About the Classics Museum

The ANU Classics Museum, established in 1962, displays a range of items that provide fascinating insights into the cultural practices of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds.

The collection, which is open to the public, spans the Mediterranean and beyond. It features examples of ancient art and objects of daily life from Greece and the Roman world, including Egypt and the Near East.

The museum's areas of strength include domestic items, writing and commemoration, southern Italian pottery, and drama.

From very modest beginnings, the collection has steadily grown through the years with the support of ANU and University House, and with loans from the Australian National Gallery, the Parliament House Art Collection, and former students and members of the community who have acquired classical antiquities and wish to make them available to a wider audience.

The Friends of the Classics Museum has played a vital role in acquiring artefacts for the collection.

Since it was founded under the guidance of Professor Richard Johnson, the Classics Museum has always been intended as a teaching resource. Students of Classics and Ancient History use the collection in the course of their studies, as do students from Art History, Archaeology, and the ANU School of Art.