Alanna Heatherly is a PhD candidate in Classical Studies whose research examines how experiences of physical pain were interpreted and represented in the Roman Empire between the first and third centuries C.E. In her dissertation, “The Hermeneutics of Pain in the Roman Empire (1st–3rd c. C.E.): Pain and Identity Formation,” she investigates the cultural meanings of pain across a wide spectrum of ancient contexts. These domains include the social margins occupied by provincial athletes and Christian martyrs, as well as the intellectual centers dominated by metropolitan elites, medical theorists, and philosophical writers. Heatherly’s work offers a comprehensive social history of how pain functioned as a site for constructing, negotiating, and expressing identity in the ancient world. She argues that understanding pain helps explain how identity was created in specific contexts, rather than assuming suffering is the same everywhere.
Heatherly’s interest in pain is personal as well as academic. As someone in a family affected by the opioid epidemic, she saw how pain, its treatment, and social expectations intersect in powerful ways. Her personal encounters with pain inspired a scholarly curiosity about its historical significance. As an undergraduate studying Roman spectacle, she became fascinated with ancient public performances, such as those of gladiators, athletes, and martyrs, and how they functioned much like modern media. She was equally intrigued by the ways their pain was staged, perceived, and interpreted by audiences.
A key insight of her research is that pain could be subversive. Enslaved gladiators and martyrs often used their suffering to challenge authority or send a message, while elite writers, physicians, and philosophers focused on understanding and managing pain in formal contexts. By comparing these approaches, Heatherly shows how pain shaped identity, communicated social meaning, and taught moral lessons. As she explains, “Looking at how people experienced and responded to pain reveals more than physical suffering. It shows us how they navigated power, society, and their own sense of self.”
Heatherly views the study of pain as a possible means to understand the lives of marginalized people in the Roman Empire, whose voices rarely survive. She explains that evidence like skeletal remains can reveal the physical reality of their suffering. Beyond the body, she emphasizes that examining pain also shows the social and cultural contexts in which it was experienced, highlighting variations in how people lived with and responded to it. This approach opens a window into the everyday experiences of individuals often overlooked in historical records.
Looking ahead, Heatherly envisions the possibility of expanding her research beyond Roman public spectacles to explore pain and disability in various historical and social contexts. She is particularly interested in how the framing of disability changes across time and place, and how these different contexts can illuminate experiences that are often overlooked. Heatherly envisions examining pain in military and domestic settings, as well as exploring the ways athletic metaphors were used to discuss how people should endure and respond to suffering. For her, these directions offer opportunities to broaden the insights gained from her dissertation and apply them to new communities and historical periods.
At the Institute for the Humanities, Heatherly continues to advance her dissertation while engaging with fellows from across disciplines. She reflects that these interactions have provided fresh perspectives and inspired new ways of thinking about her work, leaving her excited to explore the next directions of her research.
Alanna Heatherly is a 2025-26 Sylvia “Duffy” Engle Graduate Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and a PhD candidate in Classical Studies.
Matthew Robinson is a 2025-26 Public Humanities Intern at the Institute for the Humanities in his fourth year, majoring in Biopsychology, Neuroscience, and Cognition.
