Overview
Background
Dr. Amelia R. Brown is Senior Lecturer in Greek History & Language in the Classics & Ancient History discipline of the School of Historical & Philosophical Inquiry, at the University of Queensland, Australia. She currently holds a Discovery Early Career Research Award from the ARC to research the impact of sailors and travellers on the development of ancient Greek religion and identity. Before coming to UQ in 2010, she was Hannah Seeger Davis Fellow in Hellenic Studies at Princeton University. In 2008 she received her PhD in Ancient History & Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of California at Berkeley, with a dissertation on the history of Corinth in Late Antiquity. Her current research focuses on Late Antiquity, Greek religion and Mediterranean maritime history, particularly in Roman Corinth, Thessaloniki and Malta. She has excavated at the sites of ancient Halasarna (Kos), Messene, Polis (Cyprus) and Corinth, and is currently completing books on Corinthian history and Mediterranean Maritime Religion.
Availability
- Dr Amelia Brown is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of History and Archaeology, Princeton University
- Masters (Coursework) of History and Archaeology, University of California-Berkeley
- Doctor of Philosophy of History and Archaeology, University of California-Berkeley
Research impacts
My research field is the history and archaeology of Greek culture in the ancient and medieval Mediterranean. I have made notable contributions on late antique religion, ancient travel, and the history of the port cities of Corinth, Thessaloniki, Cyprus and Malta. My work is known among Classical scholars in the US, Greece, Malta, the UK and Australia for its innovative combination of archaeological and historical methodologies and its examination of marginalized areas of Greek history, especially the era of Late Antiquity. I have excavation and research experience at Greek, Cypriot and Maltese sites and museums. I convened conferences at UQ on the theme of 'Byzantine Culture in Translation' for the Australian Association for Byzantine Studies and on the theme of ‘Land and Sea in the Early Middle Ages’ at UQ for the Australian Early Medieval Association’s 8th Annual Meeting. I have organised panels for the Archaeological Institute of America, the pre-eminent society for professional Classical archaeologists and historians in the US, and I contribute papers frequently to their annual meeting, volunteered with their San Francisco society, and chaired the Interest Group in Medieval and post-Medieval Greek Archaeology. As a member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, I have travelled widely in Greece, the Balkans, Turkey and Malta, and made connections with academics there. Since coming to Australia I have contributed to the activities of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA) through my work on Cythera, leading UQ summer school undergraduate Study Tours (course code ANCH2050), organising the Queensland Friends of the AAIA, welcoming visiting professors and writing for their newsletter and bulletin. After writing my undergraduate honours thesis on the history and monuments of Byzantine Thessaloniki at Princeton, my postgraduate research focused on the Greek culture of Late Antiquity. My Master’s thesis of 2002 at U.C. Berkeley, 'Hellenic Heritage & Christian Challenge: Conflict over Panhellenic Sanctuaries in Late Antiquity,' outlined the evidence for the conversion of Greek sanctuaries to Christian uses, and sometimes violent competition for these sacred spaces in the 5th and 6th centuries. I edited this for the Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity 5 conference in 2003, and published it in 2006. I helped contribute to a shift in scholarship towards the idea that ancient polytheistic religion was the dominant religious system far into Late Antiquity, and put up substantial resistance to Christianity. I gained primary experience with ancient Greek religious monuments by excavating a temple of Apollo on Kos with the University of Athens in 1998 and sanctuaries in Messene and Corinth in 2001-2005. I completed field exams in Greek Religion and Roman art for my 2008 PhD in Ancient History & Mediterranean Archaeology at Berkeley. My current research on ancient Greek maritime religion builds on my 2008 PhD dissertation, 'The City of Corinth and Urbanism in Late Antique Greece.' Invitations to speak about my Corinth research to academic audiences have come yearly since 2005 around the world. I organized a panel on Corinth at the Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting 2008, and in May 2011 was a keynote speaker at the Society for the Study of Early Christianity conference at Macquarie University in Sydney, with the theme for the conference of ‘Corinth: Paul, People and Politics.’ Corinth Excavations Director G.D.R. Sanders invited me to excavate with him and publish late antique portraits from Corinth, resulting in an article in the A* journal Hesperia, and participation in Oxford’s Last Statues of Antiquity project and the Danish-Canadian Afterlives of Greek and Roman sculpture project, both published in 2016.
