NLE Roman culture, etc for Latin (Latin 1 NLE) real

Curia

building where Roman senators met

peristylium

Roman garden surrounded by columns

Thermae

baths. (these were large buildings where many could bathe at once. There was a caldarium (hot water room) a tepidarium (warm water room) and a frigidarium (cold water room). People might also rub olive oil on themselves and them scrape it off, which served as moisturizer and exfoliant.)

toga

worn only by male Roman citizens. (Togas did not look like what these fraternity clowns are wearing -- but while we're on the topic, where do we get the word fraternity?)

Colosseum

famous Roman amphitheater known for great size and clever design that allowed large numbers of spectators to quickly enter and exit the building without excessive congestion or delay

culina

Roman kitchen

basilica

Roman courthouse. Imagine lawyers eating basil?

cena

the third meal of the day; equivalent to modern dinner

ientaculum

the first meal of the day; equivalent to breakfast

stola

dress worn by a Roman woman (baby at heel is an optional accessory)

forum

main part of town where shops and government buildings were located

Pantheon

dome-shaped temple in Rome that houses statues to 12 major Roman gods/goddesses

prandium

second meal of the day; equivalent to lunch. (this gives us the fancy English word 'postprandial', meaning "after a meal".

templum

temple. where gods/goddesses were worshipped

compluvium

opening in the roof of a Roman atrium that let in light, and also rainwater, which would then fall into the impluvium: a pool in the floor.

Acropolis

trick answer that's in Greece; not Rome! It's the 'high city' in Athens. From Greek: Acro (high: acrophobia) plus Polis (city: political; Neapolis=Naples)

Campus Martius

Latin for "the field of Mars". Public, open field where soldiers exercised and held military drills. elections were sometimes held there.

Circus Maximus

large oval course where chariots were raced. (Associated vocab: aurigae, carceres, metae, spina. a 'circus' is a place for horse-chariot racing.)

insulae

Roman apartment buildings (this also means 'islands' and is where we get vocab like 'peninsula' and 'insulate')

paedagogus

slave who escorted Roman boys to school. (This is where we get the fancy word 'pedagogy' -- which essentially means 'the art of teaching'.)

Palatine

centermost of the seven hills of Rome, and the hill on which legend says Romulus and Remus founded Rome.

palla

woman's cloak, which she could wear as a shawl, or to cover her head.

theaters

where actors put on shows. notice that a Roman theater was basically half of an amphitheater, even though very different things took place there.

tunica

a basic garment, worn by both men and women. A man might wear it under his toga, a woman under her palla. Even slaves wore a tunica.

cubiculum

bedroom

Lares and Penates

Roman household gods. Yes, individual household had their own little minor deities. Talk about polytheism!

aves

birds -- Romans watched them to tell the future and seek guidance from the gods

amphitheater

where gladiatorial contests were held. The colosseum (aka Flavian amphitheater) is an amphitheater, for example. these were like modern sports arenas, with seating on all sides.

Apenninus Mons.

The Appenine Mountains: mountains that run down the middle of Italy

aqueduct

used for transporting water efficiently to Rome from far-off places

cloaca maxima

Roman sewer. A really massive, complex, underground sewer. Some of it still survives.

impluvium

pool that collected rainwater from an atrium's compluvium (which was a square rain-hole in the middle of the entrance hall's ceiling in a fancy Roman house).

domus

House. Another word for villa

Seven Hills

The seven hills of Rome are: Viminal Aventine Esquiline Palatine Caelian Quirinal Capitoline. "Women have asked my pal Caelius for his queer cap" is the goofy mnemonic for this one (in which 'queer' of course means 'unusual').

palaestra

exercise area in Roman baths

secunda mensa

followed cena (dinner); equivalent to dessert

tabella

writing tablet used by Roman schoolboys; also refers to a voting ballot

Via Appia

Via means 'road'. the most famous was the Via Appia, which leads from Rome to Brundisium, from where one could sail to Greece.

aedificia

buildings

school

ludus; or schola

taberna

a shop

aedile

official in charge of public buildings and religious festivals

apodyterium, caldarium, tepidarium, frigidarium, strigiles

all associated with Roman baths (aka thermae)

Capitoline

smallest; but most sacred of Rome's 7 hills. Holds lots of temples. What are the other hills?

toga praetexta

purple-striped toga that indicates political and social importance

Cincinnatus

Roman politician who became dictator with absolute power when Rome was having difficult times, and as soon as he had helped fix the problems he was humble enough to give up his power and return to being a simple citizen, plowing his own fields. What a guy! This happened around 450BC.

