This essay addresses the question ‘Why is Classics Important?’ through an examination of how the skills associated with Classics are valued and necessary in modern life. My personal experience as a Classics student in a state school without Classics provision makes me ideally placed to reflect upon how a Classical education embedded in curriculums would benefit students. By examining three broad areas summarised as critical thinking skills, social mobility, and cultural capital, this essay will argue that there is greater urgency to this integration than ever. My argument will refer to a wide and eclectic range of sources such as popular culture, websites and podcasts, academic papers and books, and newspaper articles which discuss a classical education today, and I will also reference my own classics study, in addition to events I have attended in person, to argue that the centrality of Classics remains clear. Finally, I will make suggestions for its better integration in state school curriculums.
It is critical, today, to still be thinking about debate. As is stated in The Iliad, in reference to Odysseus, ‘A great debater would have a voice which poured out of his chest in words like the snowflakes of winter’.Footnote 1 Whilst originally quoted in the 8th century BCE, this view still holds weight in public life today. The ability to express ideas clearly was a central part of the debate culture of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, but arguably today, in an ever more complex world, the ability to think critically and express that thought is just as crucial as an antidote to fake news. The development of these skills is also integral to the study of Classics. One must take a situation with limited evidence, such as the circumstances of an archaeological dig, and use the expert knowledge from the accumulated field of archaeological study to extrapolate answers then defend that perspective effectively in a debate. Today, in a world where expert knowledge might sometimes be questioned for political gain, those abilities are more important than ever in being able to form and defend a critical view. Investigating the reliability of varying voices within complex societies is also an important facet of Classics; for example, distinguishing the discrepancies between Velleius Paterculus and Suetonius’ accounts of the Treason Trials of Tiberius, with the first having been written during the time, with a threat to be persecuted by those same trials, and the second having been written almost 70 years later when out of reach of danger. Study of this kind encourages criticism of the sources of information, investigation of bias, and the context of production, recognising propaganda and alternatively motivated narratives. People in turbulent times have often looked to the classical world for answers, and the recent political emphasis on the need for wide and open academic debate could be reassured by witnessing how healthy and productive cultures of debate benefitted past societies. In 1776, on the eve of revolutions in France and America, Enlightenment historian Edward Gibbon looked to the fall of Rome to explain how Empires might be challenged, and today’s young students could be similarly introduced to the ancient world as a place where debate was beneficial, rather than something to be limited.Footnote 2 Whilst every era believes that the problems they face are unique, in a ‘post-truth’ age it is imperative that skills of critical thought are championed to young people through the study of the modern world through the prism of Classics and the ancient world.
Whilst the National Curriculum is variously criticised for being too broad and too narrow, Classics is exemplified by its breadth.Footnote 3 As it is the study of an entire culture, there are opportunities for both wide oversight and specialisation within the field. Indeed, Classics fosters a range of skills, from linguistic analysis, debate, and essay writing; criticism of art; comprehension of complex texts, including those in translation, and even language learning, through Latin and Greek. Therefore, I propose that Classics has the potential to be woven into various subjects such as politics, English, art and economics, as valuable context to the development of our own modern societies and values. Furthermore, the emphasis within classical philosophy on the big questions of what makes a good and moral life has even greater possibility to be woven into citizenship modules of the National Curriculum, which address students’ philosophical concerns about how to live in the world. In an increasingly secular yet polarised world of echo chambers, inviting students to consider the eternal nature of concerns about personal wellbeing versus societal improvement and cohesion could be powerful.
Classics encourages an important range of skills which support an inclusive and wide-ranging approach to the study of history. Crucially, it marries the study of both text-based and material culture objects as sources, which historians have recognised challenges problems with bias and privilege for a more intersectional analysis of life in the past.Footnote 4 Classics allows for the exploration of a kaleidoscope of elements of ancient culture, including from language, politics, architecture, history, religion, and art. The Ancient Greeks recognised the importance of range, as is exemplified by their scholars. Pythagoras, for example, studied not only maths but philosophy, music, and astronomy. The growing popularity of Liberal Arts degrees demonstrates the interest in multidisciplinary education, particularly due to the current priorities of the job market as it responds to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace.
Western economies, political systems, and cultural development trace their roots to Ancient Greece and Rome, thus it seems an oversight to restrict access to the study of those foundations. Students of subjects such as politics, philosophy, ethics, law, or language all need to recognise the prevalence of the influence of classical civilisations on their studies, yet without the surrounding knowledge to contextualise their area, they are disadvantaged against those with a classical education. Beyond the classroom, our physical environment continues to be shaped by classical principles. Anyone with an interest in architecture can see the influences of classical building styles on Georgian buildings. Ideas of indoor/outdoor living, for example, which became very popular in homes during the pandemic, have roots in the house design of Roman villas. Similarly, keen artists must only look so far as the Renaissance to find the influence of classical mythology in imagery and storytelling through painting. Wherever you look, you find the roots of our culture in the ancient world. To be unable to follow those roots to their source constitutes a limitation in access to engaging with the world as we know it. Further, this architecture, art and culture was itself shaped by ordinary people of classical history. Reconnecting these histories of builders, designers, makers and users of objects, and places with working people today would offer an important touchstone to students of varying backgrounds to allow them to see themselves in the past that they are studying.
