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THE BLUE & GOLD

Blast from the classic past

Blast from the classic past

In 2011, TAS introduced Latin and Greek as a new course in the Upper School. Three years later, the Classics department is thriving, with dozens of Latin and Greek students in both Middle and Upper School and an impressive list of awards from National Latin and Greek organizations.
Classics is the study of Ancient Greek and Latin. Anyone who speaks French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, or any other Romance language will find that these languages share striking similarities to Latin. That’s because all of the above languages actually evolved from 6th-9th century Latin.
Now, the Classics department will be furthering their growth by bringing in Classics scholar Stanley Lombardo. Mr Lombardo is the Professor of Classics at the University of Kansas, and has worked extensively in translating and recording many Latin and Greek literary works. In fact, his translations of The Odyssey and The Illiad are the ones used by the TAS English department today. Compared to other translators, Mr Lombaro favors the usage of more conversational English as opposed to stiffer, more formal language in translations, a fact many TAS students appreciate. Mr. Lombardo is also talented at recitation and performance of Greek and Latin, and will be performing a few shows during his stay in Taipei.
According to Dr Hansen, head of the Classics department, “[Mr Lombardo] has this special gift for translation. If he reads something beautiful in one language, he can often make it equally beautiful in another language, which is really quite difficult.” Mr Lombardo will be visiting several Classics and Theater classes, as well doing a couple of performances of Latin and Greek recitation.
For students wondering about any special presentations or performances to look forward to, Mr Lombardo himself recommends students to watch his performances of Homeric poetry: “I usually begin by reciting some of it in Greek and then continue in my English translation, accompanying myself with a drum.”

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