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Tag Archives: Classics
Getting My Hands Dirtier Than Expected
Getting My Hands Dirtier Than Expected
By Jeanna Cook, Classics Faculty
{Figure 1: Trench 1, 2014 Excavation Season at Binchester (Vinovium), Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK}
“What will your students think when you tell them that you spent the summer in the toilet!” Quivering with hoarse laughter, Tony slapped his knee and grinned from underneath the visor of his white construction worker’s helmet. He posed, one foot planted up against the trench wall, one hand on his hip. In his other hand he gingerly twirled his “specialty tool,” the head of an archaeological pick superimposed on the longer handle of a garden tool. He and a fellow volunteer archaeologist at Binchester had designed this tool in the off-season, the perfect instrument for this dirty job.
Please Comment–Should Byblis Be Pitied, Condemned, or Both?
By Allegra Forbes, V Form
Please Comment–Should Byblis Be Pitied, Condemned, or Both?
Click Here for Allegra’s Ovid Website!
This past month the Latin III H class read and translated various chapters from Ovid’s narrative poem Metamorphoses, in which the author gives subtle social commentary on Roman politics and morals through his adaptations of metamorphosis myths from the Hellenistic tradition. As a final project for the unit, I created this website to display my work on the myth of Byblis, the tragic tale of a river nymph consumed with lust for her twin brother Caunus. When I finished my first draft of the translation I was still torn as to whether tormented Byblis should be pitied or condemned (or perhaps both?), so I added a survey page to the website so that others can contribute their opinions on the matter.
Please comment! I would love to publish a compilation of different people’s answers. (more…)
Self Obligation, Patriotic Obligation, or Family Obligation? I’m with Antigone
By Abby Peloquin, IV Form
Self Obligation, Patriotic Obligation, or Family Obligation? I’m with Antigone
Throughout Antigone, the question of what is most important in the lives of the characters varies greatly. Creon professes his deepest devotion to his country through his actions concerning Polynices and Antigone; Antigone, on the other hand, remains steadfast in her beliefs in family as she sacrifices her life and marriage for the sake of burying her brother. I mirror the meritorious attitude of Antigone – my family, more than any material or human law–is the most essential part of my life. They are the basis of my existence, the platform upon which I draw myself together and carry on my journey of life, and the arms that hold me and guide me through the turmoil set before me. (more…)
One Student, Two Artifacts of Education
EDITOR’S NOTE: Students do not “specialize.” Students take five or six courses simultaneously and are expected to perform at a high level across the curriculum. This LEO post includes two artifacts of work–one from a Latin III Honors course and one from an American Literature course–by Becca Shea, a V Former. This is simply a microcosm that evinces the impressive ability of a student to multi-task academically, which happens in educational realms every day.
By Becca Shea, V Form
Epicurean Somnium Scipionis (Latin III)
The aristocrat class of Rome divided into two philosophical factions known as Stoicism and Epicureanism. Somnium Scipionis is a story based off of the ideals of Stoics, thus if written from the perspective of an Epicurean, many details would be altered. Unlike Stoics, Epicureans did not believe in a heaven after life. Somnium Scipionis is a story of a man visiting his grandfather in heaven in a dream, so the start of the story must be altered slightly. Also dissimilar to Stoic beliefs, Epicureans did not believe the soul lived on: the soul, which was made up of composite atoms, died with the body. However, they did not fear death itself either. (more…)
The Pillars of Herakles: At the Bridge Between Europe and Africa
By Stephen Hebert, Religion Faculty
For his tenth labor, the lion-skin-wearing, club-wielding, Greek hero Herakles fetches a bunch of cattle belonging to Geryon, a monster living on an island beyond the far western end of the Mediterranean. Geryon is a fearsome creature, so fearsome that centuries later, Dante Alighieri will depict him in the Inferno as a flying manticore who embodies fraud. In order to reach this great mythical beast, Herakles must go beyond the edge of the known world, past where “Europe meets Libya,” in the words of Apollodorus. To get there, Herakles splits a mountain in two, creating a strait between Europe and Africa now known as the Strait of (more…)
The Epic Hero: An Analysis of the Shields of Achilles and Aeneas in Comparison to Hesiod’s “Shield of Heracles”
By Matthew Flathers, VI Form
While the pseudo-Hesiodic Shield of Heracles is largely considered to be a poorly composed piece of poetry, criticized and deemed inauthentic by other antiquated authors[1], it is through its mimicry and plagiarism that it is able to provide valuable insight into Greek, and later Roman, heroism. This short, 450-lined recounting of the contest between Heracles and Cycnus is, as the title suggests, an ekphrastic work about the shield that Heracles bore in the fight. However, seeing as the poem is not particularly well written or unique, the focus of the work lies entirely in the description of the shield itself as opposed to the quality of the imagery used. While large portions of the text are paraphrased and even directly quoted sections of Homer’s Iliad,[2] other sections are indeed original
Rome Cannot Be Built In a Day, But It Can Be in a Double Period
By Claire Seidler, VI Form
This past semester I began as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Harwood’s Latin II Class. I am interested in both Classics and teaching, so this independent study seemed perfect for me. As this semester has gone by, however, I have found that this independent study is more challenging than I had thought.
Teachers are under constant criticism from their students. It was easy when I was the critic, but I have found a deeper appreciation for teachers having gone through it myself. Since I am only a few years (more…)
Getting My Hands Dirty Again
By Jeanna Cook, Classics Faculty
This summer, I will fulfill a promise that I made to myself eight years ago. In the summer of 2006, I spent a
season excavating at the site of a first-century Roman farmhouse outside of Lucca, Italy. I loved every moment of that summer, and upon the conclusion of the excavation, I promised myself that once I completed my undergraduate studies, found a job, saved some money, and earned my graduate degree, I would go back to digging. This summer, I am returning to the field, the archaeological field, that is. (more…)
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