Halloween is a time of horror and ghost stories, and last Friday’s Cider with Classics event was no exception. The event kicked off with retellings of ancient ghost stories from places like Greece and Egypt, with plots ranging
from tales of witchcraft to curses. When the stories were done, the guests at
the event were given a chance to participate in some crafts by making ancient protective amulets and bracelets with Play-doh, wire and lettered beads, and even some voodoo dolls.
“Different cultures had different ways of protecting themselves from evil and different ways of cursing others,” Classics professor Robert Simmons explained at the event. “Though some have changed as the years passed or were changed in different cultures…voodoo dolls have always been what you’re thinking of right now.”
Types of Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Mesopotamian protective amulets were also explained, and they could be crafted with the available Play-doh. To aid in the crafts, papers were handed out with Latin and Greek curses on them for bracelets that anyone wanted to make. One phrase explained in Latin is Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris, meaning “If Caesar were alive, you’d be chained to an oar.”
Julie Briones - Contributing Writer