Classics

The Etruscans are notable for, amongst other things, the production of bronze mirrors. More than 3,000 mirrors are known to us, mostly dating from the sixth to the second centuries BC, offering an insight into Etruscan bronze technology and developments in Etruscan art. The focus on this paper is on a previously unpublished mirror housed in the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street, Dublin. The mirror, dating to the Hellenistic period, has an engraving of a minor Etruscan divinity, a 'Lasa', on its reverse. The potential meaning of this imagery in relation to the object's function is examined.

I participated in the video-lecture collection for the Colgate University edX course Greeks at War: Homer at Troy, taught by Dr. Robert Garland.
My video-lecture discusses Homer's ability, as a "war documentor" to describe real combat as it may have been occuring on the ancient battlefield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHVjafwefdg

A Killer Education: The Psychology of Spartan Military Education The Spartan hoplite is a popular character that excites modern audiences and scholars alike. Sparta is a unique polis with fascinating institutions and unique educational programs, however, scholars' question the validity of the primary source material available and suggest what we know is only a mirage. In order to challenge the " Spartan Mirage " and reconstruct a truer social portrait of Spartan society I have utilized the volume of available source material comparatively. Elsewhere in classical scholarship, inquiries into the experience of combat in ancient Greece has not only provided innovative methodological approaches to combat in the ancient world but has also raised questions concerning the psychological and social experience of combat. J. Crowley (2012) was the first to publish a monograph concerning the military psychology within a single polis, Athens. Providing the backbone for this investigation, he demonstrated that the psychology of a particular group should be examined in three spheres; the socio-political structure, the military unit and the primary groups. I have explored the socio-political structure of the Spartan military system in order to establish how the Spartans were able to create hoplites by dictating unit cohesion and socializing boys and men in a manner that expresses the established social norms of Spartan society. I will analyse the various institutions of Sparta that contribute to educating Spartan males in a physical and social context, as well as addressing the command structure of the Spartan phalanx and its enforcement within the socio-political sphere. The importance of authority in Sparta and the phalanx in relation to military psychology will be a focus in this paper. This paper can aid scholars in further understanding aspects of the Spartan social system, the experience of Spartan soldiers and the importance of understanding the socio-political structure of a polis within a military context.

The Department of Classics at Brock University invites abstract submissions for the upcoming graduate student conference: Entertainment and the Expression of Identity in Greco-Roman Antiquity. All abstracts should be under 300 words sent to brock.gc.2018@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is December 20, 2017. Successful submissions will be notified by January 15, 2018. In an increasing globalized world, identity has become vital to the understanding of the structures of society and the role of the individual. The exploration of identity in an ancient context allows for a more comprehensive view of self-perception and expression. Entertainment and spectacle serve as venues for the expression of identity, as can be seen through literary, historical, and/or archaeological evidence. Potential paper topics include: • Questions of gender identity and fluidity in sport and performance • Theatrical performances and performance space

Data from both recent excavation and survey work at the Minoan city of Galatas, which is located in the Pediada in central Crete, allow one to situate an early Neopalatial (ca. 1700–1600 BC) palace in both its urban and rural contexts. Through the employment of Michael Smith’s novel approach to analyzing city planning, and consideration of the associated meanings that may be attached to it, it becomes clear that certain elements of the city of Galatas were constructed with a view toward promoting group cohesion, while at the same time emphasizing, maintaining, and enforcing social differentiation. The fact that these were real concerns for those who constructed the city is highlighted by the various changes to the region’s sociopolitical and economic framework. The impetus for the construction of the city of Galatas remains little understood, but it is tentatively posited that it was owing to the expansion of Knossos in the early part of the Neopalatial period .

Through an examination of the street systems, districts and neighborhoods of two Minoan settlements, Gournia and Palaikastro, it becomes clear that there is a reciprocal relationship between the urban form of these settlements and the actions of a number of different individuals, groups, and institutions, each with their own motivations and identities.  More specifically, it is, here, argued that these agents planned parts of a Minoan settlements for the purpose of either promoting social differentiation or encouraging social cohesion.  The urban forms of Minoan settlements were, therefore, both the products and the producers of social life.