03/27/2026
Why should we still read Greek and Latin authors today?
Because, quite simply, they speak about us.
Ancient texts are not distant or obsolete. They grapple with the same questions we continue to ask: Where do we come from? What is love? What is justice? Why do we go to war? What makes a good society?
In a world of instant answers, the Classics invite us to slow down, reflect, and engage deeply with ideas that still shape our lives.
In 415 BCE, during the Peloponnesian War, at a moment of profound violence in the Greek world, Euripides presented The Trojan Women to the Athenian public. Likely influenced by the massacre at Melos, he offered a powerful warning, exposing the consequences faced by those who abandon compassion, justice, and respect for the divine.
As Euripides reminds us:
“Foolish is the one who lays waste to cities, and abandons temples and tombs--the sacred shelter of the dead: sooner or later, they will pay dearly for their crimes.”
This tragedy is a striking denunciation of war--not only the suffering of the defeated, but also the moral corruption of the victors, who are so easily led to abuse their power.
Set in the aftermath of Troy’s fall, the play does not celebrate past glory. Instead, it confronts us with a stark reality: unburied bodies, ships waiting to carry away the spoils, and Trojan women facing exile and enslavement.
Its message remains deeply relevant. The human condition in times of war changes very little--and for this reason, works written thousands of years ago continue to speak with urgency and force.
At the Classics Department, we believe these texts are not ancient in spirit--they are profoundly contemporary.
