About the Lukeion Project

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The Lukeion Project was the brain child of Regan and Amy Barr, two Classical archaeologists who have traveled extensively and excavated at Classical sites in Jordan, Greece and Turkey. After hurricane Katrina forced a job change in 2005, the Barrs combined their years of education in Latin, Greek, history, Classical literature and archaeology with their skills in online training and graphic design. As home educators of three, they recognized the real need for accessible, challenging Classical education. Current technology provides them live online classrooms and everything else they need to deliver high quality, challenging instruction to everyone with interest and a broad band internet connection.

Contact us by email (fastest! best! preferred!).
Call to leave a message: 919-342-6840 (shhh....we are teaching classes)
Send us dark roasted coffee and t-shirts from your exotic trips: The Lukeion Project, 253 Old Beardstown Rd., Lobelville, TN  37097

Regan Barr

Director of Lukeion Greek, Greek History, Witty Wordsmith, Barbarian Diagrammarian, Classical Philosophy

Sue Fisher

Muse Series
Advanced Classical Lit. (Myth and Epic)
Mastery Mythologist 1&2
Latin 1, 2, 3; Latin Transition Primus & Secundus

Kim Johnson

Lively Logician (1 & 2)
Counting to Computers: the History of Math

Amy Barr

Director of Lukeion Latin, All levels of Latin, Roman History

Randee Baty

College Composition, College Research,
Advanced Lit. Shakespeare, Advanced Lit. Tolkien
AP English lit.
Skillful Scribbler, Scribble On
Michael Haggard
In Memoriam

"Dust Free Antiquity" - Some Lukeion Project History

​When the Barrs first opened a series of online workshops  early in 2006, they didn't know what to expect. Very few educators were providing live education online at that time. They were met with skepticism by some, curiosity by others. Online teaching was a great fit. Regan and Amy Barr had already spent 10 years traveling, researching, and excavating in the Mediterranean. As they pursued advanced degrees in Classics, New Testament, Latin, and Classical Archaeology, they also built a wealth of unique experiences, impressive resumes, and a library of proprietary images that they bring with them into the online classroom.
The Barrs’ teaching experience includes the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Christian University, Miami University (Oxford, OH), and The Ohio State University. Since their start, the Barrs have become regular speakers at home educators' conventions, several gifted and talented organizations, and have written for The Old Schoolhouse.

“We actually became engaged on the island of Crete after an excavation season in Greece,” said Regan. “For years we immersed ourselves in the literature, lands, art and artifacts of the Greeks and Romans. We even immersed ourselves in their dirt,” he chuckles. The Barrs are true “dirt archaeologists,” who excavated in Jordan (a Byzantine site), Greece (a Bronze Age Mycenaean citadel), and Turkey, at the legendary site of Homer’s Trojan War. Their three seasons at Troy culminated in articles for the journal Studia Troica, devoted entirely to studies of the Trojan world.

The Barrs, who have home schooled their own three children from the beginning, launched The Lukeion Project in 2005. One of the many benefits of home schooling is the ability to seek out innovative learning venues and expert instruction for children. “We’ll teach our children Latin, History, and Mythology. We’ll find someone else to teach them Physics or Economics. It’s what co-ops have done for years, sharing expertise to take our children farther than we can by ourselves. We just share our expertise online.”

So why are The Lukeion Project classes live? “Well, it’s not because it’s lucrative or easy,” laughs Amy. “It’s easier to write a workbook, make some copies, and sell it. But our classes are unique because our students interact with people experienced in the Mediterranean world who are passionate about the material. You can’t communicate that through a workbook. And we’re inter-disciplinary – we do history, archaeology and literature together, which is a more interesting and well-rounded way to learn about the past. Just doing literature, for example, gives you the perspective of the upper classes, but to know how the other 99% lived, you have to ask an archaeologist. ”

“CDs and online tutorials don’t do what we want, either,” says Regan, “because our students ask questions that canned presentations can’t anticipate. And students love the classroom interaction that learning alone can’t give you. Also, many people are surprised to learn that our understanding of the ancient world is changing all the time. We still don’t have all the facts, and one important discovery can radically change our understanding of something we’ve 'known' for years. Archaeology is constantly surprising us. We share those new finds in our classes.

So where does the name come from? “The‘Lukeion’ was the school in Athens established by Aristotle, in which he encouraged personal investigation and a broad array of research tools. It was a school without walls, since he often wandered through Athens with his students gathering around as he walked and lectured. We thought his approach to education and the mobile metaphor fit an online learning environment,” says Amy. 

Our Instructors

Regan L. Barr, MA, MDiv, PhD (abd)

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​Known as Mr. Barr to his students, Regan is an archaeologist, educator, home school dad, and co-founder of The Lukeion Project. Regan began his education with a B.A. in Christian Ministries before heading to Cincinnati Christian University, where he received his M.Div. in New Testament and minored in Ancient Near Eastern studies. His parents’ graduation gift of a trip to Greece, Jordan and Israel ignited his love for the ancient world, which still drives The Lukeion Project today. Regan spent the next 10 summers traveling and excavating in the Mediterranean and Europe while pursuing an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati. He’s excavated at the Decapolis city of Abila in Jordan, the Bronze Age Mycenaean citadel of Midea in Greece, and the venerable site of Homer’s Troy in Turkey.

