Classics at the CUNY Graduate Center

Archaeologists in Sicily Discover an Ancient Stylus With an Erection. Yes, That Kind of Erection The over 2,400-year-old ceramist's stylus likely features Dionysus...and his other bits.

"The stylus, discovered whole, features the head of a man and an erect phallus. The statement reports the male head to likely be a herm of Dionysus, the Greco-Roman deity of ecstasy and wine, among other things."

How Ancient Greek Became the World's Lingua Franca | TheCollector Becoming a lingua franca in any era is never by accident. Ancient Greek would hold that title for nearly 1,000 years in the Near East and Mediterranean.

"Despite Greek being the administrative language, dialect differences could be vast. Plus, Greek proved difficult for non-native speakers to learn. Time and cultural interactions cured this problem."

800 ancient Roman blade sharpeners found in Britain Archaeologists also located English Civil War cannonballs and a Tudor-era shoe near a Newcastle river.

"...experts located over 800 whetstones—traditional tools used to hone blades and weaponry—the largest deposit of its kind in northwest Europe."

Pylos: From princes to a palace in Messenia World Archaeology Magazine highlights discoveries from ancient Greece such as the Griffin Warrior by UC Classics Professor Jack Davis and Senior Research Associate Sharon Stocker. Many of the artifacts from their discoveries went on display last year in North America for the first time with an exhibit at the Getty Museum.

"UC Classics Professor Jack Davis and Senior Research Associate Sharon Stocker discovered a 3,500-year-old tomb for a leader they called the Griffin Warrior after the mythological figure emblazoned on his ivory plaque."

Three students stand against a classroom whiteboard holding handmade Roman-style props. The student on the left holds a model axe with a wooden handle and gold-colored blade. The middle student holds a mannequin head wearing a red-and-white segmented helmet with fabric cheek guards. The student on the right holds a mannequin head wearing a cream helmet with brown leather-style bands and a ponytail crest.

Close-up of a student holding a handmade model axe with a reddish wooden handle wrapped in brown grip tape and a gold-painted blade. The student wears a striped hoodie and black shirt, with headphones around their neck.

Close-up of a mannequin head wearing a handmade red-and-white segmented helmet with stitched red fabric bands and hanging cheek guards. A small ponytail crest is visible at the top.

Close-up of a mannequin head wearing a cream helmet with brown leather-style bands and stitching, a long brown ponytail crest, and a dark leather cheek guard hanging on one side.

CUNY Grad Center PhD student Ivan Maiorov shared some new pictures from his Texts and Contexts class, where his students made replicas of Bronze Age weaponry!

#ClassicsGC #HumanitiesGC #AncientBluesky #ClassicsBluesky #BlueskyClassics CUNY Graduate Center

Ancient Greek Temple Discovered Filled with Gold Jewels The 2,700-year-old temple still houses valuables.

"Nearby the ancient Temple of Amarysia Artemis on the country’s second-largest island, archaeologists discovered another temple—this one from the 7th century BC. And it came full of highly used altars..."

The animals saved in Greece's ancient accidental 'arks' Shielded from development and agriculture, many archaeological sites from ancient Greece have now become inadvertent safe harbours for plants and animals.

"In Italy, rare orchids flower around an Etruscan necropolis...In recent years, two new species of lizard were identified in Machu Picchu that may have once had a wider range and today enjoy the relatively undisturbed conditions of the ancient sanctuary."

Lost Iron Age Ship Cargoes Discovered in Ancient Israeli Port Rewrite Mediterranean Trade History % Iron Age cargoes from Dor reveal how ancient Mediterranean trade evolved alongside shifting empires and political power. New findings from researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Haifa are changing how scholars understand ancient seaborne trade in the eastern M

"These discoveries rank among the very few known Iron Age ship cargoes anywhere in the Mediterranean and are the first directly associated with a documented Iron Age port city in the southern Levant."

This ancient pottery holds the earliest evidence of humans doing math Flower designs on 8,000-year-old Mesopotamian pots reveal a “mathematical knowledge” perhaps developed to share land and crops, archaeologists say.

"The authors argue that these numbers are not accidental but indicate that the Halafians possessed advanced knowledge of this type of mathematics."

