St. Louis Art Museum's Ancient Art

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful winter break.  While I was on break I went to St. Louis for a wedding and while I was there I went to the St. Louis Art Museum.  I especially enjoyed the modern art collection but naturally I had to find an ancient art gallery and they do have one.  Unfortunately their collection is relatively small but nevertheless the pieces were stunning.  Here are a couple of my favorites...

 

This is an early Byzantine tapestry depicting a shepherd milking a goat.  It is said to be from Egypt.

 

Here is a statue of Artemis running, dating between the late 2nd century AD and 1st century BC.

If you ever find yourself in St. Louis looking for something to do, head over to the museum.  The ancient art collection is small but great and if you're interested in other kinds of collections they have excellent collections of modern, ancient American and Native American art.  Have a good week!

Christmas Eve Mass

So I am usually the last person you'd see in any church setting, but when a close friend suggested we go to Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago for Christmas Eve I decided to give it a shot. I was led to believe that mass would be done in Latin, which was unfortunately not the case, except for a few songs. 

Full Cathedral View
Credit: Holy Name Cathedral

The Cathedral itself is quite beautiful, speaking for an artistic and architectural point. The ceiling is largely decorated with wood and gold. It does looks spectacular and very expensive. Stained glass windows decorate the sides. Art work is spectacular, of course. The thing that stood out most, however, was the organ. The gallery organ is made of 5,558 pipes, which paired with the choir performing that night, filled the church beautifully. 

Ceiling decorations as seen from entrance

Unfortunately this is the only good picture I have from the night. Mass was being recorded for TV viewing, professional equipment and massive lights were in the way of any attempt at documenting the church's art work.

I'm including a few examples of the latin song selections from that night for your enjoyment. 

Adeste Fideles:
Adeste fideles læti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte, Regem angelorum:
Venite adoremus, Venite adoremus, 
Venite adoremus, Dominum.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine
Gestant puellæ viscera.
Deum verum, genitum non factum.Venite adoremus, Venite adoremus, 
Venite adoremus, Dominum.

Gloria:
Glória in excélsis Deo
et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis.
Laudámus te,
benedícimus te,
adorámus te,
glorificámus te,
grátias ágimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis,
Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili Unigénite, Iesu Christe,
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,
qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis;
qui tollis peccáta mundi, súscipe deprecatiónem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus, tu solus Altíssimus,
Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spíritu: in glória Dei Patris. Amen.

Graffiti from Pompeii

A few days ago I stumbled across a site called Graffiti from Pompeii. It’s basically just inscriptions, or graffiti, that were preserved on the walls of Pompeii. These inscriptions range from simple statements to random declarations. It’s almost like reading what people post on Facebook or Twitter, in my opinion. I think it’s interesting to read because you’re getting a brief glimpse of the personalities and lives of people in the past.

So if you’re interested you can check it out here: Graffiti from Pompeii

-Rachele

Mythology

Hi guys,

I just wanted to take a second today to see how everyone's winter break is going. I hope that your freedom from class work and assigned readings has welcomed back the pleasure of reading for enjoyment. I have certainly rekindled the romance that I have with books. Since this blog does pertain to classical heritage, I wanted to draw your attention to a wonderful book that I was introduced to in high school. I'm sure many of you know if it:

Edith Hamilton's Mythology

Here is the link to the book on Amazon. It's a classic text that focuses primarily on Greek and Roman mythology with a smaller section on Norse mythology. I read it in high school then again in college. If you want a condensed learning experience to introduce you to all the greatness that Greco-Roman mythology has to offer, this is the place.

One more thing, I just came across a fun new book that takes a different approach to this subject:

Cory O'Brien's Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology

I don't want to ruin the comedic perfection that is this book - and that is just based on the preview available on Amazon. Do yourself a favor and just check it out here. It's quite funny, I assure you. One difference, this book does include more than just Greco-Roman mythology, which is a plus really.

Happy readings (I hope)!

Love,
Elif

Aeneas and Anchises at the Art Institute of Chicago

Almost every time I look at a painting, sculpture or even a print which depicts a scene in Classical mythology I try to recollect the entire story which that scene is a part of.  This is one of my favorite pieces on display in the Art Institute of Chicago.  Aeneas, a prince of Troy, is rushing to Anchises, his father, so that they may escape the city before the Greeks completely overrun it and subdue every Trojan.  This scene is an event narrated in Vergil’s Aeneid, which was commissioned by Emperor Augustus in order to glorify the Roman Empire by associating its founding with the Trojan War and the Trojan prince, Aeneas, which Homer describes in his Iliad. 

Aeneas and Anchises did escape Troy with Aeneas’s son and a band of comrades.  Anchises dies before the end of the epic journey to Italy and is buried in Sicily.  Nevertheless, this is a great work.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful winter break!  Happy holidays!

Scott

Librivox, Free Audiobooks

I was at work recently doing mundane tasks when I found myself needing some stimulation, listening to music just wasn’t cutting it for me. I decided to listen to an audio book and what better topic than Antiquity! I was able to go on Librivox.org and listen to some classical comedy while working on my spreadsheets, which made the time pass so much quicker! I was elated!

Librivox is a website that asks volunteers around the world to read and record books that are in the public domain. These recordings are then made available to all to listen to for free! You can find practically anything on there; I’ve listened to books on all different topics in the past, as my commute gets lengthy and boring very often. You can download these on your computer, listen online or even get them on your phone. There are multiple applications that host these audiobooks, so they’re practically at your fingertips!

The Classics Section at Librivox is full of great titles, from Virgil’s “Aeneid” to Plato’s “The Symposium.” I highly recommend listening to the works as you may need to for class to supplement the readings or just for your own pleasure. When I took the Heroes and Epics course I made sure to listen to the Aeneid to help with my understanding and memory of the story! Listening to these during your commutes instead of music is a great choice, as you’re actually expanding your mind and learning! 

In addition, why not check out Lysistrata read by our own Classical God Dr. Kirk Shellko and a few of our fellow students (now alumni). And if you’re interested in participating in a future reading let us know and we will happily put a group together and volunteer to read some Classical goodness. 

Your President,

Paulina

The Study of Philosophy

One of my favorite subjects is Philosophy! The thing about philosophy is that it is all about questioning, but there’s never an absolute answer.  Some answers can seem absolute, but then you’ll read something else, or have a discussion with another and suddenly you’re mind has been opened to a new perspective.

I think it is important to study philosophy. It allows you to learn how to question yourself which I think is something people should do more of. Not questioning like “Maybe I’m not good enough,” or terribly negative thoughts, but question “What is good? Why am I measuring myself to this goodness? Is it really good?” I think studying philosophers and how they came to view and explain the world begins the process of your own understanding of the world. 

-Rachele