A failure to provide a classical education can also be seen to be socially limiting, an act against social mobility. To exclude children from the study of the Classics beneath university level is also to exclude them from experiencing many elements of our culture, from museums to literature. This risks undermining the recognised value of our own culture. Most museums and historical exhibitions will assume a basic level of classical literacy when creating their exhibits, and so to visit them without context is to have a reduced experience or even find oneself alienated. However, this limitation extends beyond just places of history and learning into areas such as literature and film. Consider some of the greatest works of fiction of our time. How many of them lifted their narrative structures directly from the works of playwrights and storytellers such as Euripides or Homer?Footnote 5 How many fantastical creatures, such as centaurs or Pegasi, find their origin in the Greek myths? Indeed, how many of your favourite characters can escape the character archetypes established in Ancient Greek theatre, such as the tragic heroes Jay Gatsby and Macbeth?Footnote 6 The influence of the Classics is inescapable, yet without the understanding of their roots, the power of these stories and ideas can be lost, diminishing the authors’ intended experience of their work and the reader’s own enjoyment of it. A lack of Classical education means a lack of cultural capital – it excludes children from experiencing so much, and not just in academic settings.
With the increased focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) throughout the school system, the humanities are falling behind, being given less focus and less funding.Footnote 7 In turn, this means that the push for Classics to be included in curriculums is also suffering. Currently, Classics is significantly underrepresented throughout the country, with only 1.3% of state schools entering candidates for A Level Ancient History, and 2% of state schools offering A Level Latin, according to the Advocating Classics Education project.Footnote 8 The access to Ancient Greek at an A Level standard is even more limited, with only 8 state-maintained schools in the whole of England entering candidates, in contrast to 86 independent schools.Footnote 9 None of these state schools entered more than five students. Classics had been found to mostly be offered in single-sex boys’ schools, which reflects my own difficulties accessing Classics as a student of a single-sex girls’ school. My partner school, Aylesbury Grammar School (a state-maintained, single-sex boys’ selective school), is the only state secondary school in Buckinghamshire to offer GCSE or A Level facilities for Ancient History and Latin. These unequal opportunities are clearly gendered and classist and are harmfully contributing to the widespread notion that Classics is elitist – only available to boys in private schools – as seen in the statistic that 49% of independent schools offer Latin at KS3, in comparison with only 2.7% of state schools.Footnote 10 My own story demonstrates the tenacity and flexibility that is required to gain access to Classics in the face of these structural barriers, and in navigating them I learnt to better value the education that I sought. I work now to attempt to reduce these barriers through advocacy of practical changes in my own school to benefit girls in years below, as well as raising the awareness of these problems to school leaders and others in wider Classics education.Footnote 11 Much exciting scholarship in Classics is coming from female scholars, with women such as Mary Beard and Natalie Haynes or authors such as Pat Barker and Madeline Miller all contributing greatly to the ways that Classics is presented and enjoyed by wider and more diverse audiences, but it is important that the provision of Classics teaching reflects this potential to widen access.Footnote 12 There is also a huge regional disparity that could be better addressed through school partnership or outreach programmes, with so much access to Classics in schools still relying on ‘wealth or luck’.Footnote 13
But how do we solve this problem of underrepresentation and lack of resources? It is clear that there is appetite amongst young people for classical stories.Footnote 14 Musicals such as Hadestown and EPIC have already gone a long way in bringing attention to classical myth, along with the recent rise in popularity of literature retelling Greek mythology, with books such as The Song of Achilles and Stone Blind going viral online. And of course one cannot discuss the genre of myth retellings without giving credit to the massive popularity of the Percy Jackson series and the many children who have found their way into Classics as a result of it. Ultimately, utilising pop culture to create interest in Classics as a genre will increase the demand for classical education by students, as it did for me. I believe that the first step in translating this interest into action is advocacy at both the intimate and structural levels. Programmes such as Classics for All and the Advocating Classics Education project address awareness of the limited access to Classics. Within the boundaries of the national curriculum it ought to be possible to strengthen links to classical foundations, without the full-scale reform of returning to Classics lessons.Footnote 15 In schools where there is demand for Classics, it is important that examples of the benefits of further study are available so that transition to university is encouraged. Initiatives such as JACT are really important in building community and sharing resources, and I have benefitted hugely from this, but they could be better promoted in state schools, with greater bursary or practical support for attendance to their summer schools encouraged. Yet we should not overlook the transformative power of role models, which was so important in my own knowledge of further pathways in Classics. It is so important that Classics graduates are encouraged to engage in outreach to schools and youth groups, using youth culture to show how much the classical world influences our own.Footnote 16
In conclusion, it is clear that the need for understanding and awareness of classical learning is becoming more important and not less. In a stable post-WWII European context, it was easy to imagine that the upheavals, revolutions, and political turmoil of the transitions between the Greek and Roman world and the Roman Empire’s collapse were acts of history which held little relevance today. As young people watching the old rules being breached by presidents and nations, calling into question the legitimacy of the organisations and rules that have ensured stability, it seems clear that we need to look to the past to learn how to deal with a future that we will have the responsibility to shape.Footnote 17 I believe that it is vital that the accessibility of Classics should be increased for students of all ages, not only for the skills it teaches but also for the enhanced experience of our world that it offers, and to reduce the inequality that lack of access creates. With a new government prioritising the growth that comes from social and economic advancement, there is the opportunity to make real change by heeding these arguments. For myself, the challenge of gaining these insights independently, whilst difficult, has also been hugely encouraging, so I hope to continue to use my own classical education to advocate for the arguments I state here today.
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