Riverbend High School ALL THINGS CLASSICAL

Return to Home

The Acropolis at Night
The Acropolis at Sunset
The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Latin is a Dead Language...
Latin Lyrics for the EU Anthem?
The Seal and Motto of the County of Spotsylvania, Virginia
The Temple of Aphaia in Aegina, Greece
What Can I Do with a Career in Classics?
What Have the Romans Done for Us Lately?

Latin Motto of the European Union: In varietate concordia
"United in diversity"

Proposed Lyrics in Latin for the EU Anthem:

Est Europa nunc unita
et unita maneat;
una in diversitate
pacem mundi augeat.

Semper regant in Europa
fides et iustitia
et libertas populorum
in maiore patria.

Cives, floreat Europa,
opus magnum vocat vos.
Stellae signa sunt in caelo
aureae, quae iungant nos.

Europe is united now
United it may remain;
Our unity in diversity
May contribute to world peace.

May there forever reign in Europe
Faith and justice
And freedom for its people
In a greater motherland

Citizens, Europe shall flourish,
A great task calls on you.
Golden stars in the sky are
The symbols that shall unite us.

Return to the top of the page.

What can I do with a degree in CLASSICS?
Practical information from the University of Tennessee

Return to the top of the page.

The Temple of Aphaia in Aegina, Greece

The Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece (July 2004)
(in a watercolor effect)

Return to the top of the page.

The Acropolis at Night

The Acropolis of Athens at night (The view from our hotel, July 2004)

Return to the top of the page.

Latin is a Dead Language...

Return to the top of the page.

The Acropolis at Sunset

A recent photograph of the Acropolis in Athens.

Return to the top of the page.

What Have the Romans Done for Us Lately?

From RogueClassicism:

~ Funniest Movie Scene

Blockbuster in the UK has apparently conducted some sort of survey on what the funniest scene in movie history was. The winner was John Cleese's "What have the Romans done for us lately" scene from the Life of Brian. I'm sure everyone who reads rogueclassicism has this scene memorized, but in case you haven't:

REG
They've bled us white, the bastards. They've taken everything we had, not just from us, from our fathers and from our fathers' fathers.

STAN
And from our fathers' fathers' fathers.

REG
Yes.

STAN
And from our fathers' fathers' fathers' fathers.

REG
All right, Stan. Don't labour the point. And what have they ever given us IN RETURN? (he pauses smugly)

XERXES
The aqueduct?

REG
What?

XERXES
The aqueduct.

REG
Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That's true.

MASKED COMMANDO
And the sanitation!

STAN
Oh yes ... sanitation, Reg, you remember what the city used to be like.

REG
All right, I'll grant you that the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans HAVE done ...

MATTHIAS
And the roads ...

REG
(sharply) Well YES OBVIOUSLY the roads ... the roads go without saying. But apart from the aqueduct, the sanitation and the roads ...

ANOTHER MASKED COMMANDO
Irrigation ...

OTHER MASKED VOICES
Medicine ... Education ... Health

REG
Yes ... all right, fair enough ...

COMMANDO NEARER THE FRONT
And the wine ...

GENERAL
Oh yes! True!

FRANCIS
Yeah. That's something we'd really miss if the Romans left, Reg.

MASKED COMMANDO AT BACK
Public baths!

STAN
AND it's safe to walk in the streets at night now.

FRANCIS
Yes, they certainly know how to keep order ...
(general nodding)
... let's face it, they're the only ones who could in a place like this.
(more general murmurs of agreement)

REG
All right ... all right ... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order ... what HAVE the Romans done for US?

XERXES
Brought peace!

REG
(very angry, he's not having a good meeting at all)
What!? Oh ... (scornfully) Peace, yes ... shut up!

And just to keep the Latin teachers happy, here's the next scene from the flick:

C: What's this thing?
"ROMANES EUNT DOMUS"?
"People called Romanes they go the house"?
B: It, it says "Romans go home".
C: No it doesn't. What's Latin for "Roman"?
B: (hesitates)
C: Come on, come on!
B: (uncertain) "ROMANUS".
C: Goes like?
B: "-ANUS".
C: Vocative plural of "-ANUS" is?
B: "-ANI".
C: (takes paintbrush from Brian and paints over) "RO-MA-NI".
"EUNT"? What is "EUNT"?
B: "Go".
C: Conjugate the verb "to go"!
B: "IRE". "EO", "IS", "IT", "IMUS", "ITIS", "EUNT".
C: So "EUNT" is ...?
B: Third person plural present indicative, "they go".
C: But "Romans, go home!" is an order, so you must use the ...?
(lifts Brian by his hairs)
B: The ... imperative.
C: Which is?
B: Ahm, oh, oh, "I", "I"!
C: How many romans? (pulls harder)
B: Plural, plural! "ITE".
C: (strikes over "EUNT" and paints "ITE" to the wall)
(satisfied) "I-TE".
"DOMUS"? Nominative? "Go home", this is motion towards, isn't it, boy?
B: (very anxious) Dative?
C: (draws his sword and holds it to Brian's throat)
B: Ahh! No, ablative, ablative, sir. No, the, accusative, accusative,
ah, DOMUM, sir.
C: Except that "DOMUS" takes the ...?
B: ... the locative, sir!
C: Which is?
B: "DOMUM".
C: (satisfied) "DOMUM" (strikes out "DOMUS" and writes "DOMUM") "-MUM".
Understand?
B: Yes sir.
C: Now write it down a hundred times.
B: Yes sir, thank you sir, hail Caesar, sir.

Full script at lagged.za

::Tuesday, December 21, 2004 7:35:05 AM::

Return to the top of the page.

The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia

The obverse side of the great seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus representing the spirit of the Commonwealth. She is dressed as an Amazon, a sheathed sword in one hand, and a spear in the other, and one foot on the form of Tyranny, who is pictured with a broken chain in his left hand, a scourge in his right, and his fallen crown nearby, implying struggle that has ended in complete victory. Virginia's motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis (Latin for "Thus Always to Tyrants"), appears at the bottom.

Source: Emblems of the Commonwealth

On the reverse side of the seal are the three Roman goddesses, Libertas (Liberty) in the center holding a wand and pileus in her right hand, Aerternitas (Eternity) with a globe and phoenix in her right hand, and Ceres (Fruitfulness) with a cornucopia in her left hand and an ear of wheat in her right. At the top is the word Perservando (Latin for "by Persevering"). A border of Virginia creeper encircles the designs on each side.

Source: Emblems of the Commonwealth

Return to the top of the page.

The Seal and Motto of the County of Spotsylvania, Virginia

Return to the top of the page.

This page has been created and is maintained by Mark A. Keith for the Latin program at Riverbend High School in Fredericksburg, VA. The content herein is solely the responsibility of the website editor and does not imply promotion, sponsorship, or endorsement by Riverbend High School or Spotsylvania County Public Schools.
Created: March 21, 2004. Last revised: March 21, 2008.