Vol. 82, No. 2, Summer 2008 - Monmouth College

schools to inspire younger generations ofscholars. Eta Sigma Phi also provides aunique opportunity through the NationalConvention, which has allowed me to connectwith Classics majors from across thecountry.In addition to the Classics, I have interestsin a wide variety of other fields. I aman avid crafter and dabble in miniatures,beading, sewing, knitting, crocheting, andscrap booking. I also cultivate a number ofpotted plants, which, depending on howoften I water them, might be called mypride and joy. At home in Wisconsin, Iwork at a local fabric store; when I am atHillsdale I work for the admissions officeas a tour guide and host to prospective students.I enjoy reading, especially the worksof the philosophers not assigned to me inmy philosophy classes as well as mysterynovels. I am also an avid movie buff, soI can often be found catching up on thelatest films with friends.at the local movietheatre on half-price movie nights or in myroom with a rental.I am looking forward to my term asVice President of Eta Sigma Phi and I hopethat I will be able to serve the honorarysociety as well as it has served me. EtaSigma Phi provides an important serviceto undergraduates by providing opportunitiesto enjoy Classics outside of the normalclassroom setting and also provides thestudents with a means to meet and networkon the local, regional, and nationallevels. Working on community outreachprojects, college students encourage aninterest in Classics in younger students.Eta Sigma Phi also provides opportunities,such as lectures to introduce members toprofessionals in the field. My experiencein the honorary has inspired me in mystudy of the Classics and I hope that EtaSigma Phi will continue to provide similarservices to future generations of Classicists.Megale GrammateusRori Smith, Zeta Beta atTemple UniversityTua39400@temple.eduLike most students who attend TempleUniversity, I grew up in the Philadelphiaarea. I attended public school in a smallRori Smithdistrict, which allowed the faculty todevote a great deal of personal attention tostudents. This was beneficial for studentswith unique interests that might havefallen outside the normal range of highschool study, for example, a student whoharbored a passion for Trojan heroes, amorousand epic poets, and all things Cretan.Throughout my life I have had firsthandexposure to antiquity. My father isan artist and, therefore, family outings arealmost exclusively to museums. My parentsoften mention that I was only six monthsold the first time I visited New York Cityand all its glorious displays of art andantiquities. My go-to movie as a child was“Don’t Eat The Pictures,” where Big Birdand the rest of the Sesame Street crewspend a night in the Egyptian Gallery ofthe Metropolitan Museum of Art. I creditmost of my interest in Classics to the visualstimulus of visiting the ancient galleries ofmany museums. As a child, I loved imaginingwhom the people were that oncepossessed those abandoned objects and Iwould create characters to answer thosequestions for myself, to tell me how theylived their life, what things they believedin, and what was important to them. Myearly-established relationship with materialculture may in fact be the source of myinterest in archaeology.In elementary and middle school, booksabout the Egyptians, art, and famousexplorers piled up on my shelves. It wasthe summer after tenth grade that sealedmy fate as a Classicist forever. I attended asummer institute at Brown University andenrolled in a course on the influence ofClassical texts in modern literature. Thatsummer I read from the canon of classicaltexts. I read more than I ever imaginedpossible in a six-week period. I lived in anentirely academic environment and sawwhat a career in academia entailed. Neverhad I been more intrigued and enthusiastic.I knew it was exactly what I wanted.The next two years of high school I surroundedmyself with Classics. My favoriteswere Homer, Ovid, Sappho, and Dante.Through Ovid I discovered the myths ofKing Minos and his daughter Ariadne, ofher suitor Theseus and his defeat of theMinotaur, of the great inventor Daedalusand his doomed son. This mythologicalCrete inspired me to research the historicalpeoples of Crete and I have not yetexhausted my interest in this topic.My interests today lie in the archaeologyof the Bronze Age Aegean andAnatolia. I am interested primarily in cultand burial practices and the cross-culturaltransmission of religious ideologies. Thispast semester I undertook a researchproject analyzing the transformation ofthe Hittite pantheon during the secondmillennium B.C. I have also researchedthe mother-goddess cult that permeatesMediterranean and Near Eastern culture. Iam currently employed at the University ofPennsylvania Museum of Archaeology andAnthropology as an archival and researchassistant for the archaeological site at thePhrygian capital-city Gordion in Turkey.I will also be involved in Temple’s peerteachingprogram this fall as an assistantto Dr. Laura Samponaro in her Latin IIcourse. In preparation for my graduationnext spring I am beginning the process ofapplying to graduate school this summer.Eta Sigma Phi has been personallyimportant to me because it has allowedme to form a stronger bond with my fellowTemple Classicists. Eta Sigma Phi broughtus especially close when we were planningand hosting the 2007 National Convention,but it gives us the opportunity on aregular basis to talk with one another out-9