Amelia Bensch-Schaus

The first step on my journey to Classics was the wonderful illustrations in D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, which captivated me as a child and introduced me to mythological characters that later reappeared throughout my favorite novels. 

This fascination with the continual transformation of ancient literature has directed my research and teaching. I incorporate reception in language classes as well as teaching courses focused on reception, from the re-telling of epic themes on the stage of ancient Athens to the adaptation of ancient myth in Percy Jackson. 

My current research focuses on reception within the ancient world, and my dissertation explored how the epic poems of Homer, the heart of Greek literary tradition, were already transformed in the 5th century BCE by tragedies at Athens and again in the 3rd century BCE with the re-launch of epic in Hellenistic Alexandria. I also study gender and labor in the ancient world, particularly in Hellenistic poetry. A chapter in a volume on Night examines passages in Homer, Apollonius, and Theocritus that pair an elite woman with a non-elite or enslaved woman in scenes that depict them working at night and reveal male concerns about female agency. In a chapter in a volume on Labor, I focus on the work of the internal audiences within Theocritus’ Idylls, and suggest that they present listening to contemporary poetry as a matter of effort comparable to other forms of labor, from herding goats to weaving cloth. An in-progress work focuses on gender roles in the Foundation of Lesbos, the longest surviving fragment of the poorly understood genre of foundation poetry. While my research focuses on literature, I am also interested in the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean, especially as it relates to labor and gender. 

I spent a year during graduate school exploring archaeological sites and museums across Greece as a Regular Member at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. That year complimented my study of Classics in the U.K. as an undergraduate and a Fulbright year in Germany. I encourage any student thinking about studying abroad, anyone interested in ancient or modern reception, or anyone curious about the ancient Mediterranean to reach out to me via email or stop by my office!