The American Classical League
76th Annual Institute
#ACLClassics2023
Writing on the Walls: Bringing Latin to Life from the Alleys of Pompeii and Herculaneum
Leah Berryhill
Writing on the Walls: Bringing Latin to Life from the Alleys of Pompeii and Herculaneum
Leah Berryhill
Middle Learning Latin Teacher
The Galloway School
Atlanta, GA
ACL Institute
2023
Graffiti Alphabet
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only one that harbors life
Venus has a beautiful name and is the second planet from the Sun
Now you try!
Try to decode the graffiti of Ancient Pompeii and Herculaneum
Where to find Latin Graffiti?
Locate and explore digitized handwritten inscriptions from Pompeii and Herculaneum
Warm Ups
01
Translation
02
Writing
03
Projects
04
Classroom ideas
Give students bits of authentic Latin
Become epigraphers and decode ancient handwriting
Practice Latin script and forming sentences in Latin
Who doesn’t love experiential learning?
Handwritten Composition
Forget Times New Roman
Experience Latin in your own handwriting
Venus
60%
40%
Mars
Epigraphy
Despite being red, Mars is actually a cold place. It’s full of iron oxide dust
Venus has a beautiful name and is the second planet from the Sun
Hands On Activities
Tablets
Plaster
Scratch graffiti with wooden cuticle pushers in metal lasagna tins of Plaster of Paris
Concrete Project
Working with Art and Science to study how concrete is made and putting inscriptions on concrete tiles using acid wash
Explore the streets on Pompeii without the pricey flight using the Google Earth Project feature
Graffiti as the language of the neighborhood
Comparing and contrasting Roman graffiti to modern graffiti of your neighborhood
Graffiti as the original social media
Discuss the motivations of ancient graffiti compared to modern bathroom graffiti or posts on social media
Other Great Ideas
So what do you want to do with graffiti?
Link the presentation to review later
Works Cited
Multas gratias tibi