From the Editor

Warm greetings to all, from the Calvin College Classics Department! After a few years, Nostoi has returned, replete with reports on the wanderings and accomplishments of past and present faculty, students, visitors, and friends. Our newsletter has made a different sort of nostos this time, though, returning to your homes as usual, but not through the letter-box: budget cuts, environmental concerns, and technological savvy have directed our news away from paper and on to the worldwide web. We hope you can navigate through the links as successfully as Odysseus and Aeneas once traveled the ancient seas. (Indeed, some divine help might be needed!) And we hope that you will send us your feedback and updates for future postings. Help us keep the past alive.

That technological savvy mentioned above is evidenced in a couple of ways. First, the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) is now web-accessible, thanks to a recent purchase by the Hekman Library. Second, our own Classics Library is now equipped with a scanner and a new computer. So faculty and students alike can produce images readily, and use them to supplement class lectures, presentations, or private collections for posterity. In addition to the scanner, we have supplemented our already-full collection of books and journals. The shelves are almost bursting, readied to fill our majors' minds with the ancient world.

We continue to be pleased with the “numbers” as well: we have over thirty majors and minors, and our course-enrollments are strong. Perhaps we owe some gratitude to Hollywood (imagine!): Classics departments all over the US and Canada seem to be benefiting as interest is spurred in young minds by recent movies, such as Troy or Alexander, or perhaps even the Harry Potter books-gone-movies where knowledge of Latin helps the young wizards. A recent NYTimes article (Oct. 9 th 2005) notes that the number of college students taking Latin has jumped by 14.1% since 1998; the number taking Greek has jumped an even more impressive 27.2% (also since 1998). Bravo!

Our Classics grads are faring very well. We currently have graduates at the University of Indiana (in medieval studies, shifting to British history, and in American religious history), the University of Notre Dame (in theology, in Near Eastern studies, in law, and in philosophy), the University of Illinois (in law, and in Communication with an emphasis on homiletics), the University of Virginia (in Religious studies), Yale University (in medieval studies), Tufts University (in museum studies), California State University (in Latin), U. C. at Berkeley (in Classics), the Defense Language Institute (in Korean language), Wayne State (in library science), Clarion University (in library science), and many at seminaries (Calvin, Western, Westminster, the Protestant Reformed Seminary, Mid-American Reformed, Garrett, Trinity Evangelical, McCormick, Princeton, Yale). A veritably impressive list!

In addition, many of our Greek major graduates are working in ministry (CRC, RCA, OPC, etc.); quite a few of our alums are college professors (at Calvin, Hope, Trinity, RBC, Concordia, Patrick Henry, U. Calgary, U. Michigan, Penn State U., Chapman U., Dartmouth, Fisher College, Chongshin U. in Korea); many others teach high-school Latin (in AZ, MI, OH, PA, VA, even in Belize); one is teaching English in France; yet others are working in linguistics (for Wycliffe Bible Translators, among others), in missions, law, medicine, or are engaged in editing, museum work, information technology, business, international relief (one directs the Catholic Relief Agency in Guinea), and even in chemistry and nursing.

It is with grateful hearts that we are able to offer such exciting news to you.

Lectures

Many interesting lectures on diverse topics were delivered over the past couple of years.

• “Savage Conquerors: Ceramics and Cuisine in Roman Epirus,” by Melissa Morison of Grand Valley State University (October 2003)

• “The Life of William Sanders Scarborough: An American Journey from Slavery to Classical Scholarship,” by Michele Ronnick of Wayne State University (February 2004)

• “There's No Place (Not) Like Home: ‘Home' as Fact and Idea in Ancient Rome,” by our own Gill McIntosh (March 2004)

• “Beyond the Pillars of Herakles: Greco-Roman Exploration of the World,” by Duane Roller of The Ohio State University (April 2004)

• ““Blessed Are the Meek”: Dependence, Submission, and Servitude in Later Roman Government,” by Charles Pazdernik of Grand Valley State University (October 2004)

• “The Carving of Sarcophagi in Aphrodisias and Rome ,” by Peter Rockwell, sculptor and independent scholar (November 2004)

• ““ Ciceronianus es, non Christianus ... ” The Classics, Christianity, and Calvin: The Conflict and Resolution of a Fourth Century Debate,” by Young Kim, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Michigan (February 2005)

• “ Victrix augebat Cynthia regnum : On Seneca's astronomical dating at Apocolocyntosis 2.1 and its relation to the theory of the spheres,” by Simon Burris of Luther College (March 2005)

