Serena Connolly (Rutgers University–New Brunswick) "Hadrian the Intellectual, Revisited"

Talk description: Scholars have long paid attention to the emperor Hadrian’s philhellenism, in particular his support for Greek arts and culture. His commitment to science and technology has been comparatively neglected, despite our considerable evidence. This paper seeks to remedy that imbalance and will also argue for understanding Hadrian’s interests in science and technology as inspired by not only personal predilection but also precedent stretching back to Augustus. Short Bio: Serena Connolly is Professor and Chair of Classics at Rutgers-New Brunswick. She teaches Roman history and Latin