Works
Search Professor Amelia Brown’s works on UQ eSpace
2023
Journal Article
Corinth in Late Antiquity: A Greek, Roman and Christian City
Deforest, Dallas and Brown, Amelia R. (2023). Corinth in Late Antiquity: A Greek, Roman and Christian City. Church History, 92 (3), 683-685. doi: 10.1017/S000964072300238X
2023
Book Chapter
Saviour mermaids of the ancient mediterranean: Thetis and the nereids as patrons of ancient Greek mariners
Brown, Amelia R. and de Jonge, Nile (2023). Saviour mermaids of the ancient mediterranean: Thetis and the nereids as patrons of ancient Greek mariners. The Staying Power of Thetis: Allusion, Interaction, and Reception from Homer to the 21st Century. (pp. 315-338) Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. doi: 10.1515/9783110678437-014
2023
Journal Article
Reuse of the Ancient Urban Landscape in Late Antique Athens, Corinth, and Southern Greece
Brown, Amelia R. (2023). Reuse of the Ancient Urban Landscape in Late Antique Athens, Corinth, and Southern Greece. Archaeology of the Mediterranean During Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, 70-93.
2021
Journal Article
Antiquarian knights in Mediterranean island landscapes: the Hospitaller Order of St John and crusading among the ruins of classical antiquity, from medieval Rhodes to early modern Malta
Brown, Amelia Robertson (2021). Antiquarian knights in Mediterranean island landscapes: the Hospitaller Order of St John and crusading among the ruins of classical antiquity, from medieval Rhodes to early modern Malta. Journal of Medieval History, 47 (3), 413-432. doi: 10.1080/03044181.2021.1930446
2019
Journal Article
Review of: Hawes, G. (ed.) Myths on the Map. The Storied Landscapes of Ancient Greece. Pp. xviii + 332, ills, maps. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017
Brown, Amelia R. (2019). Review of: Hawes, G. (ed.) Myths on the Map. The Storied Landscapes of Ancient Greece. Pp. xviii + 332, ills, maps. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Classical Review, 69 (2), 618-621. doi: 10.1017/S0009840X19000295
2019
Journal Article
Archaeological Evidence for the Missions of St Paul
Brown, Amelia R. (2019). Archaeological Evidence for the Missions of St Paul. Lindisfarne: Abbey Museum Friends Magazine (4), 16-18.
2018
Book Chapter
Introduction
Brown, Amelia (2018). Introduction. Byzantine culture in translation . (pp. 1-7) edited by Amelia Robertson Brown and Bronwen Neil. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004349070_002
2018
Book
Corinth in late antiquity: a Greek, Roman and christian city
Brown, Amelia R. (2018). Corinth in late antiquity: a Greek, Roman and christian city. London, United Kingdom: I.B. Tauris. doi: 10.5040/9781350985865
2017
Journal Article
Review: Epiphanius of Cyprus: A Cultural Biography of Late Antiquity, by Andrew S. Jacobs
Brown, Amelia R. (2017). Review: Epiphanius of Cyprus: A Cultural Biography of Late Antiquity, by Andrew S. Jacobs. Studies in Late Antiquity, 1 (3), 315-318. doi: 10.1525/sla.2017.1.3.315
2017
Book
Byzantine culture in translation
Amelia Brown and Bronwen Neil eds. (2017). Byzantine culture in translation. Byzantina Australiensia, Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004349070
2016
Journal Article
Review of 'Shipsheds of the Ancient Mediterranean' by Blackman (D.), Rankov (B.)
Brown, Amelia Robertson (2016). Review of 'Shipsheds of the Ancient Mediterranean' by Blackman (D.), Rankov (B.). The Classical Review, 66 (1), 169-171. doi: 10.1017/S0009840X15001729
2016
Book Chapter
Crosses, Noses, walls, and wells: Christianity and the fate of sculpture in late antique Corinth
Brown, Amelia R. (2016). Crosses, Noses, walls, and wells: Christianity and the fate of sculpture in late antique Corinth. The afterlife of Greek and Roman sculpture: late antique responses and practices. (pp. 150-176) edited by Troels Myrup Kristensen and Lea Stirling. Ann Arbor, MI, United States: University of Michigan Press.
2016
Book Chapter
Corinth
Brown, Amelia (2016). Corinth. The last statues of antiquity. (pp. 174-189) edited by R. R. R. Smith and Bryan Ward-Perkins. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
2016
Book Chapter
Messene (city and region)
Brown, Amelia R. (2016). Messene (city and region). The encyclopedia of ancient history. (pp. 1-2) Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30155
2015
Other Outputs
Cyprus: An Island and a People
McWilliam, Janette, Donaldson, James, Brown, Amelia, Christou, Sandra and Powell, Judith (2015). Cyprus: An Island and a People. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: RD Milns Antiquities Museum, The University of Queensland.
2013
Book Chapter
Remembering Thermopylae and the Persian Wars in Antiquity
Brown, Amelia R. (2013). Remembering Thermopylae and the Persian Wars in Antiquity. Beyond the Gates of Fire: New Perspectives on the Battle of Thermopylae. (pp. 100-116) edited by Christopher A. Matthew and Matthew Trundle. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Military.
