Mount Allison Classics

30/08/2026

We're delighted to see the Torre Mordillo Archaeological Project (TMAP) featured in the Italian cultural magazine Fame di Sud!

The article highlights the results of our 2026 archaeological field season at Torre Mordillo (Calabria), where our team continues to investigate one of the most important Indigenous settlements of the Sibaritide. This year's excavations brought to light new evidence from the Final Bronze Age, offering fresh insights into the daily lives, architecture, and organization of the Oenotrian community that occupied the plateau more than 3,000 years ago.

A heartfelt thank you to Enzo Garofalo and Fame di Sud for sharing our research with a wider audience and for helping bring the archaeology of southern Italy to the public.

We are proud to see the work of our students and research team recognized beyond the excavation trench!

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts

Torre Mordillo: resoconto sulla campagna di scavi 2026

20/08/2026

15/08/2026

Buon Ferragosto!

Celebrated across Italy on August 15, Ferragosto has roots stretching back to ancient Rome. Its name derives from the Feriae Augusti (“Augustus’ days of rest”), instituted by Emperor Augustus in 18 BCE as a period of rest and celebration after the hard work of the agricultural season.

More than 2,000 years later, Ferragosto remains one of Italy’s most beloved summer traditions--a fascinating example of how ancient customs continue to echo in modern life.

Buon Ferragosto a tutti! ☀️🏛️

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts

Photo: Roman harvest scene, relief from Trier. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

14/08/2026

🦎 Happy World Lizard Day!

Did you know that the humble lizard has a place in ancient Greek art and mythology?

The famous Apollo Sauroktonos (“Apollo the Lizard-Slayer”), attributed to the sculptor Praxiteles, depicts the young god watching a lizard climbing a tree. But why a lizard? Ancient traditions associated these creatures with sunlight, regeneration, and healing—all ideas connected with Apollo.

Even the smallest creatures can lead us into the fascinating world of ancient myth!

Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts
Mount Allison University

13/08/2026

🌑 When day becomes night…

Yesterday’s spectacular solar eclipse, total across parts of Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, reminded millions of people of the extraordinary power of this celestial phenomenon.

More than 2,600 years ago, the Greek poet Archilochus witnessed an eclipse---probably the total solar eclipse of 648 BCE—and described the astonishment and fear it inspired:

“Zeus, father of the Olympians, made night out of midday, hiding the light of the shining sun.”

Today we understand the astronomy. But perhaps the sense of wonder has not changed quite as much. 🌞🌑

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts

12/08/2026

🎶 Beware the Sirens…

As Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey brings Homer’s epic to a new generation, this extraordinary Attic red-figure vase (ca. 480–470 BCE) reminds us that artists have been reimagining Odysseus’ adventures for over 2,500 years.

Bound to the mast, Odysseus listens to the irresistible song of the Sirens while his companions row safely past.

From ancient pottery to modern cinema, the Odyssey continues to inspire new ways of telling an eternal story.

🏺 “Siren Vase,” British Museum.

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts

11/08/2026

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey reminds us that Homer's epic has inspired artists for nearly three millennia.

To celebrate the enduring legacy of the Odyssey, let's share one of the most extraordinary places where Homer's epic came to life in antiquity: the Grotto of Tiberius at Sperlonga, a beautiful coastal town on the Tyrrhenian Sea in southern Lazio, about halfway between Rome and Naples.

The natural cave formed part of the seaside villa of the emperor Tiberius (14–37 CE), who transformed it into a spectacular dining and entertainment space. During lavish banquets, guests were surrounded by monumental marble sculptures illustrating some of the most dramatic episodes of the Odyssey.

Among them was the famous Group of Polyphemus, depicting Odysseus and his companions blinding the Cyclops. Discovered in 1957 within the grotto, the sculpture is now displayed in the nearby National Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga, while the cave itself can still be visited today.

The Grotto of Tiberius reminds us that the Odyssey has never been just a poem to read---it has always been a story to experience.

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts

11/08/2026

August 10--stars and myths

Around August 10, many of us begin watching for the famous "falling stars," traditionally known in Italy as the Lacrime di San Lorenzo. Scientifically, these are the Perseids, one of the year's most spectacular meteor showers, created as Earth passes through the debris left by Comet Swift–Tuttle.

But why are they called Perseids?

Their name comes from the constellation Perseus, the mythical Greek hero who rescued Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. After his adventures, Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Pegasus, and even Cetus were all placed among the stars, creating one of the most enduring mythological landscapes in the night sky.

The next time you spot a shooting star, remember that the sky is not only a map of the cosmos---it is also a map of ancient stories, where myth and astronomy have been intertwined for more than two millennia.

🌠 Happy stargazing!

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts

29/07/2026

Homer, Nolan, and the Power of Storytelling

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is already inspiring lively discussion---and that's exactly what great stories have always done.

The Homeric poems themselves emerged from a long oral tradition. Before they were written down, they were performed by generations of aoidoi (bards), each adapting, reshaping, and enriching familiar tales for new audiences. There was never a single, fixed version of Odysseus' journey.

Reinterpretation is therefore not a betrayal of the Classics--it is part of their history. Ancient myths have always evolved through variation, adaptation, and creative "contamination" with new ideas, values, and perspectives. That is precisely why they have remained relevant for nearly three millennia.

Every generation creates its own Odysseus. Whether through ancient epic, tragedy, medieval literature, Dante, Joyce, or modern cinema, these stories continue to ask timeless questions about identity, memory, war, homecoming, and what it means to be human.

Perhaps the best way to honor Homer is not to preserve him unchanged, but to keep the conversation alive.

Nolan may be our generation's aoidos--adding one more voice to a story that has never stopped being retold.

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts

27/07/2026

Congratulations to our colleagues on the publication of Direct Speech in Greek and Latin Epic! We're delighted to share this wonderful gathering at the CCC in Maynooth, Ireland, celebrating a volume that is now freely available in Open Access. Congratulations to all the editors and contributors!

Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University Faculty of Arts