Reading Latin & Discovering the Ancient History and Art History of Italy

Calder Classics invites students entering 9th through 12th grades to join us for this online program in which language, art, and scholarship merge fluently in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and interdisciplinary exchange. In this course, students review Latin grammar and read the great authors of Latin literature while also exploring the historical and cultural treasures of ancient and Renaissance Italy.

Our Approach

Each session, students and their instructors read, translate and discuss Latin literature in an interactive “salon” style environment. Given that participants join us from a variety of schools, we begin with a brief review of Latin grammar. We then analyze a selection of texts from both a grammatical and literary perspective, engaging in such topics as the significance of rhetorical devices, meter and intertextuality. At least one year of reading original (or slightly adapted) Latin texts is required. In additional sessions, students engage with art, literature, and ancient history that relate to the themes of the Latin passages we read. Guided by our scholars who are highly trained in ancient studies, mythology and art history, we take virtual tours of the treasures of Italy, a myriad of museums, monuments, palazzos and piazzas, and hear about the great works of ancient, Renaissance, and modern masters. These presentations and group discussions focus on the historical context and broader themes of classical culture, and will be integrated with the Latin curriculum. Examples of past program descriptions are shown below:

“Rome in Absentia”

Erepti nobis ius habet illa loci; “[my mind] has the right to the place stolen away from me”.

So Ovid writes from exile, when he is physically unable to return to his beloved Rome. During this strange time when we too are kept from Rome, we will study the theme of exile, and investigate how we, like Ovid, can travel to Rome in our minds. In this course, we will focus on Ovid’s works written from exile, his longing for the Eternal City, and his “imaginary trips” home. To help contextualize our readings, we will also take some time at the end of each lesson to consider the various archaeological sites in the city that feature in the poems, and discuss how they would have appeared in Ovid’s time.

June 14-18, “Rome in Absentia”. Upper Level. Monday - Friday. 10:30am to 1pm (EDT). Course Fee $750. Apply.

“Reading Caesar and Vergil”

This two-week upper-level Latin reading program is an intensive preparation for the Latin AP in which students will read excerpts from Caesar’s Gallic War and Vergil’s Aeneid. Given that both Caesar and Vergil present stylized characters and events that reflect Roman preoccupations and values, we will also talk and read about Roman notions of the self and identity and ways that Romans would perform and reaffirm their social identity and status through their habits, dress, gestures, and more. Brief excerpts from Quintilian, Plutarch, Seneca, and Tacitus will highlight the ways in which a carefully cultivated public self led to training in visual and verbal styles that were then presented as 'natural' qualities. We will also look at Roman art as another way that individuals could craft and shape their public image.

June 21 - July 2, “Reading Caesar and Vergil”. AP Prep. Monday - Friday (does not meet on weekends). 9:00am to 12:00pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200. Apply.

“Roman Social Rituals: Eating and Drinking”

Nunc est bibendum; “Now is the time for drinking”.

Ab ovo usque ad mala, “from the egg to the apples”…

These are just two of the frequently quoted expressions about drinking and eating from Latin poetry that have been adapted for modern usage.  Apart from catchy phrases, Roman writers revealed much about the social rituals, crowd psychology, and political attachments of their times in odes, satires, and epic poems associated with the themes of food and wine. In this course we’ll read excerpts from a variety of authors that use wining and dining as the backdrop to learn about the customs of celebrations and family gatherings, how guests should and shouldn’t behave, what they might bring to a dinner party and what they shouldn’t take home. We’ll also explore the mythological stories and gods associated with our theme both in prose and poetry as well as in masterpieces of art by such Renaissance painters and sculptors as Caravaggio, Botticelli and Michelangelo.

July 5-16, “Roman Social Rituals: Eating and Drinking”. Upper Level. Monday - Friday (does not meet on weekends). Two sessions per day: 10:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200. Apply.

“Roman Voices”

Exegi monumentum aere perennius; “I have finished a monument more lasting than bronze” Horace writes in Ode 3.30. He suggests, and hopes, that his oeuvre will influence generations to come. What effect have voices like Horace’s had on our understanding of the eternal city? Whose voices helped shape ancient Rome? What did they leave out? Or better yet, whom did they leave out? In this course we will explore Roman voices, as we delve into Latin readings by Horace, Catullus, Vergil, Ovid, and Livy, and learn about the city of Rome through the eyes of the aristocracy. To complement these, we will investigate monuments built by the emperors and elite, in order to understand the way that this echelon of society used buildings and artistic motifs, indeed physical “voices,” to speak for them.

But Rome was not made up just of the elite. This course will also explore the voices of those who are conspicuously missing in the literary and visual records namely women, the poor, and family members of all classes. We will do so by delving into the art of the private sector, specifically funerary monuments and their inscriptions, where we can often see evidence of very tender familial relationships as well as private portraiture. We will also consider the way that Roman monuments revealed the voices of many different sectors of society. Finally, the course will explore the curated concept of “voice” in antiquity through a study of the structures built for people to speak and be heard so that we can try to understand how ideas and opinions were transmitted in ancient Rome. 

July 19-30, “Roman Voices”. Upper Level. Monday - Friday (does not meet on weekends). Two sessions per day: 10:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200. Apply.

