President's Letter, Fall 2024

Andrew producing and restoring at SALVI this summer.

Andreas praeses sodalibus suis s.p.d.

This summer was wonderfully productive and restorative. I spent time with colleagues, friends new and old, and most importantly, with family. But as the weather gets colder and the leaves change their colors, I am filled with excitement for the Fall. I look forward to our annual meeting, the smaller gatherings we share as a Classics community, and working to keep ClassConn relevant.

Daniel Libatique

Our Annual meeting will be held at Yale University on November 9th starting at 8:00 AM. This year’s theme is Personal Journeys. We are fortunate to have Daniel Libatique  as our Keynote speaker to share his own personal journey in Classics. After lunch, there will be a small workshop offered by the folks in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. It will indeed be exciting. Registration information will follow soon!

If you find yourself, however, in search of sodalitas or iucunditas ahead of this event, check out the ClassConn Facebook group. We are planning more in-person, casual hangouts where you can learn from your peers or, of perhaps even greater import, find other like-minded sodales with whom you can enjoy your time away from daily cares. On September 12th, our very own Joey Meyer gathered a group in West Hartford and, though I sadly could not attend, I heard it was a wonderful time. Our next in-person event is already on the calendar! Vice President Kate Horsley is organizing a gathering at Rudy’s Bar in New Haven with the esteemed Nathalie Roy! This event will be held from 4:00 PM—­5:30 PM on October 10th. quo plures, eo melius! ClassConnected in Retirement is active, as well. Check out information about them here.

This all brings me to my final point: we want to know how we can better serve our Classics community in Connecticut. I mentioned in my very first letter as President (fugit inreparabile fugit, ut ait quidam Vergilius) that I have only recently become a Connecticut resident. The ClassConn community has been welcoming and invaluable. How else can we serve you? How can we grow our community? Take a moment to fill out this survey and to share your thoughts.

haec hodie habui quae dicerem! I hope that your own personal journey takes you to our forthcoming annual meeting! bene valete!

 imo ex animo,

Andrew “Andreas” Morehouse

President's Letter, Summer 2024

Andreas praeses sodalibus suis s.p.d.

Summer is finally here! I, of course, mean the metaphorical summer break that comes with the end of the school year and not the actual seasonal change as I write this, though that indeed is also around the corner. For me, summer brings with it two things: a time to rest, relax, and recharge, and a time for personal and professional development. I plan on devoting more time to the former than in previous years to keep up with the demands that I met with this school year. However, I cannot help but give myself to the latter as it makes me feel balanced and centered, reminding me of the joy I get from this field and from the many amazing folks who have so much to offer from their own experiences.

So, what am I doing this summer? I will tell you first what I wish I was doing—the American Classical League Institute in Tucson, Arizona. A healthy contingent of ClassConn folks will be in attendance and quite a few are presenting! I was not able to fit ACL Institute into my schedule this year, but it is such an enjoyable, enriching, and welcoming atmosphere where I have had great opportunities to learn, network, and see friends old and new. Are you attending or presenting at ACL this year? We’d love to hear from you all about it!

I will, however, be spending about three weeks in West Virginia to run and assist the Latin immersion weeks called Rusticationes offered by SALVI (Septentrionale Americanum Latinitatis Vivae Institutum). At these events, you spend an entire week immersed entirely in Latin. No, we do not wear togae nor lie on klinia as we engage in this; rather, we immerse ourselves in the language and the literature that spans two millennia from authors of different backgrounds, temporal, geographical, and otherwise. In my time teaching and studying Latin, I have found no better professional development. It has not only broadened my view of Latin and its literature, but also restored my zeal for learning and instruction.

habesne lac?

Beside the above, I will be producing content and classes in Latin and ancient Greek for my own endeavor, Latinitas Animi Causa. Our goal is to increase access to ancient Mediterranean languages through research-informed methods and copious amounts of fun and joy (whence the name).

Among all that, I will be spending time with my family, practicing archery, playing video games, and catching up on my year-long neglected reading. We would love to hear from you about your summer plans and other professional development you are attending! Let us know!

Imo ex animo,

Andrew “Andreas” Morehouse

President's Letter, Winter-Spring 2024

Andreas nuper praeses factus sodalibus suis s.p.d.

Over the past few years, there have been many things new for me among which is moving to Connecticut and becoming a part of ClassConn. During this time, the importance of community, professional and otherwise, has been the thing that I have felt most that I have lacked and something that ClassConn has helped me to find. I want to extend immense gratitude to Katy Reddick whose excellent example of leadership I now follow and the other members of the ClassConn board who have welcomed me, a peregrinus nuper civis Connecticutensis factus, and made me feel a part of the community that we cultivate here.

I felt that sense of community deeply at the annual meeting held at Yale this past year. It was an immense pleasure to spend time with so many passionate and erudite members of ClassConn, as well as the various members of the Yale University Classics Department who further enriched our meeting with their knowledge and sodalitas that made the event particularly joyful and instructive.

Our next professional gathering is approaching! The CANE annual meeting held at the University of New Hampshire on March 22nd and 23rd . I am again looking forward to seeing so many familiar faces and meeting more folks with whom I have not yet made acquaintance. These gatherings are personally and professionally enriching for me in a myriad of ways. At these meetings, I get the opportunity to see how so many of our colleagues in ancient studies bring these notions to their own students and listen to scholars expand my understanding of ancient texts, offering new perspectives and readings that I can in turn use in my own classroom. These boons cannot be ignored but in these professional spaces, what I find myself admiring even more is seeing everyone, joined by a similar studium for the anicent world, coming together to share their ideas, lives, and time outside of official sessions.