Interim

In January 2005 Professors Bratt and McIntosh took a hearty group (36 students strong) to Greece . Stopping at the major sites from ancient, Byzantine, and contemporary Greece , we spent time in Athens , on Crete, the Peloponnese , and we made a brief trip northwards as far as Meteora. Highlights of the trip included tours of the maze-like Minoan palaces, breathtaking views of the natural rock formations in Meteora, strolls through the Athenian agora, and attendance at several Greek Orthodox services. Oh, and who could forget our night at Arolithos, a traditional Cretan village, where the group enjoyed authentic Greek cuisine followed by some Greek dancing (by professional Greek dancers, a few daring Calvin students, and one daring professor)? Good times.

In 2006, Ken Bratt is off again, this time to Italy, along with Mark Williams, and an even larger group than before (enrollment is maxed out, at 44). We consider ourselves blessed to be able to provide the students with such exciting, international, and cross-cultural opportunities. In fact, as of 2005, by logging and writing about conversations with non-English speaking individuals whom they meet while abroad, students can now earn their Cross Cultural Engagement credit.

Petra: Lost City of Stone

• From April to August of 2005, Calvin was one of only three institutions to host “ Petra : The Lost City of Stone”, the most comprehensive exhibit of the ancient life of the Nabataeans. Our department was especially excited about this rare opportunity, enabled as we were to take our students to the exhibit to witness many aspects of the ancient culture about which they were learning.

• As part of the Petra experience, Calvin hosted a series of lectures as well, including: (1) “The Great Temple of Petra: Twelve Years of Excavation,” and (2) “Petra's Great Temple: An Interpretation of its Nature and Function,” by Dr. Martha Sharp-Joukowsky, Director of the Brown University Center for Old World Archaeology (Providence, RI), and Director of the Petra Great Temple Excavations

• For further information on this exhibit, go to http://www.calvin.edu/petra/

Faculty News

Ken Bratt
Ken continues to put us all to shame, such is the awesome ability of one person to do so very much. In addition to participating as a panelist at conferences, Ken has made several presentations: on “Archaeology of the Early Christian Church in Macedonia ” (Harderwyk CRC), on “Lent in Early Christian Art” (2nd CRC, Grand Haven), on “Archaeology of the Early Christian Church in Achaea ” (Harderwyk CRC), and on “Lent in Early Christian Literature” (2nd CRC, Grand Haven). His work with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities has taken him to New Orleans as well as to Oxford . He has been a successful grant-writer, bringing funds to the McGregor Sophomore Scholars Program ($100,000), and to the Grand Rapids Humanities Council ($15,000) for programming in 2005-2006. As if that weren't enough, Ken also assumed the departmental chairship in January, after the departure of Mark ‘Gus' Gustafson.

Mark Gustafson
Eheu 's and oimoi 's ran through Hiemenga Hall late in 2004 when Mark ‘Gus' Gustafson announced his departure. We are, of course, pleased that his wife, Sarah, was offered and accepted a position as the lead Minister at the Mayflower UCC in Minneapolis, and that Gus and Sarah have been able to return to their Minnesotan roots. Gus is currently keeping up his Classics verve with his position teaching at Macalester.

Gill McIntosh
Yours truly has been busied with supplementing the “courses taught” section of the c.v. . But I've also traveled the ‘research' route as well. Three papers are in progress, one is currently under review. I've reviewed two books ( The Roman House and Social Identity . By Shelley Hales. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003. Review Published in Classical Journal 100:3; and Gardens of the Roman World . By Patrick Bowe. Los Angeles : Getty Publications, 2004. Bryn Mawr Classical Review ). And I've presented papers at both the APA and CAMWS (“The Necessary Ungreatness of Rome: Aeneid VI and the Reincarnation of the Souls,” CAMWS 2005; “Cicero, Exile, and Epistlography: Building a Maison d'Être out of Letters,” CAMWS 2004; “ There's No Place (Not) Like Home: ‘Home' as Fact and Idea in Ancient Rome (An exploration conducted mostly through Ciceronian lenses),” Calvin College Inaugural Talk, March 2004; “ The Illusion of Philosophical Solution: Cicero and a (Mis)Use of Stoic oikeiosis ,” APA 2004; and “How Vitruvius Builds the Home: the Rhetoric of Architecture, and the Architecture of Rhetoric,” APA 2003).