His publication of the Greek and Hellenistic oil lamps from Troy was the first formal publication on this topic in over a century of excavation at the site. 
Regan and his wife, Amy, live near Nashville, TN. Their three previously home educated children have all successfully graduated college.
Degrees
  • B.A. Ministries (Midwest Christian College – now Ozark Christian College)
  • M.Div. New Testament Studies, minor in Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Cincinnati Christian University)
  • M.A. Classical Archaeology (University of Cincinnati)
  • M.A. Thesis: “Honors for Late Hellenistic Civic Benefactors in Western Asia Minor”
  • Doctoral Work – Ph.D. (A.B.D) in Classical Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati
Teaching
  • Founding educator at The Lukeion Project since 2005
  • Frequent lecturer at home school conferences in the United States
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant for numerous classes at the University of Cincinnati, including Classical Mythology, Introduction to Classical Civilization; Introduction to Greek Archaeology, Introduction to Roman Archaeology;
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant and guest lecturer for numerous classes at Cincinnati Christian University including Advanced Greek, Historical Geography of the Bible, The Synoptic Gospels, etc.
  • Various lectures for the Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) at the University of Cincinnati
  • Instructor for “Greek and Latin Elements of Medical Terminology” at the University of Cincinnati
Publications
"Which Greek Should You Study?" The Greenhouse Report, May/June 2012 vol. 30 #5
“Greek and Hellenistic Lamps from Ilion,” Studia Troica, Band 6 (1996) pp. 159-200.
The Biblical Archaeology Series from SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Amy E. Barr, MA Latin, PhD (abd)

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Amy Barr is an archaeologist, Latinist, educator, author, and co-founder of The Lukeion Project, a unique online educational program that now offers the widest range of Classical studies available to pre-college students anywhere on the planet. She excavated at a Byzantine city called Abila in Jordan, a Bronze Age city called Midea in Greece, and the legendary site of Troy in Turkey. Her B.A. in Classics is from Miami University (Oxford, OH) and her M.A. in Latin is from The Ohio State University. She taught Latin and Mythology at both places as well as the University of Cincinnati where she finished her coursework in a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology. Amy has taught Latin and mythology at The Ohio State University, Miami University, and University of Cincinnati. She also taught and launched three clever humans in her job as a home educator.

  • B.A. Classics (Miami University, Oxford, OH - Magna Cum Laude); B.A. Honors Thesis: “Egyptianizing in Ancient Rome”
  • M.A. Latin (The Ohio State University); Masters Paper: “Animal Imagery in Virgil’s Aeneid”
  • Doctoral Work – completed coursework for Ph.D. in Ancient History at Miami University and Classical Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati
Teaching
  • Founding educator at The Lukeion Project since 2005
  • Frequent lecturer at home school conferences in the United States
  • Instructor for Latin 101 at the Ohio State University and at the University of Cincinnati.
  • Graduate teaching assistant for Classical Mythology at the Ohio State University
  • Instructor for Classical Mythology at Miami University, Oxford, OH
  • Instructor for Latin 101 at The University of Cincinnati
  • Long-time tutor in Latin and Mythology
  • 22-year veteran home educator of three college educated children
Publications

Sue Fisher, MA, PhD

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Known by her students as Mrs. Fisher or Dr. F, Sue is an archaeologist, educator, and former homeschool mom of two grown sons. Sue’s love of Ancient Greece began in a 9th grade Honor’s English class with the reading of Mary Renault’s The King Must Die. Sue started pursuing her goal of becoming an archaeologist at Franklin and Marshall College where she earned a B.A. in Greek, with a minor in Anthropology. Sue spent her junior year at College Year in Athens where she traveled extensively throughout Greece and studied Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Greek Art and Archaeology and Greek Anthropology all in their original settings. During this year she also worked in the Athenian Agora inventorying and cataloguing ancient architecture and sculpture. Sue began her graduate work in Bronze Age archaeology, excavating at the Mycenaean citadel of Midea, where she recovered the first Linear B ever found at the site. After receiving her M.A., however, Sue transferred to Classical Archaeology for her Ph.D. because she missed being able to use Ancient Greek language in her research. Ancient language was never far away, however, for while at the University of Cincinnati Sue taught Greek, Latin and Classical Civilization. While working at Midea, Sue prepared excavation reports, sorted lots of Bronze Age pottery and catalogued and published the Mycenaean pictorial pottery from the Lower Terraces at the citadel. Sue also spent a few summers excavating at the site of Homer’s Troy in Turkey. Here
she excavated and helped establish the pottery sequence and cultural profile of the Archaic period at the site. Both her work on the Mycenaean pictorial pottery and the Archaic Finewares of Troy were presented to the Archaeological Institute of America at their annual meetings. Sue has also presented before the Central Ohio Valley Archaeological Society, the Institute for Learning in Retirement and various schools around the Cincinnati area. Before coming to the Lukeion Project, Sue worked at Miami Valley Christian Academy setting up their Latin program. Sue resides in Cincinnati with her husband and a couple of psychotic cats. 

