For centuries Western education comprised the study of Greek and Latin and their surviving literary monuments.But at a time when Western civilization and its values are under attack, the need for the classics is as urgent today as it was in the past.A familiarity with classics provided an understanding of the roots of Western culture, the key ideals, ideas, characters, stories, images, categories, and concepts that in turn made up a liberal education, or the training of the mind to exercise the independent, critical awareness necessary for a free citizen in a free republic.People are still interested in antiquity: translations of classical texts still sell well, and popular films, such as Gladiator, bear witness to an enduring fascination with the ancient Greeks and Romans.