Wimperis appeared as one of a handful of interviewed scholars whose research focuses on the “Aeneid” and the fraught political circumstances of its authorship, as Rome was transitioning from a republican to autocratic government under the reign of its first emperor, Augustus. He recently published a book on the political contexts and messages of the “Aeneid”, titled “Constructing Communities in Vergil鈥檚 Aeneid: Cultural Memory, Identity, and Ideology.”

The full documentary, titled 鈥淗ow to Build an Empire: The Aeneid Guide for US Politics,鈥� produced by journalist Tom Jokinen, can be accessed on the .

Duffield鈥檚 paper, titled 鈥淐leopatra on Screen: How Western Biases and Orientalism Informed Early Film Adaptations of Cleopatra,鈥� explored stage and cinematic representations of the famous Egyptian queen and the ideologies that underpinned her depiction. Their paper originated in coursework for Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean World (CLA3700), taught by Assistant Professor of Classical Languages Tedd Wimperis in the spring semester of 2023.

Duffield delivered their presentation as part of a panel on Classical Reception, one of four papers engaging the afterlife of Greco-Roman culture in modern contexts. Duffield鈥檚 study examined a series of early stage and screen representations of Cleopatra, ranging from Victorian burlesque shows, through silent films, up to her 1963 portrayal by Elizabeth Taylor, and traced the origins and evolution of her characterization as an alluring but deadly temptress from a fantastical, mysterious East. Duffield analyzed these representations through the interpretive frameworks of orientalism and feminist critique: they rooted this stereotypical construction of Cleopatra in ancient Roman propaganda that painted Cleopatra as a threat to the Roman Empire and an exotic eastern seductress. This politically motivated caricature of the queen was repeated by ancient historians and poets, serving to cement this image in the historical imagination. More recently, during the time of the British Empire, Cleopatra again came into vogue as a dangerous symbol of Oriental exoticism and sexually unrestrained femininity, and this representation then became standard in her early Hollywood depictions in the following decades.

Duffield鈥檚 research on Cleopatra aims, as stated in their paper, to identify inaccurate and harmful stereotypes from the past, as part of important efforts to deconstruct Eurocentric and misogynistic images of women that still survive today. They are currently pursuing this interest in ancient representations of women further with a senior research project (co-directed by Kristina Meinking and Tedd Wimperis) on the role of the Vestal Virgins, a community of prominent Roman priestesses, in Rome鈥檚 imperial ideology.

Mary T. Boatwright, 鈥淭he Jewish Revolts against Rome: Exceptional, or To Be Expected?鈥�

Yeager Recital Hall, 5:30 p.m.

In this interdisciplinary public lecture, Professor Mary T. Boatwright will examine the major revolts against Roman imperial rule that took place in the province of Judea during the first and second centuries CE. These events reveal much about Roman foreign policy, Jewish identity, and the tensions on the frontiers of a multicultural empire.

The lecture features analysis of primary sources for the revolts, especially the histories of Josephus, a Jewish nobleman who took part in a rebellion before switching to the Roman side. Josephus鈥� account and other fascinating information both illuminates the hard-fought, potentially successful insurrections of the years 66-70/73 and 132-135 CE, and leads to exploration of Roman imperialism and its impacts.

Boatwright is a professor in the Department of Classical Studies at Duke University, and is currently president of the Society for Classical Studies, the field鈥檚 leading professional organization in North America. Her research concentrates on Roman history and Latin historiography, with a current focus on Roman imperial women and groups on the edges of Rome鈥檚 dominion. Her books include聽“Peoples of the Roman World” (2012) and “Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire” (2000).

Sponsored by the Classical Studies Program, the Department of Political Science & Policy Studies, and the Department of Religious Studies, with support from World Languages & Cultures, History & Geography, Peace & Conflict Studies, Jewish Studies, and the CSRCS.