Classics BA Personal Statement - I know Latin but not Ancient History!

hi! i have an offer for cambridge classics undergrad and my interest largely leans towards literature rather than history but i can try to help!

remember since classics is interdisciplinary and has sooo many elements you dont have to know everything, so find what interests you most!

personally i havent even read many books, but i love listening to podcasts! there are so many on spotify, and i find natalie haynes super easy going and interesting to listen to with a great range of topics! other recommendations i have are 'lets talk about myths, baby' (obviously about myths, not history, but ive been listening for years) and the History of Rome podcast (quite monotonous but has a complete history of rome to get an understanding)

if you enjoyed the set texts for latin (which ones did you do?? i do virgil for both verse, then cicero and tacitus ) ) and want to look at more literature, then branching off from those authors in whatever direction interests you is also a good starting place, or even reading some of the other set texts from different years. for example, i read some of Virgil's georgics since i really like the natural descriptions in the Aeneid.

If you haven't read the iliad or aeneid and think they could interest you, then go for it! they're honestly great books. i mean to read emily wilson's translation of the odyssey this summer too
if you don't feel like reading them, alternatively could explore retellings such as silence of the girls and a thousand ships, or madeline millers books.

check out this list too!
https://ellesthetics.wordpress.com/2020/06/12/7-must-reads-for-budding-classicists/
like i said ive barely had any time to actually sit down and read lol, but ive read some of the roman revolution and it seems good (warning though, its LONG, 524 pages)! augustan rome is a more manageable 137 pages. the greeks and romans in 10 chapters by nigel spivey is also an amazing introduction to an overview, plus the cover is beautiful enough to buy it for that alone haha. honestly any book from this list will be an amazing read.

also you could visit any sites or museums near you, even galleries, as seeing artifacts and sites in person is equally valuable! the only (social) history i mentioned on my personal statement were the findings at vindolanda, with small every day items of jewellery and dice etc

the beauty of classics is how you can find anything that interests you! dont worry about having an all-encompassing knowledge across loads of areas of classics, just find a niche which you find cool! explore with different media and eventually you'll find something which youll love

if you have any questions or wanna talk abt anything classics related ask away ) sorry for the long ramble!

hi! i have an offer for cambridge classics undergrad and my interest largely leans towards literature rather than history but i can try to help!

remember since classics is interdisciplinary and has sooo many elements you dont have to know everything, so find what interests you most!

personally i havent even read many books, but i love listening to podcasts! there are so many on spotify, and i find natalie haynes super easy going and interesting to listen to with a great range of topics! other recommendations i have are 'lets talk about myths, baby' (obviously about myths, not history, but ive been listening for years) and the History of Rome podcast (quite monotonous but has a complete history of rome to get an understanding)

if you enjoyed the set texts for latin (which ones did you do?? i do virgil for both verse, then cicero and tacitus ) ) and want to look at more literature, then branching off from those authors in whatever direction interests you is also a good starting place, or even reading some of the other set texts from different years. for example, i read some of Virgil's georgics since i really like the natural descriptions in the Aeneid.

If you haven't read the iliad or aeneid and think they could interest you, then go for it! they're honestly great books. i mean to read emily wilson's translation of the odyssey this summer too
if you don't feel like reading them, alternatively could explore retellings such as silence of the girls and a thousand ships, or madeline millers books.

check out this list too!
https://ellesthetics.wordpress.com/2020/06/12/7-must-reads-for-budding-classicists/
like i said ive barely had any time to actually sit down and read lol, but ive read some of the roman revolution and it seems good (warning though, its LONG, 524 pages)! augustan rome is a more manageable 137 pages. the greeks and romans in 10 chapters by nigel spivey is also an amazing introduction to an overview, plus the cover is beautiful enough to buy it for that alone haha. honestly any book from this list will be an amazing read.

