Classics

Rome Trip

On t he 2 1st Oc t obe r 20 18 some bra ve NHEHS C l assi cs stu de nt s, and fo ur e ven brav er t ea che rs , go t on an earl y 4am fl ight t o Ro me t o se e t he Col os seum and t o tr a vel t o Pomp eii a nd see Ca eci l i us’s ho us e. W hen we arri ve d i n Rome we went o n a wal ki ng t our of t he city and s topp ed off at t he Pan the on. We wer e v er y im presse d by t he engi neer in g of t he curved fl oor wh ic h w as d esi gn ed s o t ha t whe n t he rai n came t hro ugh t he oculu s i n th e r oof i t d rai ned away. Aft er se ei ng t hi s mo num en t we got so me d eli c ious It a li an food a t t he l oca l re st aurant s.

The next day, the eage r gr oup t oo k a gui ded tour of t he awe i nspi ri ng C ol osseum and l e arnt some very i nt eresti ng fact s. Di d yo u kno w t he Col oss eum sta nd s at 4 8 m ete r s t all and i t t ook 10 ye ars to buil d? Or t ha t it a t tra cts 4. 2 mi ll i on visi t ors a yea r? Aft er t he l ong t ou r we walk ed around t he P al at i ne Hi ll where acco rdi ng t o l egend, Ro mul us f ounde d Rom e, and ha s m an y of t he ci t y’s most an cie nt bu i ld i ngs ne arby. We al so s aw t he Circ us Maxim us, from B en Hur, and the Trevi Fountain. We threw coins into the fountains and made wishes - so according to legend this will guarantee us a return to the Eternal City. Did you know that in 2016, €1.2 million was thrown in, and it was donated to the needy through Caritas? We also brought some delicious Italian gelato. I tried un cono con una pallina fragola (a cone of strawberry ice cream!) and at dinner we had a pizza party! On the last day, we went to Pompeii. We were astounded, as it was so big and detailed. In the boathouses you could see the preserved skulls of Ancient Romans who tried to escape by boat as Vesuvius erupted. We also enjoyed crossing the ‘vias’ as the Romans had installed stepping stones to walk across the dirty road. Another thing we enjoyed was the Temple of Jupiter as it was such an influential monument in Ancient Rome but now has been reduced to just a few columns. We were excited to find Caecilius’s house, but as it happened it was closed for repairs, so we could not see the location of most of the stories of our Cambridge Latin Course 1. The trip was over far too quickly, and we are excited for what the Greek trip has in store for us next October!

Imogen Day, Year 9

On the 23rd October we went on a coach to Vesuvius. We were very excited to climb the mountain but due to the path being unsafe we ended up going to the Villa Poppaea instead. It is believed to be the residence of Emperor Nero’s wife, Poppea Sabina. It was a huge house and had its own bath house, swimming pool and many luxury frescos. It was amazing to see how rich Romans lived as a London house could have easily fitted inside just the atrium. Afterwards, we had a myth competition in our hotel, featuring a very funny re-telling of Cupid and Psyche.

Elgin Marbles: why should you care?

Today, if you want to see a little piece of Classical Athens, any one of us can take a trip down to the British Museum and feast our eyes on the Elgin Marbles, the controversial collection of stone sculptures and inscriptions taken by Lord Elgin and brought back to Britain in the beginning of the 19th century. In recent years the antique stones have become a source of controversy, with disagreement as to whether the marbles belong in the British Museum.

The historic row began when Greece demanded the marbles be returned on the grounds that they were taken illegally under Turkish control in Greece, some suggesting that the Elgin bribed officials to gain the rights to the sculptures. The issue has apparently been raised with every British ambassador in Greece since. However, the British Museum maintains that the sculpture were obtained with the permission of the ottoman authorities who controlled Greece at the time and that returning the marbles would set a troubling precedent for other museums housing artefacts obtained under similar circumstances (as arguably many works in the British Museum are).

Greece claims that the marbles are a part of Greek history and belong in the Acroplis Museum along with another 30% of the marbles (65% of the original marbles are housed around the world – London and Athens both hold around 30% each) as a symbol of Greek antiquity and culture. Britain maintains that the marbles give the ‘maximum public benefit’ from London where they currently live, claiming that they are more representative of a lost Athenian civilisation in which much of western art and culture finds its roots, rather than a modern Greece and therefore the stones have the widest cultural reach from the British Museum.

Minimus

Over the spring term, NHEHS Classics students have been teaching the Minimus course to pupils at North Ealing Primary and at the Junior School, with the aim of giving them an insight into the Latin language and classical mythology. The course is centred around Minimus – a mouse living in Roman Britain around 2000 years ago, who narrates his life with a Roman family and the adventures they have together. Along with stories in Latin, the course includes sections about ancient history and life in the Roman Empire, which proved very exciting for girls at the Junior School as they had recently been learning about this in class. It was incredibly rewarding to help the girls progress from knowing no words at all to being able to translate full stories by themselves, and share in their excitement at being able to write birthday cards to their parents in Latin. The term culminated in the Minimus play competition, in which the students have to translate, memorise, and perform a play completely in Latin, which is then entered into a national competition. Our students rose to the challenge brilliantly, quickly translating the version of ‘Midas and the Golden Touch’ which we had painstakingly written for them, and then set about rehearsing and acting it out with impressive dramatic flair. Having won the competition several times before, we were keen to ensure that the title was re-gained this year, so lavish costumes and impressively realistic props were all employed to make sure this happened. The plays were a fantastic end to what had proved to be a rewarding few weeks for everyone involved, and it is safe to say that all of us from year twelve at NHEHS will be returning to teach Minimus again next year! FOR THE RETURN: - Ancient cultural treasures belong in their country of origin. - Other European museums have acknowledged Greek claims and returned taken items to the Acropolis. - Athens have been committing to restoring the Aropolis and would display them as they would have originally appeared, doing the history of the artefacts the most justice. - The marbles have been irreparably damaged in London as a result of pollution and the British Museums attempts to clean them - The circumstances under which Lord Elgin obtained the Marbles is dubious at best.

AGAINST THE RETURN: - If all museums met such claims, many great museums would lose trademark artefacts and exhibits. - Their place in the British museum allows them to be compared in an ‘international context’ to other cultures. - Many of the sculprures are lost forever anyway – the set will never be complete. - The marbles were protected from damage during the Greek war of independence where the Parthenon faced significant Ottoman attack. - Elgin received permission from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. - The Legal charter of the British Museum prohibits the return of items in its collection under the British Museum Act (1963).

Well you’ve heard the arguments for and against, why not have your say on one of Classics oldest ongoing debates? Do you think the Elgin Marbles should be returned or stay where they are?

Ella Campbell, Year 12