History Monday - Rape of the Sabines

Each Monday, I'd like to delve into the historical tidbits of Classics. Obviously there are many which span across the Mediterranean over several centuries. Each week I'll select something, because its date might coincide with today's, or just for seasonal reasons.

We'll begin with an odd bit of Roman history that supposedly occurred on this date, the rape of the Sabines. Not rape in its modern meaning, but rather rape from rapio, rapere, "to snatch, seize, take." All of the following history is taken from Book I of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita.

Essentially, when Rome was first founded it was a rabble. It was many escaped criminals, and generally outcasts from other Italian tribes. This being said, it was also mostly men. Having women around is somewhat important for perpetuating your civilization. Romans went around to the various neighboring tribes asking for marriage rites, and were refused.

Thus Romulus devised a plan - he decided to invite all the neighboring tribes to a festival to honor Neptune. When everybody showed up, including the Sabine tribe, the Romans popped out and grabbed all the women.

Naturally, the neighboring tribes attacked, and were repelled. The Sabines also attacked, with the famous Roman girl Tarpeia to open the gates, expecting a reward. (She famously asked as compensation 'what they were wearing on their left arms,' meaning golden bracelets, but instead getting crushed by shields they held.) The Sabines rushed in, and it seemed the Romans had met their end, but the seized women stood between the two armies, entreating them to stop fighting:

"If," they cried, "you are weary of these ties of kindred, these marriage-bonds, then turn your anger upon us; it is we who are the cause of the war, it is we who have wounded and slain our husbands and fathers. Better for us to perish rather than live without one or the other of you, as widows or as orphans.

Both armies listened to their women. A peace was made, and soon the Sabines were folded into Roman Civilization. Rome now had its women, and began its relentless expansion across Italy.

______________________________
Nec vitia nostra nec remedia pati possumus. Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Praefatio
We can endure neither our sins nor their cures.

In Caelis

O fellow Classicists -

While on the topic of the skies and stars, for those of you who have an interest in astronomy, like myself, or simply enjoy shiny streaks of light through the sky, please note that the Geminid meteor shower is tonight!

For those on the East Coast, it peaks at 12:10am (this is Sunday night into Monday morning) with rates expected of 140+ meteors per hour. In astronomical terms, this is an excellent meteor shower. Make sure you look up tonight!

Review: Ancient Meterological Optics by Richard Stothers

This blog has yet to jump into the more weighty elements of the field of Classics - so let us jump in with this blog's first article review:

In the new edition of the Classical Journal (vol. 105 no. 1) as published by CAMWS, there is a fascinated and well-researched article by Richard Stothers entitled: "Ancient Meteorological Optics." It is well known that the ancients looked to the skies and stars above for guidance - the persistence of astrology gives us an example. Mr. Stothers, employed by NASA, is kind enough to first provide us a layman's guide to meteorological optics, explaining the layers of the atmosphere and how the presence of certain particles in certain layers cause such effects as rainbows and coronae.

A brief aside here - Mr. Stothers is employed by NASA. It strikes me as the ultimate accomplishment when one, positioned at the forefront of technology, goes full circle and is published in a journal which exalts an ancient world devoid of such knowledge!

Rainbows are first discussed, and the two major ancient theories on their formation are supplied, that of Anaximenes (Stothers explains: "a rainbow is generated by the sun's white rays of light falling on an impenetrably thick, dark cloud..."), and that of Aristotle ("water droplets act as tiny mirrors that reflect color..."). He continues with halos, mock suns, streaks, and other signs in the sky (e.g.: the cross seen by Constantine). Each section is heavily annotated and filled with a succinct explanation of the various ancient theories from early to late antiquity.

He concludes that some meteorological progress was made by the ancient in their studies of these phenomena, but for the most part little actually was understood. The article is concise, and though presented by someone outside the field, fits right into the journal. My only objection would that actual passages be inserted into the article for examination, but this is forgivable given the otherwise outstanding nature of his research and findings.

