I could use a few more weeks to tell the story

In the latter half of Tuesday morning, I narrated the events of the Peloponnesian War, read Thucydides' terrible passage of the prisoners kept in a quarry after the failed Sicilian expedition, and, in describing the Spartans' joy at pulling down the Long Walls of Athens (flute girls added to the atmosphere), we talked about what would it happen if China so conquered the U.S., the students having mentioned the former as the U.S.'s rival superpower.

Friday should be our last day of class but the superstorm pushed back the semester to next week. Usually I'm quite ready to sit back at this point but if I could eke out more weeks to give full justice to Athenian art and architecture, and tragedy, in the 5th century and the conquests of Alexander the Great as told by ancient historians, sweet. As it is, Friday will be devoted to the brief rise of Thebes and the coming of Philip of Macedon and then presentations next Tuesday and then Review For the Exam next Friday. Then Roman history, which I am not so inclined to, next semester.

And Greek tragedy will have its due in the fall, with lots of films if I can arrange it right.

And might as well put this translation here as I was rolling it around in my thoughts last night:

Stranger, go and tell the Lacedaemonians that here

we lie, their words we did obey.

ὦ ξεῖν᾽, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε

κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.

 

And yo, no, it was not my idea to have all these Greek vocabulary words on a quiz. 

Comments

[Linda]

"and yo,no...wish your classes were online.
Are they?

[autismvox]

Hi Linda, NO, my courses aren't online!