Study the ancient Mediterranean world and its languages across disciplines, gaining insights into the origins of religion, urban life and Western and Near Eastern thought.
The ancient Mediterranean world—including Greece, Rome, the Near East and North Africa—is the territory of classicists, who are trained in ancient languages, history, archaeology, religion, philosophy, and textual and literary criticism. Ancient Greek and Latin are the foundation for an education in the classics, with the languages providing classics majors and minors a nuanced understanding of the origins of Western and Near Eastern thought, literature and other disciplines. Classics majors have the option of focusing on classical languages and literatures or classical studies, which offers a choice of your field of emphasis. You are encouraged to study abroad in Athens or Rome.
What You’ll Study
- ​Ancient Greek and Latin
- Mythology and classical literature
- History and philosophy
- Political theory and religion
- Classical civilization
Learning at Pomona
Not Ashamed to Admire Alexander: Honor in Arrian's The Campaigns of Alexander
Liam MacDonald ’22 and his classmates examined a facet of the Greek conception of honor and honorable behavior. His paper dealt with honor-based negotiations in the ranks of Alexander the Great's army as presented by Arrian in his Alexandrou Anabasis.
I've always seen the future as contingent on the past. The ancients have a lot to teach us about ourselves and the world we live in. It's important to me to carry those lessons forward.