In this week’s piece of evidence, I was going to look at how we can spread classics and how to get today’s generation as well as the very important question, is classics worth studying. To answer such a question, we must first consider, why should we study classics. And I believe that there are three answers to this, the first being that it is interdisciplinary.
Classics may sound like a narrow field, but the opposite is, in fact, the case and I think this preconception is a determining reason as to why fewer and fewer people are choosing it. The subject itself has so much to offer, courses in both language and literature and art and archaeology. Studying the Greek and Latin languages can not only sharpen your understanding of the way language works in general, but also help you understand how people in a distant time and place organized and described the world. It also develops within you an appreciation for Greek and Latin literature, which remains a touchstone for all later European literature and which contains profound and challenging insights in the human condition that are as relevant today as when they were first composed.
Much the same is true of Greek and Roman art and architecture, which likewise holds a central place in the western artistic tradition. Lastly, the modern discipline of archaeology developed in large part from the study of ancient Greek and Roman art and artefacts, although it today incorporates a wide range of anthropological and scientific methodologies and techniques. Philology, literary studies, archaeology, and art history are core disciplines of the subject, but the study of the Greek and Roman world also includes history, religion, philosophy, women’s and gender studies, dramatic arts, and much more. It’s no accident that Classics overlaps with so many other fields since Classics was interdisciplinary long before the word ‘interdisciplinary’ existed. It thus provides you with the opportunity to explore, both in the classroom and on-site, a wide range of different disciplines and approaches, and presents you with the challenge of negotiating between them.
The second reason is that classic is a rigorous degree. It’s no secret, Classics courses are often not easy. In learning how to succeed in classics, people learn how to master complex information, analyze material carefully and thoroughly, formulate coherent arguments, and communicate precisely and concisely both in writing and speaking. The subject expects a lot, however, as a result, the students who succeed within the course acquire a valuable set of skills that they can use in a wide variety of contexts, despite whatever career path they choose. It’s no surprise that Classics majors tend to excel academically, nor is it any secret.
The third reason as to why classics is worth studying is because it provides perspective. The speed of today’s technology means that we’re used to things becoming obsolete within a few years, if not months or days. In this context, it’s all the more important to step back and take a wider perspective. If the 20th century seems long ago to you, try imagining what the world looked like to people in Athens in the 5th century BCE. The imaginative effort that’s required to engage vividly with such a distant time and place means that you’ll be able to see your world with fresh eyes.
Ancient Greek and Roman culture are distinctive because it’s simultaneously both near and far, familiar and foreign. Much of what we experience in our own lives has its origins in the ancient Greek and Roman world, from the architectural elements of schools, buildings and monuments to big ideas like athletics, philosophy, medicine, law, and democracy. Because of these connections, it’s easy to assume that we can easily understand that world. Looking more closely, however, the stranger it appears: assumptions about the body, social relations and self-presentation, the physical world and humanity’s place within it, the nature of the divine, all require careful reorientation on our part. Yet looking more closely still, the fundamental issues confronting people then were the same as those that confront us now. How do we negotiate our sense of what it means to be human and what our place in the world is? How can we create the best relationships with our family, our friends, our social and political community? What is the most important and most meaningful in life? Through the in-depth study of Classics, you learn that near and far, familiar and foreign, are just a matter of perspective.
So now that we have established the reasons as to why people should study classics, we must now consider how to spread the subject and make it more easily recognised as a subject that is fundamental in our understanding of both the modern and ancient world. As ironic as this sounds, I think that Classics needs to change with the times. In today’s liberal society, people want to learn about their own cultures and history, they are tired of western imperialism dominating classics, and that’s why courses like classics and oriental studies should be encouraged. However, you could argue, that the whole point of Classics is to study ancient Greece and Rome, and yet, I argue that if you were to combine them and let people study their histories alongside classics (oriental studies is limited in the cultures it teaches), a lot more people would be interested in Classics as they would find parallels between the two cultures as well as be learning about their history.
But in terms of how to spread it, I think there are four main ways. The first is the modern retellings. I’ve already touched upon this in previous essays, but modern works such as Madeline millers Song of Achilles and Circe as well as Stephen Fry’s Mythos make reading genuine fun and is a great way to introduce people to the Ancient world rather than having them read Aeschylus’ Agamemnon straight away.
The second is education. I think that incorporating it within more school syllabuses, similar to my school, establish it in year 7 and then offer it as a GCSE, or start incorporating classical works of literature in English GCSE or perhaps studying ancient statues and marble temples within GCSE art. All these different things that could help however the only difficulty with this, is the only change possible is through the government, as we don’t have the power to change the curriculum ourselves, that being said, we can still teach students as early from years 7–9 as that is pre — GCSE.
The third is television, movies, gaming etc. I think that the game shares the same pros and cons with books retelling ancient Greek myths. They do misrepresent certain stories adapting them to the characters within the game, however, they still introduce kids to the classical world through a platform they can understand and interact with. This applies to movies and television series as well, by channelling the subject through such a popular medium, you have the chance to engage such a large audience.
The fourth is social media. Simply as an experiment, I created an Instagram account named after one of my favourite games Batman: Arkham Asylum. However, I changed it to “batman_arkhamposeidon.” On the account, I post classical memes, daily quotes by Greek philosophers and eventually I’ll start doing much more. I started midday on Saturday and as of so far, I am on 72 followers, have 27 posts and 356 likes.
For me, I think that games, social media, involving it in the curriculum and television shares the same pros and cons with books retelling ancient Greek myths. They do misrepresent certain stories, they aren’t always historically accurate and most of the time they’re not always exactly going to get someone to pursue a degree in the subject, however, they still expose people to the classical world through a platform they can understand and interact with, and that is important in it’s own right.
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