Edited by Philip A. Stadter (NHC Fellow, 1989–90) These essays, by experts in the field from five countries, examine Plutarch's interpretative and artistic reshaping of his historical sources in representative lives. Diverse essays treat literary elements such as the parallelism which renders a pair of lives a unit or the themes which unify the lives. … Continued
Edited by Stephen Salkever (NHC Fellow, 2007–08) The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Political Thought provides a guide to understanding the central texts and problems in ancient Greek political thought, from Homer through the Stoics and Epicureans. Composed of essays specially commissioned for this volume and written by leading scholars of classics, political science, and … Continued
Roman daily life deepens our understanding of the ancient Roman world as it was experienced by most of its inhabitants. Our students are excited by social history. They are drawn to understand the everyday activities and interests of ordinary people. In this webinar, we will focus on 3 topics of daily life that are among … Continued
All things change, say philosophers, but sometimes they change more dramatically than we’re ready for. Ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian writers developed a number of practical strategies for coping with sudden illness, loss, and death. In this webinar, we will explore two: the consolation, which looks to the future, and the thanksgiving, which looks … Continued
As a teacher of classical mythology, Poliakoff explains that the challenge he presents to his students—and that myths present to contemporary readers—is to understand how such ancient stories transcend their particular contexts to embody universal lessons which can be translated across cultures and history. By using classical mythology both to understand our origins and to … Continued
A single question changed the course of my life. When I first began studying Latin in 1996, it was a dead language, no doubt about it. It was pointless to try to speak it; everyone agreed the grammar was just too hard. Legend had it, though, that a single man—a priest, somewhere in Rome, Italy—could … Continued
While taking Latin in high school, I became fascinated by the story of the Trojan War. I loved the interconnected perspectives of soldiers, royalty, deities, and ordinary people. The family trees and catalogues of soldiers seemed endless, and I was thrilled to discover that each individual inspired stories, plays, and art. As I began to … Continued
Carol Quillen describes how, growing up, her initial insights and perceptions came from what she calls promiscuous reading — reading anything and everything and then finding connections among these very different texts. She consumed Augustine’s Confessions, in the original Latin, which captures and conveys meaning differently than English and enabled her both to grasp and … Continued
I started learning Latin in seventh grade because I decided it was the most difficult course I could take, and I had something to prove. I was an economically disadvantaged student in a wealthy private school, and all of my classmates knew it. I would never live in their mansions, or wear their expensive clothes, … Continued
About seven months ago, our son was in a tragic ski accident, and was in a coma for close to a month. And during that really painful time, we didn’t know what was going to happen. Was he ever going to wake up? Was he not going to wake up? I, myself, couldn’t sleep and … Continued