The Paideia Institute’s programs in Latin and ancient Greek have two main goals: to provide intensive and rigorous training in Latin and Greek vocabulary, grammar, and literary history, and to help participants form strong personal and emotional connections with the ancient world and its literature and language. For both of these reasons, Paideia favors the active use of Latin and Greek as living languages. Students who become fluent speakers of Latin and Greek gain a stronger and more intuitive grasp of the languages' nuances, making them better readers and more confident translators. But even more importantly, learning to express oneself in these long-dead languages fosters a unique personal connection with the ancient world that is powerful and enduring. This relationship is further enriched when ancient literature is read, heard, and spoken amidst the beautiful backdrop of the monuments of Greek and Roman culture in Greece and Italy. As we read and discuss Cicero in the Forum, Seneca in the Colosseum, or Homer on the shore of the Ionian Sea, in their own languages, our experience of these authors and their world changes forever. They become a part of us and we are much the better for it.