Degrees:
  • B.A. Greek (Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA - Magna Cum Laude) Honors Thesis: The Attic Black-Figure Dancer: Iconography and Iconology.
  • M.A. Bronze Age Archaeology (University of Cincinnati) Master’s Thesis: Intra-Argolid “Regionalism” and the Mycenaean Pictorial Pottery from the Lower Terraces of the Citadel of Midea.
  • PhD Classical Archaeology (University of Cincinnati) Dissertation: Ceramics and Culture: The Archaic Finewares of Ilion. 
Teaching:
  • Instructor for Latin 101 at the University of Cincinnati
  • Instructor for Latin at Miami Valley Christian Academy
  • Instructor for Greek 105 at the University of Cincinnati Greek
  • Instructor for Classical Civilization at the University of Cincinnati
  • Graduate teaching assistant for Art and Archaeology of the Ancient World at the University of Cincinnati
  • Greek tutor at Franklin and Marshall College
  • Longtime Latin tutor
  • Teacher’s consultant on ancient history/archaeology and classical civilization.

Publications
  • “A Pictorial Stirrup Jar from the Mycenaean Citadel of Midea,” (co-author) in Journal of Prehistoric Religion VIII (1994) 8-19.
  • “The Mycenaean Pictorial Pottery,” in Midea: The Megaron Complex and Shrine Area. Excavations on the Lower Terraces 1994-1997 by Gisela Walberg (Stockholm, 2007).
  • “Trojan G2-3 Ware Revisited,” in Studia Troica 6 (1996) 119-32 
  • “The Mycenaean Pictorial Pottery,” in Excavations on the Acropolis of Midea. Results of the Greek-Swedish Excavations Vol. 1.1. The Excavations on the Lower Terraces 1985-1991 by Gisela Walberg (Stockholm, 1998).

Honors
  • Member - Phi Beta Kappa Society
  • Franklin and Marshall Archaeology Prize
  • Shirley Watkins Steinman Prize for Greek

Randee Baty, MA

Randee Baty has always been a lover of books and literature. After earning a degree in accounting and working in that field for several years, she decided to stay home and become a homeschool mom. After 16 years of being home with the kids, the last one left for college and she decided it was time to pursue her first love. She entered the graduate literature program at Pittsburg State University, earning her Master’s degree and loving every minute of it.

Degrees:
  • B.S. in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond Ok graduating with honors
  • M.A. in English with an emphasis in Literature from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS

Professional Experience:
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant in The Writing Center, Pittsburg State University
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant in the English department, Pittsburg State University
  • English instructor at Labette Community College

College Courses taught:
  • Pre-College Reading and Writing
  • Composition 101
  • Composition 102 (Intro to Research Writing)
  • General Literature
  •  British Literature 1 (Beowulf-18th Century)

Research presentations:
  • “Ombre, Violence and The Rape of the Lock”-Presentation on Alexander Pope at the South Central Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Conference-February 2016
  • “Bertie Wooster: A Modern-Day Knight”-Presentation on P.J. Wodehouse and modernist literature at the Pittsburg State Research Colloquium-May 2016

Honors:
  • Member-Phi Kappa Phi
  • PSU Department of English Excellence in Research Award 2016

Kim Johnson, PhD

Known to her students as Dr. Johnson or Dr J., Kim is a mathematician, teacher, and homeschool mom of three: college student, high school student, and middle school student.  She was a Classics and philosophy major at St. Olaf College in Minnesota until her second semester. After her first math class, she never looked back.
She traveled to North Carolina, where she got her PhD in mathematics at UNC Chapel Hill, teaching courses from College Algebra to Discrete Mathematics (a sophomore-level course introducing the ideas of logic and proof). After taking some years off teaching to raise children she saw a need in the local homeschool community for high school mathematics education. She taught in several co-ops, focusing on introducing the beauty and creativity of mathematics to every student at every level.
In addition to teaching logic for the Lukeion Project, she currently directs the Triangle Math Teachers’ Circle and teaches middle and high school math at a local co-op. 
Degrees:
  • B.A Mathematics and Economics (St. Olaf College, Northfield MN – Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude)
  • PhD Mathematics (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) Dissertation: Beta Shift Dynamical Systems and Their Associated Languages

Teaching:
  • Instructor for College Algebra, Business Calculus, Calculus I, Multi Variable Calculus, and Discrete Math at UNC Chapel Hill
  • Instructor for homeschool classes at SEEK and Providence Tutorials---Middle school math concepts, Geometry, Precalculus
  • Director and session leader for Triangle Math Teachers’ Circle

Michael Haggard, MA, PhD, In Memoriam

Beloved former Lukeion instructor of Logic and Classical Philosophy, Michael passed away June, 2020. 
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