| Tamarack Christian Latin, Overviews & Basics |
1 feb 2026 |
| Overview |
Notes for preparation for what will be discussed or as a review of what we have covered.
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| Quick Links |
• Primer for students and parents, below. • First thoughts toward learning Latin, here. • Kinds of sentences, here. • Pronoun basics, here. • Participle basics, here. • Adverb basics, here. • Conjunction basics, here. • Vocative case and imperative mood, here. |
• Practice Latin every day, here. • Kinds of words (parts of speech), here. • Noun basics, here. • Adjective basics, here. • Verb basics, here. • Preposition basics, here. • Interjection basics, here. • Roman numerals, here. |
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All Students & Parents |
A primer for students and/or the parents of students learning Latin with Dr. Peters.
Latin is not an ancient code, it is not a mystical tongue, and it is not just some arcane subject taught by elite programs to make themselves look more elite. Instead, Latin is a language. Like any language, Latin is a source of endless fascination in itself but, because it is Latin, it is of special value to those who study it today, especially to Christians of the West.
The general structure of a language is called its "grammar" (a discipline more sophisticated than the phrase "grammar school" implies!) and Latin grammar consists of three basic elements: vocabulary, morphology, and syntax. In Latin grammar, "vocabulary" rests on the 'bases' of most words, laden, as they are, with meaning; "morphology" focuses on the endings attached to those bases in order to form individual words; and "syntax" is the arrangement of those words into phrases and sentences. Because these elements of Latin grammar operate very differently from their English counterparts, Latin instruction must explain them thoroughly and reiterate them frequently. I approach these elements as follows:
Vocabulary. While the crucial importance of the two main parts of most Latin words (bases and endings) is explained to modern students, and even though the use of these parts is reinforced continually in class, the actual acquisition of Latin vocabulary remains, quite simply, the learner's responsibility. Instruction time is too valuable to keep repeating, alacriter means 'happily' and equitatum means 'of the cavalry', often enough to learn these words solely in class. I offer numerous suggestions about how to learn Latin vocabulary on one's own and I incentivize that learning through quizzes and tests but, knowledge is its own reward, and the advantages of knowing "what the words mean" quickly becomes obvious to learners.
Morphology. For English speakers, morphology is the most challenging element of Latin grammar and therefore it receives the bulk of instruction time. Morphology, especially the information-packed endings of Latin words as summarized in odd charts and clever ditties, is the 'infamous' side of Latin study. Yet morphology is to Latin what, say, a tools & materials class is to instruction in the trades — crucial to know if not terribly exciting by itself or immediately useful. In any event, I share many ways to learn morphology efficiently and, I trust, with more empathy than "Here are the fourth declension endings. Quiz on Friday". But, make no mistake, morphology is the boot camp of Latin learning. In the 1,500 years since Latin ceased being spoken in the home, anyone who ever learned Latin learned Latin morphology.
Syntax. Compared to English, Latin syntax is much more flexible and (at least up until the point where syntax ripens into rhetoric) it poses few challenges for modern learners. The special aspects of Latin syntax are readily explainable to students who have acquired a sufficient foundation in Latin vocabulary and committed its morphology to memory.
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All Students & Parents
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Practice Latin every day.
Foreign language study in general, but especially the study of Latin, differs from every other subject in school in that language study, especially that of Latin, demands daily practice. Without practice every day success will not be achieved.
That said, however, "study Latin every day" does not mean "study Latin all day". Frequency of daily exposure to Latin is more important than is length of daily exposure. Several short bursts of Latin study every day are generally better than one long stretch. Each student must develop his or her own daily routine for study and then commit to it. Specific suggestions are available, of course, but do not put off making daily Latin study a priority.
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| First thoughts toward learning Latin |
| Question | Answer |
| 1. What is Latin? | Latin is a language.
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| 2. What is a language? | A language is a way to communicate human thoughts.
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3. How do languages communicate thoughts? |
Languages communicate thoughts by forming words and arranging them in certain ways. Latin and English form and arrange words very effectively but quite differently. The general study of a language is called "grammar"; the study of word formation is called "morphology"; and the study of word arrangement is called "syntax".
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4. How do Latin and English form their words?
A B C D E F G
H I (J) K L M N O P
Q R S T (U) V
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Latin and English use the same sounds to form words and nearly the same alphabets to spell them. But,
whereas most English words convey only the concept represented by the word (and little, usually nothing, about how the word functions in a given phrase or sentence, i.e., as
a subject, object, person marker, etc.), most Latin words convey not only the concept represented by the word but also, by varying its
spelling in predictable ways, the grammatical function the word serves in a given phrase or sentence. • More on Latin word spelling changes, here.
