The Department of Classics has called the 15th floor of the Cathedral of Learning "home" for over three decades. In 2015, following an extensive renovation, the Department settled into a new suite of offices inside 1501 CL, on the northeast side of the Cathedral, overlooking Heinz Chapel.
The Classics Suite is also home to the Marshall Reading Room (1502 CL), which houses a non-circulating collection of nearly 2,000 volumes focusing on the history and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. The Reading Room also contains multiple copies of the major reference works required for the study and mastery of the Classical languages, and is thus a quiet and ideal study space for students, faculty, and guests of the department. It is named in honor of the late Dr. Robert S. Marshall, a one-time student and long-time friend and benefactor of the Department of Classics.
The Greek Nationality Room
137 Cathedral of Learning
Exact proportions, symmetry, and the skillful use of columns create an atmosphere in the Greek Classroom that suggests a classical Greek temple. In such a room, Greek civilization becomes a reality. Here, there are no broken statues, no chipped columns—a room in which Socrates and Plato might have taught.
The Greek Room, having recently celebrated its 82nd anniversary, was dedicated on November 7, 1941. The room is a tribute to ancient Greek architectural innovation and design—especially that of Athens in the 5th century B.C.E. John Travlos, the architect, imported Pentelic and Kokinara marble from Greece to pave the floor, frame the doorway, and create pilasters and Ionic fluted columns. The decorative process was lengthy and took over seven months to complete. The room was painted in earth tones by means of an ancient technique called encaustic painting, where pigment colors are mixed with hot beeswax. Decorative designs were added by Demetrios Kokotsis, an artist from Athens, and his nephew, Raymond Kokotzis, who laboriously painted all of the ornamental motifs by hand without the aid of stencils. Further embellishment was applied to the motifs in 22-carat gold leaf. The pieces that furnish the room are made of white oak and bear designs patterned on Greek vases. Carved into chairs reserved for professors and guests are the names of the great Greek philosophers Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, while the students’ chairs are inscribed in Greek with the names of the twelve Greek islands and towns of their donors (Sparta, Athens, Smyrna, Chios, Vlahokerasia, Lesbos, Salamis, Byzantium, Icaria, Crete, Carpathos, Samos, Epirus, and Macedonia).