CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
November 2016
CAI BRANCH & UNIVERSITY NEWS CAI CORK The Cork Branch at their recent stand in September at the Adult Education Exhibition in the City Hall were thrilled to be awarded the Best Overall Display Stand Award. As there were almost fifty stands, some from universities and institutes of technology, it was a great honour to come out on top. Many thanks to all the Branch members who ‘manned’ the stand over the two days.
Our first lecture of the season was in October and for this we had Dr Jason Harris from the History Department of UCC. The title of the illustrated talk was ‘Getting down and dirty with the Romans: How to be crude in Renaissance Latin’. The title was intriguing and we were assured that plenty examples of bad language would be used! They were. Some of the questions addressed were: what can be mentioned in polite company? and, for that matter, what makes language impolite in company? According to Plinio Veronese, “No elegant woman is chaste” and it would seem that Catullus, Martial, Horace, Ovid, Juvenal and Cicero were given to frequent bouts of less than elegant expression. November saw us welcome Dr Catherine Ware from the Department of Classics, UCC. Dr Ware is the latest addition to the staff there and has made a big impact since arriving. In September she organised a day seminar relating to Seamus Heaney’s translation of Virgil’s Aeneid VI. It was a superb day in spite of the shocking weather and all 8
who attended (and there were many) were treated to a diverse series of talks which helped to bring Book VI to life even more, if that is possible. Catherine spoke to the branch on ‘Condemned to the arena: a literary theme’. This was also an illustrated talk and helped trace the link between the physical arena and mentions of it in literature. Wherever the Romans conquered and settled, they built an arena. The last gladiatorial games were held in Rome in 404 AD, which is a long time from the oldest surviving amphitheatre in Pompeii dating to about 70 BC. That time span would amount to a huge number of animals and people killed. We learned quite a few interesting facts: gladiators did not fight animals, animals fought Christians. A day at the arena was just that, a day! Beast shows took place in the morning, executions at lunchtime, and gladiatorial contests brought the evening to a close. What more would one want for a day’s entertainment! In literature, Caesar and Pompey were described as gladiators. The theme is first referenced in the Aeneid, Book XII, and it is also seen in Lucian. In the Imperial Panegyrics, the theme of the amphitheatre is very popular. The arena, like the emperor, was the focus; one was the centre for the entertainment, the other was the centre of everything. In December we will welcome Dr Michael Hanaghan, again from the Department of Classics in UCC. A full report on Michael’s talk on ‘The epistolary narratives of Sidonius Apollinaris’ will appear in the next newsletter. The programme for the Spring term will be available shortly, but a preview of the speakers includes Dr Jo Day (UCD), Dr Damien Bracken (UCC), Dr Alexandra Guglielimi (UCD), and in May a number of members’ papers from the Branch.