Finnish Conference on Classical Studies 2025

The Finnish Conference on Classical Studies was held at the University of Turku on January 23–24. The program included presentations, posters, and discussions on current topics. The program can be found on the conference website (only in Finnish). Over 70 researchers from all over Finland participated, and one of the highlights of the conference was meeting both old acquaintances and new people. In addition to the official program, we were treated to an excellent conference dinner, and we gathered at the bar Proffan kellari multiple times to catch up with each other.

Finnish Conference on Classical Studies

The conference was organized by the Department of Classics at the University of Turku. I was also involved in planning and organizing the conference. It was an interesting and educational experience to see how such an event is organized, from brainstorming ideas to handling the practical tasks during the conference days. Planning for the conference started over a year ago. Along the way, we had to consider various tasks such as communications, conference invitations, speaker selections, the program, coffee breaks, the dinner menu, conference materials, and many other small details.

A large group of students from our department also assisted with compiling conference materials, registering participants, and performing various tasks during the panel sessions. Their contribution was crucial to the success of the conference. A special mention to Anna-Elina, who delighted us with beautiful music during the conference dinner.

Conference dinner

In addition to the organizational tasks, I also gave a presentation at the conference titled “Phallic Drawings on the Walls of Pompeii.” I will write a separate blog post later about the content of my presentation.

My presentation on phallic drawings

The conference proceeded mostly according to plan, and apart from some minor technical challenges, there were no significant mishaps. Based on the feedback I heard, participants were satisfied with both the content and the organization of the conference. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed all the encounters and the interesting presentations throughout the event. Conferences are among the most enjoyable parts of a researcher’s job.