Encompassing the classical Mediterranean under many aspects and methodologies

Academics

Although it gets its core identity (and its name) from the "great books" that it quite rightly teaches again and again, Classics survives and thrives by striving to encompass the classical Mediterranean under many aspects and methodologies, so that its faculty all represent other fields of study as well: archaeology, art, philosophy, religion, history, linguistics, comparative literature or theater.

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Undergraduate Program Ph.D. Program Course Listings

Classics News

Cornell Undergraduate Classics Journal Releases Its First Volume

Elaïnos Volume 1 was released Spring 2025.

'My thesis analyzes both ancient and contemporary literature'

Sarah Stephenson is majoring in English and classics.

'I am prepared to approach life’s challenges with both curiosity and a sense of responsibility'

Cristina Kiefaber is a Classics major.

Esther Brenner '26 awarded Caplan Travel Fellowship

The prize will help fund her project that combines her academic training with her artistic practice.

Historian Barry Strauss wins 2025 Bradley Prize

The award carries a stipend of $300,000; Strauss will receive the award at a ceremony on May 29 in Washington, D.C.

War, love and loyalty: The ‘Iliad’ in Ithaca on March 12-13

A virtual event with translator Emily Wilson and a daylong community reading of portions of Homer’s epic poem highlight the spring Arts Unplugged event.

A man on a camel with a red turban standing amidst ruins, with a broken column next to him and desert mountain sin the background.

Experts call for 'accountability' before restoring Syria heritage sites

Cornell experts comment on the restoration of Syria's damaged and looted historical sites.

Frederick Ahl, innovative classics scholar, dies at 83

A scholar of Greek and Roman epic and drama and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, Ahl was a member of the Cornell faculty for more than 52 years.

More Classics News

Academic pursuits

Undergraduate Program

Coursework in Classics can involve everything from learning to read ancient tragedies in their original languages (and even performing in them yourself) to studying what archaeobotanical evidence can tell us about climate change on the millennial scale.

Discover our Majors and our Minors.

Graduate Program

Our doctoral program fully promotes an interdisciplinary approach to the ancient world. We offer all students an opportunity to develop a comprehensive course of study within one of our five concentrations: ancient history, ancient philosophy, classical archaeology and art, classical literature and philology, and Greek and Latin languages and linguistics. We support a strong series of colloquia in which faculty, guest speakers, and graduate students are presented with current work in our field of study.

Classics Graduate Studies Overview

Classics Events

Sep 19

Friday 04:30 PM

Townsend Lecture Series

Malott Hall 253

Sep 22

Monday 04:30 PM

Townsend Lecture Series

Malott Hall 253

Sep 24

Wednesday 04:30 PM

Townsend Lecture Series

Malott Hall 253

See all events