Stephen Fineberg

Szold Distinguished Service Professor and Co-Chair of Classics

General Interests
"I am working on a book on the god Dionysos. The evidence I draw upon comes from literary and visual sources, especially the Athenian vase paintings. Dionysos first appears in Homer's Iliad as an infant. Although he is identified as the god of the vine, attended by a band of intoxicated revelers, an association with childhood persists in later texts and vase representations of the god."

Years at Knox: 1976 to present

Education
Ph.D., Classics, 1975, University of Texas at Austin.
M.A., Classics, 1971, University of Texas at Austin.
1969-1970, American School for Classical Studies at Athens.
B.A., 1964, St. John's College-Annapolis, Maryland.

Teaching Interests
Greek language and literature, impulse toward freedom, Achilles to Captain Kirk, Dionysos in Athens, ulysses, literary sources of western tradition

Recent Accomplishments
Publications
"Blind Rage and Eccentric Vision in Iliad 6." Transactions of the American Philological Association, 1999.

"The Figure of Dionysos at Athens in the Visual and Literary Sources of the 6th-5th centuries B.C." Forthcoming.

Campus & Community Involvement
Chair, Classics Department.
Visiting Professor of Art History, University of Illinois at Champaign.
Visiting Senior Associate Member, American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

What Students Say
"I suppose that Professor Steve Fineberg's dynamic and engaging personality as a professor is due to his multiple and wide-ranging interests as a thinker and feeler. Talking with Professor Fineberg, I'm always left with the impression that he brings a genuine love to bear regarding the academic pursuits in which he involves himself and his students. His style as a Greek language professor readily piqued my interest, because he approached the language not just as a series of rote memorizations, but as a vehicle for ideas and emotions-a taste of which had me proverbially 'hooked'. In other words, he made the arduous task of learning Greek worthwhile by bringing me to understand that myriad rewards attend success. His well-developed sense of humor lends a present frivolity to his teaching and conversation, an important asset in the learning process, for those receptive to the comedy of the human adventure."
-Bryan LeClaire, Classics and English Literature major

Contact
309-341-7346
sfineber@knox.edu