Go to: Division of Literature and Languages  

Faculty

Alice Hu
Latin epic, early imperial Latin literature, Greek tragedy. On sabbatical spring 2025.

Thomas P. Landvatter
Mediterranean archaeology, Hellenistic and Roman Egypt and Near East, identity and ethnicity in the ancient world.

Ellen G. Millender
Greek and Roman history, Greek historiography, archaic and classical Sparta, women in the ancient world.

Nigel J. Nicholson
Greek and Latin literature, literary theory.

Sonia A. Sabnis
Latin and Greek literature, reception. On leave 2024-25.

Curriculum

The ancient Mediterranean was a geographically vast, culturally diverse, and profoundly interconnected world, incorporating Egypt and North Africa; modern Turkey and west Asia; and Greece, Italy, and southern to northwestern Europe. The Department of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (GLAM) centers on the study of the ancient Mediterranean region, especially the ancient Greek world and the Roman Empire, but also ancient Egypt and other cultures and civilizations of the region. GLAM is inherently interdisciplinary, since we examine the ancient Mediterranean world by employing historical, literary, art historical, archaeological, and linguistic approaches to understanding the cultures and societies of this world in all their aspects.

GLAM offers courses in Greek (GRK), Latin (LAT), and ancient Mediterranean studies (ANME). Courses in Greek and Latin at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels are offered each year and allow students to read ancient authors, engage with texts, and explore documents in the original language. Students can begin studying Greek and Latin at any stage in their Reed career. Students with prior coursework in Latin or Greek should take the department placement exam and consult with their adviser before registration. Ancient Mediterranean studies courses are focused on the history, archaeology, literature, or philosophy of the ancient Greek and Roman Mediterranean and beyond. These courses are open to all Reed students and do not require any knowledge of Greek or Latin. Through GLAM’s interdisciplinary curriculum, students develop critical thinking and writing skills, learn to work with different kinds of evidence, and consider different cultures by investigating people, places, texts, and objects that are at the same time both familiar to us and distant.

There are two major concentrations in GLAM:

• A concentration in history and archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean , for those students who are most interested in history and material culture.
• A concentration in Greek and Latin language and literature , for students who are primarily interested in language study and Greek and Latin literature.

The department also offers three minors in the languages:

• Greek minor  
• Latin minor  
• Greek and Latin minor  

We also offer a standing interdisciplinary major, religion/ancient Mediterranean studies .

Many of our students study abroad  during their junior year, typically in Athens at College Year in Athens (CYA) or in Rome at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (ICCS), known as the “Centro.” Reed also cosponsors an archaeological excavation on Cyprus that typically runs each summer. This project provides students with hands-on experience in archaeological field methods. The department has several sources of funding that can support student participation in this project.

Programs

• Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies with a Concentration in Greek and Latin Language and Literature
• Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies with a Concentration in History and Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean

• Greek and Latin Minor
• Greek Minor
• Latin Minor

Courses

• ANME 100 - The Topography and Archaeology of the Ancient Roman City
• ANME 251 - Ancient Greek Athletics
• ANME 263 - Tragedy in the Polis
• ANME 371 - The Greek World from 776 to 404 BCE
• ANME 372 - The Hellenistic World: Egypt, the Middle East, and Central Asia after Alexander the Great
• ANME 373 - The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic
• ANME 374 - The Athenians and the “Other”
• ANME 382 - Material Culture and Empire: The Archaeology of the Roman World
• ANME 383 - Contact and Exchange in the Mediterranean: The Archaeology of the Greek World
• ANME 384 - Empires of the Nile: The Archaeology of Egypt and Nubia
• ANME 385 - Mummies, Urns, and Ancestors: The Archaeology of Death and Burial
• ANME 481 - Independent Reading
• GLAM 470 - Thesis
• GRK 111 - First-Year Greek: Part I
• GRK 112 - First-Year Greek: Part II
• GRK 201 - Intermediate Greek
• GRK 301 - Advanced Greek I
• GRK 302 - Advanced Greek II
• LAT 111 - First-Year Latin: Part I
• LAT 112 - First-Year Latin: Part II
• LAT 201 - Intermediate Latin
• LAT 301 - Advanced Latin I
• LAT 302 - Advanced Latin II