Classics Department University of Colorado Boulder

Because 10 years at sea wasn't dramatic enough, The Odyssey got the full Christopher Nolan treatment. Drop by our panel discussion on myth, film, and ancient epic on screen! Sept 17, 7–8 PM Eaton HUMN 250 #Classics #FilmHistory #Odyssey #CUBoulder

The Roman poet Catullus broke up with his girlfriend. Instead of moving on, he wrote dozens of incredibly bitter, hyper-specific poems mocking her new flings and published them for all of Rome to read. The original breakup track. #AncientTea #Classics #Relatable #CUBoulder #Poetry #Swifties

When King Philip of Macedon was invading Greece, he sent a threat to Sparta: "If I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms and level your city." The Spartans sent a reply containing just one word: "If." Absolute cold classic. #AncientTea #History #Classics #CUBoulder #Sparta

Think graffiti is a modern invention? Pompeii’s walls are covered in thousands of petty messages. "Secundus likes to cause trouble." "Chilon, I hope you itch!" Human pettiness is eternal. #AncientTea #History #Pompeii #Archsky #classics #CUBoulder

In Homer's Odyssey, getting directions was wild. Menelaus had to cover himself in smelly seal skins, hide in a seal herd, and wrestle the shape-shifting sea god Proteus while he turned into a lion, snake, and tree. Travel logistics were brutal. #AncientTea #Odyssey #Classics #Mythology #CUBoulder

While staying incognito at a banquet in Phaeacia, Odysseus listened to a local bard sing a dramatic song about... Odysseus. He sat there weeping into his cloak, forced to hear a stranger sing a ballad about his trauma. Main character syndrome, but literal. #AncientTea #Odyssey #classics #CUBoulder

When the Trojan War broke out, Odysseus didn't want to go. He pretended to be insane by hooking a donkey and an ox to a plow and sowing salt in his fields. Palamedes exposed him by putting Odysseus’s baby son in front of the plow. Busted. #AncientTea #History #Classics #TheOdysseyMovie #CUBoulder

Odysseus was gone 20 years, disguised as a beggar on his return. The only one to recognize him instantly? His dog, Argos. Argos wagged his tail, dropped his ears, and died happy on the spot. Proof dogs are too good for us. #AncientTea #Odyssey #classics #CUBoulder #dogsofbluesky #homer #mythology

An interview with the only Greek actor in Nolan's Odyssey (h/t Alicia Stallings): www.news247.gr/magazine/cul...

Pythagoras didn't just do math; he ran a cult. His strangest rule? A ban on fava beans because he believed they contained the souls of the dead. Legend says he died refusing to cross a bean field to escape attackers. Death by geometry and legumes. #AncientTea #math #maths #cuboulder #classics

Ever wonder why your paycheck is called a salary? It comes from the Latin salarium, which was money given to Roman soldiers specifically to buy salt (sal). Salt was so valuable that it literally became currency. Work hard, get your salt. #WeeklyWordNerd #classics #cuboulder #etymology #worklife

Crassus was the richest man in Rome, entirely obsessed with money. When he lost a battle to the Parthians, legend says they executed him by pouring molten gold down his throat to mock his greed. Talk about a brutal corporate performance review. #AncientTea #classics #cuboulder #ancienthistory

Romans used to write "curse tablets" on lead sheets and bury them. One actual tablet found in the UK curses a thief who stole a citizen's cloaks, praying that the thief loses their mind and eyes until they return them. Over a jacket. #AncientTea #Classics #History #CUBoulder #Archaeology #petty

The word "clue" originally meant a ball of thread. It comes from the Greek myth of Theseus, who used a ball of thread to find his way out of the Minotaur’s maze. So whenever you're following a clue, you're literally unraveling a ball of ancient string. #WeeklyWordNerd #Etymology #Classics #BookSky

Alcibiades was a brilliant Athenian general, but a total menace. He once defaced half the statues in Athens the night before a military expedition, switched sides to help Sparta when Athens got mad, and then switched back. Real-life chaotic neutral. #AncientTea #Classics #History #DND #TTRPG

Take a look at our CU Boulder Classics Starter Pack! go.bsky.app/RfNgnJh

We talk about political "propaganda" a lot, but the Romans coined it. It comes from the latin word "propagare," a farming term for "planting shoots" or propagating plants. It morphed from literally growing plants to planting ideas in people's heads. #WeeklyWordNerd #Etymology #Classics #CUBoulder

Ancient Tea ☕ Plato once defined a human as a "featherless biped." Diogenes the Cynic thought this was ridiculous. He plucked a chicken, brought it into Plato's academy, and shouted, "Behold! I've brought you a man!" Academic pettiness goes back 2,400 years. #AncientTea #classics #langsky

B M C R It’s fun to be in the BMCR bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2026/2026.05...

Weekly Word Nerd! 🤓 Ever wonder why we call it a "gymnasium"? It comes from the ancient Greek word "gymnos," which literally means "naked." Because ancient Greek athletes did all their training completely nude. Be glad your campus rec center left that tradition in the past. #WeeklyWordNerd🤓

Why does our everyday language owe so much to an extinct empire? 🏛️ Find out in LING/CLAS 1010: The Study of Words this Fall. Boost your GRE verbal score & learn a lifetime skill. 🗓️ Fall 2026 | MW 11:15am | Hellems E210 (w/ Fri recitation) 🎓 Satisfies Gen Ed: Social Sci or Arts & Humanities!

The University of Colorado Boulder offers online ancient Greek every summer! We have offered this class every summer since 2013 and will offer it again this summer. Sign up now before the class fills! You can find more information here: www.colorado.edu/classics/onl...

CU Arts & Sciences Magazine: Classics Prof. Reina Callier fighting to keep Latin classes alive through video storytelling - learning Latin ‘is like lifting weights for your brain’ www.colorado.edu/asmagazine/2...

🌟 You Belong in Latin 🌟 Check out this incredible video created by the Colorado Classics Association, featuring K-12 students sharing the value they gain from learning Latin. 📚✨ LINK: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP-j...

Check out our department's 2024 newsletter, hot off the presses: www.colorado.edu/classics/med...

CHA Director Featured in CU Arts & Sciences Podcast 🎙️ In this episode of The Ampersand, Jennifer Ho @drjenho.bsky.social shares insights on storytelling, art, & cultural identity. Listen as she discusses finding joy in hardship & the power of art in reconciliation. 🎧 www.podbean.com/ew/pb-bacfq-...

The significance of the Dec. 7 reopening of Notre Dame, featuring Classics professor Kirk Ambrose: www.colorado.edu/asmagazine/2...

The University of Colorado Boulder offers online ancient Greek every summer! We have offered this class every summer since 2013 and will offer it again this summer. You can find more information here: www.colorado.edu/classics/onl...

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