Classical Iowa presents how the Greek and Roman world has influenced and continues to shape the cultural contours of our state. Our first feature was "Cyberspace Meets Classics in Iowa." Future features will include photographic essays on classically influenced architecture, Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover's translation of De Re Metallica, and more.

Cornell College Latin Students Visit Virtual Rome

In February, Cornell College Latin II students visit ancient Rome through the VRoma MOO. The VRoma Project is an educational website that is a re-creation of second-century Rome that combines a series of chat rooms with webpages to create a virtual city where students and teachers can explore ancient Rome and interact with one another. Cornell students will first take part in an introductory session focused on the Baths of Trajan to learn how to move around in the MOO. The next two assignments will ask the students to use Latin as the means of communication. The first is a scavenger hunt to help students learn more about important monuments in the Roman Forum and other regions of the city. The second is a game, similar to the board game Clue, where students will attempt to learn who killed the dog Argus. To learn more about the VRoma MOO, visit http://www.vroma.org/help/. To join up with Cornell students, contact John Gruber-Miller at jgruber-miller@cornellcollege.edu.

Roman mosaic showing two women chatting