On pronouncing Latin vowels,
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| 5. Why is the arrangement of words so important in English but much less so in Latin?
| Because most English words convey only the concept represented by the word, the arrangement of words in English phrases or sentences is crucial for determining their function and ultimately what is being communicated. Compare: 'the dog bit the man' vs 'the man bit the dog' vs 'the the bit man dog'.
But, because most Latin words convey both a concept and a grammatical
function, the arrangement of Latin words into phrases and sentences can be,
and is, much more varied. "Canis momordit virum" and "Virum momordit canis" and "Virum canis momordit" all mean "The dog bit the man". • More on the differences in word order between Latin and English, here,
and
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6. How do languages actually achieve the communication of thoughts? |
Once words have been formed and arranged they still need to be (a) expressed and (b) perceived in order to achieve communication. Most languages, including Latin and English, are expressed by speaking and are perceived by hearing. Some, but by no means all, of these 'oral-audial' languages have a written form that can be read silently or aloud (as you are doing now in English). A few languages, e.g., American Sign Language, are expressed on the hands and are perceived by the eyes. These 'manual-visual' languages do not have a written form but they are true languages.
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| 7. Where does Latin figure in the family of languages?
Latin belongs to the Italic branch of the Indo-European
Languages family. (English belongs to the West Germanic branch of that same
family). Latin began to emerge over 2,500 years ago along the Tiber River
near modern-day Rome. Passing through many phases (notably Old Latin,
Classical, and Medieval), Latin eventually gave rise to the modern Romance
languages of today (Italian, Spanish, etc.) and contributed much vocabulary to many other languages.
• See
8. Why is Latin called a "dead language"?
English is called a "living" language and Latin a "dead" but neither term indicates the worth of the language or its sophistication.
The term "living" in regard to language simply means that the grammar, morphology, and syntax of that language are undergoing changes due to widespread active usage, while the designation "dead" means only that the forms of the language have become fixed and stable. Living languages are typically acquired in daily life (usually from parents to children) while dead languages must be learned by formal study (typically from teacher to student). The vast majority of languages ever used are now dead but fortunately many of them, such as Latin, can still be studied, learned, used, and enjoyed.
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Languages of Iron Age Italy |
| Kinds of words (Parts of Speech) |
| Question | Answer |
| 1. How many kinds of words are there? | There are eight kind of words, or 'parts of speech', in both Latin and English: Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections.
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| 2. What does each kind of word do? |
• Nouns are words designating things, persons, places, etc. • Adjectives are words that modify nouns. • Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. • Verbs are words that designate action or state of being. • Adverbs are words that modify verbs or other adverbs. • Prepositions are words that coordinate relations between certain words, especially substantives. • Conjunctions are words that unite words or phrases or that distinguish between them. • Interjections are words that convey emotions.
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| 3. What are the two main parts of most Latin words? | Most Latin words, especially nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, have two parts, a base (usually a 'root' or 'stem') that conveys the basic notion of word and an ending that conveys the function of the word in the phrase or sentence. • More on the two parts of most Latin words, here.
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1. In both Latin and English a sentence expresses a complete thought and consists of a "subject" (basically, an actor) and a "verb" (basically, an action). In the vast majority of English sentences the subject must be expressly stated (e.g., Laura thinks or She thinks). In contrast, because Latin can rely on the finite form of the verb to imply the subject, complete Latin sentences frequently do not contain an express subject (e.g., Cogitat).
2. In both Latin and English the subject of a clause or sentence must, with rare exceptions, "agree with" its verb in number. Thus, Laura cogitat but Laura et Maria cogitant. This is one of the "Great Concords" in Latin.
3. In both Latin and English there are four kinds of sentences: declarative (stating what is or is not the situation), interrogative (asking questions), imperative (giving directives or commands), and exclamatory (expressing surprise or emotion).
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1. Nouns are words that identify things, persons, places, etc., e.g., God, man, heaven, earth, garden, tree, snake, apple, faith, hope, love.
2. Nearly all Latin nouns, unlike English nouns, have a grammatical "gender" (masculine, feminine, or neuter) but gender usually has nothing to do with sex (male and female). The grammatical gender of most Latin nouns cannot be guessed and so must be learned but it almost never changes so once you know it you know it. A very few Latin nouns have both a masculine and a feminine form, e.g., deus (a god) and dea (a goddess),
or magister (male teacher) and magistra (female teacher).
