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When Classics and Theology were the same subject
Classicists are usually vaguely aware that the study of ancient literature is a very, very old field of research, and that it used to be merged with the study and exposition of Christian theology. It is rare, however, for a Classicist to actually come up against past scholarship and see firsthand what kind of work…
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The five strangest deaths of the philosophers
The greatest philosophers of the ancient world were celebrated not just for their voluminous writings on arcane topics, but also for their eccentric lives and witty sayings. They were geniuses, and yet were also remembered as charismatic oddballs. Perhaps, then, it’s not surprising that there were so many bizarre tales about the means of their…
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Ciceronian Disputations
What’s this? A creative piece, you say? You’re spot on. This is a dialogue between Cicero and my supervisor at uni, Assoc. Prof. Parshia Lee-Stecum. I originally wrote it for Orpheus, the publication of MUCLASS (Melbourne University Classics and Archaeology Students Society). I was a little worried that my supervisor might not like it… Cicero…
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When Classics students talk with Theology students
Theology students have it harder in other areas, but not in learning Greek. While I’m struggling through Plato and Herodotus, they’re generally translating shorter, more straightforward sentences. The nerve of them! Don’t they have to deal with bizarre verb forms, multiple dependent clauses, and the general uppitiness of the writers? Instead, they’re translating the stuff…
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Real men wear moisturiser
Dear modern society, Men should be allowed to rub skin cream into their skin. Deal with it. The message I’m writing really should not need any historical precedent. For one thing, we accept that men and women both have teeth, and not only is it permissible for both men and women to brush their teeth,…
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Another Latin word for kill
While I was translating some unseen Latin passages with my high school tutoring student, lo and behold, we came across another word for kill which I hadn’t yet collected! This word is: cōnficiō, cōnficere, cōnfēcī, cōnfectum (con [with] + facere [make]) to make, effect, complete, accomplish; to wear out, consume, destroy; thus, to put an…
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Greek words for love, in context
A while ago, I tallied up the Latin words for kill. Today I’m doing something different: I’ll be studying the Greek words for love. Can I hear an “aww” from the audience? Or… was that a sigh of impatience? Because to be honest, I’m tired of people talking about the Greek words for love. It’s…
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Romans paint better perspective than Renaissance artists
Visitors who see this fresco at the Met museum are often amazed at what seems to be a pre-Renaissance understanding of perspective. One visitor wrote that this “looks like an entire city–perspectivally rendered! The Middle Ages lost those lessons on perspective for sure.” The statement picks up on a very common triumphalist attitude towards perspective.…
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How to beg for mercy in Latin
What do you do when you have committed a sacrilege, when the Emperor has overheard your snide remark,[1] when you handed in your essay late, or you forgot to attend a meeting with your superior? You may have offended a higher power, who would rightly chastise you for your misdeeds. You must now avail yourself…
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What would happen if Vesuvius erupted again?
Here’s the deal. Vesuvius has erupted dozens of times since its last massive eruption in AD 79. But news reporters and documentaries, the most easily consumable sources of expert advice (that phrase badly needs inverted commas), tell me the volcano is overdue for another catastrophic eruption.[1] I haven’t got a background in the earth sciences,…
Found in Antiquity:
Learner-friendly Latin and Ancient Greek
The Lover’s Curse: a Tiered Reader of Aeneid 4
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Found in Antiquity 