A favourite moment from Thucydides - a curious detail that seems like he's channeling his inner Herodotus:

In Athens "the elder men of the rich families who had these luxurious tastes only recently gave up wearing linen undergarments and tying their hair behind their heads in a knot fastened with a clasp of golden grasshoppers". (1.6)

#AncientGreece #AncientHistory

Beautiful quote from Cicero:

sōlis candor inlūstrior est quam ūllīus ignis, quippe quī inmēnsō mundō tam longē lātēque conlūceat.

The brightness of the sun is more brilliant than that of any fire, inasmuch as it shines so far and wide in an immeasurable universe.

Cicero, De Natura Deorum 2.40.3

Quote and translation in Jones and Sidwell, Reading Latin: Grammar and Exercises, 2nd edn., p.145.
#Latin #LinguaLatina #Cicero

TLDR: How can I retain my Latin? :)

I'm looking for any advice on retaining ancient languages when you have to focus your studies on a different area for a time.

I am taking ancient Greek next year after spending two years studying Latin. But I am keen to retain my current level of Latin - to the extent possible without the daily intensity of the last two years. With Greek to learn, a day job in a different area and family commitments, I know this will be a challenge.

I'd be grateful for any advice on what strategies you have found useful for retaining (even improving?) language fluency, especially in ancient languages.

I have some general thoughts at this stage (LLPSI, periodically translating passages as we did in class, reading parallel texts, etc.).

However I'm interested in any more specific strategies that have worked for the Mastodon history community.

@histodons
#AncientHistory #AncientMed #classics #LinguaLatina #Latin #AncientGreek #AncientLanguages #histodons