Classics discussion thread!

ooh those courses sound cool, which platform are you doing them on, may I ask?

Ooh yay greetings fellow ancient historian!

Again more schools need to offer Classics because they are so awesome, and the whole Class Civ shenanigan is so annoying!

Also those courses sound really cool. I know that there are some really good lectures on classics and history on a website called massolit (https://www.massolit.io/) but I think you need to pay for a subsciption, though I think you can get a free 14 day trial (sorry about that- I always use the school subscription). I recently watched a set of lectures by Classicist Llewelyn Morgan on the Aeneid!

Coursera
Future Learn also has some good courses on my to-do list

Oh Coursera! I forgot about that one, I'll have a look
I've only been doing courses on EdX and Futurelearn. Which Futurelearn courses are on your to-do list?
I'm hoping to do the one on history of royal fashion and the radicalism + reform in the 19th century (last time I tried to sign up for that it didn't work )

A CLASSICAL UPDATE!
salvete omnes! χαιρετε παντες! @sakura_23 @Kitty_Kat31415 @Mesopotamian. @neko no basu (if you do not wish to be tagged/ I accidentally tagged you just let me know- no offence will be taken )

Also, seeing that we have a few non-Latinists and non-Hellenists I thought I'd explain my rather strange greeting...

In Latin 'salve' means hello. Since it's an imperative (an 'ordering word'), if I am ordering multiple people I must add the ending 'ete,' (the case is the same in Greek, where i need to add ετε to χαιρε)
'omnes' means 'all' or 'everyone' (where you get words like 'omnivore')
χαιρε (khaire) in Greek means 'hello' or 'goodbye'
παντες (pantes) means 'all' or 'everyone' (where you get words like 'pandemic')
So yes, long story short I'm saying 'hello everyone' in Latin and Greek... didn't really need that thesis did it...

ANYWAY, moving on to my actual post, I just wanted to let you all know of a very fascinating article I read last night:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/07/women-classics-translation-female-scholars-translators

This links really well with my mention earlier of how Classics is often considered to be dominated by white, elitist males.

It's a really interesting insight into the role of rather underrepresented female translators, and how, in the past, translating Latin and Greek were ways for women to prove that they too had the same intellectual capabilities as men.
Yet many female translations would have been rather tentative and textbook-like, too afraid to really get out there and add colour and vibrance and nuance to these pieces like their male counterparts such as Alexander Pope and Robert Fagles (ngl Fagles is a brilliant translator- I've been reading his translation of the Aeneid and it's amazing!) because of their fear that they would not fit into this male-dominated sphere if they are anything out of the ordinary.
But their productions of many Greek tragedies and plays, though a way for them to fit into the male sphere again, also was a means through which they could express how they were suppressed in Victorian society through similarly suppressed female characters in literature (such as Electra).

I think it's definitely true that there really is a lack of female translators. I actually realised that I've never read a female translation of classical texts (yikes!!), so when I eventually am able to go to the library I 100% am searching for a female translation of the Iliad!

But I think in the modern day and age many women have certainly taken to approaching these original texts from a different angle and looking at the women in the story, and their emotions and lives.
Here are some examples from my reading list earlier:



I found the article really inspiring!! As a non-white, female (and most certainly not elitist haha) Classics student I think I definitely want to have a go at translating some pieces myself! I actually think that at some point during the holidays I want to try and have a go at translating the opening of the Aeneid, but with a little flair to it. (I really don't know how though haha... I mean I haven't even done my Latin GCSE yet and in lessons we always have a teacher to help us cobble together a pretty dead translation of passages, but we'll see how it goes ).
Also I am definitely asking for the article to be pinned to the Classics notice board when we get back to school haha

If you have any thoughts, then please, discuss away!!

Edit: Just remembered, if anyone else has been inspired and is interested in having a go at translating the Aeneid I was recommended these sites by my teacher

This is quite a good commentary for certain parts of the Aeneid: http://dcc.dickinson.edu/vergil-aeneid/preface

This is good for Vocab: https://d.iogen.es/web/?ver=1.003&user=stud (make sure you go to P. Vergilius Maro, not Virgil)
If you use this website I think even non-Latinists might be able to have a try at translating because it gives the definitions as well as grammar for each Latin word.

