χαίρετε, ὦ μαθηταί! Greetings, o students!
We may call ourselves the Gubernatoris Latina Academia Virginiae, but Latin won't be the only language you see in Ashland. Get ready to dive in to Ancient Greek! Following the examples of great Romans such as Cicero, Vergil, Augustus, and Marcus Aurelius, together we will learn to read and love the language of the Ancient Greeks! The alphabet will be our first step to master: it may seem like a daunting hurdle, but I assure you that after our first day you’ll be reading Greek words like a pro - and you might have a new alphabet song stuck in your head. Our exploration will then blossom into nouns, verbs, adjectives, and the like. We will aim to read sentences and short stories - and even write some Greek ourselves! The name of our Ancient Greek course, ἔπε᾽ ἄγαν ("words in excess"), is a play on our theme for Academy: μηδὲν ἄγαν ("nothing in excess"). The vocabulary of Ancient Greek is broad, and the forms are numerous. (Need I mention that Greek has not six, but SEVEN tenses? And THREE voices?) But we only have three weeks together, so we'll choose to focus on a sliver of all the Greek there is to learn. After all, even though Greek has words in excess, we must stay true to our theme and have nothing in excess! But our title ἔπε᾽ ᾽άγαν will have another meaning for us. The Greeks used the word ἔπος to refer to both a "word" that you speak and a literary genre: epic poetry. And in the spirit of epic poetry, we will embark upon reading some of Homer's Iliad in the original Greek. As much fun as conjugations and declensions might be, I find that the most rewarding part of learning a language is to read from real authors! This may all sound like a lot, but in the end you will find you have a greater familiarity with Ancient Greek. Ultimately our experience will bring new meaning to the phrase “It’s all Greek to me!” - Magister Jefferson
0 Comments
Jealousy, betrayal, revenge, murder, cannibalism, the struggle for power. These are some of the themes in the ancient drama Thyestes by Seneca the Younger, which we will be reading together this summer. If you like Game of Thrones, you’ll like this play, which is about the contentious relationship between brothers, Atreus and Thyestes.
They are part of the legendary House of Atreus, which you may have learned about in your Latin class. The family is cursed when Tantalus tries to feed his son, Pelops, to the gods. Pelops is the father of our characters, whose crimes we will return to in a moment. Atreus is the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the leaders of the Greeks in the Trojan War. You will learn about Agamemnon’s terrible deeds in Princeps’ class this summer. The curse ends when Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, murders his mother, Clytemnestra, because she murdered Agamemnon. Confused? Yeah, the family’s pretty complicated. It’s complicated between Atreus and Thyestes, too. Thyestes was having an affair with Atreus’ wife and used her to take the throne of Mycenae. Atreus, betrayed and full of rage, took the throne back and banished his brother. It is at this point that our play begins. Atreus feels the need for more vengeance, so he comes up with an evil plan. On the pretense of reconciliation, he invites Thyestes and his sons back to Mycenae. He then commits what Seneca calls both nefas and scelus: he murders his nephews, turns them into stew, and tricks Thyestes into eating them. Seems excessive, right? That’s one of the many things Seneca wanted out of this play. Seneca was an advisor to the (infamous) emperor, Nero, as well as a Stoic philosopher. Stoicism focuses on controlling one’s emotions, which Nero struggled with and the character Atreus does, too. Though this is an oversimplification of the brilliance of Thyestes, it can be viewed as a cautionary tale about the consequences of giving into emotion. Seneca’s philosophical works include De Ira, De Brevitate Vitae, and De Clementia. I would like for us to look at the philosophical themes of Seneca’s tragedy, which is why I titled this class De Scelere. Get ready for some dark, gruesome, and thought-provoking reading. If you’re interested in doing some reading before Academy begins, I recommend any of Seneca’s tragedies (particularly Troades and Medea). It might also be helpful for you to read up on the House of Atreus if you do not have much background in mythology. Seneca had a fascinating life, so you might also be interested in reading about him. I look forward to meeting you in a few weeks! -Magistra Carroll As Magister Gallagher mentioned, Latin was and is a spoken language. For centuries millions of people spoke Latin while only a small percentage could read and write at the level you have already reached. Furthermore, Latin was exclusively a spoken language for centuries before anyone could read or write it.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. That quote gets thrown around so frequently that it perhaps has lost some of its meaning. What was it that the Romans did? Please vote on your smartphones now! Our Romans friends spoke Latin, obviously, and so will you!
