He conquered Rome. His oratorical skills are legendary. And for more than a century, his literary masterpieces, including Commentarii de bello Gallico ("Commentaries on the Gallic War") were a staple of high school Latin classrooms.
But before you could say veni, vidi, vici, the works of Julius Caesar, arguably the greatest general in Rome’s history, vanished from the classroom.
As the anti-war sentiment raged during the Vietnam War, there was little appetite for a dictator who bragged about the invasion and conquest of Gaul, and the war against his fellow citizens.
Instead, scholars turned to Latin love poetry, casting off the imperialist with a simple message: “Ave atque vale.”
Now, Caesar is poised to make a triumphant return to the classroom.
“Caesar's imperialism and his usurpation of republican government are what make him timely today during our own so-called war on terror,” said Hans-Friedrich Mueller, the William D. Williams Professor of Classics at Union.
“How far should we go in protecting ourselves? Does domestic security require foreign intervention? Does it make sense to give up traditional rights and freedoms at home for the sake of security?”
Caesar’s re-emergence is just one of the topics to be discussed when dozens of scholars of ancient Latin and Greek gather at Union for the annual meeting of the Classical Association of the Empire State.
Over three days beginning Thursday, Oct. 21, about 60 high school teachers and 15 college professors will address how the classical languages and civilizations are taught in New York.
Peter Bedford, the John and Jane Wold Professor of Religious Studies, will talk about Christians in ancient Rome. Stacie Raucci, assistant professor of classics and Daniel Curley, associate professor of classics at Skidmore College, talk about representations of the ancient world in film and television.
There are also sessions centered on Greece with Tarik Wareh, assistant professor of classics and James Wells, visiting assistant professor of classics at Hamilton. Even Gilgamesh, the fifth king of Uruk, is represented in a presentation by Ladislaus Bolchazy, president of Bolchazy-Carducci, publishers of college and high school texts about the ancient world.
Sessions are free and open to members of the Union community and the public. For a complete schedule, click here.
It’s not a good time to be a fan of the classics. The New York State Board of Regents recently eliminated the Regents exam for Latin; one session at the conference is devoted to discussing the impact of the move. And on Oct. 1, SUNY-Albany officials announced that the school would eliminate admissions to its classics program, along with French, Italian, Russian and theater programs.
Both budget moves are seen as warning signs by supporters of the humanities that, as the sluggish economy lingers and students gravitate toward disciplines they believe have better career potential, the idea of “what it means to be a human being” will evaporate.
In the meantime, Caesar is enjoying his own revival. Shakespeare’s play chronicling his life is a staple in curricula taught to generations of high school English students, alongside “The Great Gatsby” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
But a generation of Latin teachers grew up without reading the works of Caesar, one of the authors who will now be included in the Advanced Placement Latin exam for high school students.
That’s welcome news for Mueller, who will lead a session at the conference on Caesar’s return.
“Apart from good grammar and a clear Latin style, Caesar’s conflicted legacy offers teachers and students an excellent laboratory for discussing important ethical, legal and constitutional issues because personal politics are not at stake in the outcome of events thousands of years in the past.”