Rate My Professor Arlene Allan

Dr Arlene Allan served as Senior Lecturer in the Classics Programme within the School of Arts, Humanities Division at the University of Otago, and currently holds the position of Honorary Research Fellow. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Trent University, Master of Arts from Queen's University at Kingston, and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Exeter. Her teaching responsibilities included Greek Literature emphasizing Homer and Drama, ancient Religion, and instruction in Greek and Latin languages. She coordinated advanced papers such as CLAS442 Advanced Studies in Ancient Greek Religion.

Arlene Allan's academic interests center on Greek myth, religion and ritual, Greek society, reception of classical antiquity, and the intersections between Hellenic religious traditions and Christianity. Her scholarly output includes influential books: "A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama" co-authored with Ian C. Storey (John Wiley & Sons, 2014) and "Hermes" (Routledge, 2018). Prominent articles comprise "Masters of Manipulation: Euripides’(and Medea’s) use of Oaths in Medea" published in Horkos: The Oath in Greek Society (2007), "Generational Degeneration: the Case of Telemachus" in Scholia (2010), "Filicide in Euripides' Medea: A Biopoetic Approach" in Helios (2014), "Loxias and Phoebus in Tragedy: Convention and Violation" co-authored with J.A. Potter in the American Journal of Philology (2014), "A Reconsideration of the MSS Attribution at Sophokles' Philoktetes 671-3" in Mnemosyne (2012), and "If I Could Turn Back Time: Further Thoughts on Phaedra's Delirium" in The Classical World (2022). More recent contributions include "University teachers’ perspectives on student attendance: a challenge to the identity of university teachers before, during and after Covid-19" co-authored in Educational Research for Policy & Practice (2025). She has presented at conferences, including "Revisiting the relationship between the choice of Intaphernes' wife (Hdt 3.119) and Antigone 904-915" at the 44th Australasian Society for Classical Studies Conference (2023) and "From breath of life (ruach; pneuma) to immortal soul (psychē) and the creation of Heaven and Hell" at the Worlds Above and Below Conference (2024).