A.A. Santa Fe College, 2005
B.A. (Classics and Philosophy), University of Florida, 2008
M.A. (Classics), University of Iowa, 2010
M.A., Ph.D. (Classics), University of Cincinnati, 2013, 2016
Kyle Helms has taught at St. Olaf since 2018, after working at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA and Creighton University in Omaha, NE. Here on the Hill, Helms teaches Latin and Ancient Greek language and literature, as well as Classics courses on topics including mythology, Athenian democracy, and race in the classical world. He also led the College's Interim course in Italy back in January 2020.
In his research, Helms has published on Latin, Greek, and Safaitic graffiti from Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as Greek papyri from Roman Egypt. From 2014-2019, he collaborated with the Ancient Graffiti Project (ancientgraffiti.org), working in field teams on the Bay of Naples and editing over 250 inscriptions for the Epigraphic Database Roma. His peer-reviewed artices have appeared in The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, Chronique d'Égypte, The Journal of Roman Studies, and Arctos.
When not reading ancient languages or traveling in Italy, Helms enjoys being outdoors and, above all, spending time with his wife, Caitlin, their children, Hattie, Phoebe, and Wallace, and their dog Cherry Blossom.
Courses taught in 2022-2023: Latin 231: Intermediate Latin; Classics 244: World of the Ancient Romans; Greek 112: Beginning Ancient Greek II; Latin 252: Vergil and Latin Epic; FYS 120: Reacting to the Past
Publications:
Refereed papers
Helms, Kyle. 2021. “An Unread Safaitic Graffito from Pompeii,” Arctos: Acta Philologica Fennica 55: 51–3
Helms, Kyle. 2021. “Pompeii’s Safaitic Graffiti,” The Journal of Roman Studies 111: 203–14 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0075435821000460
Helms, Kyle and Michael Zellmann-Rohrer. 2017. “A Pearl of Great Price? (P. Mich. inv. 4086),” Chronique d’Égypte XCII fasc. 183: 129–36. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.CDE.5.114285
Benefiel, Rebecca R., Jacqueline DiBiasie, and Holly Sypniewski, with contributions from Erika Zimmermann Damer, Kyle Helms, Matthew Loar, Karen Lundqvist, and Fanny Opdenhoff. 2016. “The Herculaneum Graffiti Project: Initial Field Season, 2014,” Fasti On Line Documents & Research: 1–23. Open access: http://www.fastionline.org/docs/FOLDER-it-2016-361.pdf
Helms, Kyle. 2013. “Guarding Grapes in Roman Egypt (P.Mich. inv. 438),” The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 50: 135–43. Open access: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.0599796.0050.001:08
Digital critical editions
Helms, Kyle. 2014–2020. Principal editor for over 250 critical editions of Latin and Greek graffiti from Pompeii and Herculaneum, published in Epigraphic Database Roma (edr-edr.it) and Italia Epigrafica Digitale:
2020. Italia Epigrapfica Digitale II. Regio I – Latium et Campania: Fascicolo V. Pompeii – Tituli Scariphati. 1,325 pages. (See p. 9 for Helms contributions.) Open access: https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa03/italia_epigrafica_digitale/issue/view/IED%20II%2C%202.5/159
2017. Italia Epigrafica Digitale II. Regio I - Latium et Campania: Fascicolo III - Pompeii et Herculaneum: Graffiti. 856 pages. (See p. 9 for Helms contributions.) Open access: http://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/ied/issue/view/1169