Isabel Grossman-Sartain

Isabel Grossman-Sartain received her B.A. in Ancient Mediterranean History and Psychology, with a minor in Philosophy, from Tufts University in 2021. Her honors thesis examined Roman appropriation of Egyptian obelisks as imperial monuments in light of the current antiquities repatriation debate, a project inspired by her semester studying in Rome through Trinity College in 2019. Witnessing the Egyptian obelisks still standing in the city sparked her fascination with how ancient and modern states employ symbols of conquest, particularly religious traditions, to justify empire.

After graduating, Isabel worked for three years as a K–12 music teacher, gaining valuable classroom and teaching experience while continuing to pursue her interest in ancient history. In summer 2022, she traveled with an archaeological survey course in Greece through College Year in Athens, which visited numerous Bronze Age sites. From June 2023 to August 2024, she further prepared for graduate study by participating in Latin and ancient Greek courses through UC Berkeley Extension.

As a PhD student at ISAW, Isabel intends to study imperial ideology, state religion, and gender in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East, with a focus on women’s roles in Roman religion during the Late Republic and Early Empire. She is particularly interested in women’s interaction with the ancient state, and hopes to investigate religion as a lens for exploring the Romans’ shifting views on women in public life. More broadly, she plans to research conflicts between popular cults and centralized state religious authority across the Mediterranean. Her work will draw on Latin and Greek texts, material culture, religious studies, and archaeology, alongside training in epigraphy, gender theory, and art history. Isabel hopes to continue sharing her passion for teaching and outreach at ISAW, contributing to the Expanding the Ancient World program and serving as a docent in the ISAW exhibition department.