CHAMBERSBURG– Deborah Lyons, professor of classics at Miami University, will present her current project “Immortality and its Discontents: Greek Gods and the Modern Search for Eternal Life” at the 2024 Orr Forum hosted by Wilson College. The event will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 12, in the Lenfest Learning Commons of the John Stewart Memorial Library. It is open to the public and free of charge.
During the presentation, Lyons will discuss her research on ancient Greek views about the eternal life of their gods, most specifically the limits of immortality in ancient Greek thought. Her research asks, “If it wasn’t good enough for the Greek gods, why do we think it will be good enough for us?”
Lyons is the author of “Dangerous Gifts: Gender and Exchange in Ancient Greece” and “Gender and Immortality: Heroines in Ancient Greek Myth and Cult,” and the co-editor (with Kurt Raaflaub) of “Ex Oriente Lex: Near Eastern Influences on Greek and Roman Law” and (with Raymond Westbrook) “Women and Property in Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean Societies.” She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, and a master’s and doctorate in classics from Princeton University. She also studied at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and the University of Heidelberg.
Since its inception in 1964, the Orr Forum has been Wilson College’s most widely known and perhaps most prestigious academic event. The Forum features discussions on the wide and shifting interests in religion studies in America.
Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a private coeducational liberal arts college offering bachelor’s degrees in 32 majors and 40 minors in high-demand and innovative fields including education, nursing, equine studies, veterinary nursing, and sport management, as well as graduate degrees in education, fine arts, the humanities, nursing, and organizational leadership. With degree programs of study available in person and online, the College is committed to making higher education accessible and affordable for today’s students. Visit wilson.edu for more information.