3. Latin and English nouns come in two "numbers" (singular and plural) depending on whether the noun identifies 'one of some thing' or 'more than one of some thing'.
4. When a Latin noun is used in a phrase or sentence it always appears in a "case" indicating the specific grammatical job that the noun is doing in that phrase or sentence. Latin has five major cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative) and two minor cases (vocative and locative). Most cases can be identified by their spelling though a few of these case endings are identical so context is necessary to identify them accurately.
• Latin's case system
5. A "declension" is a family of nouns whose members "decline" (are formed) in the same way. There are five declensions of nouns in Latin (called I, II, III, IV, and V) and nearly all nouns in Latin belong to a specific declension. A very few nouns belong to two declensions and a few belong to none.
• Notion of Declension
6. The "lexical form" (dictionary entry) of a Latin noun usually consists of the nominative and genitive singular forms, e.g., "dominus, domini" or "spes, spei", sometimes abbreviated "dominus, -i" or "spes, -ei". Although knowing the nominative singular form of a noun is usually enough to identify the declension of a noun, dictionaries usually give both the nominative and genitive singular forms because knowing both of these forms identifies exactly which declension the noun belongs to and what its base is. Once the base and the declension of a noun are known anyone who knows the paradigms of the five declensions can "decline" (form) any noun in Latin.
7. Nouns that refer to the same thing in a phrase or sentence are in
"apposition" to each other and are thus indicated by their sharing the same case (and, if possible, the same number and gender).
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1. Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns and make language more convenient to use. Consider: "The man shook hands with the woman, then the man walked with the woman and the man and the woman talked" can be expressed "The man shook hands with the woman, then he walked with her and they talked". Because most Latin nouns come in three genders, two numbers, and five cases, Latin pronouns come in three genders, two numbers, and five cases.
2. English pronouns often change spelling based on their function in a sentence. If "she wants to eat her pizza" makes sense to you, but "her want to eat they pizza" does not, you see how English pronoun cases work. English pronouns are, in fact, the last remnants of an extensive case system that, several centuries ago, was prominent in English.
3. Latin pronouns can convey emphasis or importance. Because finite Latin verbs always carry an implied subject, expressly stating the subject, even with a pronoun, provides emphasis to that subject. For example, the Latin Vulgate has Jesus saying not "Sum via et veritas and vita" (I'm the way, the truth, and the life), but "Ego sum via et veritas and vita" (something closer to 'I am the way, the truth, and the life').
4. While patterns can be found among Latin pronouns they usually need to be memorized. Among the most important types of pronouns are the "personal pronouns" (ego, tu, is / ea / id), see Latintutorial, here; and the "relative pronouns" (qui, quae, quod),
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1. In Latin every participle is an adjective but it is a special kind of adjective in that a participle is built on a verbal base yet must use a declension ending so as to agree with the noun it is modifying. Participles are more common in Latin than they are in English.
2. There are four kinds of participles in Latin: the perfect passive, the present active, the future passive, and the future active. • Present (active) participles, • Perfect (passive) participles, • Future active participles, • Future passive participles (gerundive),
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1. Verbs are words that indicate actions (e.g., to sing, to pray, to walk, to study, to want, to eat). Most verbs are "regular" (because they follow rules) but a few important verbs are "irregular" and must be learned separately.
2. Most Latin verbs, like English verbs, come in two "numbers" (singular and plural) depending on whether one subject is acting or two or more subjects are acting.
3. Most Latin verbs, like most English verbs, come in three "persons", i.e., first (I or we), second (you or y'all), and third person (he, she, it, and they). A very few verbs do not come in three persons and are usually "impersonal" verbs.
4. Many Latin verbs, like many English verbs, come in two "voices", an active voice (wherein the subject of the sentence does the action, as in "I eat the pizza") and a passive voice (wherein the subject of the sentence receives the action, as in "The pizza is eaten by me").
5. A "conjugation" is a family of verbs whose members "conjugate" (are formed) in the same way. There are four conjugations of verbs in Latin (called I, II, III, and IV) and nearly all verbs in Latin belong to a specific conjugation. The Third Conjugation has two subgroups in it, called "o" and "io". • Selected starter verbs, here.
6. The "lexical form" (dictionary entry) of a Latin verb usually consists of up to four "principal parts" always listed in a specific order:
Once the principal parts of a given verb are identified anyone who knows the paradigms of the four conjugations can form any regular verb in Latin. • Quick chart for regular conjugation verbs, here.
