Who knew students over 2,000 years ago would be the same as they are today?
You’d think time would have changed everything — clothes, languages, technology — and yet, the age-old battle between parents and kids over school and careers feels oddly timeless.
How do I know that? Well, Dr. Marina Escolano-Poveda, Senior Lecturer in Classics, Ancient History, and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, shared a story about it during our call.
I had asked her this question: “What’s the difference between students in Ancient Egypt vs. students in 2025?”
Her answer? “Not so different.”
“One of my favourite texts is about a father walking his son to school. Along the way, they pass people engaged in various occupations — fishermen, quarry workers, and leather workers,” she says.
“The father points at each one and says something like, ‘That job smells’ or ‘That one is too hard’ and so on. He wants his son to become a scribe, which was one of the most prestigious careers at the time.”
This story makes Dr. Escolano-Poveda smile.
“But the son doesn’t want to go to school. He wants to be a soldier and travel the world,” she continues.
“Every time I read that story, I smile — it’s so familiar. Parents and kids have been having the same arguments for thousands of years.”
This then spiralled into us just laughing about how it’s so similar to the fights I had with my parents about my education.
Now, the next question is, how would Dr. Escolano-Poveda know that, though? It’s simple, she learnt about it through the study of Egyptology.
Dr. Escolano-Poveda teaching a class on an ancient Egyptian script. Source: Dr. Marina Escolano-Poveda
Planning on studying Egyptology? Here’s what you’ll learn if you’re a part of Dr. Marina’s classes
Studying Egyptology is rarely discussed in detail, so we askedDr. Escolano-Poveda to give us a behind-the-scenes look at her classes.
What can a student expect from taking your courses in Egyptology?
It depends on which courses you take with me, as I teach both language and culture.
In my language classes, we study texts in both Egyptian and Greek. But we don’t just stop at grammar. We delve into the context — what the text meant to the people who wrote it, how their culture influenced their language, and why a text might have been written in a certain way. It’s not just about translation; it’s about interpretation and understanding.
I also ensure that my students gain an understanding of the materiality of writing in the ancient world. We look at inscriptions on statues, texts in books, and writing on papyrus.
None of these were printed or mass-produced — they’re often fragile and difficult to read. So I try to give students hands-on experience with manuscripts whenever possible. It helps them step into the shoes of people who lived thousands of years ago.
In my culture courses, we explore social life in ancient Egypt. Topics like marriage, inheritance, law, and even corruption come up — we don’t shy away from the juicy details! These aspects provide students with a more human and relatable connection to the past.
What do you think usually surprises them about your course?
Many of my students are surprised by how close the ancient world feels once they begin studying it. At first, they assume it’s going to feel distant or irrelevant — but the more we read and discuss, the more they realise how much we still have in common with people from thousands of years ago.
Many also don’t expect to learn a new language, especially one so different from modern ones. It’s often their first time dealing with this kind of grammar, and it can be tough in the beginning. But once they get into it, some find it fascinating — they start comparing ancient Egyptian to their native languages and notice things they never paid attention to before.
What I love most is seeing how this experience helps them think. It’s like watching the logic centres in their brains light up. Language becomes a window into how people think, and that’s incredibly powerful.
Dr. Escolano-Poveda holds a PhD in Near Eastern Studies (Egyptology) from the Johns Hopkins University and a five-year Licenciatura in History at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Source: Dr. Marina Escolano-Poveda
Why does ancient civilisation still matter?
Some students today feel like the world is on fire and wonder, “What’s the point of learning about the past?” I get that. But here’s the thing: interpreting the present is incredibly hard. We’re bombarded with information every day — social media, news, constant updates — and most of it barely scratches the surface.
Ancient cultures give us space to breathe and think critically. The sources we work with have been around for centuries. They don’t change every second. Studying them forces us to slow down and ask big questions:
- Who wrote this?
- Why did they write it?
- What social class were they from?
- Were they trying to influence or manipulate someone?
