Steven Dyson
The University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Stephen L. Dyson earned his B.A. degree from Brown University, a diploma in classical archaeology from University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. degree from Yale University. His past research has centered on the archaeology of Roman Italy and the development of the Roman frontier (the last was the theme of a National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar for college teachers, held at the University at Buffalo). He has conducted archaeological field projects in France, mainland Italy, and Sardinia. Publications in those areas include The Roman Villas of Buccino (1983), The Creation of the Roman Frontier (1985), and Community and Society in Roman Italy (1992). Current research interests include the Roman Countryside (subject of his book The Roman Countryside (2003) Romanization of Sardinia, urban development and social history of ancient Rome, and the history of classical archaeology. The last is the focus of two recent books, Ancient Marbles to American Shores (1998)and Portrait of an Archeologist: The Life of Eugenie Sellers Strong (2003) and a National Endowment for the Humanities seminar for college and university teachers to be held at the American Academy in Rome during the summer of 2003. He has held fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has been the president of the Archaeological Institute of America; in 1993-94, he held the prestigious Charles Eliot Norton Lectureship of that organization. He has twice been Andrew W. Mellon Professor at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome and was director of the classical summer school of the American Academy in Rome (1998-2000).

Lecture Abstracts

Looking at Ancient Pompeii
Pompeii because of the nature of its destruction is often treated as a special, even unique archaeological site. Emphasis is often placed on a limited range of finds made there. However, Pompeii was a very typical medium sized Roman community. Such small towns were the background of the Roman system and their success explains how Rome survived so long. This lecture will look at Pompeii as a working community. After a short introduction on the history of Pompeii and the history of excavation, I will ‘walk’ the audience through the site in the manner of an ancient Roman, looking at the ways in which the archaeological record provides insight into social, economic and political activity. The lecture will provide both an overview of the site and an understanding of its place in Roman community history. My approach in this lecture grows out of my book COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY IN ROMAN ITALY. It will be of interest to both classical archaeologists and ancient historians as well as interested lay people.

Looking at Ancient Pompeii
Pompeii because of the nature of its destruction is often treated as a special, even unique archaeological site. Emphasis is often placed on a limited range of finds made there. However, Pompeii was a very typical medium sized Roman community. Such small towns were the background of the Roman system and their success explains how Rome survived so long. This lecture will look at Pompeii as a working community. After a short introduction on the history of Pompeii and the history of excavation, I will ‘walk’ the audience through the site in the manner of an ancient Roman, looking at the ways in which the archaeological record provides insight into social, economic and political activity. The lecture will provide both an overview of the site and an understanding of its place in Roman community history. My approach in this lecture grows out of my book COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY IN ROMAN ITALY. It will be of interest to both classical archaeologists and ancient historians as well as interested lay people.

Romans and Natives in Ancient Sardinia
Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, has a rich, if little known archaeological record. For hundreds of years it was the home of a native culture characterized by thousands of stone towers known as nuraghi. It also experienced in antiquity a number of foreign invaders from the Phoenicians to the Romans. This lecture will focus on the relations between the indigenous peoples and the Romans from the third century BC to the end of the Roman Empire. It will draw on research conducted by myself and Professor Robert Rowland of Loyola University in New Orleans. The talk will look at the ways in which Rome transformed the native culture. It will also consider ways in which the natives resisted Rome and the real limits of Romanization on the island. The lecture will also consider ways in which the information on Sardinia can be applied to larger questions related to the success and failures of the Roman Empire. The lecture will include discussion and illustration of our specific research as well as general issues.

The Myth of the Gladiator
Beginning with 19th and 20th century images, I explore how the modern image of the gladiator was created. Then through mainly archaeological evidence I look at the more mundane reality, placing the gladiator in its social and cultural reality.

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