**************NEW COURSE:

“Journeys to the Underworld: Aeneid 6 and Odyssey 11 - Online Edition”

This course is designed for dedicated intermediate to advanced students in either Greek or Latin (rising high school juniors and seniors, recent grads/gap year students). Following the model of our residential program in Tuscany, we read ancient texts that explore underworld narratives and prophecies: Latin students read Aeneid 6 — Aeneas’ famous landing in Italy, his meeting with the Sybil of Cumae, and his journey to the underworld; Greek students read Odyssey 11, which tells of Odysseus’ νέκυια to hear the prophecy of Tiresias. Additional related texts are read in each group. The primary goal of this course is to advance students’ reading speed and comprehension of Latin or Greek vocabulary and syntax as well as to engage in discussions of the parallel texts. We will investigate how Vergil appropriates Homer’s underworld, and how we understand Homer’s underworld mediated through Vergil’s text. To increase understanding and facilitate discussion, students of each text read the other text in English and participate in virtual guided tours of Medieval and Renaissance representations of the afterlife led by our Florence-based art historian Caitlin Petty. She leads students on a “journey” through Italian cities such as Siena, Padua, Florence, Orvieto, and Rome, we feast our eyes on carvings of the Sybil in Siena, interpretations of the Last Judgment by Giotto and Michelangelo in Padua and Rome, and Botticelli’s illustrated manuscript in Dante’s Inferno. In a special lesson with Zoe Fox we explore the historical and archaeological context of the “Parade of Heroes” scene in Vergil’s underworld, comparing Augustus’ “summī virī” statues with the Aeneid text. Throughout the week students enjoy the opportunity to fuse their readings with vibrant visual representations as they analyze the influence of antiquity on later representations of underworld narratives.

July 31-August 8, “Journeys to the Underworld: Aeneid 6 and Odyssey 11 - Online Edition”. Upper Level. [Click on this title to go to the website for this class]. Meets daily from Saturday, July 31 to Sunday, August 8 (yes, this is our only program that includes weekends!) Two sessions per day: 10:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200. Apply.

Faculty

Dates & Fees

June 14-18, “Rome in Absentia”. This one week course meets Monday through Friday from 10:30am to 1pm (EDT). Additional work is assigned for independent, asynchronous completion. Course Fee: $750

June 21 - July 2, “Reading Caesar and Vergil”. This two week course meets Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 12:00pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200

July 5-16, “Roman Social Rituals: Eating and Drinking”. This two week course meets Monday through Friday from 10:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200

July 19-30, “Roman Voices”. This two week course meets Monday through Friday from 10:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200

July 31-August 8, “Journeys to the Underworld: Aeneid 6 and Odyssey 11 - Online Edition”. Upper Level. [Click on this title to go to the website for this class]. Meets daily from Saturday, July 31 to Sunday, August 8 (includes weekends) Two sessions per day: 10:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm (EDT). Course Fee: $1200.

Available Sessions listed above are subject to a minimum of 5 students enrolled per session.

The tuition includes instruction and course materials (certain additional books may need to be purchased).

Testimonials - Calder Classics Online

I cannot thank Calder Classics enough for a splendid month this summer. I took two Reading Latin courses: Constructing Memory and Raise a Toast to Wining and Dining. They each offered something different but were equally fascinating. Even reading some of the same authors (Vergil, Catullus, Horace, Ovid) and looking at the same artists (Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Vasari) brought new insights the second time around, since the theme of each class was well defined yet broad. The online format worked well, I thought--obviously, we’d all rather be in Florence, but in some ways meeting remotely increased the possibilities of what we could read and see. Actually, my art history teacher really was in Florence, and made a tremendous effort to immerse us in the culture, knowledge, and landscape around her. All of the teachers were more than willing to stay late or come early to class to make sure we, the students, felt fully confident about our translations and interpretations of the material at hand. I’ve been given a wonderful toolkit of terminology, literary, artistic, and historical; directions for dissecting relevant words, images, and ideas; and pure enthusiasm for reaching into corners of my mind and of the world I never knew existed. From these courses, I have learned how to critically engage with nonverbal as well as verbal information, and to try and find each within the other. So, I think I finally have an answer to the age-old question as to which is superior, art or literature: both!

My Calder Classics experience was amazing, my teacher was super nice and very helpful! I learned a lot about Augustan Rome and read many interesting authors. Although I wish we had been able to actually go to Rome, I really enjoyed my experience!

Calder Classics Rome in Absentia provided an informative and fun virtual experience where I was able to study Latin and pretend to travel to Rome right from my bedroom.

Absolutely wonderful. Calder makes the best poets from the Latin Golden Age incredibly accessible. Here you mingle with them and glimpses through their eyes.

I liked the diversity. Usually classics courses focus on one author, one work-- focusing on one theme is a great change of flavor.

I really enjoyed the Art History portion of the course which I have never taken before. It was really valuable to have a teacher who is actually in Florence and could (virtually) take us to certain places. It made not being in Italy slightly better. Despite all the pandemic obstacles in the way, Calder Classics was able to adapt and deliver an incredible online program that taught me so much!

This class was a great way to help me feel confident when reading and translating Latin.

Classes are very interactive and fun, great way to enjoy the summer with some people while learning at the same time!

I think that Calder Classics is a great program for over the summer. I was clearly learning and improving my Latin, but I had so much fun both with the reading materials and the art history classes we paired with our reading, that it never really felt like a class, it was just a fun way to learn more about the Latin language and surrounding culture!

Throughout my weeks with Calder Classics, I was able to experience a wide variety of classics related topics in an engaging and interesting way. The teachers and materials were amazing and definitely furthered my knowledge and interest in the classics moving forward.

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