Triclinium Neronis

Graduate school has been keeping me busy. I do hope to use this blog to report on my upcoming trip to the Classical Association of the Atlantic States annual meeting.

For today, I link you to the BBC where they've reported on the discovery of a rotating dining room built for the Emperor Nero. He only got to use it in his last year of life before his suicide.

BBC video

I don't have the latest in terms of flash player/video player on my computer but this video worked fine for me and I've never had a problem at the BBC website. Enjoy!

Magus Quadratus

My sister sent me on a hunt for a "magic Latin box" which conjured up images of treasure chests filled with short cuts to understanding Latin. What she meant was this magic square. Note how backwards, forwards, up and down, it always says the same thing. Here's the website where I found it which explains mathematical magic squares as well.

What is a magic square?

So besides our Roman numeral Sudoku, and those moments of grammatical decoding that required the math part of the brain, we now have yet another way to connect math and Latin.

Tituli Micantes

Quizlet

I found this on a blog made by a science teacher classmate of mine. I think we've all used, or at least been told to use, flash cards at one point or another. I'm not sure how well they've worked for me personally in the past. Here's a site that allows you to make a set of flashcards and test yourself in various ways.

Negatives:
~ Physical flashcards can go to the library, to your friends house, to the beach, in the car, to places computers can't go. Until we all have some kind of smart phone, when a free moment for a little bit of studying arises, we can't pull out flashcards stored on the internet.
~ I always thought that the physical act of writing out the flashcards by hand increased information retention.

Positives:
~ Teaches good strategies for how to use flashcards effectively, strategies that can apply to physical flashcards should the digital ones not be available.
~ The ability to make groups to share sets of flashcards and have a discussion forum could be really useful for cooperative learning.
~ Various forms of testing.
~ Games: simple as they may be, it's no less than simplistic than your standard addictive computer puzzle game, and those are always fun.

Maybe not a paradigm shifting tool, but a useful tool nonetheless. Happy studying!

Emendatio

Apparently the History of Rome podcast is not on hiatus. The podcaster's profile had me confused but there was a new podcast uploaded since I first mentioned his site. So I suggest subscribing if you want to keep your basic Roman history fresh.
I've been listening to a lot of them and they are really enjoyable. Now I've found something to keep my mind busy so I don't mind doing dishes so much.

Fortis mortem solum aliquando gustat

For those of you in Western New York, you can catch performances of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in Delaware Park, any night of the week but Monday, at 7:30, until August 16. More information can be found on their website.

Shakespeare in Delaware Park

I'm not sure how crowded they are on weeknights, but on a weekend I'd be sure to get there at least half an hour early to get a good spot on the lawn.

I know Shakespeare isn't Classical exactly, but he certainly borrowed from the Romans, Ovid, Plutarch, et alii. Thinking like a teacher, everyone has to read Shakespeare in school at some point, and I think we should connect our Latin class to it if we can, and reinforce our understanding of both subjects.

And anyway it's free theatre. You can't go wrong with free Shakespeare in the park on a nice summer night. Enjoy the show!

Sudoku Romanus

Sudoku with Roman Numerals!

I just can't keep this link to myself any longer. I never dreamed that Sudoku and Latin could be brought together in one enjoyable activity. And yet, I've always suspected that decoding a tricky bit of Latin and solving a Sudoku puzzle uses the same section of the brain.

This is definitely getting used in the classroom. People who already enjoy it are going to get excited at the prospect of getting to play in school. If you don't know how to play Sudoku, you've probably heard of it, and I think it's worth knowing. It's one of those really good brain exercises that keeps you sharp.

As a way to practice Roman numerals, it may only be useful as a basic introduction. However, even if it's just I-IX, you're still practicing the "rules" of Roman numerals. Putting a numeral before another means subtraction whether it's IV, IX or MCMXCIX.
And I think a basic introduction is very necessary. A friend of mine told me recently that middle school students in his class were unable to read an analog clock. We shouldn't assume we all are coming from the same "common knowledge." I think this Sudoku may be particularly helpful keeping both those learning the numerals for the first time and those already familiar with them simultaneously engaged with the lesson.

Ars gratia artis

Search Works of Art at the Met

These links come from one of my favorite places in the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY (the Met). The works of art search function seems very effective. To start, under "Thematic Category" you'll find "Greek and Roman Art in the Ancient World" which is a large and fascinating collection.

If you want to find later works inspired by Classical themes, I suggest going to "Title of Work of Art" and begin typing in a name. For example if you begin to type "Socrates" the site will guess that you're looking for Jacques-Louis David's "Death of Socrates" and you'll be taken to that painting's site.

N.B. Make sure when you are trying to find something by title that you don't have anything selected in the "By Time Period" or "By Region" searches unless you're absolutely sure. Otherwise it may not find what you're looking for.

A few of the pictures of the paintings seem a little dark compared to the real thing, but the images are sufficient, and they're accompanied by useful artistic and historical information.



The Met's essays on related topics

Many of these essays aren't even about the art directly, but rather let you fully explore all the different social, religious and political movements that reflect in the art. Economics, architecture, fashion, music, it's all here. Some of it's really broad, for example giving you an overview of a whole dynasty of Roman emperors. And some of it is very specific, such as Roman silverware.
A good friend of mine worked as an intern for the Met and I know from her that this site is constantly being updated and revised. They make sure all the links keep working and keep thinking of new related links to list on the left side. You can count on this site.

The two works of art I've posted are David's "Death of Socrates" and August Rodin's "Orpheus and Eurydice."