Mark Williams
Mark, also known around these parts as ipse , spent last year on a well-earned sabbatical. The fruits of this year off from teaching are veritable: Mark was a commentator and respondent to a series of papers at the Institute for Cistercian Studies at Kalamazoo last May, and his book ( The Making of Christian Communities in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages , Anthem Press) is now in circulation. Bravissimum! The year-off done, Mark has (in keeping with the title of this newsletter) returned; for this, we are all very glad. He returns not only to teaching but he has also assumed rank of Departmental Chair: quite the nostos for this ipse ! In addition, Mark is working on new editions of works by Goscelin of St.-Bertin and Cicero.

Jeff Winkle
Another nostos to mention — this time, the return of Jeff Winkle. Jeff is very excited to be back at Calvin after a two-year sojourn in the wilds of GVSU. Free from the howling wintry hinterlands of Allendale he is safely ensconced in the well, howling wintry hinterlands of East Grand Rapids where he can obsess about all things ancient magic and Apuleius.

With regard to scholarly matters Jeff is currently obsessed with Epona — a much-ignored Gallo-Roman horse goddess — and he is convinced that he is on the verge of a new understanding of her ancient spheres of influence based on some cryptic lines in Apuleius and some puzzling frescoes from Ostia and Pompeii . He is also convinced that a fully-funded trip to the above cities to examine said frecoes up close might be absolutely necessary.

Jeff also is digging into questions surrounding a 3rd century magical text called The Testament of Solomon as well as continuing research on religious, mystical, and Platonic elements in the ancient novel, the latter of which will culminate in a presentation at a conference on "Pagan Montheism" at the University of Exeter in the summer of 2006 (UK).

When he's not fully geeked-out with the above, Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife, Rebecca (an English teacher at The Potter's House High School), his hammer-headed bulldog Argus ("Gus"), and playing guitar and keys for his ridiculous all-teacher band, "Five Minutes Tardy" (coming to a church utility space near you!).

Jeff Veenstra
Calvin alumnus, Jeff Veenstra, joined our department for the 04-05 academic year, filling in for Mark Williams. Jeff, his wife Rebecca, and their son Stephen are now living in Arizona . Jeff is teaching Latin at the Chandler Preparatory Academy . While a move so far from family must be a challenge, certainly the Arizonan winters will provide welcome respite from those we endure in Michigan .

Special Mention
Special thanks to Carla Joy Van Dyke and Jerry Petter both of whom we hired in lieu of Mark Gustafson. Although she had just graduated, Carla Joy rose to the occasion, and taught Latin 202 in the Spring of 2005. Jerry assumed the task of reading Homer with his Greek class, and reading the Vulgate with his Latinists. We are very grateful for their readiness to help us out, and for their authentic commitment to our students and their learning. Multas gratias vobis agimus !

SPQR (by Jeff Rop, '05)

The Classics Club at Calvin College is more than just an amateurish attempt at applying alliteration: it's also the home to a surprisingly large number of Classics enthusiasts at the school. In just its first year, the club managed to attract around 25 students to most of its gatherings, and to build a mailing list of a much greater size. The 2004-5 inaugural edition of the club was co-chaired by Nick Monsma and Jeff Rop, with Nate Ward and Jaci Huizenga serving as treasurer and secretary respectively. Together, that group drafted the mission statement of the club, which reads:

SPQR aims to promote awareness of the ancient Mediterranean world through student lectures, discussions, film, and engagement with Classica l culture. We hope to develop a better understanding of the foundational context of the modern Western world and Reformed tradition. The club will encourage all students both to discern the modern world through the lens of antiquity and vice versa.

SPQR was one of three new student organizations at Calvin to have its charter approved and funding granted in the fall of 2004. The first semester of the club saw three events: an information/chartering party and a Classics movie night, which turned into two movie nights because Spartacus , like the Roman Empire , lasted a really long time.

The club began to realize much more of its potential in the second semester. The first event of the spring was a Classics Symposium, in which two students were given the opportunity to present Classics-related papers to their peers. The first lecturers were Michael Krogh, who gave a paper entitled “ Roman Studs and Women of Ill Repute: The Double Standard From the Fall of the Republic through the Flavians,” and Jeff Rop, who spoke on the topic of “Hellenistic Mystery Cults and Early Christianity.”