My highest and most important goal as president is embracing our community and expanding it even further to celebrate the ancient Mediterranean that ties so much of us to each other. I would love to see the expansion of our membership to ClassConn and use each other and our deep knowledge and wisdom to support those entering the community. We currently have a committee who is looking into how we can do that but, we also want to hear from you, our community. What do you want to see from ClassConn? We are spread throughout the state of Connecticut but this organization connects us. I have felt this connection myself and we want you to feel it too. I encourage you all to sign up for CANE so that we can strengthen further these bonds and foster love for the ancient world, not only in its ancient context, but also how we receive it and interact with it today.

haec hodie habui quae scriberem! operam interim date vos ut quam optime valeatis!

imo ex animo,

Andrew “Andreas” Morehouse

President's Letter, Fall 2023

Salvete et xairete, sodales!

Katy, visiting Connecticut’s unsung gem, The Slater Museum.

A year ago, ClassConn met for its first annual meeting since the pandemic. It was glorious to gather at Central Connecticut State University and to spend time in person with others who are engaged and passionate about the ancient world. Since then, I have been fortunate to meet with many of you on other occasions: social gatherings in West Hartford, Connecticut State Latin and Greek Day, a visit to the Slater Museum, and at the CT COLT summer book club. Our ClassConn Facebook group is also proving to be a regular acta diurna, full of information about local classical events in Connecticut. Please keep contributing!

I am so excited to announce that we will be gathering for our annual meeting this year at Yale University on October 28th. It is looking like a stellar program that will include tours of the Yale University Art Gallery after lunch. As I like to tell my students, Connecticut has the only Mithraeum in the Americas, at least to my knowledge. Please be on the lookout for registration information going live shortly. 

When we gather together as classicists, I believe we are doing something countercultural. Over the last few weeks, TikTok has informed us that men are secretly obsessed with Rome. Sarah E. Bond and Stephanie Wong wrote an insightful piece for MSNBC about the Rome most often envisioned by the general public as a Hollywood inspired, patriarchal, bro-mance, fantasy world that prioritizes war and violence over law and inclusion.  It rather reminds me of Ken’s reductionist interpretation of masculinity in the Barbie movie. By reading, writing, and sharing an expanded, source based, multilayered view of the ancient Mediterranean, we expand and sometimes dismantle other’s perceptions. It is courageous to counter fantasy with truth, and it is a courage we need to continue to muster.

Thanks for all you do to bring a more accurate view of the ancient world to the people in your lives,

ave atque vale!

Katy Reddick

President, Classical Association of Connecticut

Hysteron Proteron: A Poem by Gilbert L. Gigliotti

I didn’t know Homer

when I first met Vergil.

Our meeting was arch, mis-

placed cartfuls

(fraternal walls

             Hannibal’s herds  

             salt-strewn cities  

             Cleopatra’s asp 

             murderous Ides  

             an august son)

well before the horse.

“Duty” I recognized

but had yet to

                        acquire

that shimmering selfish

                        Achaean

Dr. Gilbert L. Gigliotti is a professor of English and Latin at Central Connecticut State University and the Immediate Past President of ClassConn.

President's Letter, Spring 2023

April 2023: Your ClassConn president, making sure things are running smoothly at the Forum Romanum.

Welcome to Spring in Connecticut! Many of our members not only attended but presented at the Classical Association of New England’s first, in-person annual meeting since 2019. For me, it felt like a homecoming; spending time with colleagues whom I have known for decades was balm for my soul. Simultaneously, I was invigorated and challenged by new and evolving ideas about what our field is and how to best support our students.

Speaking of evolving, please take note of ClassConn’s new logo! An ad hoc committee, chaired by Kevin Ballestrini and supported by Andrew Morehouse, spearheaded the effort this spring. Check it out in the masthead above.

Drew Warchut and Arlette deKoning at this year’s CT State Latin and Greek Day.

Speaking of wonderful things, save the date! This year’s ClassConn annual meeting will be hosted at Yale University on Saturday, October 28th. Although the details are still in flux, we are hoping the afternoon portion of the program will include a visit to the Yale University Art Gallery.

There is a whole summer between now and the annual meeting! What will you be up to this summer, classically speaking? Meet me in Saint Louis at the American Classical League’s Annual Institute! (Seriously—I’ll be there—let me know if you want to meet up for a meal.) Or are you CANE Summer Institute bound? Please post your classical adventures on ClassConn’s Facebook page or write up your experience for the newsletter. 

ave atque vale!

Katy Reddick

President, Classical Association of Connecticut

Kudos and gratitude to Arlette deKoning and Drew Warchut for organizing another successful Connecticut State Latin Day. The amount of work that goes into this annual event is mind-boggling. Even when the weather doesn’t cooperate, this event is a gift to our students and an opportunity to publicly celebrate the many wonderful things happening in our schools. 

Portrait of the Emperor Commodus as a Boy. One of the amazing sculptures you can see at the Yale University Art Gallery!

President's Letter, Winter 2023

What a joy it was to see so many friendly faces at the Annual Meeting this fall! Many of us have missed gathering in person over the past few years and I am so glad that we can gather again. Gil Gigliotti hosted a lovely meeting at Central Connecticut State University with a varied program that included modern reception of the ancient world, rare books from Central Connecticut’s Rare Book Collection, and a presentation by Joey Meyer on what modern art can teach us about the missing voices of the ancient world. Later in December, the ClassConn Carol Sing, graciously hosted by our 2022 Distinguished Service Award recipient Arlette de Koning, returned with seven student readers. We had a great  informal gathering of members at New Park Brewing last week and vice president, Andrew Morehouse, is in the process of scheduling an informal spoken Latin gathering. 