Hannibal

Carthaginian general who fought against Rome in the Punic Wars ("we battled Carthage in 3 wars from 264 to 146...")

Tarquinius Superbus

The last of the Etruscan Kings. "They say that Rome was born in 753 -- with Romulus then the Etruscan Kings as royalty. But then Lucretia was taken by that damned Etruscan lout: we threw them out -- and then SUPERBUS had no clout!"

Period of Kings

753bc till 509bc

(the names of the kings, which you don't need to memorize but should be familiar with, were:

Romulus 1st king

Numa Pompilius 2nd king

Tullus Hostilius 3rd king

Ancus Marcius 4th king

Tarquinius Priscus 5th king

Servius Tullius 6th king

Tarquinius Superbus 7th and last king)

Period of the Republic

509bc till 27bc (at which point Augustus becomes first emperor)

Period of Empire/Emperors

27bc till... 1453? you just need to know it starts in 27bc.

Ostia

The port city of Rome, on the seacoast, a few miles down the Tiber river from Rome. You can still visit it to this day.

Herculaneum

Covered in 79ad by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, just like Pompeii.

Carthage

City on the north coast of Africa, which was involved in the Punic Wars against Rome.

aestuosus a um

hot

caelum

sky

frigus frigoris n

cold (noun -- as in 'come in from the cold'

fulget

there is lightning

calidus

-a -um hot

frigidus a um

cold (adjective -- as in 'cold water')

fulmen fulminis n

lightning

imber

imbris m. rain

nix

nivis f. snow

nubilus

-a -um cloudy

pluit

pluere pluit it is raining

lucet

it is shining (as in 'the sun ...')

ningit

it is snowing

nubes

cloud

pluvia

rain (as in the names of certain parts of the Roman atrium, right?)

sol

sun

tonat

'it is thundering'

hiems hiemis f

winter

aestas aestatis f

summer

tepidus

-a -um warmish

ventus

wind

autumnus

autumn

ver veris n

spring

quota hora est?

what time is it?

Horatius Cocles

one-eyed Roman superstar who heroically defended the bridge so opposing forces could not make it across the Tiber and into Rome, very early Republic

morituri te salutamus

"we, about to die, salute you!" gladiators would apparently say this to the emperor. I would imagine there were a few who muttered something slightly different, right?

Mucius Scaevola

Essentially, a young Roman who burned off his right hand to show his enemy how tough he was -- thereby earning himself the nickname Scaevola (essentially meaning 'Lefty'). This was around the year 508 (ie, very early Republic).

With the help of the wingéd horse Pegasus, ______________ was able to kill the monster ______________

Bellerophon killed the Chimera, with the help of what wingéd horse?

What was the first triumvirate?

Caesar, Pompey and Crassus (an alliance formed in 60 bc)

What was the second triumvirate?

Octavian, Lepidus and Marc Anthony (an alliance formed in 43 bc)

When did Caesar invade Gaul

58 bc

what was the Campus Martius used for?

a training ground for Roman soldiers, and for certain elections.

Actium?

"at Actium, in 31, the big O beat Anthony -- and then Octavian's named Augustus in 27 bc!"

Philippi?

"at Philippi in 44 bc Brutus and Cassius take their lives" after Octavian and Marc Anthony humble them.

Scipio Africanus...

defeated Hannibal in the Punic Wars

When was the Roman calendar revised?

several times, but most notably around the time of Augustus.

what is a 'sine qua non'?

something necessary or essential ("without which, no")

Constantine

This Emperor adopted Christianity as official religion, moved head of empire to Constantinople, all around the year 300AD.

L Junius Brutus

helped expel the Tarquin Kings, ushering in the period of the Republic, around 509. nb: this is NOT the same Brutus from the time of Caesar (et TWO Bruti? ha!), but is meant to be an ancestor of his: both of them supposedly "got rid of tyrants".

Where are the Atlas mountains?

North Africa

Spartacus

an escaped gladiator who lead an army of slaves in revolt against the Romans, around 73 bc.

in absentia

"although not present" or "while absent"

pm (post meridiem)

"in the afternoon"

quid

"what"

etc

"et cetera" = "and other things"

S.P.Q.R

Senatus Populusque Romanus = the Senate and the People of Rome. These initials represented the Roman political leadership, especially during the Republic.