Tam Maxwell describes the Classics Museum as their ‘happy place’ and one of their favourite places in Wellington. They relished showing potential students around the Museum at the recent Open Day.
An encouraging Classics teacher at high school in Auckland led Tam to decide early on that they would study Classics in Wellington.
“I fell in love with the Classics Museum. I saw the catalogue online and was really fascinated with it, so that was a big part of wanting to come down here.”
Tam began reading Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythology as a child, after learning about Egyptian culture from their grandfather, who was raised in Egypt.
A major influence was the Percy Jackson book series, which brings Greek mythology into the modern world, along with Stephen Fry’s Mythos series of mythological retellings.
Tam’s Master’s research focuses on the Greek Orphic-Dionysiac mystery cult, particularly the Orphic gold leaves. These are inscribed pieces of gold foil that are buried with cult members and thought to help them find their way in the underworld.
While the cults have been heavily studied, Tam noticed that Mnemosyne, the goddess of Memory, appeared frequently in the Orphic Gold Leaves—a connection that hadn’t been explored. Drawing on their undergraduate background in Philosophy, Tam hopes to reveal new insights into the ancient Greeks' perceptions of memory and the soul. In the final hours before scholarship application deadlines, Tam’s thesis topic was born.
“It was kind of chaotic, but it was a special moment.”
Tam’s Master’s supervisor, Associate Professor Diana Burton, says “It's great to work with Tam, and I'm delighted they received this scholarship. They are enthusiastic and creative, and their background often gives them a different perspective on our ancient evidence, so our discussions are always lively. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of their work.”
Currently pursuing ADHD and autism diagnoses, Tam describes themselves as a ‘very strange nerd’ but sees this as a positive. “I like knowing that my brain works differently from other people's.
"If I wasn’t a nerd, I wouldn’t have had the amazing opportunity to get artifacts out of their cases to show potential students at Open Day.”
Tam loves tutoring first-year students and aims to complete a PhD and become an academic.
“Part of the allure is because I really love learning, and one of the cool things about teaching and staying in academia is that you get to spend your whole life learning.”
As well as their Master’s study, learning Ancient Greek, tutoring, and working, Tam is managing multiple disabilities, which have limited their mobility.
“Having recorded lectures or access to lectures in real time over Zoom has been so important. It’s the only reason that I was able to get through undergrad, because it made the University so much more accessible. There are so many students like me who just can’t reliably come to campus every day.”
Receiving the scholarship reduced Tam’s concerns about contributing to their household and allowed them to purchase some desperately needed medical equipment. Tam spoke to Graduate Women Wellington about their experience as a disabled student. “I always try to talk about these issues when I get the chance— as well as talking about Classics because Classics is awesome! I can turn a conversation to Classics pretty easily,” they laugh.
A self-described ‘Hellenist’, Tam says, “I could happily spend the rest of my life learning about ancient Greece.”
However, they haven’t yet made it to Greece after a planned school trip was abruptly cancelled two weeks before the departure date due to COVID-19.
“My main goal is to get to Athens before I’m too disabled to walk a similar path to what the ancients walked. Because that’s what I studied and that’s the big passion of my life.”