedipus the King, Episode 1: In which Thebes suffers from a plague, and King Oedipus suffers from a wildly inflated sense of his own self-importance. Let’s face it: reading Ancient Greek tragedies is difficult and depressing (although totally worth it). So we’ve launched The Editing Sciptorium, a series where we present an abridged version of …

Still looking for that perfect course to fill out your semester? Check out late-start Classical Studies courses, still available for enrollment in Fall 2023! All late-start classes are Online Asynchronous. 2nd 5-week session (Sep 25 – Oct 27) CLAS-B 311 Sex and Gender in the Ancient World (27279) 5 week, 1 credit “appetizer” class can be …

Episode 68: In which Roma finds her art employed in offensive (aesthetically and ethically) American representation of Native Americans. This episode of Real Housewives of Mt. Olympus brought to you by the latest archaeological news on CNN.com and SmithsonianMagazine.com – and by CLAS-C 414 Art and Archaeology of the Roman World. ROMA, GODDESS OF ROME (entering): …

The IUPUI Classical Studies Program is thrilled to announce a new full-time faculty member: Dr. Andy Findley! Funding requests for 150 days of celebratory games in his honor (including hippo hunts, where the hippos hunt the humans!) were denied, so we’ve settled for this post instead. Dr. Findley has been part of the IUPUI CLAS …

Looking for the film adaptation of The Odyssey that stays truest to the spirit of Homer’s original epic poem? No, it’s not that Kirk Douglas monstrosity Ulysses, where the only thing more cheesy and frightening than the Cyclops is Douglas’ Odysseus hitting on a way-too-young-looking Princess Nausicaa. No, it’s not the French film The Odyssey, …

Making the ancient myth of Hercules into a kid’s movie was always going to take some adjusting. Case in point: in making their 1997 movie Hercules, Disney revamped the goddess Hera from “insulted wife desperately trying to kill husband’s bastard child” into “loving mom who mostly just stands there smiling” (presumably she’s also not her …

Episode 67: In which a Syrian mosaic ends up in a Californian garage, and the goddesses blame Zeus for American antiquities laws. This episode of Real Housewives of Mt. Olympus brought to you by the latest archaeological news on CNN.com – and by CLAS-C 205 Classical Mythology. [SETTING: Breakfast in the Palace of the Gods] ZEUS, …

Recently, Classical Studies Program Director Dr. Elizabeth Thill did something she had not done in years: she attended a newly released movie, in the theater, where the aim was not to keep her children entertained (although she did bring her children, a somewhat questionable decision). What movie could coax her out of her self-imposed movie-theater …

Episode 66: In which the gods try to stop a wave of tourist destruction, and arrive at the inevitable conclusion: we need more gladiators. This episode of Real Housewives of Mt. Olympus brought to you by the latest archaeological news on CNN.com – and by CLAS-B 312 Plague, Disasters and Death in the Ancient World. …

Episode 65: In which the goddesses of fertility discuss one of the greatest questions of all time: how specifically do you define pizza? This episode of Real Housewives of Mt. Olympus brought to you by the latest archaeological news on SmithsonianMagazine.com – and by CLAS-C 387 Roman History. [SETTING: San Casciano Hot Springs, in Tuscany] …