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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.
A collaboration between Cornell and Harvard has continuously excavated the ancient city.
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In a new paper, Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow Davide Napoli argues that public speeches in ancient Greece aimed not to express personal views, but to undermine entrenched ideas and challenge common-sense conclusions.
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This month’s featured titles include the latest by a National Book Award winner and a classical history of Jewish resistance to Rome.
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Ten students who participated in this summer's Nexus Scholars Program share their stories..
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Barry Strauss ’74 shines a light on the resilience the Jews of Judea showed in their rebellion against the Romans.
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“How to Have Willpower: An Ancient Guide to Not Giving In,” edited and translated by professor Michael Fontaine, brings together a pair of works by Plutarch and Prudentius that show how people can overcome pressures that encourage them to act against their own best interests.
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Projects spanned topics from Confederate cemeteries to Korean textiles.
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Cornell’s newest Ph.D.s found success even through the unexpected events of the last few years, President Michael I. Kotlikoff reminded nearly 400 doctoral graduates at the 2025 Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony on May 23 at Barton Hall.
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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.
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.