Mr. Stothers has some other very cool articles under his belt, including: "Unidentified flying objects in classical antiquity," "Earthquake prediction in antiquity," and "The case for an eruption of Vesuvius in 217 BC." Were Pliny alive, I'm sure the two would get along well.

GREs

Sitting in front of that computer waiting to get to the results screen was the worst part of the entire process. Indeed, I took my GREs yesterday, an integral step in the process to attend grad school for Classics. The format is both uninviting and slightly intimidating.

The testing center was unassuming. You sit down into a cubicle-styled spot, where only a computer monitor, tower, and keyboard await you, with a book of scratch paper. The bare walls and lack of human contact make everything seem a little eerie and cold. Then they start throwing essays at you.

Two essays, followed by a combination of verbal and math sections. Of course, the system adapts to you, so answering well throws harder questions your way. I started off well on my verbal section, and my opinion was reinforced by a few very tough questions thrown my way, which while comforting (because I must have gotten something right), still threw me off guard.

Nerves and pressure are a huge part of the test. The inconspicuous time counter on the screen looms at all times. You can turn it off, but then you constantly wonder how much time you have left, only to turn it on again.

Advice for test-takers? I know it's been said elsewhere, and cliche, but it's true: take them early. Take a practice test. Oh, and the books help (but not McGraw-Hill, their book was far too easy). But don't freak out - if you've been studying Latin and Greek for years, you'll be fine on your verbal. Remember your common roots, make sure you have all those prepositions and prefixes memorized. It's almost as if the verbal section of the GRE was meant for classics majors. As for the math, don't worry about it - most classics programs aren't going to require algebra of you.

Good luck to any future test-takers out there!

______________________

Optimus magister, bonus liber. - unattributed

The best teacher is a good book.

Video Friday

Multimedia involving Classics is hard to dig up on the internet. Let me make that easier. Every Friday, I'll dig up something - a video, a song, or some other form of media on the internet related to Classics, and I'll post it here.

We start with a classic: Harvard still gives two commencement addresses, one in English, the other in Latin. If only more schools would follow in their tradition! Silly wishes aside, enjoy this address, which employs some wonderful Latin circumlocution involving the movie Star Wars.

Today's Agenda

I'm currently in the process of finalizing my personal statements. I'm applying to five schools, and I'm likely writing a separate statement for each. Just like a business you apply to, it seems these schools want to hear not only why you're good enough for them, but how I'll make a good fit at their school - in short, how I'll help them.

I've always found it awkward trumpeting up my own achievements, but that's what must be done on these things. Shameless research is also necessary into the faculty at each institution, and what the strongest point of each institution is (whether classical archaeology, comparative linguistics, Greek tragedy, etc.), and mention these things in the statement. It's good to mention that you'd like to study under a certain professor as well - perhaps one who has published a book that you used in class.

Most of all though, you have to demonstrate to these people why you want to be a classicist. Is it a passion? Something that you're truly willing to spend the rest of your life with? Are you ready to spend years upon years in graduate school doing little but research and translation? These are the sort of things that must be demonstrated to the application committees.

More to follow soon - my other main occupation is studying for my GREs, which I take this Friday.
__________________
Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit. Virgil, Aeneid I.203
Someday it will be joyful to remember perhaps even these things.

A Chronicle

I'm a senior to graduate in May with a BA in Classical Studies. This blog will record my aspiration to become a classicist; it will share advice and things I've learned along the way during my undergrad years, as well as my current progress applying to graduate schools for Classics. My eventual goal is to obtain a PhD.

Admittedly the field is small - however, I hope that I might draw other aspiring classicists to this site. Perhaps undergrads who are unsure whether to choose Classics as a major, or those who are looking to grad school and want to hear from someone who has been through the experience of applying. Or indeed, those who are already in the field, who seek a voice on the web.

Either way, regardless of this site's current or future readership, I am here to record my experiences and observations on the field of Classics going into the 21st century. I seek to enter that field.

____________________________

Γενοι' οίος εσσί μαθών - Pindar, Pythian II l.72

Be, having learned what sort of person you are.