The myth in the 2017 motto
// by Jonathan Yuan, Class II
First
CONvention
PC: BLSJCL HISTORIANS & Magistra Moguel
ian
tor
//Kayla
States AT
Barnstable
High School
//Will
VI
BY Xiangan
He, Class V
classicists’ brains, undeterred,
I took my tests diligently. I continued onto Dramatic Interpretation and even met a couple of
friends. We were able to practice our pieces, chat with each
other, and we bonded over. After all of the events of the night,
I had my first fellowship, where
we talked about various topics, such as voting for officers.
On the second day of convention, I played Open Certamen with my friends. I had a
ton of fun competing with them.
At the end of the day, it was
time for the ice cream social. I
ate an unbelievable 15 cups
of ice cream in under 10 minutes! I was surprised that I did
not get a sugar rush! At the end
H is
TR E
ASU
R
//Tim
ER
State Convention is an
event that you can not miss. It
is an event of a lifetime. When
I am first introduced to JCL by
playing Certamen and hearing
about it from my Latin teacher,
Ms. Bauer, I could not wait for
States. State Convention was
held at Barnstable High School
in Hyannis and I participated in
many events, such as spirit, taking tests, gladiatorial games,
and Open Certamen with my
friends. When I first arrived
to Barnstable, I registered for
events, like Dramatic Interpretation (Latin declamation). I
also committed my Friday on
academic tests. Even though
the test room was radiating with
the perspiration of my fellow
RET
ARY
As you all know by now, the theme for
this year for JCL activities is, “Omnis ars naturae imitatio est”, or “All art is but an imitation
of nature”. As an avid mythologist, I really
couldn’t help but see the parallels between
the tales of ancient Greco-Roman civilization
and the choice for this year’s motto, as the
art of mythology focuses heavily on nature
and its beauty.
Throughout Greek mythology, there
are thousands of stories regarding nature
placing meaning and significance behind
why certain plants or animals exist. For example, the story of Adonis explains the
blood-red color of the anemone, and studying the story of Arachne gives a reason for
the existence of spiders. These are just a few
of countless examples of mythological characters becoming a part of nature due to their
actions and ideas about various gods and
other deities. Thus, the art of mythology is
heavily dependent on nature and imitates
various aspects of nature to understand how
the world around them came to be.
Another incredible example of this
theme’s importance is in the art of the Renaissance. Though most people don’t know
a whole lot about art and the large number
of paintings that are still in existence, the
Renaissance is perhaps the most important
and most well known period of art creation
throughout our known history in the world.
The Renaissance was mainly known as a period of revival, especially of Classical thinking and understanding. This idea is captivated by the subjects of many Renaissance
paintings, like Greek gods and goddesses.
These painters really focused in on optimized
and perfect images of deities, focusing on
the natural beauty of the human body. Everyone knows the famous painting by Botticelli,
“La Nascita di Venere (The Birth of Venus)”,
or the iconic “Il Ratto d’Europa (The Seizing
of Europa)” by Titian. These paintings demonstrates the power of Classical civilization
and the effect of its power on later civilizations, who imitated their art forms and stories
with a specific view of nature to shape the
culture of later civilizations.
SEC
School of Athens Photo:: Google Images
“Omnis ars naturae imitatio est”
V
of the day, I head towards the
auditorium to play some Super Smash Bros on the Wii U.
On the 3rd day of convention,
which was also the last day, I
was able to see the results of
the tests. I got a few first places
on those tests! It’s a great feeling to have accomplished things
at States Convention because
I have been studying materials
and the feeling that it finally
paid off was phenomenal. I concluded my journey with my sore
throat filled with enthusiasm and
a feeling of enlightenment from
the Classics. However, it was the
journey and my friends that made
me enjoy the start of my journey
to becoming a great Classicist!
NEW BLS STATE
OFFICERS
2016 - 2017 Year