2013
Book Chapter
Psalmody and Socrates: female literacy in the Byzantine Empire
Brown, Amelia R. (2013). Psalmody and Socrates: female literacy in the Byzantine Empire. Questions of Gender in Byzantine Society. (pp. 57-76) edited by Bronwen Neil and Lynda Garland. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing.
2012
Journal Article
Medieval pilgrimage to Corinth and Southern Greece
Brown, Amelia Robertson (2012). Medieval pilgrimage to Corinth and Southern Greece. HEROM: Journal on Hellenistic and Roman Material Culture, 1 (1), 197-223. doi: 10.11116/herom.1.8
2012
Journal Article
Bread, wine and crucifiction: crime and punishment in Diocletian's edict on maximum prices
Brown, Amelia (2012). Bread, wine and crucifiction: crime and punishment in Diocletian's edict on maximum prices. Nova, November, 13-14.
2012
Journal Article
Seafaring saviour goddess of the ancient Mediterranean
Brown, Amelia (2012). Seafaring saviour goddess of the ancient Mediterranean. Nova, April, 13-16.
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Amelia Brown is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Master Philosophy
Isis Beyond Egypt: Representations of Isis from Classical Greece to Imperial Rome
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Janette McWilliam
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Master Philosophy
Modes of Kingship: Pyrrhus of Epirus and his Contemporary World
Principal Advisor
-
Master Philosophy
Water and Fire: Representations of a Cataclysmic Past in Archaic Greek Literature
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Annabel Florence
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Master Philosophy
History and Archaeology of Hellenistic Female Merchants
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Janette McWilliam
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Master Philosophy
Monotheism and Military Strength on the Borders of the Later Roman Empire
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Janette McWilliam
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Master Philosophy
Ethics in Ancient Greek Commercial Activity
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alastair Blanshard
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Master Philosophy
The Reception of Queen Artemisia I
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alastair Blanshard
Completed supervision
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2022
Master Philosophy
History, Fiction and the Third Century Crisis: A Study of the Historia Augusta
Principal Advisor
-
2019
Master Philosophy
¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿: Queen Arsinoë II, the Maritime Aphrodite and Early Ptolemaic Ruler Cult
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alastair Blanshard, Dr Andrew Collins
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2019
Master Philosophy
Water, Wind, and War: Maritime Sacrifice and Dedications in Herodotus' Histories
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alastair Blanshard
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2018
Master Philosophy
From Babylon to Ipsus: The Early Life and Career of Seleucus Nicator, 315-301 B.C.E.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Andrew Collins
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2016
Master Philosophy
Euripides and the Heroes of Athenian Religion: The Portrayal of Theseus and Herakles in the Tragedies of Euripides
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alastair Blanshard
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2014
Master Philosophy
Ares: A Chronological-Literary Study of the Greek God of War
Principal Advisor
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2013
Doctor Philosophy
Imperial policies towards pantomime and public entertainment
Principal Advisor
-
2013
Master Philosophy
The Rainbow Reflection: The Role and Status of Isis in Greece in the Imperial Period
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Janette McWilliam
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2023
Master Philosophy
Blinding Honour: Light, Honour, and Power in Cicero's Philosophical Texts of 44 BCE
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Janette McWilliam
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
The Challenges of Historic Urban Landscape Management: Conservation and Redevelopment around the Shah-e Cheragh Shrine in Shiraz
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor John Macarthur
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Making the Islamic Façade: Transformation in the Funerary Structures of Central Asia in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Paul Memmott, Dr Catherine Keys
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2021
Master Philosophy
An Exploration of Dragons in Classical Mythology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alastair Blanshard
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2021
Master Philosophy
Voluntary Deaths in Greek and Latin Literature from the Second to Fourth Centuries AD
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Janette McWilliam
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Athens After Defeat: Warmaking and Public Finance from 404/3 to 370/69 BC
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Pritchard
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Tales of Philip II under the Roman Empire: Aspects of Monarchy and Leadership in the Anecdotes, Apophthegmata, and Exempla of Philip II
Associate Advisor
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2015
Master Philosophy
The Public Image of the Later Severans: Caracalla to Alexander Severus
Associate Advisor
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2014
Master Philosophy
Attic Women and Goddesses: Democracy, Patriarchy and Religion
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Pritchard
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2013
Master Philosophy
Amphitheatres and Cities in the Roman Empire
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Janette McWilliam
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Amelia Brown directly for media enquiries about:
- Ancient history
- Classics
- Corinth
- Greek archaeology
- Greek history
- late antiquity
- Malta
- Thessaloniki
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