Smoke from burnt offerings rising to the heavens? Must be the annual Classics Dept. picnic!
…and then the swineherd,
cutting first strips for the gods from every limb,
spread them across the thighs, wrapped in sleek fat,
and sprinkling barley on them, flung them on the fire.
They sliced the rest into pieces, pierced them with skewers,
broiled them all to a turn and, pulling them off the spits,
piled the platters high.
-Odyssey 14 (trans. Fagles)
Girding themselves for the battle of the Fall semester, the students and faculty of the Classics Department dined heroically on the evening of September 10, 2009 at the house of Professor Jeremy Hartnett (who was ably assisted by English/Rhetoric interloper Professor Jill Lamberton and their son, Henry, a veteran of Classical lands).
The evening’s menu, as prepared by the Classics faculty: grilled pork loin (in Cuban lime or vaguely Mediterranean mustard-rosemary marinades), creamy roasted potatoes and spinach, Greek salad, pasta salad, macedonia, and homemade fruit cobbler à la mode.
Among students late-night debates rage about different departments at Wabash: Which is the hardest? Which requires the most reading? Which has the snappiest dressers? From the stagehands and actors of the Theater Department to the budding policy wonks of Poly Sci, each offers their own answers to these questions. But for Latin, Greek, and Classical Civilization majors and minors at Wabash, another question joins the canonical list: Which department puts out tasty grub and best feeds its students? At this year’s Classics picnic, the question was answered yet again.