Symposium: Life and Death in Pompeii

Greek and Roman Myths in the Houses of Pompeii and the Bay of Naples 
Robert Vander Poppen, Ph.D., Rollins College

He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA. He is Associate Professor of Classical Art & Archaeology, Coordinator of Archaeology Program and Classics Program, Vice-President, Faculty of the College of Liberal Arts. Professor Vander Poppen teaches courses in ancient art and archaeology including the areas of Egypt, the Near East, Greece, and Rome with a particular interest in the negotiation of social and cultural tensions between imperial powers and native communities. His current research focuses on the Etruscan culture of Pre-Roman Central Italy, and the creation and maintenance of power structures within the region.

Public Entertainment in Pompeii
Edward Dandrow, Ph.D., University of Central Florida

He is associate professor of History at the University of Central Florida, USA. He received his Ph.D. in Classical Languages and Literatures from University of Chicago (2009). Dandrow is currently researching and writing Greek Identities in Strabo's Geography. He continues his work on addressing Roman monetization of upper Mesopotamia as well as the iconography of the Severan emperors from that region. These comprise the foundation for a larger study on the Coins of Roman Mesopotamia, which examines and catalogues the various coins issued from 161-251 AD in the Roman-controlled cities of Mesopotamia. He is currently researching the coins of Anthemusia and Carrhae. He is also conducting research on Roman identity and the impact of the Persian Wars, which examines how Romano-Persian relations and conflicts affected Roman self-perception and literary and artistic traditions from the third to seventh centuries AD. Dandrow also excavates at the ancient Greek city of Tios (Filyos, Turkey), where he serves as numismatist and in other capacities. He is currently excavating the acropolis and harbor.

Pompeii: Cultural Heritage and Preservation 
Margaret Ann Zaho, Ph.D., University of Central Florida

She is an associate professor of Art History at the University of Central Florida, USA, where she is also the Faculty Director for the Art History study abroad program in Italy. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle specializing in Italian Renaissance art with minors in Roman Baroque and Roman Imperial art and architecture. Her research interests include Florentine painted altar frontals and narrative fresco cycles, Roman triumphal imagery, and endangered art. She is currently developing an art historical Virtual Reality tour of the Roman Forum for educational purposes. Her publications include Imago Triumphalis: The Function and Significance of Triumphal Imagery for Italian Renaissance Rulers (2004), Spanish Royal Patronage 1412-1804: Portraits as Propaganda (2018), and two textbooks entitled Art is an Endangered Species: Volume I: Paleolithic-Romanesque and Volume II: Renaissance – 20th Century, that focus on the history of western art, visual literacy, and art as cultural heritage.