Five students stand in a classroom wearing handmade Roman-style armor. From left to right: one student wears black and red armor with gold trim; next to them, a student in a white tunic gives two thumbs up. The center student wears a cream chest piece with red sun symbols and red-and-white striped skirt panels and gives a thumbs up. Two more students stand to the right wearing beige chest pieces over casual clothing. Seated classmates and classroom desks are visible in the background.

Students were given the option of making a linothorax for their final project.

#AncientBluesky #ClassicsBluesky #BlueskyClassics CUNY Graduate Center

Three students stand side by side in a classroom wearing handmade Roman-style armor made from cardboard and fabric. The student on the left wears a white tunic-style costume with black trim and gives two thumbs up. The middle student wears a cream-colored chest piece decorated with red sun symbols and red-and-white striped skirt panels. The student on the right wears a beige textured chest piece over a dark shirt. All three are smiling and facing the camera.

How cool does PhD student Ivan Maiorov's class look?! He sent us these end-of-semester images from his UHC Ancient Greece course at Fordham.

#ClassicsGC #HumanitiesGC #AncientBluesky #ClassicsBluesky #BlueskyClassics CUNY Graduate Center

Our Classics Dept and Keren would like to thank the Classical Association of the Atlantic States for funding her trip. These conferences are vital for students to attend, & CAAS's generosity is appreciated!

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A woman stands at a podium on a small stage, presenting at an academic conference. A large projection screen beside her displays a slide titled “Face Down: Iconographic Censorship and the Mutilation of Hector on Attic Vases,” with the presenter’s name (Keren Freidenreich), affiliation (CUNY Graduate Center), and conference details (AIA Annual Meeting 2026, San Francisco, CA). The slide includes an image of fragmented pottery. The room is a hotel conference space with warm lighting, a large ceiling fixture, and a table nearby holding a water bottle and microphone.

PhD student Keren Freidenreich presented at the SCS conference last Thursday!

Face Down: Iconographic Censorship and the Mutilation of Hector on Attic Vases
PANEL: AIA-Greek Pottery and Its Contents

#ClassicsGC #HumanitiesGC #AncientBluesky #ClassicsBluesky CUNY Graduate Center

Extension to 1/16

EXTENSION Call for Papers:
Thalassocracy and the Power of the Sea
Graduate Student Conference

Classics Department at the the Graduate Center, CUNY

#ClassicsGC #HumanitiesGC #AncientBluesky #ClassicsBluesky #BlueskyClassics

Promotional graphic for a Juilliard Drama performance. At the top is a fragmented gold funerary mask resembling those from Mycenaean archaeology, shown against a dark gradient background. Below it, white text announces: ‘Juilliard Drama Presents “Agamemnon’s Return” from “Oresteia: This Restless House” by Zinnie Harris. Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 7:30PM, Stephanie P. McClelland Theater

www.juilliard.edu/ev...

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Lecture flyer titled “From Refuse to Revelation: What Rubbish Disposal Tells Us about Papyri from Roman Egypt.” The left side lists the speaker, Anna Boozer of Baruch College (CUNY), and event details: CUNY Graduate Center Classics Program, Fall 2025 Lecture Series; Thursday, December 4 at 5 pm in Room 4422 and online via Zoom. RSVP email is provided. The right side features a portrait of the speaker above a block of text explaining that discarded papyri in rubbish heaps across Roman Egypt—especially at Oxyrhynchus—formed accidental archives containing literary texts, correspondence, and official documents. The summary describes how cleaning, recycling, and disposal practices reveal social organization and cultural insights into Roman-Egyptian life.

Today at 5pm EST! In person and via Zoom.

#Classicsblueskey #blueskyclassics

Lecture flyer titled “From Refuse to Revelation: What Rubbish Disposal Tells Us about Papyri from Roman Egypt.” The left side lists the speaker, Anna Boozer of Baruch College (CUNY), and event details: CUNY Graduate Center Classics Program, Fall 2025 Lecture Series; Thursday, December 4 at 5 pm in Room 4422 and online via Zoom. RSVP email is provided. The right side features a portrait of the speaker above a block of text explaining that discarded papyri in rubbish heaps across Roman Egypt—especially at Oxyrhynchus—formed accidental archives containing literary texts, correspondence, and official documents. The summary describes how cleaning, recycling, and disposal practices reveal social organization and cultural insights into Roman-Egyptian life.

