Valerio Caldesi Valeri, Ph.D.

Originally trained as an ancient historian with a special interest in Greek epigraphy, Valerio Caldesi Valeri has more recently broadened his foci of research to encompass literary studies in classical mythology.  Dr. Caldesi Valeri is working a monograph, provisionally titled Minos, King of Knossos: Archetype of Contradiction and Paradigm of Relevance.  In this study, he argues that the myth of Minos appears consistently utilized across time and literary genres as a catalyst for controversies about the notion of kingship, the tension between exclusive administration of justice and exercise of tyranny, the viability of maritime empires, the genesis of legal systems, and the scope of historical inquiry. 

Dr. Caldesi Valeri has published in modern receptions of the Minos myth, an important appendix of his book project, as well as in literary criticism.  From his commitment to pedagogy stem two articles in which he shares high-impact strategies that derive from his teaching experience.  In the field of instruction, Dr. Caldesi Valeri is also in the process of developing a textbook in ancient Greek where composition in the language plays a prominent role.