Experience Ancient Greek & Roman Studies

Whether majoring or minoring, Ancient Greek and Roman Studies students benefit from small class sizes, close mentorship with faculty scholars, coursework that includes both research and creative assignments, and opportunities to engage with the ancient world through study abroad, archaeological fieldwork, and extracurricular student groups. The curriculum cultivates not only understanding of ancient civilizations, but also the ability to think deeply and write clearly -- skills essential for careers in law, education, business, and beyond.

Study Abroad

Ancient Greek & Roman Studies majors are encouraged to spend a semester in Europe. Gettysburg offers two College-approved affiliated programs of special interest to those studying classics:

  • College Year in Athens (a one-semester program despite the title!) focuses upon the history and civilization of ancient, Byzantine, and modern Greece and the East Mediterranean region. Students can choose among a wide variety of courses in the architecture, art, literature, and history of ancient Greece, as well as in other disciplines, and can study modern Greek, ancient Greek, and Latin. Included in the program are four faculty-led field trips to important ancient and modern sites in Greece over the course of the semester.
  • The CIEE Semester in Rome program focuses on the history and civilization of ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and modern Rome and Italy more broadly. Students can take courses on the architecture, art, mythology, history, and daily life of the ancient Romans as well as courses in other areas, including business, sustainability, and psychology. All students enroll in an Italian language course and take part in excursions and activities around Italy and within the city of Rome.

To learn more about these and other opportunities, visit Gettysburg College's Center for Global Education.

Archeology

Excavation Opportunities

2600 years ago, on the coast of Mediterranean France, was born the city of Lattara, now Lattes near Montpellier. Who founded Lattara? Was it native Celtic-speaking Gauls or Etruscans sailing over from Italy with ceramic containers of wine? In any case, Lattara was, from its origins, a place of meetings and exchanges.

Students should contact Prof. Benjamin Luley for information about the excavation at Lattes. Visit for more information.

Student Groups

Classics Club

The Classics Club offers social opportunities and classics-related activities for all students interested in ancient Greek and Roman history and culture. Club members generally gather several times a semester for meetings, arts and crafts projects, game or movie nights, and other events. They also organize lunches with Ancient Greek and Roman Studies professors and occasional field-trips to museums or theatrical productions.

Eta Sigma Phi, Honorary Society for Classical Studies (Alpha Pi Chapter)

Gettysburg College’s chapter of the national honorary society Eta Sigma Phi offers membership to students who have demonstrated excellence in the study of either ancient Greek or Latin. The mission of Eta Sigma Phi is to develop and promote undergraduate interest in classical study, to foster relationships among classics students, and to stimulate public interest more broadly in Greek and Roman cultures.

 

Featured Courses

Jump to level: All Classics courses

by level: 100 • 200 • 300 • 400

CLA 103 Gods and Heroes, Death and Desire: Great Books of Ancient Greece and Rome
In the course, we explore masterpieces of ancient Greek and Latin literature, from Homer’s Iliad to Vergil’s Aeneid. Through analysis of these texts in discussion and writing, we consider what it means to be human, the shape of justice and morality, the power of rhetoric, social and political dynamics of gender, race, and class, and strategies of representation.
CLA 210 Civilizing the Barbarians?
In this course, we investigate the impact that the Roman Empire had on the indigenous Celts and other peoples of Western Europe. The course takes a critical look at the idea that the spread of Roman "civilization" was ultimately beneficial to the supposed "barbarians" brought under imperial rule. The course also compares Roman colonialism with modern empires and imperial projects, and analyzes how examples of modern colonialism used the Roman Empire as a model and ideological justification for European colonial expansion and domination.
CLA 264 Ancient Tragedy
In this course, we will study a selection of Ancient Greek tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and Roman tragedies by Seneca. We will consider what defines tragedy as a genre, how and in what context ancient tragedies were performed, what tragedies tell us about Greek and Roman values and beliefs, what the social and political functions of tragedy were in the ancient world, and what meanings and uses re-performance of these tragedies can have in diverse contexts in the modern world. For their final project, students in small groups adapt and perform an ancient tragedy.
 

Experience the Tradition

Studying the Classics at Gettysburg College means joining a tradition of inquiry that’s as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago. You’ll explore the complexities of ancient civilizations, develop valuable interpretive skills, and learn to think critically about culture, language, and history. Whether decoding a line of Latin poetry or debating the ethics of imperialism in Roman texts, you’ll be doing great work—work that prepares you for a consequential life.