Biography
My main research area revolves around Latin, imperial epic, especially of the Flavian period and its immediate predecessor, the Neronian Bellum Civile. More specifically, I am interested in the aesthetic aspects of horror, nefas, and the collapse of identity and boundaries and their influence on narrative structures; the use of imagery and metaphors in describing literary influence and imitation; the interaction of epic with Senecan poetics and aesthetics; the reception and development of the epic genre in the post-classical world.
Before arriving in Toronto in 2018, I earned both my BA (2009-2013) and MA (2014-2016) degrees in Classics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. My MA Thesis (supervised by Prof. Sophia Papaioannou) on the Hypsipyle episode in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica highlighted the programmatic significance of the Lemnian episode in the second book of the epic and demonstrated the metapoetic dimensions of Hypsipyle’s role in the poem. My interest in Flavian epic continued during my first years in the PhD Programme at the Department of Classics in Toronto. I am currently working on my dissertation (supervised by Prof. Alison Keith) on the theme of incest in Statius’ epic poetry: my thesis aims to illuminate the importance of the theme (either when it appears explicitly or as a problematic undercurrent) in shaping the poetics, the narrative structure, the gender dynamics, and the political ramifications in the Thebaid and the Achilleid.