Heather Reid, professor of philosophy, recently organized an interdisciplinary conference on the Hellenic Heritage of Southern Italy in Syracuse, Sicily.

Heather Reid, professor of philosophy at Morningside College, recently organized an interdisciplinary conference on the Hellenic Heritage of Southern Italy in Syracuse, Sicily.

The conference discussed the importance of Sicily and Southern Italy in ancient Greek culture. 

“People may not realize that people like Pythagoras, Empedocles and Parmenides lived most of their lives there and that many other intellectuals like Plato, Pindar, and Aeschylus made important parts of their careers there,” Reid said. “The goal of the conference was to promote this ancient link between Greece and Italy.”

Reid is a specialist in ancient philosophy and the philosophy of sport. She recently completed the National Endowment for the Humanities/Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. She has published six books related to sports philosophy and the Olympics. A member of the Morningside faculty since 1996, she received her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.