Representative of the Classics department
Department Chairperson
“History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind.”
– Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-78)
Since the Renaissance, five centuries ago, people have felt that there was much to be learned from a study of the great or “classic” achievements of Graeco-Roman civilization. The Classics Department believes that by studying the rise and fall of entire civilizations in the ancient past, students are better equipped to take a long view of contemporary civilization, to evaluate its achievements and to assess its prospects for the future.