I want to acknowledge the leadership of Joey Meyer, Lindsey Sears, and Gil Gigliotti who shepherded ClassConn through these pandemic years. Three years ago, many of us didn’t even know what Zoom was. these amazing individuals transitioned our organization to virtual annual meetings as well as maintained the behind the scenes board meetings in a new format. Kudos also to Arlette de Koning and Drew Warchut who brought back Connecticut State Latin and Greek Day—a tremendous undertaking amidst continuing pandemic fallout. These events take far more work than those not directly involved can realize.

These last few years have left us viewing the world through new eyes. Last summer I read Starting from Scratch: The Life-Changing Lessons of Aeneas by Andrea Marcolongo which reflects on how the pandemic left us all in a unique position to see the world through the dual lens of a before moment in time  and an after. We are living in the after, as Aeneas did after Troy. Marcolongo confesses that, as a middle school student, she saw Aeneas’s travails as rather boring. Today she identifies with the metamorphosis that is required of individuals and systems as the world changes. As we move forward, may we all continue to reflect on why the ancient Mediterranean world is important to us and how to make it matter to others in our changing world.

Sincerely,

Katy Reddick

President, Classical Association of Connecticut

• Latin Speaking Meet-Up at New Park Brewing, Jan. 26 from 4-6.

• Pompeii: Sin City in CT will be showing at The Kate, Old Saybrook, on January 28th at 1 pm.

• Hadestown is performing at the Bushnell Theater, March 7-12- group pricing available.

• CANE Annual Meeting will be held March 17-18 at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, MA.

• Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color at the Metropolitan Museum of Art closes March 26th.

• Connecticut State Latin and Greek Day returns to Holiday Hill on April 27th.

• American Classical League Annual Meeting will be at Washington University in St, Louis, MO June 29-July 1.

• Do you know of other events of interest to our members? Feel free to share on our Facebook group!

The Annual Latin Carol Sing is Back!

by Dr. Gil Gigliotti

On Sunday, December 18th, at 4 PM at the Buckingham Congregational Church in Glastonbury, the Classical Association of Connecticut once again hosted its Annual Latin Carol Sing after a two-year Covid-induced hiatus.

Emceed by ClassConn board member and Glastonbury High School Latin teacher Arlette deKoning, with musical accompaniment (on both piano and organ) by Rich Prario, the hour-long event featured Latin readings, both Biblical and classical, recounting the Christmas story, as well as Latin carols and songs—with brief historical introductions for context.

Assisting Ms. de Koning in the seven lectiones were Glastonbury High School senior Hunter Lawrence; Cecilia Gigliotti, visiting from Berlin, Germany; and Gil Gigliotti, ClassConn Immediate Past President and CCSU professor of English and Latin.

After a beautiful piano postlude by Mr. Prario, the participants and audience members adjourned downstairs for a reception with cider, baked goods, fruit, and good conversation.

The audience, most of whom had not attended such an event previously, said they’d return next year for the 6th Annual Latin Carol Sing.

And so, ‘til next year, “Io Saturnalia!”

President's Letter, Fall 2022

“Don’t be shy, Pandora 
Pandora, don’t be shy 
Sister, you just can’t resist, neither can I 
And it never hurts to try 
Just admit, open it, Pandora ”

— John Wesley Harding, “Oh! Pandora” (2009) 

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Kal. Sept. MMXXII 

Salvete, amici! 

I hope this letter finds you (and yours) well, as we begin a new academic year.  

The chorus at the beginning of this post was written by a favorite singer-songwriter, Wesley Stace (a.k.a. John Wesley Harding). Mr. Stace is also a novelist (Misfortune, By George, and Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, et al.) and the librettist for the recent opera Dido’s Ghost. I open with this chorus for two reasons. First, every new school year seems to bring its own Pandora’s Box. It’s not necessarily filled with all the evils of the world, but it certainly share of obstacles and risks that we—far more often than not—must take in stride and overcome. And, as good educators always seem to do, we succumb to our curiosity! Here’s to our eternal inquisitiveness (and may our students learn from it, as well)! 

Secondly, I quoted Mr. Stace because the songwriter  will kick off our ClassConn annual meeting in a conversation about his use of the classics in his music. Specifically, he will discuss his adaptation of the Dido story for his opera.

The rest of the program promises to be equally diverse and exciting. Thomas Strunk, Associate Professor of Classics at Xavier University, will speak about liberty, death, and Cato the Younger. ClassConn’s own Joey Meyer, from Glastonbury High School, inspired by a piece from the New Britain Museum of America Art, will discuss empathy and equity in our Latin classrooms. And, finally, Erika Gilleran and Harry Schmitt, CCSU undergraduate Latin students, will share some exceptional Latin texts from the Rare Book collection at Elihu Burritt Library. 

Isabelle Peters as Dido in the 2021 production of Dido’s Ghost. Barbican Hall, London. (c) Mark Allan / Barbican

I’m also very pleased to announce that the 2022 Annual Meeting will return in-person to the Student Center at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. We shall gather on Saturday, 29 October, from 9 to 3 PM. Mark your calendars . . . and I hope you can join us! 

Until then, let me leave you with another Wes Stace lyric, from his 2014 Record Store Day release, Ovid in Exile, “Carmen et Error.” (C’mon, how could we teachers of the classics NOT love this guy?!?) 

