Victoria Emma Pagán is Professor of Classics at the University of Florida where her research focuses on post-Augustan Latin literature, especially the Roman historian Tacitus. Before joining a Zocalo/Getty “Open Art” panel discussion entitled “How Does Democracy Survive Demagoguery?” she talked in the Zócalo green room about Aeneas, aliens, and how Augustus Caesar would have handled Donald Trump.
What book do you re-read most?
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.
What’s your favorite conspiracy theory?
I have two. One is that aliens really did land in Roswell. And two is that Fidel Castro has been abducted by aliens and what we have on planet earth is not him.
What’s the best place to eat in Gainesville, Florida?
Satchel’s.
Who is your least favorite character in Latin literature?
Aeneas. He is the textbook definition of a wuss.
What would Augustus Caesar have thought of Trump?
He would have had him killed.
French fries or onion rings?
French fries.
Netflix or Amazon Prime?
Netflix.
Where do you go to be alone?
I’m a mother and a professor. I’m never alone.
What do you miss about Ohio?
The Buckeye trees, the actual trees. They are not anywhere else.