Ooh I haven't heard of EdX - I'll check that out
I've got a few Future Learn courses that interest me, but the history related ones I've got so far are:
- Hadrian's Wall - Life on the Roman Frontier
- Superpowers of the Ancient World - The near East (this one starts with Ancient Egypt but moves onto the ancient powers of the Middle East and I'm so excited to start this (because it's not as widely talked about as Greece, Rome or Egypt in comparison)!!
- Empire (this one is about the British Empire)

There's loads more on there but I'll overwhelm myself if I add them all on

EdX is pretty good I'm doing one on imperialism in the Philippines rn! Will do a review of it when I've finished
Ooh superpowers of the ancient world? I haven't seen that one yet, I'll have a look now

Empire? Is that the one by Exeter university? I've done that one it's soooo good

Yup, Exeter Uni is the one!
That's actually a good idea, we could review the online history courses we do and share them here

I was going to review them on my blog but yeah, we could discuss them here too
Noo, I haven't read any Rick Riordan, he wrote Percy Jackson right? I really want to read them though, maybe next time I go to the library...

Definitely agree with you about the school curriculum, I suppose part of the problem is having enough teachers who are willing to teach it.
I remember being introduced to the Ancient Greeks in year 5 - we got to make Greek style pottery which was so fun (although I annihilated mine ) - maybe increasing the presence of ancient history (or any history really) in primary teaching would be a good idea too to increase student interest in later years for history-related GCSEs.

Thanks for the link - I'll check it out! The course I'm doing provides links for reading material such as the well known Odyssey and Iliad but also works by other poets and writers such as Sappho and Archilochus which have survived the ages

I find learning about a different period in history almost like reading a fiction book - it kind of transports you to another world.
Since you've said you probably won't continue with classical studies any further than sixth form, do you have any ideas for what you want to do at uni or career-wise?

PRSOM!
Thanks for the translation of the greeting aha, I once decided to write down the whole Greek alphabet but aside from recognising letters and figuring out how to write my name and those of friends and family, I didn't get far in actually learning the language

Another interesting thing to point out is that a large majority of the scripts that we want to/ try to translate from ancient times are written by men - not least because poetry, law making and pretty much everything else was dominated by men (indeed the Ancient Greek definition of citizen was "native-born, free, adult, male") - but you might be interested in Sappho who has been identified as an ancient Greek female writer of her time. This link has some of her works https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Sappho.php

P.S. I'm definitely geeking out too much on this thread

Oohh tag me in your blog review!
Yes he did There's the Percy Jackson series which is all Greek focused, then the Heroes of Olympus series which introduces and mixes in the Romans too. After that there's the Trials of Apollo which is also Greek and Roman but a little different to the other two: where those ones are based on the adventures and battles of demigods (children of the Gods), the TOA is focused on Apollo himself after being punished by Zeus and being stripped of his immortality (series is unfinished as of yet). There's also two separate stand alone books The Greek Gods and the Greek Heroes which is written from Percy's POV but is more about explaining Greek mythology but in a reader friendly way.

He also has an ancient Egyptian series - the Kane Chronicles, and the Magnus Chase series is about Norse mythology. I would definitely recommend giving them a read!

I think I'm the only greek mythology enthusiast in my year who hasn't read percy jackson...

GREETINGS ALL! salvete! χαιρετε!
@Mesopotamian. @neko no basu @Kitty_Kat31415 @sakura_23 (lmk if you don't wished to be tagged- no worries!)

I realise that it has been an eternity since I sent something on here (4 weeks to be exact)- sorry about that! I'm not the most dedicated TSR user, but it's definitely fun to hang about here every now and again during covid blues...

Anyway, moving onto my main post, it's been a while and I have A LOT to say!

ARTWORK
First things first, I actually finished that piece of artwork that I was planning on doing on the sack of Troy. Here is the finished product:



It was really fun to work on since I don't really tend to do abstract pieces, but I actually enjoyed it and it certainly gave me space to explore how the horrors of the Trojan War still apply to a more modern context (with the newspaper cuttings).