A song and a mistake 
Carmen et error 
That's what I'm paying for 
I don't know what you heard, sir 
It was worse than a song 
Deadlier than murder 
I got it wrong 
And now perhaps I'll go mad 
Among the nomads 

Valete,

Gil 

Gilbert L. Gigliotti 

President, Classical Association of Connecticut 

Professor, Central Connecticut State University 

Artful Aspirations: Farmington Latin Students Bring the Wadsworth to Life

By Margaret Antonitis

Latin Teacher, Farmington High School, Farmington, CT

Starting with the class of 2023, students in Farmington, CT, need to complete a project-based class that meets all of the standards of the district’s “Vision of the Global Citizen.” Farmington High School initiated  a program of studies called Aspire, which stands for an Ambitious, Self-directed, Personalized, Interdisciplinary and Reflective Exhibition of learning. The goal of Aspire is to “Bring the world to the student and the student to the world.” I proposed a course entitled, “The Art, The Myth, The Museum.” I was hoping to channel students’ passion for mythology into a product that a museum could use to engage a younger audience. The proposal was approved, and I piloted the course in the fall of 2021 in cooperation with the Wadsworth Atheneum.

As a Latin teacher, I love taking a group of students to view the artwork at the Wadsworth Atheneum. It is culturally diverse but also contains pieces that represent things that we talk about in our classroom. One of my personal struggles with taking kids to any museum is engaging their attention and sparking their enthusiasm. Usually when I want to know how to make things more interesting, my students are the best resource. They are innovative and love giving their opinions. Therefore, my goal for this course was to have the students come up with ways to make a trip to the museum more engaging. 

“The Art, The Myth, The Museum ASPIRE course available to Farmington High School’s juniors and seniors brought out . . . a passion for community building, teamwork, and hands-on collaboration. Creating a functional, publicly-accessible product was not only incredibly rewarding in its completion, but in its creation.”

— Giovanni S., Student, Farmington HS

The Judgment of Paris, Johann Joachim Kaendler, Meissen Porcelain Factory, c. 1762, hard-paste porcelain - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT

We started with the essential question: “How can we make a trip to the museum more engaging for a younger audience?” We started with the Judgment of Paris. The museum has three pieces that depict this myth. During the first month of our course the students researched the myth in order to gain an understanding of what happened and how this event led to the Trojan War. The students administered a survey to our local 7th grade students which identified the  kinds of learning activities that interested them. These responses drove our brainstorming sessions for our end product..

In October, we visited the museum for the first time. The students excitedly gathered around one of the paintings we had been studying and started pointing out the attributes that identify the various gods and goddesses in the painting. Our guide, Ms. Fyfe, expressed that she wished all patrons could read the painting like the students were doing.  She thought it would be a great idea if we could create something that benefited patrons of all age levels.  We agreed, and  returned to the classroom to work on a product that would help the general public “read” a work of classically-themed art.

Our class decided to create  a guide on how to identify Greek gods and goddesses in different works of art–a skill that can be used when visiting any museum. The students used an existing table of reference created by the Wadsworth and added to it. They then took the painting “The Judgment of Paris” and wrote little blurbs identifying each figure in the painting and explaining how the attributes in the painting help distinguish the gods from each other. Using the data from the middle school survey, the students created a quiz for the painting “The Feast of the Gods.” The idea is that people would use the “Judgment of Paris” resource as a learning tool and then apply that knowledge to identify the figures in the “Feast of the Gods” painting. The students also created a survey that  put the audience in Paris’s: shoes:“Three goddesses bribed Paris in order to win his favor for the golden apple. Which of their bribes would you choose?” The poll is a fun way for people to make a personal connection with the myth and then get to see the responses of others who also take the poll.

 This class has grabbed the attention of students who love mythology and who want to share their passion for learning the stories behind these magnificent pieces of art. We are hoping that our contribution to the Wadsworth’s mobile guide will not only teach the public how to identify different deities in artwork but will also ignite a passion to learn more about mythology. You can access the resources our class created here.

“The course provided such a great opportunity to collaborate with people who were interested in the same topic and help the community at the same time! . . . By creating such a simple resource we were able to provide others with the opportunity to be able to teach themselves. The class was such an amazing experience where we were able to really have autonomy over what we did and how it impacted others.”

— Laila A., Student, Farmington HS

The Judgment of Paris, Jacques Stella, 1650, oil on canvas—Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT

For Spring 2022,  I had a new group of students. Our goal was still to increase the engagement of a younger audience at the museum, but our product was very different. Ms. Fyfe and Ms. Holchin requested a “Family Mythology Quest” that elementary-aged children could complete with their families while visiting the museum. Our class researched the myths behind nine pieces of artwork and wrote “kid-friendly” versions of each myth. They then created discussion questions and activities for each piece of artwork. Families will be able to discuss the stories behind these art pieces and make a personal connection with them. The Wadsworth Atheneum is a wonderful resource for our Latin and Greek classrooms. I strongly encourage you to check out its rich collections.

If seeing the artwork in person is not attainable for you the museum has some options for remote visits:  

Virtual Guided Tour - a 45 minute docent or educator-led experience using a slideshow and digital images on Zoom. Followed by a short period of time for questions and conversation; 

Art and Writing Program Print & Digital Curriculum Set - a combination of a digital and printed curriculum for teachers, classroom posters, and a USB of images to view on your own time. Select by grade or theme. Materials will be mailed; 

Studio Program Videos - pre-recorded 15-20 minute gallery tours and art demonstrations to view on your own time. Video will be sent as a Vimeo link.
For more information on tours, email tours@thewadsworth.org. For more information on Margaret’s course, email Margaret.

