When Bowdoin College was founded in 1794, classics—the study of ancient Mediterranean culture— played an important role in both admission to the College and the education received while in attendance. The texts required for admission spanned a wide range of prose and poetry across both Greek and Latin, representing some of the best-known works of literature.

The bylaws of the College stated that applicants to the College must be able to “read, construe, and parse Cicero’s select orations, Virgil’s Aeneid, and the Greek Testament, and to write Latin grammatically.” While at Bowdoin, students would continue to study Greek and Latin during their first two years. Throughout this time, they would have weekly recitations in both languages. In addition, religion played an important role in the students’ lives. At that time, there were mandatory Sunday services, during which the New Testament would be read in Greek in order to further reinforce the students’ studies. Their Monday morning recitations, in light of this, derived from the Greek New Testament. For the next century, this focus on classics would remain a central tenet of the Bowdoin education.