also you could visit any sites or museums near you, even galleries, as seeing artifacts and sites in person is equally valuable! the only (social) history i mentioned on my personal statement were the findings at vindolanda, with small every day items of jewellery and dice etc

the beauty of classics is how you can find anything that interests you! dont worry about having an all-encompassing knowledge across loads of areas of classics, just find a niche which you find cool! explore with different media and eventually you'll find something which youll love

if you have any questions or wanna talk abt anything classics related ask away ) sorry for the long ramble!

omg classics at cambridge is literally my dream. which college did you apply for?

hi! i have an offer for cambridge classics undergrad and my interest largely leans towards literature rather than history but i can try to help!

remember since classics is interdisciplinary and has sooo many elements you dont have to know everything, so find what interests you most!

personally i havent even read many books, but i love listening to podcasts! there are so many on spotify, and i find natalie haynes super easy going and interesting to listen to with a great range of topics! other recommendations i have are 'lets talk about myths, baby' (obviously about myths, not history, but ive been listening for years) and the History of Rome podcast (quite monotonous but has a complete history of rome to get an understanding)

if you enjoyed the set texts for latin (which ones did you do?? i do virgil for both verse, then cicero and tacitus ) ) and want to look at more literature, then branching off from those authors in whatever direction interests you is also a good starting place, or even reading some of the other set texts from different years. for example, i read some of Virgil's georgics since i really like the natural descriptions in the Aeneid.

If you haven't read the iliad or aeneid and think they could interest you, then go for it! they're honestly great books. i mean to read emily wilson's translation of the odyssey this summer too
if you don't feel like reading them, alternatively could explore retellings such as silence of the girls and a thousand ships, or madeline millers books.

check out this list too!
https://ellesthetics.wordpress.com/2020/06/12/7-must-reads-for-budding-classicists/
like i said ive barely had any time to actually sit down and read lol, but ive read some of the roman revolution and it seems good (warning though, its LONG, 524 pages)! augustan rome is a more manageable 137 pages. the greeks and romans in 10 chapters by nigel spivey is also an amazing introduction to an overview, plus the cover is beautiful enough to buy it for that alone haha. honestly any book from this list will be an amazing read.

also you could visit any sites or museums near you, even galleries, as seeing artifacts and sites in person is equally valuable! the only (social) history i mentioned on my personal statement were the findings at vindolanda, with small every day items of jewellery and dice etc

the beauty of classics is how you can find anything that interests you! dont worry about having an all-encompassing knowledge across loads of areas of classics, just find a niche which you find cool! explore with different media and eventually you'll find something which youll love

if you have any questions or wanna talk abt anything classics related ask away ) sorry for the long ramble!

Hi!! Me again….

A couple of months later I have some sort of personal statement draft. Im pretty happy with it but recently ive been thinking that the books ive mentioned are too ‘basic’ - namely ‘The Song of Achilles’ and Mary Beard’s ‘S.P.Q.R.’ Im trying to justify it by it being more about what I say about them rather than the books themselves… Any advice?

Hello, I'm applying for Classics this year too and just finished my personal statement yesterday! I would say it's fine to mention books that you'd consider 'basic' (I talked about both the Iliad and the Aeneid in my ps!) as long as you discuss what it was you actually got from those books. So for example you could say that The Song of Achilles made you consider how war and duty affect relationships between characters. You could then follow that up by saying how this inspired you to read the Iliad in its full or led you to listen to some podcasts about the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. Hope this helps

Another thing, do you think it would be okay for me to say I’m partway through the Iliad? - that boy is big and i don’t think ill have finished it before i send off my personal statement lollll

Don't just say "I am partway through the Iliad". Even if you had finished it, simply saying "I have read the Iliad" means nothing! You want to show not tell with your PS - simply listing activities doesn't demonstrate anything.

Write specifically about it - if there is a particular book of it you have read which was interesting for you for some reason, write about that, in detail! Show them your interest in the material and hence course by discussing it analytically

Ofc i wouldnt say it like that!! - but could i discuss elements of the Iliad even though i havent read it in its entirety?

Yes of course. Just discuss what you have read!