President's Letter, Spring 2022

Kal. Mai.

Salvete, Amici et Amicae!

One of my favorite movies is Goodbye, Mr. Chips (the 1939 version starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson, perhaps needless to say). And my favorite scene in that movie is when, during World War I, the Germans are bombing near the boys’ school Brookfield, but the aging schoolmaster Arthur Chipping nonetheless carries on with his Latin class—even though the students are understandably frightened and inattentive.

The ’39 film is quite faithful to James Hilton’s 1934 novella, Latin and all. It is through the Latin that we come to recognize that Chips in this particular scene is being neither devil-may-care nor unfeelingly strict in asking the boys, despite the clear and present danger, to take out their Caesars: 

It may possibly seem to you, Robertson—at this particular moment in

the world's history—umph—that the affairs of Caesar in Gaul some two

thousand years ago—are— umph—of somewhat secondary importance—

and that—umph —the irregular conjugation of the verb tollo is—umph—

even less important still. But believe me—umph—my dear Robertson—that

is not really the case.

Then, forging ahead, Chips asks if anyone is willing to construe a particular passage, “begin[ning] at the bottom line of page 40,” and the “chubby, dauntless, clever, and impudent” Maynard volunteers.  He then reads and translates:

Genus hoc erat pugnae—this was the kind of fight—quo se Germani exercuerant—

in which the Germans busied themselves.

At once Maynard gets Chips’ allusive humor:

 Oh, sir, that's good—that's really very funny indeed, sir—one of your very best—

 And immediately:

Laughing began, and Chips added: "Well—umph—you can see —now—that these

dead languages—umph—can come to life again—sometimes—eh? Eh?"

 I’ve loved this scene ever since I first saw the movie decades ago (cinematic Latin classes with actual Latin aren’t that common, surprisingly!, but the idea that a classical text could help the students confront their immediate situation—that knowledge of the past is not simply a nicety but indeed a necessary tool—has hit hard the last couple years. Will any of us (could any of us) teach references to plague in an ancient work (be it the Iliad, or Oedipus, or Thucydides or Lucretius, et alia) quite the same as we did before?  Or a war?

I don’t think so, and I would hope not.

I continue to be inspired by all of you who, masked or not, in-person or hybrid or virtual, continue to do what you do for your students . . . and to do it so well. That said (and I know I’m preaching to the choir), I have but one thing to ask on behalf of your students and your schools and our state and our nation:

Be like Chips.

Valeas,

Gil Gigliotti

gigliotti@ccsu.edu

Twelve Caesars and Mary Beard

By

Allen Ward

Professor Emeritus, University of Connecticut, Storrs

Mary Beard never shies away from challenging the communis opinio. After you read her Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern, you will never look at a representation of a Roman Emperor, or other famous Roman, in the same way again. A number of ClassConn members previewed the book’s themes when they attended Beard’s Rostovtzeff Lecture, “The Twelve Caesars: Fictions, Fakes, Memory, and Misunderstandings from the Renaissance to Now,” at Yale in 2016. It was part of a ten-year-long project that began in 2011 at the National Gallery of Art with her contribution to the A.W. Mellon Lectures in Fine Arts, “The Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from Ancient Rome to Salvador Dali,” Like her lectures, the resulting book is full of prodigious learning relieved by her sharp wit and puckish humor.

For example, we learn not only that the one Renaissance artist ever named in Shakespeare’s works is Giulio Romano of Mantua (p.158) but also that another Mantuan, Ippolito Andreasi, from whose sketches we can reconstruct some of Romano’s lost works, was an “unfortunate soul, murdered by his wife’s lover in 1608 and since then largely forgotten” (p.161). We also learn that, in addition to Little Caesar’s Pizza, other products have crassly capitalized on the names and images of the Caesars: How about Augustus beer and chocolate coins or Nero matches and men’s boxer shorts? When referring to a set of twelve sixteenth-century dining chairs, each carved with the head of one of the canonical “Twelve Caesars,” Beard drolly comments that “the question of which guest would be seated on Caligula or Nero must have added excitement to the placement” (p. 18).

Augustus Prima Porta

The great problem with images of the Caesars is that, aside from the official profiles on their coinage, there is very little reliable evidence on which to base them. Official profiles are liable to be idealized, and it is difficult to render an accurate, fully-rounded face from a coin profile and some sketchy descriptions in Suetonius or other ancient author. Aside from the idealized statue of Augustus from Livia’s villa at Prima Porta and other ancient busts or statues closely resembling it, there are few reliably identified ancient busts or statues of Roman emperors, particularly of the first twelve. Beard thoroughly discredits or casts serious doubt upon most of the busts that our textbooks have confidently labelled as a particular Roman emperor or other famous Roman. It turns out that without authentic ancient labels, busts have been misidentified, badly restored, cobbled from disparate ancient and modern parts, or totally faked.

Pseudo-Vitellius; Copyright ©Museo Nacional del Prado

A prime example is the supposed bust of Vitellius purportedly excavated in Rome in the early sixteenth century and acquired by Cardinal Grimani of Venice. This bust is now believed to be of an unknown Roman from the second century AD. For centuries, however, it was considered genuine and was sketched and copied by artists who incorporated it into their own works. Some of these works seemed to have nothing to do with Roman imperial history but, in keeping with one of Beard’s major themes, are examples of the “unexpected ways in which the story of Roman emperors adds meaning to works of art (p. 34). The images of Roman emperors do not have to be ancient or authentic to be important.