I'm Magister Gallagher, and I'll be teaching the spoken Latin course this summer. I've decided to call it Latina Loquenda! Latin must be spoken! Every Roman from pleb to patrician spoke Latin on a daily basis, and I'm confidant that by the end of Latin Academy, you will be able to as well. While spoken Latin is rarely emphasized in the high school classroom, we embrace it at Latin Academy. No previous spoken Latin experience is necessary, and I'll teach you everything you need to know from square one! While the class will begin with simple phrases and basic greetings, by the end of the course, you will be able to communicate in Latin for a prolonged period of time. I don't want to spoil some of the surprises that are to come quite yet, but I will say that Latin Academy has multiple full-immersion activities where everyone will be speaking Latin and only Latin! Well, occassionally, some Greek might slip out, but I suppose that's fine too... Prepare to use Latin in some unique and unusual ways! Soon you'll be asking questions like, "Quomodo dicitur hot dog?" -Phil Gallagher Spoken Latin teacher and total nerd The MMXVI Governor's Latin Academy Staff met on April 16, 2016 in beautiful Ashland, Virginia. We decided on a theme, a t-shirt design, class names, provinces, field trips, guest speakers, and to keep the timeline of the Antonine Emperors pictured in the header. Some of the staff traveled from Georgia and Colorado and others joined us virtually. As always, thanks to RMC and Professor Natoli for their hospitality and help! This academy is shaping up to be awesome already! As you prepare for academy, please use the resources on the sidebar to the right. There are links on how to make Roman garb, contact information, checklists for packing, suggested books list, and my twitter feed on updates in the classical world. And as you prepare, please do not hesitate to email or call me with any questions or concerns. Finally, please adhere to the deadlines for forms. The information in them is very important to structuring the academy. A calendar is located in the links above with relevant dates. I hope you are as excited as I am to convene the MMXVI Governor's Latin Academy! Remember, "NIHIL NIMIS/ΜΗΔΕΝ ΑΓΑΝ." -Jacquelyn Wilkins Princeps, GLA MMXVI |
Salvete Omnes!This blog will document the MMXVI session of the Virginia Governor's Latin Academy. After elections are held, the aediles will be responsible for its upkeep. Contact Us GLA Checklists
Download these and use them to help with packing: GLA Clothing Checklist GLA Essentials Checklist GLA School Supplies & Optional Checklist Suggested Texts-
NOT REQUIRED Again, these are not required and I would only get one from each category, if any. Latin Lexicons a. Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency b. Cassell's Concise Latin-English, English-Latin Dictionary c. Collins Latin Concise Dictionary Greek Texts/Lexicons a. Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners b. Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon Abridged c. Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary Translation Texts a. Iliad b. Thyestes Daily Life Books a. Everyday Life in Ancient Rome b. Peoples of the Roman World c. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome d. Daily Life in the Roman City Vestes Romanae
You will need Roman clothing for several of our activities. You might not always have much time between these events, so you might want to bring more than one outfit. Patterns An Overview I & II Roman Dress Simple Tunica, Stola, and Palla Patterns Legio XX's Civilian Clothing Another Simple Dress Pattern Greek Patterns Simple Tunic and Toga Patterns Peplos Pattern Legio XX's Military Clothing Officers of the Academy
Consules: Mitch and Graham Censores: Liz and Blake Praetores: Bryant and Elizabeth Ne Aediles: Kathryn and Anshu Tribunes: Kirby Ann and Will Quaestores: Analise and Ben G |