Students of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies have the opportunity to attend a number of special events throughout the year.
Every March the department holds the Ludi Classici (Classics Games). Department faculty prepare food with a Greek and Roman twist for everyone to share, and students participate in a variety of activities. Past activities have included readings in the original Greek of Homer’s Iliad, performances of skits written by students and by others, re-creations of gladiatorial combat, and even the writing of curse tablets in the manner of the Greeks.
The department also hosts annual lectures sponsored by the Puget Sound Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), which is North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to promoting archaeological inquiry and preserving the world's archaeological resources. Lectures are free and open to the public, and introduce audiences to the latest archaeological research and discoveries. Recent lectures have focused on gladiatorial tactics, warfare in ancient Persia, and depictions of sex on Athenian export pottery. For a full list of lectures, see below.
Students also meet 3-4 times per term for the Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Pro-seminar, an opportunity for students to come together for food and drink and discuss topics that don’t fit into a regular class. Sometimes the focus is on student presentations of research, such as a digital database of classical references in science fiction or a presentation of a student thesis. On other occasions faculty present their own research or lead a discussion on a topic of interest, such as a copy of Plutarch’s Lives printed in 1538 and held in the Puget Sound library.