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Pavlos Sfyroeras
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Associate Professor of Classics; Classics Department Chair
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Twilight Hall 210
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Phone: (802) 443 - 2530
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Email: psfyroer@middlebury.edu
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Degrees, Specializations & Interests:
B.A. University of Athens;
M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University
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As a generalist with research interests primarily in Greek literature, I teach survey courses that are intended to introduce our students to the authors of a period such as the 5th century BC or to a genre such as comedy or the novel. A central concern of mine is with the interface of ancient literature and religion. Consequently, I often venture into the manifestations of the sacred in Greek culture and offer seminars on Greek religion in general or on a specialized topic such as rites of passage. I also enjoy teaching all levels of Greek and Latin; for the more advanced courses I tend to favor Plato and Aristophanes on the Greek side, Plautus and Tacitus on the Latin. In all my teaching, whether in the original languages or in English, I seek to bring students into contact with great minds that, while operating under different circumstances and with different categories from our own, have shaped profoundly the way we think. This combination of the familiar and the foreign is, I believe, a crucial component of a liberal education. My publications focus on Greek archaic poetry and drama, especially Aristophanes, and, like my teaching, tend to explore the mythic and ritual dimensions of literature. I am currently finishing a monograph entitled "The Feast of Poetry: Sacrifice and Performance in Aristophanic Comedy." After this study of comedy in its traditional performative context, I hope to turn to what is innovative about it and, in particular, to the dialogue between Aristophanes and the intellectual currents of the late 5th century.