Explore the ancient and medieval worlds with us, from the kingdoms of the Near East to the rise of early Christianity, the glory of Greece and Rome, and the cultures of medieval Europe. Our department brings together language, literature, history, and archaeology to illuminate more than two thousand years of human experience.

 

Student Spotlight

  • Nathaniel E. (Classics BA '26) followed his internship at the Penn Museum’s Near Eastern Department (Philadelphia, PA) with an excavation at an Etruscan site in Murlo, Italy, during summer 2025.

  • Carl C. (Classics BA '26) spent summer 2025 excavating a Roman villa as part of the Santa Susa Archaeological Project in Redondo, Portugal.

Our students take their learning into the field—literally—gaining hands-on experience in sites across the world.

 

What We Do

Our department explores the languages, literatures, and cultures of the ancient and medieval worlds. With special strengths in the late antique and early medieval Mediterranean, our work spans more than 2,000 years of history and stretches geographically from Egypt and Syria through the Mediterranean and Europe to the British Isles. We cross traditional disciplinary boundaries to embrace a seamless vision of the past, bringing together history, archaeology, languages, religion, and literature to understand the forces that shaped the ancient and medieval worlds and continue to influence our world today.

 

Where Our Graduates Go

Our alumni pursue careers in:

  • Finance

  • Teaching

  • Law

  • Library Science

  • Ministry

  • Military Service

  • Art History & Conservation

  • School Counseling

  • Managerial Consulting

  • FBI

  • Computer Science

 

Internship Opportunities

Students have recently worked with:

  • The Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA

  • Excavations in Italy and Portugal

  • Archaeology labs and international field schools

 

Courses You’ll Love

  • CLAS 252: Early Christianity in Cinema

  • CLAS 251: Ancient World in Cinema

  • CLAS 307: City of Athens from Antiquity to Modernity

  • CLAS 261: Heroes of the Middle Ages

  • CLAS 300: Greek Tragedy in Opera

 

Did You Know?


  • Most of our seniors study abroad at our Rome campus.

  • Every year, our Really Dead Languages series brings TED-style talks on fascinating ancient scripts and languages—from cuneiform and Linear B to Runes.

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