From Camerini dei Cesari

A major case in point is Beard’s long discussion of a series of paintings originally in the Ducal Palace of Federico Gonzaga in Mantua. The palace was designed by Giulio Romano. One of its rooms, the Camerino dei Cesari, housed portraits of the first eleven Caesars by Titian and subsidiary paintings made by Romano. Much of what we know of the room, its paintings, and their arrangement comes from drawings made by both the unlucky Ippolito Andreasi and, later. Bernadino Campi. Campi used his drawings to paint multiple copies of Titian’s “Eleven” while adding his own Domitian to complete the canonical Suetonian “Twelve.”

Titian painted his “Eleven” between 1536 and 1539. There is no evidence that Gonzaga or Titian ever intended to round out the Suetonian “Twelve” by including Domitian. Beard speculates that the omission of Domitian, the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, suggested dynastic continuation, an idea that would appeal to Gonzaga (p. 169). I might also comment that ending with the famously popular Titus, whose triumphal arch still stood in Rome, would have had welcome implications for the ambitious Federico. By 1628, however, Domitian had been added to Titian’s “Eleven” when the ill-fated Charles I of England acquired the Caesars and other works in Federico’s palace from the Gonzaga family in its decline. Who painted the Domitian that came with the Titians is still a mystery. The important point is that the paintings from Mantua and their copies had become the standards for depicting Suetonius’ twelve Caesars in subsequent European art and were the inspiration for other sets of twelve emperors different from them.

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By combing fascinating art-historical research, Beard deftly traces the uses and dispositions of the twelve portraits from Mantua among Charles’ royal properties while he was alive and then after his execution until they were sold to Philip IV of Spain and sent to Madrid in 1652. There, they were hung in the Real Alcazar palace. Unfortunately, the paintings perished in a great fire in 1734 (p. 179), but all was not lost.  Copies by Campi and other painters survived, and one of their sets (whose is not known) had been replicated in somewhat modified form in a series of engravings made by Aegidius Sadeler in the 1620s. The engravings are reproduced on p. 153 without the added Domitian. An appendix contains the texts and Beard’s translations of the anonymous and notoriously difficult Latin poems that formed biographical sketches under each of the emperors depicted, including the added Domitian

Emperor Augustus; engraving by Aegidius Sadeler

Further detective work brilliantly reconstructs ten large now-lost tapestries that were made by the Belgian weaver van Aelst for Henry VIII’s palace at Hampton Court (pp. 199-212). In keeping with one of her major themes, she says that there were “many classical allusions in these tapestries that have been forgotten, misread, or mistranslated” (p. 202). She argues convincingly that the scenes in these tapestries must have come from the poet Lucan’s anti-monarchical Pharsalia. They and a number of paintings at Hampton Court “were prompting a dialogue between a negative, or ambivalent, presentation of Roman imperial power and the power of the modern king” (p.211), a theme that she explores in many other works down to the present.

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Engraving by Aegidius Sadeler

Beard does not stop with depictions of Roman emperors and their stories. Her penultimate chapter covers images of emperors’ mothers, wives, and daughters, among them, twelve portrayed in another series of engravings by Aegidius Sadeler to accompany his twelve Caesars (p. 250). The poems under them are also included in the appendix. From recent research, it seems certain that Sadeler’s engravings were based upon paintings done by Theodore Ghisi in the 1580’s for another room in Mantua’s Ducal Palace. The latter were based on even less reliable ancient evidence than that for the twelve Caesars. The coins and sculptures that we do have from Antiquity represent imperial women only as “generic symbols of imperial virtues and dynastic continuity” (p. 245).

That, of course, contrasts sharply with the scandalous stories in ancient authors who tell of the manipulative, malicious, and murderous actions of women like Livia, the elder Julia, Messalina, Agrippina the Younger, and Poppaea Sabina or recount the tragic fates of women like Agrippina the Elder, Caligula’s wife Caesonia, and Nero’s first wife, Octavia. Beard makes a very cogent point about these stories: they reflect the anxieties over a problem common to patriarchal structures, “how to regulate the sexuality of those whose purpose it was to bear legitimate heirs” (p. 241). The stories produced by these anxieties have inspired numerous artists through the centuries. As in the other chapters, many works are reproduced to accompany Beard’s deft explications.

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Images of Roman emperors and scenes from Roman literature and history do not have the prominence in the world of postmodern art that they had in previous eras. Nevertheless, in the last chapter, Beard still finds some appearing in works by contemporary artists engaged in “debates with authority and corruption, or in facing more fundamental questions about the nature of representation itself” (p. 280). There is, however, one contemporary artistic medium that she admits not covering, one in which images of Roman emperors and imperial Rome continue to play a large role -- cinema. “But,” she says, “that is another story for another book” (p.285). If she writes it, it will, no doubt, be as stimulating as this one.

Vis Canis: Just a Classical Tease, Not a Full-Blown Analysis

Dr. Gil Gigliotti

President, ClassConn 

Professor, CCSU

When most people ponder matters Latin and Greek, they usually recall their specific teachers or classes, if they ever studied either of them at all. If not, they tend to think in Hollywood cliches—togas, ruins, gladiators, Spartans, chariots, and/or the poisonous backstabbing within the Roman imperial families. But, no matter what, they usually do not expect Greek or Latin to pop up in a western. When it does, it is worth noting.

