Course Description: This course serves as both an intermediate language course and as an introduction to the study and appreciation of Latin literature and culture. The focus of our studies this semester will be on the social world of the late Roman Republic, during the restless but more or less peaceful (at least by Roman standards) decade of the 50s BCE. It was a time of increasing liberation and radicalization of many in the younger generations, and revolutionary developments in Roman prose and poetry—while Caesar’s successes in Gaul set the stage for the coming of civil war and the waning of the Republic.

During the first few weeks, we will review the basics of the Latin language by reading the second book of Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum, while also familiarizing ourselves with the historical and cultural situation of the late Republic. Having set the scene, we will read selected poems by the poet Catullus, and then conclude with Cicero’s Pro Caelio. In these, we will consider such issues as poetic persona and rhetorical voice, address and audience, narrative, use of metaphor, use of humor, colloquialism and obscenity, and the portrayal of friendship and the erotic. In particular we will consider the social milieu, relationships, and customs revealed by these works.

Prerequisites: Students should have had either a year of college Latin or very strong high school preparation. For a course with more extensive grammar review, see Bryn Mawr Latin 003.

Updates

Cicero, Pro Caelio (Vocabulary) [PDF] [Excel]

Case Review Sheets [By Function] [By Case]

Assignment: Presentations

Suggested Presentation Topics

Rubrics: Standards for Evaluating Class Participation, Presentations, and Written Assignments