By T’Neil Gooden
The BC Classical Society held a Valentine’s Day event on Thursday, Feb. 13 in the Costas Library. Students were tested on their knowledge of the love that existed throughout history, including mythological gods whose names are littered across the classical world. The gathering allowed attendees across disciplines to share their wisdom about the importance of knowledge of the classics.
“The classics are a great way to know about the traditions of the ancient world and how it has been transcribed over time,” Shania Clarke, a junior at BC, told The Vanguard. “For instance, I’m currently learning about the most known and mass-produced technology from the ancient world: coins. It is considered to be the first-ever tool to be produced with such a high demand. Coins were a form of art, games, jewelry, politics, etc. There’s so much to discover within the classics. It’s like solving a puzzle.”
The event started with an icebreaker to help students build a community with the people they had just interacted with. Three games of cards followed, and students mingled and laughed as though they had known each other before the event.
“My favorite part of the event would definitely have to be the fellowship. It’s amazing to see people from different academic fields come together in Boylan 2405 and join us to celebrate everything that is classic,” Caren Ghali, president of the Classical Society and senior at BC, told The Vanguard.
The event brought students together to share their knowledge about the love that exists in the classical world, as many do not know the origins of love and admiration.
“The classical world is full of love stories; from Eros and Psyche to Odysseus and Penelope, their tales still ring strongly in our hearts today,” Nico Vila, a freshman at BC and classics lover, told The Vanguard. “It’s also especially interesting to see the many different forms of love in the ancient Greek world, and how they differentiate between types like divine love to platonic love to familial love.”
According to NPR, ancient festivities played a significant role in Valentine’s Day. Between Feb. 13 and Feb. 15., the Romans would celebrate the feast of Lupercalia, which promoted fertility. Over time, these rituals were combined with St. Valentine’s Day.
“Classics holds a lot of unique treasures. As a classics major, I’ve found a new love for learning about the past and how it resonates with our future,” Clarke told The Vanguard. “The first connection that comes to mind is Cupid, aka, Eros, aka, the God of Love. His very imagery is replicated on Valentine’s Day, with the bow and arrow and angelic wings. Historically, classical holidays have been heavily linked to influence holidays, Valentine’s Day being one of them.”
This event not only brought students together but created a community for students who are familiar with and want to learn more about the genre of classics.
“An event like this and the Classical Society as a whole is incredibly important to me because, for the first two years of my undergraduate experience, I thought that there was no community at a commuter school like Brooklyn College,” Ghali told The Vanguard. “Joining the classical society and later being a part of the e-board proved me wrong. It’s really something beautiful when you can look forward to spending time with an amazing and diverse community of people who have the same interest as you, be it ancient history, mythology, or even Lego building.”
Students are constantly associating day-to-day scenarios with events that have occurred in the world of classics. The relevance of topics is never-ending, with Valentine’s Day being a prime example.
“Classics are called classics for a reason; it’s an eternal field, and has so much content to delve into! It isn’t just all long boring stories; if you let yourself get fully immersed into this world of gods and monsters and heroes, you will come out a completely different person!” Vila told The Vanguard.
The Classical Society has many more events coming up this semester and students from all departments are welcome at any time.
“As for our next big events, we’ll be having a MET museum visit with the Historical and Pre-Law Societies on March 1. We’ll also have our notorious ‘Ides of March’ party on March 13 […]” Ghali told The Vanguard. “Concerning Women’s History Month, we’ll be hosting a lecture by Professor Yarrow about ancient Roman women on March 20.”
Students who are interested in joining the Classical Society can visit their Instagram: @bc_classicalsociety