Naomi Weiss to lead Center for Hellenic Studies

Professor of the Classics Naomi Weiss has been named the new director of Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) in Washington, D.C.

She succeeds Mark Schiefsky, C. Lois P. Grove Professor of the Classics, who has served as CHS director since 2021. Weiss’s five-year term is set to begin July 1.

“CHS has long been an international hub for the latest research in ancient Greek studies through its competitive fellowship programs,” said Weiss, noting that she is “very excited” to assume the leadership role. “I hope to strengthen its profile by developing ambitious programming and rebooting its open-access publishing.”

A member of the Harvard faculty since 2014, and chair of the Department of Classics since 2024, Weiss is a scholar of archaic and classical Greek literature and culture. Her research spans ancient Greek drama, music, and chorality, as well as the relationship between poetry and pottery.

Her most recent book, “Seeing Theater: The Phenomenology of Classical Greek Drama” (2023), examines how 5th-century drama interrogated the viewing experience. She is also the author of “The Music of Tragedy: Performance and Imagination in Euripidean Theater” (2018), an exploration of the dramatic function of mousikē (song, music, and dance) in the plays of Euripides.

Weiss brings a strong commitment to public-facing humanities. She recently launched the “Ancient Greece Today” podcast in collaboration with the Center for Hellenic Studies, uniting scholars with playwrights, novelists, poets, dancers, and other artists for conversations on the ancient Greek world and how it is used and reimagined today.

At the center, Weiss said she is looking forward to exploring new forms of collaboration with schools, theater groups, museums, and other universities.

“CHS has the potential to make a real difference in terms of public outreach for Classics and for the humanities in general,” Weiss said. “Growing its in-person and online educational resources will be a priority of mine.”