Speak Latin So the Whole World Can Understand You

The workshop “Speak Latin So the Whole World Can Understand You”, which is realized as part of the exhibition “Femina Balcanica: Mater, Matrona, Augusta, Dea. Woman on the Balkans in Antiquity”, will be organized in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Friday, April 12th, 2024, starting at 7 p.m.

In Roman poetry, women are a frequent theme presented through various images and roles. For poets, she has always been a primordial inspiration, the one that was the common source of their love and suffering. Although in Latin literature she is often depicted as a muse who inspires verses about devotion, beauty and art, the perception of women did not stop there. Many verses of Roman poets talk about the qualities and values that depict women’s role in society and deepen our understanding of the concept of women in the ancient world.

The audience will have the opportunity to learn how Latin love songs sounded, how poets expressed their feelings through verses, and what it tells us about the role of women in Roman society at the workshop “Speak Latin So the Whole World Can Understand You”. Poetry in Latin and Serbian will be recited by the students of the Kraljevo Gymnasium, while the verses will be interpreted by the students of the Gymnasium in Vrnjačka Banja. French language professor Sanja Bižić and professor Slađana Opačić will review Latin literature and love poetry of ancient Rome. The workshop is moderated by art historian Jelena Marković.