{"id":476,"date":"2015-12-07T17:08:19","date_gmt":"2015-12-07T17:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/?p=476"},"modified":"2016-03-07T15:17:28","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T15:17:28","slug":"tis-the-season-to-be-classical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/?p=476","title":{"rendered":"‘Tis the season to be….classical"},"content":{"rendered":"

At OU Classical Studies HQ the conversation in the office turned recently to the subject of Christmas gifts, and this set us thinking about what we might buy for the classicists in our lives; suggestions ranged from the tasteful to the downright bizarre. Personally, I\u2019d quite like a plane ticket to somewhere sunny where there\u2019s a Greek temple or two, but as\u00a0that\u2019s not looking especially likely\u00a0I thought I\u2019d share with our blog readers some of the other (generally more\u00a0affordable)\u00a0suggestions which came up.<\/p>\n

\"WT_Rome1001A_med[1]\"<\/a>Valerie Hope mused that her walls are looking\u00a0rather bare, so she\u2019s hoping for a couple of classically-themed prints. Val says, \u201cPiranesi is perhaps a bit fussy, and I\u2019m coming out of my Alma-Tadema phase, but vintage travel posters can be quite striking: I might put this<\/a> on my Christmas list as the blue sky would match my kitchen cupboards\u2026.\u201d Also on the Colosseum theme, Mair Lloyd suggested this silver bracelet charm<\/a> as a way for classicists to, as she put it, \u201cproclaim their dedication to studying the Romans.\u201d Alternatively Mair thought that a bottle or two of Pliny the Elder pale ale<\/a> might be just the tipple for thirsty classicists. Jessica Hughes suggests that to go with their themed \"plinytheelderbottle-copy[1]\"<\/a>ale keen chefs might like to try the modern version of garum, colatura di alici<\/a>, writing, \u201cThis is a staple in our fridge, and it is delicious<\/em> on plain pasta with some lemon squeezed over it. A quick and super-tasty meal for busy academics!\u201d<\/p>\n

We have a fine selection of Greek vase mugs<\/a> in the OU Classical Studies office, but Ursula Rothe has her eye on this one<\/a>, bearing the phrase \u2018Beam me up Scotty\u2019 in Latin, to add to the collection. I\u2019m also wondering whether as a department we perhaps ought to invest in some \u2018Team Hector\u2019<\/a> and \u2018Team Achilles\u2019<\/a> merchandise \u2013 the pin badges declaring allegiance to their favourite Homeric hero would be the perfect stocking-filler for any fan of Greek epic.<\/p>\n

Perhaps unsurprisingly books featured rather heavily on many of our wishlists, with some suggestions in particular for the Christmas stockings of the next generation of classicists. Naoko Yamagata loves the Latin translation of Beatrix Potter\u2019s The Tale of Peter Rabbit <\/em>(Fabula de Petro Cuniculo<\/em><\/a>); she remembers reading this along with the original and the Japanese translation to her baby son, and suggests that it also makes a great text for Beginners\u2019 Latin classes for any teachers out there who are running Latin lessons. I\u2019m a big fan of Usborne\u2019s beautiful Greek Myths Sticker Book<\/em><\/a>, which uses fabulous images of classical and post-classical artwork to introduce children to the characters and stories of Greek mythology. Meanwhile Jessica Hughes recommends Marcia Williams\u2019 illustrated Greek Myths <\/em><\/a>and The Iliad and the Odyssey <\/em><\/a>for young readers aged 5 and over; Jess says that \u201cthe characters\u2019 speech bubbles also provide a hilarious running commentary on the action which keeps the grown-up readers entertained too!\u201d For adult readers Jess recommends trying The Dark Labyrinth <\/em>by Lawrence Durrell<\/a>, which she describes as \u201can enchanting, if slightly unnerving, story of some English travellers who disembark from their cruise ship on Crete to explore the \u2018dark labyrinth\u2019 and look for the Minotaur who inhabits it.\u201d On a similar theme is Stephen Sherrill\u2019s The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break\u00a0<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

We simply wouldn\u2019t be covering the festive season fully if we didn\u2019t give\"WP_20151130_001\"<\/a> a mention to the obligatory Christmas jumper, and Laura Swift has found a knitting pattern for one that\u2019s just right for those who love their Greek vases (see photo). Oddly enough her husband, who is also a classicist, has so far resisted donning one of these while lecturing, but she\u2019s hoping she might get away with producing one for her infant daughter to wear\u2026 While we\u2019re on the theme of festive clothing, Emma-Jayne Graham, who combines her love of the ancient Roman world with a penchant for penguins, likes the look of this rather niche \u2018Emperor Penguin\u2019 T-shirt<\/a>. If penguins aren\u2019t your thing, E-J also found this T-shirt <\/a>featuring an illustrated history of the ancient world from 800-200BC, as well as some snazzy architecturally-themed accessories<\/a>. Alternatively she suggests showing someone you care at zero expense by sending them a virtual votive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Teddytaur\"<\/a>The prize for finding the weirdest classically-themed Christmas gift, however, has to go to our Head of Department, Helen King, whose suggestion will be haunting my nightmares for some time to come. Helen writes, \u201cCombining my interest in half human, half animal beasts with my abiding love of soft fluffy toys, the ideal present has to be the Teddytaur<\/a>. There are some very dodgy variations on the teddy bear theme out there (if you\u2019ve been to Amsterdam, you\u2019ll know what I mean) but this is far more tasteful!\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have\u00a0any more\u00a0gift\u00a0suggestions for\u00a0the classicist who has everything? Let us know in the comments below, or share your thoughts by tweeting us @OU_Classics. Merry Christmas!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At OU Classical Studies HQ the conversation in the office turned recently to the subject of Christmas gifts, and this set us thinking about what we might buy for the classicists in our lives; suggestions ranged from the tasteful to the downright bizarre. Personally, I\u2019d quite like a plane ticket to somewhere sunny where there\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":494,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}