Why Classics? : Learn More Studying Classics in the modern day Learn More Humanities Take You Across Disciplines : Watch Here with Barbara Graziosi Watch Here Pyrphoros : Read More Princeton's Undergraduate Classics Journal Read More Newsletter : Read More Classics Department annual report Read More 1 / 4 Start animation ▶ ︎ ︎ The Princeton Classics Department investigates the history, language, literature, and thought of ancient Greece and Rome. We use the perspectives of multiple disciplines to understand and imagine the diversity of these civilizations over almost two thousand years and to reflect on what the classical past has meant to later ages, and to our own. Undergraduate Program Major or minor, study abroad, or join the Classics Club Graduate Program Tracks in Literature, Medieval Studies, History, Philosophy & Reception People Meet our faculty, students, staff, emeriti, visitors, and affiliates Courses Lectures, workshops, and seminars across subfields and disciplines Jesse Lundquist appointed Bicentennial Preceptor Princeton Classics is proud to congratulate Jesse Lundquist on receiving the Arthur H. Scribner Bicentennial Preceptorship. Established following Princeton’s bicentennial in 1946, Bicentennial Preceptorships extend for three years and support promising junior faculty in the humanities and social sciences. Award Department News Princeton Classics graduates 14 majors, 26 minors; Drayton, Duchovny, Geld share Keaney Prize Award Adriana Clark '27 wins 2026 Stinnecke Prize Events No content available to show. View All Events Faculty Publications Calpurnius Siculus and the Transformation of PastoralYelena Baraz, 2026One of three surviving collections of Latin bucolic poetry, the seven Eclogues transmitted under the name of Calpurnius Siculus are generally assigned to the reign of Nero. Two factors have made Calpurnius a "marginal" poet: the collection's lack of historical context and the status of bucolic poetry as a minor, discontinuous genre. This literary study embraces these factors as an opportunity for a de-historicized reading of Calpurnius by interpreting the poems closely and within the context of the bucolic tradition but without reference to any kind of contemporary context. IThe author also provides a new translation of Calpurnius' poems, the first in nearly a century, along with the Latin text. Ancient Greek DemocraciesMatt Simonton, 2026Classical Athenian democracy is rightly famous, but democracy flourished in other parts of the Greek world as well. In this clear and fascinating book, Matthew Simonton traces the emergence, growth, consolidation, and decline of democratic city-states over the millennium down to the fifth century CE. He argues for the widespread and highly participatory nature of democratic constitutions across the Greek world, particularly in the fourth, third, and second centuries BCE. The book does not shy away from the fact that ancient Greek democracies both empowered lowerclass men and rested on a series of exclusions (of women, enslaved people, and foreigners). Nevertheless, dēmokratia emerges as a major facet of ancient Greek culture and society. Cicero: A Very Short IntroductionYelena Baraz, 2026In this Very Short Introduction, Yelena Baraz presents a concise and integrated account of Cicero's life and accomplishments, locating him within the political and intellectual contexts of his time. It shows that in all his pursuits Cicero saw himself as a mediating figure: between theory and practice, philosophy and politics, Greek and Roman, and among political interest groups. Baraz tackles each area of Cicero's activity on its own terms while showing how overarching ideas and priorities permeate the apparently separate endeavours.