7. The "finite form" of a Latin verb, in contrast to English verbs, always connotes a subject. Even if the subject is not expressly named it can be known implicitly. "Carolus and Robertus ambulant" means "Charles and Robert walk", but even the finite form "ambulant" by itself is a complete Latin sentence meaning "They walk".
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1. Adverbs are words that "modify" (give more information about) verbs or other adverbs, e.g., 'to sing well',
'serve poorly', 'spoke gently', 'acting roughly', 'will run very quickly', 'was acting less happily'.
2. Adverbs in Latin and English come in three "degrees", namely positive, comparative, and superlative.
Examples of degrees of an adverb. Julie sings sweetly. The angels sing more sweetly. The mother of God sings most sweetly. positive degree comparative degree superlative degree Julia cantat suaviter. Angeli cantant suavius. Mater Dei cantat suavissime. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 3. Most Latin adverbs fall into two groups, those derived from Group I-II adjectives and those derived from Group III adjectives. Most adverbs are "regular" (because they follow the rules) but a few important adverbs are "irregular" and must be learned separately. |
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1. Prepositions, taking their name from the fact that in Latin and English they are placed before the words they work with (thus they are 'pre-positioned' before their objects), are words that coordinate certain nouns with other words in a phrase or sentence, e.g., "in the house", "over the moon", "through the day", "under the weather", and so on.
2. Prepositions are small words and never change their spelling. Learn them and what case they 'take' or 'control' and be done with it. • Basic Latin preposition charts here.
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1. Conjunctions are words that show how words and phrases are connected to, or disconnected from, other words and phrases, e.g., "and" (see Latintutorial, here), "or", "whether".
Examples of basic conjunctions in English and Latin:
2. Nearly all Latin conjunctions are small words and almost none of them ever change their spelling.
3. Latin classifies conjunctions the same way English does, i.e., coordinating, correlative, and subordinating.
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Interjections are words that convey emotion or attract attention, e.g., Wow!, Oh!, Gee! Latin uses interjections the same way English uses them. Latin interjections are invariable in spelling and simply need to be learned. Examples include 'o', 'ecce', and 'eheu'. Occasionally, phrases are treated interjections, such as "too bad" or "pro dolor".
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| The vocative case and imperative mood
The vocative case and the imperative mood, being different grammatical topics, may be taught separately. Because, however, the vocative case and the imperative mood are so often used together I explain them together here.
1. The vocative case
(one of the two minor cases in Latin) is used solely to identify a person or thing being addressed in a statement, e.g., "Paul, come with me" (Paule, veni mecum) or "Are you singing, Mary? (Cantasne, Maria?)".
2. The vocative case is identical to the nominative case unless the name of the person or thing being addressed is a second declension, masculine, singular noun ending with "-us" in the nominative (e.g., Eduardus, Paulus, Dominus, Quintus) whereupon that "-us" ending changes to "-e" to form the vocative (e.g., Eduarde, Paule, Domine, Quinte).
3. A very few exceptions to this rule exist, notably: the nominative "Deus" remains "Deus" in the vocative and "Agnus" remains "Agnus"; "Jesus" becomes "Jesu"; "filius" becomes "fili"; "meus" can remain "meus" or become "mi".
4. The imperative mood is the verb form used to express commands. Do not assume that the imperative mood necessarily connotes harshness or authority. The English "Come in, take your coat off, and make yourself comfortable" demonstrates three 'friendly' verbs in the imperative mood. The imperative mood is often used to seek God's favor (Deus, salva nos!) or the saints' intercession (Maria, ora pro nobis peccatoribus).
5. The imperative mood is used in two voices (active and passive) and in the present or (rarely) future tense. It is much more common the second person (both singular and plural) but it can appear in a third person sense. A very few verbs (e.g., posse) do not have an imperative form. A few imperatives (such as esse, ducere, and ire) are irregular.
6. The singular, active, present imperative (the most common form actually used in Latin or English) is easily found: simply drop the "-re" from the (active) infinitive form of the verb. Thus, "laudare" becomes "lauda", "monere" becomes "mone", and so on. For three verbs (dicere, ducere, facere) even the remaining stem vowel "e" is dropped resulting in "dic, duc, fac" as imperatives.
7. The plural, active, present imperative is also easily found: simply add "-te" to the singular imperative form, so "lauda" becomes "laudate", "mone" becomes "monete", and so on. In third conjugation verbs the singular imperative changes its stem vowel from "e" to "i" before adding the "-te", thus, e.g., "cape" becomes not 'capete' but rather "capite".
