Advice to a student of Classics by William Lawrence

English Language studying French, Italian, Portuguese, Classics Interviews: ancient Romanian and Spanish. Greek English is descended from Anglo-Saxon from the invasions of the fifth century Politics You may be asked why schools still study AD but some 60% of its vocabulary is ancient Greek since the language is no derived from Greek and Latin. Study Athens introduced the concept of longer spoken. Here are a few ideas: Greek and you can quickly see the Greek democracy to the world and its system of roots of words which you use every day; direct democracy is still practised in some The School Timetable so Greek increases your English form at cantonal level in Switzerland. The vocabulary and helps with spelling too. works of Herodotus (The Histories), Look at the secondary school timetable Thucydides (The Peloponnesian War), Plato and you will see that almost all the English Literature; European Art and Music (The Republic) and Aristotle (The Politics; The subjects are ancient Greek words; so the Constitution of the Athenians) allow students Greeks studied these ideas first and are Greek and Latin literature provide two of of politics to study different systems of worth studying for their ideas in their the great sources for English Literature, government in their earliest forms. own language (just like the Romans in European Art and Music. Milton wanted Latin!). to emulate Homer and Virgil with his Art and Architecture (Public Buildings and Greek: Biology, Physics, Zoology, great epics Paradise Lost and Paradise Statues) Philosophy, Mathematics, Economics, Regained. Painters were inspired by Greek Politics, Music, Drama, Geography, Mythology to create great works of art Think of the great public buildings History, Technology, Theatre Studies. and composers great works of music: modelled on Greek or Roman Latin: Greek, Latin, Art, Science, Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadne; Gluck’s Orfeo architecture: the British Museum with its Information (Latin) Technology (Greek), ed Euridice. classical temple front (Ionic columns and Computer Science, Media Studies. pediment); the National Gallery (with its Oriental Languages; Romance Languages temple front and Corinthian/Composite Greek Literature columns); the Tate Britain Gallery (with Greek and Latin provide a superb training its temple front and Corinthian/ Some of the finest world literature is for tackling oriental languages (such as Composite columns); the National written in Greek and has survived over Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean). Theatre’s Olivier Theatre recalling an many centuries before the advent of Although there is no linguistic connection ancient Greek theatre, as well as many of printing because educators of every age in terms of vocabulary etc, Greek and the municipal buildings in the Midlands, have understood the educational value of Latin enable a student to engage with the the North of England, Scotland and these great works (such as Homer for epic principles of an oriental language very Wales. Think of public statues inspired by poetry; Aeschylus, Sophocles and quickly and to spot similarities in the way Greece and Rome (Achilles in Hyde Park); Euripides for tragedy; Aristophanes for such a language works. Boudicca (Boadicaea) and her daughters comedy; Herodotus and Thucydides for Latin, of course, is the basis of the on Westminster Bridge opposite the history; Plato and Aristotle for Romance Languages (Romanus = Roman) Houses of Parliament; Britannia (inspired philosophy). and provides an excellent training for by Athena – goddess of wisdom and war;

The Journal of Classics Teaching 18 (36) p.15-16 © The Classical Association 2017. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits Downloaded non-commercialfrom https://www.cambridge.org/core re-use, distribution,. IP andaddress: reproduction 170.106.202.8 in any, on medium,02 Oct 2021 provided at 06:56:42 the, originalsubject to work the Cambridge is unaltered Core and terms is properly of use, available cited. The at written 15 https://www.cambridge.org/core/termspermission of Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631017000162 University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work. Poseidon – god of the sea; and perhaps printing because educators of every age (Chancellor of the Open University Boudicca herself) on public buildings have understood the educational value of and digital entrepreneur); Baroness (especially in London). these great works (such as Virgil’s Aeneid Susan Greenfield (neuroscientist); – the story of Trojan Aeneas’ journey to Tom Hiddleston (actor); Boris The Olympic Games found a new city in Italy which eventually Johnson (politician and author); became Rome). Martha Kearney (BBC Radio and TV The modern Olympics had their origin in presenter); Chris Martin (lead singer Ancient Greece with foot races, long English Language Coldplay); Nick Owen (Chairman jump, javelin, boxing, wrestling and Luton Town FC and TV presenter); J equestrian events still part of the modern English is descended from Anglo-Saxon K Rowling (author Harry Potter series). (and ancient) Olympics. from the invasions of the fifth century AD but some 60% of its vocabulary is Your own ideas: Think up your own derived from Latin and Greek. Study examples. Latin and you can quickly see the Latin Classics Interviews: Latin roots of words which you use every day; Further questions to consider for a Classics so Latin increases your English interview or a general interview You may be asked why schools still study vocabulary and helps with spelling too. Latin since the language is no longer Why study Classics? Why do you Romance Languages spoken. Here are a few ideas: want to study Classics? Tell me about an x which has Latin is the basis of the Romance Roman Britain inspired you and why: Languages (Romanus = Roman). If you a book learn Latin, you will find it easier to study The Romans governed Britain for 350 a piece of music French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, years (AD 43 – AD 410) so they had a a painting/photograph and Spanish. You will also find it helpful huge impact on our way of life. The a museum in tackling so-called harder languages such Romans brought town planning, roads, an art gallery as Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. grand public buildings (public (heated) an art/museum exhibition a building (architecture) baths, theatres, amphitheatres, public Employment prospects latrines and sanitation), Roman law and a play a concert the discipline of the Roman army. The Employment prospects are very good as a film Romans spoke Latin; so all these aspects employers recognise that Greek, Latin, travel to some historical/cultural site of their civilisation were expressed in Ancient History and Classical Studies are (UK or abroad). Latin which has been taught in this challenging subjects which require serious (You do not need to have done all country for 2000 years. British chiefs were thought. Here are some examples of these things but think through what you keen to get their sons to learn Latin for distinguished people from recent times have done. You’ll probably find that you obvious reasons. who studied classical subjects and went have a lot you can talk about). Before the Romans the British tribes on to pursue very different careers: had lived in a much less organised way; so many of them recognised the benefits of (i) 20th Century examples: Mike Brearley William Lawrence taught Classics a superior civilisation. Remember, too, (England cricket captain); Sir Anthony at Highgate School and New that 350 years is a very long period of Cleaver (Chairman of the UK Atomic College School, Oxford. He now time. If you go back 350 years from 2000 Energy Authority); Colin Dexter gives illustrated classical talks to AD, you reach 1650 (Charles I was (author); Sir Nicholas Goodison schools and can be contacted on executed in 1649!); so you can see how (Chairman of the London Stock [email protected] much influence the Romans had on our Exchange); Tony Harrison (playwright way of life (for example, any towns and poet); Sir Anthony Leggett (Nobel ending in –caster, -cester,- chester derive from Prize in Physics); Sir Jeremy Morse the Latin word castra – a Roman military (Chairman of Lloyds Bank); Ruth camp because the towns developed from Padel (poet and academic); Dame the original Roman military settlement). Stella Rimington (Director of MI5 and author); Sir Peter Stothard (editor of Roman Literature The Times).

Some of the finest world literature is (ii) 21st Century examples: Jonathan Evans written in Latin and has survived over (Director-General of the British many centuries before the advent of Security Services); Martha Lane-Fox

Downloaded16 from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.8, on 02 AdviceOct 2021 to at a student06:56:42 of, subject Classics to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631017000162