THIS THURSDAY!
Join us at the Grad Center (or on Zoom) at 5pm.

#ClassicsGC #HumanitiesGC #AncientBluesky #ClassicsBluesky #BlueskyClassics @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social

Stanislav Kondrashov Oligarch Series: The Evolution of Oligarchy from Ancient Greece to Modern Influence Stanislav Kondrashov examines the historical evolution of oligarchy

"Stanislav Kondrashov puts it aptly:
“Influence today wears a suit, not a crown—but the strategy remains timeless.”"

History comes alive at a new hotel-museum in the ancient Italian city of Matera The past lives again at an unusual immersive hotel housed in the cave dwellings of Italy’s oldest city, once ruled by ancient Greece

"Replicas of museum artefacts are on display, from urns to jewellery, while the handmade furniture copies designs seen on ancient pottery – three-legged tables, wall-mounted torches, vast wooden chests."

Ancient Roman Roads Mapped in Detail from Great Britain to North Africa New findings increase the known length of the Roman Empire’s road network by more than 60,000 miles

"The Itiner-e dataset details more than 185,000 miles of Roman roads—nearly double the length reported by earlier studies."

It was thought to be an ordinary water source: the Roman Pool of Bahçeli turns out to be a healing sanctuary - Anatolian Archaeology Eighty years after its last excavation, the Roman Pool of Bahçeli in Niğde has been reidentified as a healing sanctuary dedicated...

"“The most significant discovery was a dedicatory altar depicting serpents — the main symbols of Asklepios,” Prof. Doğanay explained."

Ancient Rome's fanciest glasses are full of cryptic symbols ‘They weren’t personal autographs. They were the ancient equivalent of a brand.’

"Additional analysis of tool markings as well as unfinished pieces and inscriptions revealed each cage cup wasn’t made by a single artisan. Instead, they required entire teams of polishers, engravers, and their apprentices. "

Flyer titled “Thalassocracy and the Power of the Sea,” announcing a call for papers for a Classics conference at the CUNY Graduate Center with a target date of April 17, 2026. The text defines “thalassocracy,” describes the theme, and lists possible paper topics including sea deities, maritime monsters, Oceanus, insularity, trade and warfare, Mediterranean material culture, and shipbuilding. Submission guidelines specify 15-minute presentations, abstracts up to 300 words, and a submission deadline of December 8 via email. Contact information for the two organizers is listed at the end.

Call for Papers: Thalassocracy and the Power of the Sea
Graduate Student Conference
Classics Department at the CUNY Graduate Center
Due Monday, 12/8

#ClassicsGC #HumanitiesGC #AncientBluesky #ClassicsBluesky #BlueskyClassics @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social

Flyer announcing free STI and rapid HIV testing for World AIDS Day. The design has a bold red border with circular cutouts and a large red awareness ribbon in the center. Text reads: “In recognition of World AIDS Day. Free STI & Rapid HIV Testing. Wednesday, December 3, 11 am–2 pm, C-Level.” Additional text states the event is open to GC and J-school students, with registration by emailing “healthed@gc.cuny.edu .” It notes that walk-in spots are available. Logos at the bottom include CUNY Graduate Center Student Health Services and GMHC with the tagline “End AIDS. Live Life.”

In recognition of World AIDS Day, Student Health Services is partnering with GMHC to offer:

Free STI and Rapid HIV Testing
Wednesday, 12/3
11am - 2pm, on the C-level

@thegraduatecenter.bsky.social

Elon Musk backs 'pivotal' archaeology initiative, says AI could help rewrite history books on Ancient Rome Elon Musk donated $1 million through the Musk Foundation to support digital archaeological research into ancient Rome — a project he said could one day rewrite history books through AI.

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Six Ancient Roman Statues Have Been Stolen From Syria's National Museum The theft is a serious loss for the country's cultural heritage, which had already sustained extensive damage during a long civil war

www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...

Theft of Roman statues from Syria’s main museum believed to be the work of an individual Investigators believe the theft of ancient Roman-era statues from Syria's national museum was likely the work of an individual and not an organized gang.

"The Culture Ministry released a statement late Wednesday with drawings of the six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus."

apnews.com/article/s...

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