Duane W. Roller (born October 7, 1946) is an American

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

at the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

.Arts and Sciences Web Services (2018).
Duane W. Roller: Professor Emeritus, ''Emeriti''
" Department of Classics,

. Retrieved 12 April 2018.Hindley, Meredith (July–August 2010).
Impertinent Questions with Duane W. Roller
" '' Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities'', Volume 31, Number 4. Retrieved 12 April 2018.Duane W. Roller, Professor Emeritus of Classics
" Office of Academic Affairs,

. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

Education

Roller received his Bachelor of Arts degree in letters from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

in 1966. In 1968, he received his Master of Arts in Latin from the same institution. He obtained his PhD in classical archaeology from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1971.

Career

Roller is a

at the

, retiring in 2007 but continuing lectures throughout the U.S. In 2008, he was granted a position as a Karl-Franzens Distinguished Professor of Cultural Studies at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, Austria. He has led or participated in various archaeological excavations. These include

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

sites located in Greece, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and northwestern Africa. Roller is the author of various works, ranging from over two-hundred

scholarly journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

articles and twelve published books. These works include ''The Building Program of Herod the Great'' (1998), focused on

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

of the

Herodian kingdom The Herodian kingdom was a client state of the Roman Republic, later Roman Empire, ruled from 37 to 4 BCE by Herod the Great, who was appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate. When Herod died, the kingdom was divided among his sons into ...

Judaea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the prese ...

,The Building Program of Herod the Great
"

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. Retrieved 12 April 2018. and ''Cleopatra: a Biography'' (2010), recounting the

early life Early life may refer to: Biology In relation to Earthly history of life * RNA world, early in the history of terrestrial life *Ediacaran period, early in the history of terrestrial life * Cambrian Explosion period, early in the history of terrest ...

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...

, and

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

Cleopatra VII Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

Ptolemaic Egypt Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty * Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining ...

.Simmons, Tracy Lee (April 1, 2010).
As I Am Egypt’s Queen
" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved 12 April 2018. His book ''Tanagran Studies'' (1989) focuses on the ancient city of

Tanagra Tanagra () is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The Tanagra figurines we ...

. He has also published material on the

history of geography The History of geography includes many histories of geography which have differed over time and between different cultural and political groups. In more recent developments, geography has become a distinct academic discipline. 'Geography' derive ...

with his book ''Ancient Geography'' (2015).

Awards and grants

Roller has been the recipient of numerous rewards for academic work. These include four Fulbright Awards for his teaching roles in India, Poland, Malta, and Austria. He has also received grants from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

and the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

Personal life

Roller lives in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

Bibliography

*''The Building Program of Herod the Great'', California University Press, 1998. *''The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal Scholarship on Rome's African Frontier'', Routledge, 2003. *''Through the Pillars of Herakles: Greco-Roman Exploration of the Atlantic'', Routledge, 2006. *''Cleopatra: A Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2010. *''Ancient Geography: The Discovery of the World in Classical Greece and Rome'', I.B.Tauris, 2015. *''A Historical and Topographical Guide to the Geography of Strabo'', Cambridge University Press, 2018. *''Cleopatra's Daughter: And Other Royal Women of the Augustan Era'', Oxford University Press, 2018. *''Empire of the Black Sea: The Rise and Fall of the Mithridatic World'', Oxford University Press, 2020.

References

External links

* King, Carol J.
Cleopatra: A Biography by Duane W. Roller (review)
" Project MUSE (Mouseion: Journal of the Classical Association of Canada, Volume 11, Number 3, 2011, LV—Series III, pp. 395–398). {{DEFAULTSORT:Roller, Duane W. Living people 1946 births Ohio State University faculty Harvard University alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Academic staff of the University of Graz People from Santa Fe, New Mexico