And once you start thinking that way, you realise those same questions apply to what we see today. Understanding the tools of influence — how people in power use history, language, or imagery to control a narrative from the oldest cities in the world — can help us become better citizens in the modern world.
Take ancient Rome, for example. The far right has assimilated Roman symbols to construct a particular image of empire and superiority. The Nazis even used Roman aesthetics for propaganda. But most of those interpretations are historically inaccurate.
Meanwhile, ancient Egypt has often been misrepresented or downplayed, despite being just as rich, complex, and important. That’s why it’s so crucial to study it — and to do so accurately.
Marina’s research focuses on the literature, religion, philosophy, and society of Graeco-Roman Egypt.. Source: Dr. Marina Escolano-Poveda
Advice for aspiring Egyptologists who don’t know where to start
If you’re interested in Egyptology but unsure where to start, I recommend visiting museums.
Take the tours — many of the volunteers are archaeologists who’ve been on digs and have amazing stories to tell. You’ll get so much more out of a guided experience than wandering through on your own.
I also tell students to read books about ancient Egypt. I grew up reading DK guides, and they helped me visualise everything, from temples to tombs to everyday life.
Documentaries and video games are also great starting points. “Assassin’s Creed: Origins” is one I often recommend.
It’s set in ancient Egypt and Greece, and the developers hired real historians to ensure its accuracy.
You can walk through ancient towns and hear people speaking Greek or Egyptian — it’s surprisingly immersive and a great way to connect with the past.
Dr. Escolano-Povedacurrently works on the analysis of Graeco-Egyptian astronomical/astrological and early alchemical sources, as well as the Greek Hermetica from an Egyptological perspective. Source: Dr. Marina Escolano-Poveda
What can I do after studying Egyptology?
Well, if you really love studying Egyptology, you can follow Dr. Escolano-Poveda‘s journey to becoming an Egyptology expert
Egyptology is an exceptionally niche degree — so niche that only a handful of universities worldwide offer it as a major or degree programme. In the UK, just eight out of 160 universities include it in their curriculum. In the US, only four out of nearly 4,000 institutions provide programs in Egyptology.
Dr. Escolano-Poveda is well aware of this rarity.
“I’m from Spain, and there are no academic disciplines that focus on it,” she explains. “There are no good libraries for it, and the research isn’t easy to do either. So the only way for me to study it was first to pursue an undergraduate and master’s degree in History and move abroad for my PhD.”
After completing high school in 2007, Dr. Escolano-Poveda earned a licentiate degree in History from the Universitat d’Alacant, followed by a second licentiate degree in Ancient History from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
“Studying history was the closest thing I could do,” Dr. Escolano-Poveda says. “There were very few courses on Egypt, but it gave me a global view of history and learn about different civilisations, which I think is a good thing.”
Fun fact — Ancient Egyptians invented lots of things we still use today, such as paper, pens, locks and keys and – believe it or not – toothpaste. Source: AFP
Still, her passion for Egyptology was unwavering.
“I’ve always loved secret codes,” Dr. Escolano-Poveda recalls. “One day, I started reading about hieroglyphs, and I found them fascinating. That curiosity grew into a desire to learn about the entire civilisation.”
In 2010, she flew halfway across the world to complete a seven-year PhD in Egyptology at Johns Hopkins University, which ranked #24 in the QS World University Rankings 2026.
However, after earning her PhD, Dr. Escolano-Poveda faced a difficult decision.
“There are very few places you can work as an Egyptologist. Academia was the most viable path,” she says.
Returning to Spain wasn’t a practical option, so she looked abroad. Eventually, she landed a three-year temporary position at the University of Liverpool. After that, she moved to the University of Manchester for a permanent role — until an opportunity opened up back in Liverpool.
“I liked Liverpool so much that when they posted a permanent job, I applied and moved straight back,” she laughs.
Today, Dr. Escolano-Poveda teaches both language and culture courses in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool.