There is a brief allusion to Classics in the new Jane Campion film The Power of the Dog, based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Thomas Savage and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst. Without giving anything away here, mention is made of the classical learning of one of the cowboys at the Burbank ranch. After affirming that the cowboy indeed had been “Phi Beta Kappa at Yale” in Classics, the Governor of Montana, a dinner guest at the ranch, jokes:

So, does he swear at the cattle in Greek or Latin?

That’s all of it. But it’s significant, if for no other reason than that it’s meant to confound our view of the cowboy.

However, in the novel, the cowboy’s classical erudition plays a far more pivotal role. It is used to underscore both the educational snobbery of a medical doctor and the cruelty of the cowboy. The doctor, when he drinks, is “known to stand up there . . . in his dark doctor’s suit and a starched collar and expound his theories on politics, education, and Europe” (38). We are given an example of this when he waxes eloquent on “civic pride, from the Latin civatas [sic] meaning city” (39). His mistake regarding civitas speaks volumes to the cowboy, and he stands for none of this.  

In the exchange that follows, the cowboy condescendingly corrects some Greek quoted by the doctor (though not included in the text), who, for reasons I won’t reveal, had felt “a sudden need to impress” the cowboy (41). The cowboy answers:

You better go back then to your little school, wherever it was. The word in Greek for that sort of flower is “πόθος.”  They put them on graves. (41)

The cowboy then further taunts the doctor with an unspecified obscene quotation from Ovid in Latin. The doctor, while understanding the Latin (41), can only blush, and, after a brief, ineffective scuffle, leaves humiliated.

I’ll leave the rest to your own viewing and reading. 

In most popular media, classicists are usually reduced to silly, bookish, ineffectual stick figures. Any time they’re portrayed in more complex, even unflattering, ways, it is certainly worth a shout-out. As history has made clear, knowledge isn’t equivalent to virtue. But neither is it the same as dull. 

Feel free to reach out with other unexpected appearances of Latin and/or Greek. It’ll be interesting—and perhaps illuminating to us all—to see the popular reach of the Classics. 

***

For another example of Classics in a western, see the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove, based upon the 1985 Larry McMurtry novel and starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. There was much ado about the meaning of the Latin motto of the Hat Creek Cattle Company, uva uvam vivendo varia fit. (For a fuller discussion of it and the other Latin in the novel, check out the brief article cited below.)

***

Works Cited

Barker, Jamie.  “Why Gus McCray Don’t Rent Pigs: An Examination of Latin in Lonesome Dove.”  The Explicator 76.1 (2018): 30–32.

Campion, Jane. The Power of the Dog.  Film.  Bad Girl Creek, et alia, 2021.
McMurtry, Larry. Lonesome Dove. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985.

Savage, Thomas. The Power of the Dog.  Cambridge, MA: Van Factor & Goodheart, Inc, 1982.
Wincer, Simon. Lonesome Dove. Miniseries. CBS, 1989.

President's Letter, Winter 2021

Prid. Id. Dec.

Salvete, Amici!

As the new president of the Classical Association of Connecticut, I’d like to invoke what Horace terms in Sermones II.vi, libertas Decembris, and offer some year-end nugae.

Normally in December we would announce the annual Latin Carol Sing at Central Connecticut State University, an event which, due to a certain pandemic, the public at present would be unable to attend. In lieu of that event, I offer you my current playlist of Top Five Latin Pop Musical Recordings! (No, it’s not even close to the same, but we do what we can.)

#5 Ray Manzarek’s “Veris Leta Facies” from an all-electric version of Carmina Burana (1983). Manzarek was the keyboardist from The Doors. It’s Ray Manzarek, and it’s never too early to think about Spring. 

#4  Enya’s “Cursum Perficio” from her release Watermark (1988). Sure, a little Enya goes a long way, and a lot of Enya is way too much. However, she is second on the list of best-selling Irish musicians, only behind U2. If she has audiences tuning into Latin lyrics, I’m all for it. (Can’t get enough of Enya’s Latin? Check out “Afer Ventus” from 1991’s Shepherd Moons.)

#3  Reine Rimon eiusque Papa Fervidissimi’s “Eh, La Bas” from their 1993 album Variationes Horatianae Iazzicae. It’s a Dixieland-jazz setting of Horace’s Carmina I.18. Sure, she plays fast and loose with Horace’s Latin, but, hey, it swings!

#2 Cat Stevens’ “O Caritas” off Catch Bull at Four (1972). This has been my favorite Latin song ever since, as a high school student, I said to myself (because who else was listening?) “Hey, look how he darkly tweaked that famous gladiator line with ‘nos perituri mortem salutamus!’”

And the British singer’s song would still be my favorite (and very well might return to the #1 slot again), but right now that designation goes to the very new:

#1 John Linnell’s “Nunc aut Numquam” from Roman Songs (2021). If you know and love They Might Be Giants, this is that John Linnell. This song captures the same playful, and catchy, inscrutability of TMBG. (Don’t, however, confuse this song with “Nunc Hic aut Numquam,” Dr. Jukka Ammondt’s 1995 Latinized Elvis Presley song from The Legend Lives Forever in Latin. Trust me, Elvis has left the building.) 

Enough music.

At this point in my letter, I should probably declare proudly something like “In 2022, ClassConn will return on ground and in person for all meetings and events!” But, if the past year-and-three-quarters has taught us anything, it’s “That’d be plain foolish,” so I won’t.