The second event of the spring was, literally, a more flavorful affair. Almost thirty students gathered one evening to share a semi-authentic Roman meal, which included such delicacies as stuffed vine-leaves, bread, asparagus, a leek dish, and Professor McIntosh's specialty, Roman-style pizza. The event was reported campus-wide as SPQR hit the big time with an exposé in Chimes , where it was noted that the club's popularity was due to the “sex appeal” of the Classics.

The year culminated with two final events. At the second Symposium, two papers were presented. The speakers were Steve Dozeman, with his lecture “Nabataeans in the Writings of Jospehus,” and Stephen Krogh, who presented “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem: The Conflict between Greek Philosophy and Early Christianity.” The final event of the year finished was comparatively levis , with a viewing of Monty Python's The Life of Brian and plenty of pizza.

SPQR looks to continue its growth and maturation next year with an entirely new set of leadership. The charter has already been renewed by Calvin; Stephen Krogh and Kory Plockmeyer will serving as co-chairs, Michael Krogh will be treasurer, and Ben Wright the secretary.

Student Awards and Prizes

Ernest Van Vugt Scholarship: for excellence in the study of Ancient Greek and Latin

• CarlaJoy Van Dyke
• Amelia Hicks
• Nick Monsma

Latin Award: presented annually to a graduating senior for outstanding achievement in the study of Latin language and literature

• Katherine Swart
• Bobbi Sue Sutherland
• CarlaJoy Van Dyke
• Jeffrey Rop

Zondervan Publishing House Award, presented annually to a graduating senior: for outstanding achievement in the study of Greek

• Kathryn Floyd
• Li Tying Soh
• Jeremy Vecchi
• Steve Dozeman

Richard and Sylvia Wevers Scholarship: for excellence in the study of Ancient Greek

• Sarah Steen

Alumni News

Amos, Micheal '05
Though he has recently graduated, Myk can still be spotted around campus, as he continues to work with Calvin campus safety.

Arbogast, Kathryn '05
Katie is opting for some time off before perhaps pursuing some post-graduate work in Latin education. Recent rumor tells us that she may be applying for a Civil Service position at The Ohio State University.

Besteman, Nathan '05
After studying Greek and Philosophy at Calvin, Nathan is now off to Princeton Seminary.

Breuker, John '60
John retired after 32 years of pedagogy and service at Western Reserve Academy ( Hudson , OH ). Bravissimum , John!

Budde, Katrina '01
Katrina was accepted to San Francisco State University .

Dozeman, Steven '05
Steve is moving across the road, and pursuing his studies at Calvin Seminary. Steve has conducted research on the Nabataeans; so his work dovetailed well with the Petra exhibit.

Dyke, Ben '05
Having graduate with his education degree, Ben will be teaching Latin and Math in Matthews, NC.

Jung, Chang-Wook '95
Dr. Jung is a Professor at Chongshin University in Seoul , Korea . He has traveled to San Antonio , Philadelphia , Singapore , and Australia to deliver papers at various conferences.

Meyer, Jonathan '04
John is pursuing an M.Div at Yale University .

Reitsma, Regan '95
Regan and his wife, Beth, are both gainfully employed at King's College (PA), where Regan teaches Philosophy and Beth Political Science. They have three children now: Duko (7), Annemaaike (4), and Amarinske (not-yet 1).

Rop, Jeff '05
Jeff will spend the next academic year teaching English in France, and then head to graduate school where he will continue his work in History, Archaeology, and Latin.

Sherwood, Craig '04
Craig is applying to graduate programs at Colorado and Boston , where he hopes to continue his Latin studies.

Spriensma, Andrew '04
Andrew is furthering his studies at the Mid-American Reformed Seminary.

Swart, Megan (nee Halteman)
Megan is working on her Ph.D. in Philosophy at Notre Dame. She and her husband, Jeff, are the proud parents of Amelia Jane.

Van Dyke Strand '04
Carla Joy is currently teaching 6-11th grade Latin, K-6 music, and the first ever 9th grade Greek class at North Hills Classical Academy in Grand Rapids , MI . In her free time, she teaches a Latina Christiana course at St. Isadore's, plays the violin in the West Shore Symphony, and sings in the Calvin Alumni Choir. Last spring, she taught the Latin 102 class at Calvin and thoroughly enjoyed her brief stint as a college professor. In June, she was married to Stephen Strand (05), who is working as network administrator and web developer for Michwave Technologies.

Van Dyke, Christina '94

Wiese, Charles '04
Chuck is currently attending The Protestant Reformed Seminary.

Yonkman, Travis '05
Travis continues his studies at Westminster Seminary (West).