Laura's Learning

         Since I was a little girl I have loved to read. One of my favorite things to do after school would be to get a snack and sit down with a good book. I loved the Harry Potter series, Shannon Hale’s books and many other contemporary pieces and I never ventured into older writings. I am grateful for the opportunity we had to read more classical literature in this class because it opened my eyes to the beauty and relevance of these more ancient texts.          I remember preparing for the first day of class and opening the Iliad for the first time. I was surprised by its careful craftsmanship, impressed with its strong emotional resonance, and enraptured by the story it told. I had heard of Homer’s writings but knew they came from an early time period, so I expected the writing to be somewhat primitive. Reading the first paragraph quickly informed me that I was wrong. Homer writes, “RAGE: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks Incalculable pa

Throughout ancient times warriors carried shields as part of their army outfitting. High rank or low, a shield was a possession that nearly all warriors yielded. It was held close to the person to protect the body from oncoming blows and arrows. For many cultures, the design and artwork on the outside of the shield held significance for the bearer. “ The motifs painted on the shields were intended to represent their holders’ strength and warrior ethos, and possibly served to frighten the enemy. Sometimes, they represented the city of origin for the warrior in question” ( Shield Emblems ). In Vergil's The Aeneid , the main character yields a shield with unique artwork and images that symbolize the culture and values of Rome at the time.  One artist's depiction of the shield of Aeneas.              One of the images on Aeneas’s shield was a depiction of the Rape of Lucretia. This important event was recorded by the author, Livy and explained the rape of an important no