FILMS


I also watch Gladiator (yup finally!). I must admit I was a little disappointed because I thought the film was about Commodus himself, a Roman emperor who shockingly fought as a gladiator, but instead it was about a fictional soldier called Maximus who was condemned to life as a gladiator by Commodus. As historically inaccurate as it was, it definitely portrayed the different parts of Roman society quite well, ranging from tyrannical (and somewhat incompetent) emperors such as Commodus, to the more snobbish patricians and senators, to the struggles and solidarity of slaves like the gladiators in the movie. I found the end quite heartbreaking as well...

BOOKS


At twenty, when his reign began, Alexander the Great was already a seasoned soldier and complex, passionate man. 'Fire From Heaven' tells the story of the boy Alexander, and the years that shaped him.

I finished reading Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault, the first book of a trilogy based on the life of Alexander the Great, a few weeks ago and was truly blown away! Though a rather slow paced book, Renault fills it with gorgeous descriptions of the everyday, really immersing me in 4th Century BCE Macedonian life.

What stands out most to me is Renault's somewhat controversial take on Alexander, portraying him as a perfect and god-like hero, which many of his contemporaries would have viewed him as. I found this sort of portrayal quite unusual for a modern retelling, seeing that Alexander, like any other man, would have been flawed- many modern books that I have read based on ancient or mythological figures place great emphasis on accentuating that fact.

I also found that Alexander's character felt quite distant and un-human, a very clever projection which reflects the patchy construction that historians have of Alexander's life due to the lack of surviving evidence.

The book did take me a while to get through (a month to be precise) because it is quite heavy and a rather complex third person narrative voice is used, but it was definitely worth it!

I'm going to be posting a more detailed review on my blog and I'll let you know when I do!

I'm currently nearly two thirds of the way through Rubicon: the triumph and tragedy of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland (the classicist, not the actor!! The number of times my friends have been confused by that is honestly hilarious!), and so far it's really interesting. I'm quite new to narrative history, since I normally read historical fiction, but I've really been enjoying it. I'll let you know about how it was when I finish it.

Love the update

GREETINGS ALL! salvete! χαιρετε!
@Mesopotamian. @neko no basu @Kitty_Kat31415 @sakura_23 (lmk if you don't wished to be tagged- no worries!)

I realise that it has been an eternity since I sent something on here (4 weeks to be exact)- sorry about that! I'm not the most dedicated TSR user, but it's definitely fun to hang about here every now and again during covid blues...

Anyway, moving onto my main post, it's been a while and I have A LOT to say!

ARTWORK
First things first, I actually finished that piece of artwork that I was planning on doing on the sack of Troy. Here is the finished product:



It was really fun to work on since I don't really tend to do abstract pieces, but I actually enjoyed it and it certainly gave me space to explore how the horrors of the Trojan War still apply to a more modern context (with the newspaper cuttings).

FILMS


I also watch Gladiator (yup finally!). I must admit I was a little disappointed because I thought the film was about Commodus himself, a Roman emperor who shockingly fought as a gladiator, but instead it was about a fictional soldier called Maximus who was condemned to life as a gladiator by Commodus. As historically inaccurate as it was, it definitely portrayed the different parts of Roman society quite well, ranging from tyrannical (and somewhat incompetent) emperors such as Commodus, to the more snobbish patricians and senators, to the struggles and solidarity of slaves like the gladiators in the movie. I found the end quite heartbreaking as well...

BOOKS


At twenty, when his reign began, Alexander the Great was already a seasoned soldier and complex, passionate man. 'Fire From Heaven' tells the story of the boy Alexander, and the years that shaped him.

I finished reading Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault, the first book of a trilogy based on the life of Alexander the Great, a few weeks ago and was truly blown away! Though a rather slow paced book, Renault fills it with gorgeous descriptions of the everyday, really immersing me in 4th Century BCE Macedonian life.