I will, however, point out the obvious (well, obvious to ClassConn members). The language of COVID highlights our deeply classical linguistic heritage. “Epidemiologists” are working their way through the Greek alphabet one “variant” at a time. Indeed, the entire course of the “pandemic” (from “infection,” “incubation,” “symptom,” “communicability,” “ventilator,” and “mortality,” to “protocol,” “vaccination,” and “immunity” — even “coronavirus” itself) betrays the debt the “history” of “medicine” owes Greek and Latin. Let’s just be sure our “students” (and neighbors, for that matter) realize that, too!

Please continue following the protocols and get your shots; remember, there are still a whole lotta those Greek letters remaining.

For all you do, for your students, for the study of ancient languages and cultures in Connecticut and beyond, and for ClassConn itself, gratias vobis ago.

And, naturally, Io Saturnalia!

Valete,

Gil Gigliotti

gigliotti@ccsu.edu

President's Letter, Fall 2021

Salvete, amici amicaeque. χαίρετε, ὦ φίλοι.

I hope this letter finds you having a better start to the school year than the last, and if not better, then at least not worse. There is much to be said for a return to some modicum of pre-pandemic normalcy, even if we aren’t yet on the other side of the pandemic. 

It is my sincerest wish that you and your students have been able to find joy and fulfillment in sharing space and learning together after two disrupted school years. I know, however, that in many ways this year has already been even harder than either of the preceding two, so if simply getting through each day in an upright position is the best you can do, I understand. And if you, like me, are already suffering from DEVOLSON (the Dark Evil Vortex Of Late September, October, and November), know that you are not alone.

Which brings me to the purpose of this letter: I’m writing to share some upcoming events and opportunities that may energize you and your students and provide you with a much-needed sense of community. 

First off, the CANE student writing contest is open and accepting submissions from middle and high school Classics students in New England. The topic is “Re-Singing Myth” and submissions are due to the Connecticut state rep, Mark Pearsall (canerepct@caneweb.org) by December 15.

If you’re seeking a little spooky Latin fun, mark your calendar for CANE’s free online Halloween event “Nox Formidulosa: Spuctaculum”, to include games, spooky stories, and camaraderie, hosted by Gregory Stringer on October 19 from 7-9 PM.

Most exciting of all, our ClassConn Annual Meeting will be held over Zoom on Saturday, November 6 from 9 AM–2:45 PM. Registration is free (by donation only) and available here. The day will include workshops by Kelly Dugan (Trinity College), Roger Travis (University of Connecticut), Chris Cochran (University of Massachusetts, Boston), and Jen Faulkner (East Longmeadow High School), as well as opportunities to connect with colleagues professionally and socially. I look forward to seeing you all there (virtually)!

In the meantime, please continue caring for yourselves and your students as we face down another trying year and don’t hesitate to reach out if ClassConn can help in any way. 

curate ut valeatis,

Lindsay Sears

president@classconn.org

President’s Letter, Summer 2021

Salvete, amici amicaeque. χαίρετε, ὦ φίλοι.

Perhaps like me you are just starting to emerge from the psychic miasma that was the 2020-2021 school year. Perhaps this missive finds you deeply ensconced in personal projects, pleasure reading, or joyful time with friends and family. If so, I won’t keep you long. 

I’m writing to congratulate you (us) on collectively making it through the past 10 months. For many of us, the emotional and mental costs of this past year are only just being tallied. We have had our faith in our own identity and worth as teachers profoundly shaken. Some have left jobs (myself included) or left the profession entirely. 

But you know all of this. I want to tell you something you may have forgotten: you were enough this year just by showing up for your students. Here’s what I mean. On the last day of school, one of my students said, “You know, Magistra, this year wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been because I got to see my teachers and friends every day, even on Zoom. And I knew that all of my teachers were still there for me, ready to help and support me when I needed it.”

Just by showing up, ready to help and support, you were a lifeline for your students this year. And maybe sometimes they were also a lifeline for you. That’s all, and that’s everything. Yes, we are teachers of classics, but we are humans teaching other humans first. In this most human of crises, we have held one another up, and we have helped one another survive. dīs volentibus, may we never endure another year like this one, but it is worth knowing that we can. I urge you to remember that as you look toward the fall with both its hope and its uncertainty. 

And in case you need something concrete to feel hopeful about, I am pleased to announce that we are planning on an in-person annual meeting this November! Date and location TBA, so stay tuned. It will be a true joy to share space with you all again. 

In the meantime, please do whatever you can to refill your metaphorical cup after the most draining of years and don’t hesitate to reach out if ClassConn can help in any way. 

curate ut valeatis,

Lindsay Sears

president@classconn.org

res novae

salvete, socii,

Things are changing around here! 

First, I would like to introduce myself as your new “Newsletter Editor.”

Second, I want to announce a change in our newsletter format. Instead of a separate website for the newsletter, we are posting all relevant information on our main ClassConn website. We are making this change to streamline our communication. Members will receive quarterly blasts with highlights about anything new.

So, what does a Newsletter Editor do when there is no newsletter? Well, I have been spending my time reorganizing the website into a way that hopefully makes sense for you, our membership. 

To that end, I encourage you to browse the website and send feedback. Is something missing? Do you have suggestions? This is a work in progress and I welcome your comments.

 I hope that you find these changes helpful and more consistent with how you use information. I understand that to some, these res novae may seem revolutionary. My job is to make sure it is a revolution for the better.

SVB

Stephany Pascetta

pascettas@glastonburyus.org

"Fasti Praenestini - National Museum Rome" by jimnista is licensed under CC BY 2.0