All Videos Tagged Terence (eLatin eGreek eLearn) - eLatin eGreek eLearn

The Almost-Complete Athenian History in 10 Minutes by Students in CSTS119 (Haverford College)

2010-06-01T21:00:14.394Z

For our project, we have made a short movie going through the entire historical period we studied in class but at a very fast pace, and heavily abbreviated as a result.

Conloca Tuum Anates in Ordinem

2010-05-31T00:46:24.235Z

A dramatic portrayal of the Battle of Munda from Caesar's standpoint as he describes the events leading up to the battle and the effects of his victory (i.e., the result of a mistake made by his enemy). Filmed in classic-celluloid style with a twist, "Conloca Tuum Anates in Ordinem (Get Your Ducks in a Line)" will show you that maybe Caesar did know quack about war. Maybe not.

"Panic! The Sicilian Misadventure" by students in CSTS119 (Haverford College)

2010-05-25T15:37:50.106Z

In our vision of the Sicilian expedition we obviously used a loose interpretation of the actual events. The goal was to capture the essence of the expedition’s failings, the inherent incompatibility of a democratic method in the middle of a war or similar crisis. Obviously the Athenian soldiers never held an assembly during the expedition. However, the blind faith Athenians placed in democracy, expecting three drastically differing generals to come to a reasoned agreement on how to fight a war, is reflected in such an action. Since Nicias did not even want to be a part of the expedition to Sicily, he was probably an even worse choice for Strategoi than some random Athenian who would have at least fallen more in line with Lamachus in his enthusiasm for the affair. Instead, Nicias’ caution and hesitation proved the downfall of Athens. Rather than aiding the expedition with his input, Nicias simply restricted the actions of Lamachus by constantly opposing his decisions. When the soldiers stand up and decide to have an assembly they are doing exactly what the actual Athenians did when they sent Nicias along. Three generals are better than one, why not include the soldiers in the decision-making process? The more viewpoints the better the debate and then a truly informed decision can be made. Unfortunately times of crisis demand expediency, one thing democracy is not known for. In the game we wasted entire class periods arguing over whether or not a citizen would be allowed to privately fund a school. If you need more evidence look no further than Haverford’s own process of consensus. Plenary is a painful reminder of the flaws of democracy.

The second aspect of Athenian democracy we hoped to convey was the mob mentality. The people of Athens prove easily distracted and time and again are steered off course on ultimately inconsequential pursuits. When trapped on the wrong side of the ditch, the soldiers following Lamachus decide to have an ostracism rather than attend to the vastly more important threat of the Syracusans. The exact same thing happened in the game when instead of deciding how to construct our foreign policy we ostracized Thrasybulus, successfully accomplishing nothing of any importance. It may seem ridiculous until we remember the accusations brought against Alcibiades the day of the expedition. With Athens sending one of its largest fleets ever assembled on a prolonged mission, this would hardly seem like the right time to put the lead strategoi on trial for conspiracy. Political infighting weakened crippled the expedition. With Alcibiades support, Lamachus would probably have been able to overcome Nicias’ resistance. After Lamachus died, the presence of Alcibiades would also most likely have meant the completion of the wall and perhaps Athenian victory.

While it may not be the most factual account of the Sicilian expedition it certainly reflects the absurdity of democracy in a time of crisis that eventually tore Athens down from its seat of empire.

Dominus Anulorum

2010-05-24T18:27:05.312Z

This is my A.P. Latin class' final project. After the exam, the class wrote and filmed a version of the Lord of the Rings in Latin. It was made by the A.P. Latin class of Oakmont Regional High School in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, Jocelyn Demuth, teacher.
The movie project has become a traditional part of the after A.P. curriculum. We begin by brainstorming different movie scripts that we might write in Latin. The class then votes on the movie that they want to write and we rent it and watch it. We then cull scenes from the movie that are filmable given our limited budget (none) and filming schedule - two weeks before the seniors graduate.
After the scenes are listed, I then assign the scenes to different students. Each student is responsible for writing one of the scenes in Latin. While I offer guidance, this is done largely independently and their ability to correctly write their scene into Latin becomes the "final exam" grade.
After this has been completed, we begin filming. Luckily our school has a beautiful pastoral setting that made filming the woods scenes of the Lord of the Rings a workable project. Costumes and props were created from what we could bring in.
Our schedule does not allow us to memorize the lines so lines are written on white boards and held off camera for the actor to read. We rehearse the scene before filming it but again, time is limited.
Editing of movies that I have "produced" varies widely. I was especially impressed by the editing done of this movie. The film editor used all his own software to produce the final product. He spent hours cutting scenes, adding subtitles and music to smooth out our production. For teachers wondering what to do after the A.P., I highly recommend this project. It is the highlight of the year and sometimes the reason why students sign up for A.P. Latin in the first place. Previous movies projects include Psycho, The Shining and a film version of The Aeneid.
As a footnote, I might also add that all the actors passed the A.P. exam.

Franco DiRe Stories: Catullus 101

2010-05-09T22:43:34.530Z

The great Franco DiRe returns to take on the great poet Catullus. Catullus in this story journeys the Ancient Bythinia to face the death of his brother...