Primary Times Staffordshire Back to School 2017

An Ancient Mediterranean diet
– by Julia Wills
Nowadays the
Mediterranean diet
often makes the
news and it’s widely
accepted that eating
all those good fats
from olives and oily
fish boost your brain
big-time.
But guess what?
The Mediterranean diet has always been
good for us – except that I’m not talking
about feta cheese and salad in the sunshine
here. I’m talking about the Classics, those
much older gifts from Greece and Italy that
have always built better cognitive health and
are guaranteed to boost children for life.
Of course, primary school children already
have a taste of these: the opportunity to
learn about Ancient Greece and Rome,
discovering how the Greeks gave us
democracy, the Olympics, breathtaking
architecture, drama and the Iliad, whilst the
Romans thumped their sandals all over the
globe, sharing brick houses, roads, central
heating, sanitation, irrigation, writing and
Christianity. But, to paraphrase Monty
Python’s question, “What have the Romans
(and Greeks) ever done for us?” Those
ancient civilisations are far more than a tick
list of what they left behind.
Classics comprise learning Latin and Ancient
Greek, studying ancient civilisations and
ancient history. All of these can be accessed
at primary and secondary school level.
Better still with the growth of organisations
such as Classics For All, there is funding
available and access to teaching skills and
subject frameworks too.
But schools are overstretched already, aren’t
they, so why should yours consider Classics?
And besides, isn’t it all a bit snooty, the
hallmark of an elite education? In a word:
no. You see, Latin is now taught in more
state schools than private ones. And it,
together with Classics’ other doctrines, can
set children up as thinkers and doers for life.
Latin forms the bedrock of much of the
English language, and when studied as
a foreign language it opens the door to a
masterful command of grammar and an
enviable fluency of written and spoken
language. Ancient Greek is intrinsic in
our language too, and to anyone who
says otherwise, I would simply say,
“Hippopotamus*”! Studying ancient
civilisations and history builds children’s
critical thinking, their ability to build an
argument, their lateral and logical thinking.
But infusing all those good things, like
beautifully mixed oil and vinegar dressing
drizzled over salad, is something even tastier:
the Classics nurture imagination like no other
discipline.
“Imagination”, said Lewis Carroll (who,
incidentally, had a degree in Classics)
“is the only weapon in the war against
reality”. Whilst Albert Einstein (who didn’t)
concluded, “Imagination is more important
than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world.” And,
let’s face it, in an era where our recent
reality has sprung some truly appalling
surprises, imagination has never been more
important: the imagination to come up with
new solutions, the imagination to persuade
people that there are better ways to live and,
most humanely, the imagination to wonder
what it’s like to actually be someone else.
Empathy flourishes when children consider
what life as an Ancient Greek slave must
have been like. Or a Roman emperor,
plotted against by his friends. What did a
ten-year old Spartan boy think about his lot
as a soldier? Or an Ancient Briton whose
town was invaded by the Roman army?
Being immersed in different ways of lives
and unfamiliar values develops an empathy
that last a lifetime. And I, for one, can’t think
of anything more important for youngsters,
whether in an educational context or out of it.
Through their ideas, military conquests
and societies, the Greeks and Romans
established the framework of the Western
world, from the governments that rule it
today to the coins that are spent each day
in our shops. But it is through their stories,
thinking and thinkers that they informed
our understanding of what it means to be
human. The first story in Western literature
is Homer’s Iliad – on the face of it a tale of
the Trojan War. But it’s the story’s take on
jealousy, wrath, glory, love, fury and futility
that draw the modern reader. Anyone who
experiences it cannot help but take sides
– the noble Hector versus the vainglorious
Achilles – conflict, as fresh and relevant as
the day it was written down, mixed with
tragedy, bloodshed and immortality. The
Romans left a legacy of conquests and a
cast of real-life characters with jaw-dropping
stories, such as Caligula, who threatened to
make his horse consul, or Livia, rumoured to
have poisoned her husband with figs to stop
him from denying her son’s right to become
emperor.
Beyond primary and secondary school,
a degree in Classics leads to a surprising
number of career opportunities. Whilst not
a vocational degree – unless you count
academia and archaeology – graduates thrive
in journalism, law, politics, art, theatre, writing,
computer gaming – and most other things
besides. Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Martin and
J K Rowling are all proof of the remarkable
outcomes of studying Classics. But, for me,
this ancient Mediterranean diet is far more
nourishing. With its heady mix of history,
myth and magic, it captures children’s interest
early and leads them to become creative,
empathetic thinkers with an internalised sense
of justice, equality and responsibility. And,
for me, that’s what makes it one of the most
important and life-affirming subjects we can
offer our youngsters.
Hippopotamus: from the Greek
hippos meaning horse and potamos
meaning river, so literally a ‘river
horse’.
Julia Wills brings the Classics to
life with her books ‘Fleeced!’ and
‘Rampage!’
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