Darryl Phillips

Darryl Phillips is a historian of ancient Rome, focusing on the culture and history of Rome in the late Republic and early Principate. His interdisciplinary research and teaching interests encompass history, law, religion, art and architecture, and topography.

Recent projects have explored sources for understanding the Augustan age, including Suetonius’ Life of Augustus and buildings in the city of Rome.

Phillips teaches a range of courses on Greek and Roman history and language, including "Roman Political Culture" and the ConnCourses "Ancient Greece" and “The Roman World.”

Recent publications

Suetonius’ Life of Augustus.  Oxford University Press, 2023.

“A Panel Discussion: ‘Teaching the Mediterranean.’”  Susan L. Rosenstreich, Geraldo De Sousa, Ann Zimo, Darryl Phillips, Jesús-David Jerez-Gomez.  Mediterranean Studies 30.1 (2022) 108-123.

"The Civic Function of Agrippa’s Pantheon." Latomus 75 (2016) 650-677.

"Reading the Civic Landscape of Augustan Rome: Aeneid 1.421-429 and the Building Program of Augustus." In A. Kemezis, ed. Urban Dreams and Realities in Antiquity: Remains and Representations of the Ancient City. Brill (2015) 229-245. 

Other articles have been published in the journals Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History, Phoenix, Historia, Vergilius, Syllecta Classica, Ancient History Bulletin, and Annals of Anatomy.

Selected recent presentations

“How Democracies Die: A New Model for Ancient Rome.” Mediterranean Studies Association, 25th Annual International Congress, Brno, Czech Republic. June 2023.

“What’s in a Name? The “Emperor” Augustus, his “Mausoleum” and the Fashioning of an Imperial Monarchy.” Mediterranean Studies Association, 24th Annual International Congress, Lisbon, Portugal (virtual). May 2022.

“Caryatids and Their Cultural Meaning: From the Erechtheion’s Maidens to Disney’s Seven Dwarfs.” Classical Association of New England, Summer Institute, Brown University. July 2017.

"Innovation or Imitation? Reassessing the Pantheon of Agrippa in Rome." Classical Association of New England, Summer Institute, Brown University. July 2016.

Phillips was the founding president of the Charleston, South Carolina, chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA).  He currently serves as the Program Committee Chair for the Mediterranean Studies Association (MSA) and is a member of the editorial board of the journal Mediterranean Studies.

Visit the Classics Department website and view "Majoring in Classics."