New club shows there’s more to Caesar than salad

Can’t decide if your favorite gladiator is Kirk Douglas(Spartacus) or Russell Crowe (Gladiator)? Members of the ClassicalStudies Club understand completely.

Chartered in January 2003, the club has sought to enhanceintellectual discourse between the SMU and surroundingcommunities.

Mathew Adamic, an SMU alumnus and the club’s archivist,said, “We’re here to further our knowledge andunderstanding of classical societies, namely Egyptian, Greek andRoman cultures. We want to expose the community to another facet ofthis university.”

Adamic also emphasizes that while the core of the club isclassical studies, it is the kinship between all the members thatis important.

“We do other stuff besides read books on Greece and Rome.We’ll go out to eat at all kinds of cultural places aroundDallas. There are some really cool places around here, and we allwant to expand each other’s horizons.”

The club has sponsored several events, including visits toseveral local museums, lectures and a trip to Manhattan. Adamichopes the club will be able to plan a trip to Rome in the next fewmonths.

This semester, members traveled to the Kimbell Art Museum toview the “Quest for Immortality,” an exhibit showcasingtreasures from several Egyptian dynasties, and attended lectures byDavid O’Connor and Donald B. Redford on the Egyptianmythology of death, the afterlife and the elaborate burials andartistic production that centered around the pharaoh’spassing.

“It was great,” Adamic said. “Our discussionsare always interesting. It’s just all about hanging outtogether and having these great conversations.”

The club’s plans are still developing for this academicyear, and discussions have included bringing a group to campus tore-enact famous Roman battles, a screening of Gladiator on the mainquad, a tailgating toga party and more trips to local museums.

Adamic said the group is trying to appeal to the average studentand members of the community.

“At the tailgating party, we would try and bring all thesereal weapons, armor and shields, forged by real craftsmen. Peopleshould have the opportunity to strap on 70 pounds of armor, carry ahuge bronze shield and feel what it was really like.”

The club’s first meeting is at 5 p.m. on Thursday in thebasement of Dallas Hall. It is open to anyone who isinterested.

“We want to serve the entire community. A university issupposed to be a focal point for intellectual conversations andevents. We want those high-end perceivers and intellectuals to havea place to converse about everything that interests them,”Adamic said.