Classics Reading Competition 2018

Classics Reading Competition 2018

Classics will be hosting the 2018 Classics Reading Competition between 5-7.30pm on Wednesday 14 March 2018.

We are pleased to invite students of all disciplines to compete in our annual Classics Reading Competition, which is celebrating its 70th Anniversary in 2018. The competition offers students the opportunity to perform excerpts of Classical Literature in front of their peers and Classicists, and to compete for prizes with students from across the region.

Students in years 3 to 13 will be invited to read a given text in English translation, Ancient Greek, or Latin. If applicable, students are welcome to compete in more than one category.

The texts, which have been chosen by lecturers and postgraduates from Classics at Leeds, are as follows:

In Translation

Junior:
Odysseus and the Cyclops (Homer, Odyssey 9.365-388)
or
The Camelopard, the Lynx and the Rhinoceros (Pliny, Natural History 8.17-8.19)

Senior: 
Family or State? Antigone and Creon Argue Their Cases (Sophocles, Antigone, Lines 440-96)
or
Achelous the River God Vs. Hercules the Lion Slayer (Ovid, Metamorphoses 9)

Latin

Junior (Group): The Story of the Three Pigs (Minimus)
Junior (Individual): The Death of Orgetorix (Caesar, Bellum Gallicum 1.4)
Intermediate: Counting Lesbia’s Kisses (Catullus 5)
Senior: Cicero Accuses Catiline of Conspiracy (Cicero, Catilinaria 1.1)

Ancient Greek

Junior: The Island of Cheese (Lucian, True History 2.3)
Senior: Tecmessa Appeals to Ajax (Sophocles, Ajax 506-519)

All students will receive a certificate of participation, and book vouchers will be awarded to the successful competitors in each category. Light refreshments will also be provided.

For schools which do not currently offer Classics, our Educational Outreach Fellow is available to offer an introductory workshop to your chosen text.

2018 marks the 70th  anniversary of the Classics Reading Competition at the University of Leeds, and we are looking forward to welcoming students of all disciplines to the university.

If you are interested in participating in the competition, please contact Alex Peel at A.Peel1@leeds.ac.uk