NEW ULM - As part of a city-wide commemoration of the 2,000th anniversary of Arminius' defeat of Varus at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (9 A.D.), Martin Luther College will host an academic symposium on Saturday, Sept.19, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The symposium is free of charge, and no registration is necessary. The event will be held in the auditorium.
The symposium will feature two guest speakers. Dr. Hans Otto-Friedrich Mueller, Classics chair at Union College, Schenectady, NY, will speak on the Roman historical record of the event, highlighting especially some of the religious aspects that factored into the conflict. Mueller has recently served as editor of a new abridgment of Gibbon's history of Rome, and he has published numerous articles on Roman historiography alongside of his book "Roman Religion in Valerius Maximus (Routledge)."
Dr. James Booker, professor emeritus of Minnesota State University, Mankato, will speak concerning the military aspects of the battle. Booker is an alumnus of West Point, and he combined his interest in military strategy with his love of classics in his dissertation work for the University of Nebraska, writing specifically on Arminius' battle tactics in the 9 A.D. conflict.
For more information concerning the entire festival weekend, please visit www.hermannmonument.com