What stands out most to me is Renault's somewhat controversial take on Alexander, portraying him as a perfect and god-like hero, which many of his contemporaries would have viewed him as. I found this sort of portrayal quite unusual for a modern retelling, seeing that Alexander, like any other man, would have been flawed- many modern books that I have read based on ancient or mythological figures place great emphasis on accentuating that fact.

I also found that Alexander's character felt quite distant and un-human, a very clever projection which reflects the patchy construction that historians have of Alexander's life due to the lack of surviving evidence.

The book did take me a while to get through (a month to be precise) because it is quite heavy and a rather complex third person narrative voice is used, but it was definitely worth it!

I'm going to be posting a more detailed review on my blog and I'll let you know when I do!

I'm currently nearly two thirds of the way through Rubicon: the triumph and tragedy of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland (the classicist, not the actor!! The number of times my friends have been confused by that is honestly hilarious!), and so far it's really interesting. I'm quite new to narrative history, since I normally read historical fiction, but I've really been enjoying it. I'll let you know about how it was when I finish it.

Wow the finished artwork looks amazing!

GREETINGS ALL! salvete! χαιρετε!
@Mesopotamian. @neko no basu @Kitty_Kat31415 @sakura_23 (lmk if you don't wished to be tagged- no worries!)

I realise that it has been an eternity since I sent something on here (4 weeks to be exact)- sorry about that! I'm not the most dedicated TSR user, but it's definitely fun to hang about here every now and again during covid blues...

Anyway, moving onto my main post, it's been a while and I have A LOT to say!

ARTWORK
First things first, I actually finished that piece of artwork that I was planning on doing on the sack of Troy. Here is the finished product:



It was really fun to work on since I don't really tend to do abstract pieces, but I actually enjoyed it and it certainly gave me space to explore how the horrors of the Trojan War still apply to a more modern context (with the newspaper cuttings).

FILMS


I also watch Gladiator (yup finally!). I must admit I was a little disappointed because I thought the film was about Commodus himself, a Roman emperor who shockingly fought as a gladiator, but instead it was about a fictional soldier called Maximus who was condemned to life as a gladiator by Commodus. As historically inaccurate as it was, it definitely portrayed the different parts of Roman society quite well, ranging from tyrannical (and somewhat incompetent) emperors such as Commodus, to the more snobbish patricians and senators, to the struggles and solidarity of slaves like the gladiators in the movie. I found the end quite heartbreaking as well...

BOOKS


At twenty, when his reign began, Alexander the Great was already a seasoned soldier and complex, passionate man. 'Fire From Heaven' tells the story of the boy Alexander, and the years that shaped him.

I finished reading Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault, the first book of a trilogy based on the life of Alexander the Great, a few weeks ago and was truly blown away! Though a rather slow paced book, Renault fills it with gorgeous descriptions of the everyday, really immersing me in 4th Century BCE Macedonian life.

What stands out most to me is Renault's somewhat controversial take on Alexander, portraying him as a perfect and god-like hero, which many of his contemporaries would have viewed him as. I found this sort of portrayal quite unusual for a modern retelling, seeing that Alexander, like any other man, would have been flawed- many modern books that I have read based on ancient or mythological figures place great emphasis on accentuating that fact.

I also found that Alexander's character felt quite distant and un-human, a very clever projection which reflects the patchy construction that historians have of Alexander's life due to the lack of surviving evidence.

The book did take me a while to get through (a month to be precise) because it is quite heavy and a rather complex third person narrative voice is used, but it was definitely worth it!

I'm going to be posting a more detailed review on my blog and I'll let you know when I do!

I'm currently nearly two thirds of the way through Rubicon: the triumph and tragedy of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland (the classicist, not the actor!! The number of times my friends have been confused by that is honestly hilarious!), and so far it's really interesting. I'm quite new to narrative history, since I normally read historical fiction, but I've really been enjoying it. I'll let you know about how it was when I finish it.

Wow your art looks amazing! Love the update

Thank you so much! Should I add you to my tag list for my (sadly rather infrequent) updates? Don't worry if you're not interested, I know notifications can be annoying...

Yes please! I'm watching the thread anyway lol but that would help me keep track