A new two-year Erasmus Plus project for pupils at the Classical Gymnasium has begun. As is tradition, the first meeting took place in Munich and offered a full programme: group work on various aspects of our new project “Consensus and Consensus Building.” As usual, we started with ancient texts and ideas on the topic, which were explored, discussed and presented in cross-national teams.
Topics included:
- The role of the plebs and the secessio plebis
- The emergence of the Roman Republic
- The Temple of Concordia
- How to motivate people to fight (Caesar, De Bello Gallico)
- Capital punishment for criminals? (Caesar vs. Cato)
- Cicero and the ideal state
- The Gracchi revolt
- Augustus I – the great emperor of peace?
- Augustus II – Augustus and the power of images
The programme also featured lectures such as “The Struggle of the ‘New Right’ Against Liberal Democracy” by Prof. Christian Schwaabe (LMU Munich) and “Free Speech – Indispensable or Dangerous for Democracy?” by Prof. Jan Stenger (University of Würzburg). Guided tours in the Glyptothek and the Cast Collection, along with several shorter city tours, rounded off the varied schedule. At the same time, the students still had opportunities to enjoy the Advent season in Munich, pursue their own interests, and spend time with their fellow students from Slovakia, Poland, Bolzano, and Munich.
At the end, the groups presented interesting findings, which will also be published in a separate catalogue.
Each participating school will now continue to work on the results and involve additional students.
And this is only the beginning of this project:
In 2026, the students can look forward to further stays in Zlaté Moravce, Bolzano, and Krakow.
The project is supported and largely funded by the European Union.