Salivate Omnes! Have you ever wanted to write a letter from a famous woman who had been wronged by a powerful man? What would Jackie have written to JFK, or Eleanor to FDR? Hmmm. Well, Ovid did just that. He wrote a series of poems, letters from famous mythological heroines to the men who had abandoned them. What fun! We will be translating two. One from Penelope to Odysseus and one from Dido to Aeneas.

The only requirement you need is to have had some exposure to Latin at some point, even if it were only in high school. Questions or concerns, feel free to contact me through the OLLI office at olli@berkshirecc.edu. I hope to provide a stress-free environment where we can learn and laugh together.

Required Reading: on Amazon, Ovid, Heroides A selection: introduction, notes and vocabulary by Christina Tsaknaki That name is important because there are two similar editions, different letters and different person for intro, etc. So, be careful!

Note: Jamie Keller and Mary Rogers will both be considering the story of Dido as told by Ovid and Chaucer. Taking both classes may offer participants a chance to consider the different ways in which these classic tales of love are portrayed.

Jamie Keller: Jamie has been teaching Latin with OLLI for many years, a testament to the impressive quality of OLLI students and to Jamie’s love of Latin and skills as a teacher. 

Jamie has a master’s degree in Classics and completed all the course work for a PhD in Classics from SUNY Albany. Having taught Latin for many years, she is especially proud of the exchange program she initiated at Lenox High School in 1995 with students from Gubbio, Italy. The program continued until the pandemic. This year, September 2023, the Italians returned to the Berkshires. 

When not reading Latin, you can find Jamie volunteering as a docent at the Norman Rockwell Museum, taking early morning walks with her dog, Cleopatra. Her interests include swimming, reading, traveling, and studying Italian.