8. The singular, passive, present imperative is identical with the present, active infinitive form. To form the plural, passive, present imperative, simply take the plural active imperative, drop the "-te" and add "-mini".
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Latin and English have two kinds of numbers, namely, "cardinal" and "ordinal". Cardinal numbers are used for counting things (one, two, three, etc.). Ordinal numbers are used for ordering things in a series (first, second, third, etc.).
Cardinal numbers.
• I. unus, una, unum • II. duo, duae, duo • III. tres, tres, tria
• undecim, duodecim, tredecim, quattuordecim, quindecim, sedecim, septendecim, duodeviginti, undeviginti, viginti
• decem, viginti, triginta, quadraginta, quinquaginta, sexaginta, septuaginta, octoginta, nonaginta, centum
• the overbar multiplier (x 1,000), thus, M =1,000,000
Ordinal numbers
• primus, -a, -um; secundus, -a, -um; tertius, -a, -um; quartus, -a, -um; etc.
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staging
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I have organized this vast and unwieldy topic as follows: Society. People. Institutions. Culture. There are few bright lines distinguishing one category from another and some matters do not neatly fall under any of these headings. Further subdivisions of topics will be evident below. Society and People are presented generally chronologically, with People usually being included in Society where feasible. Institutions and Culture are less amenable to a chronological approach yet it serves here as a default arrangement of topics. For each of these topics and subtopics I have tried to identify presentations geared to beginners (tirones, say, junior highschoolers), intermediate students (discipuli, senior highschoolers), and advanced students (scholares, college students or above). These assignments are subjective and, though generally reasonable, by no means mandatory.
• Society. Roman society passed through three great phases with generally recognized periods: Monarchy, Republic, and Empire. The Monarchy was preceded by a culturally important Pre-Foundation (of the city of Rome) phase, the Republic and Empire each experienced major sub-phases, and the Empire in the West was followed by an important Eastern expression known as Byzantium.
• Names. Latintutorial, here. • Time. Latintutorial, here.
Hannibal
• Accent or stress. Latintutorial, here. Polymathy, 14m, here.
Tis, was Caesar considered divine?, here.
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| Resources | Below are links to some internet resources that I think are helpful for Latin learners (even if some materials in them are presented in ways other than I would present them), including: |
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| Mostly language and literature
• Latinperdiem, 5 to 20 min. • Latintutorial, 5 to 10 min. • Polymathy, 10 to 40 min. • Found in Antiquity: Latin, 10 to 90 min. • Latinitium, 10 to 20 min. • Scorpiomartianus, 10 to 40 min.
The above language and literature sites use almost entirely 'restored classical' pronunciation not ecclesiastical.
Other areas
Ancient & Medieval Adventures Online
| Mostly history and culture
• Biographics, 20 to 40 min. • Captivating History, 10 to 30 min. • Epimetheus, 10 to 40 min. • Fall of Civilizations, 45 to 240 min. • Fire of Learning, 10 to 80 min. • Hadrian, 10 to 20 min. • Kings and Generals, 10 to 90 min. • The Legends of History, 10 to 20 min. • Mythology Unleashed, 10 to 60 min. • The People Profiles, 60 to 90 min. • See U in History, 5 to 45 min. • Simple History, 5 to 15 min. • Timeaus, 30 to 90 min. • Toldinstone, 10 to 40 min. • Usefulcharts, 25 to 35 min.
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Parents determine their children's internet usage and can, as they see fit, disable or block any of the channels and/or sites listed here. I never require a learner to use these linked materials. |
staging
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♦ Special Topics:
Canis pugnax.
here.
St Sebastian.
here.
Cohortes urbanae.
here.
Roman vigiles.
, here. Vocab: excubitor, -is.
Lictors.
here. Vocab: sagulum, -i.
Praetorian guards.
here.
Roman Eagle.
here.
Coliseum.
here.
Praetorian guards.
here.
Gladiators.
here.
♦ Mythology:
Roman mythology.
(6) here.
Janus.
here.
Mars.
here.
Bellona.
here.
♦ History. Pre-foundation.
Aeneas.
here.
♦ History. Foundation.
Roman foundation myths.
here.
Gallic Wars.
here.
Third Servile War.
here.
Spartacus dominates.
here.
Emperors of Rome.
here. (6)
Spartacus.
here.
Roman foundation myths.
here.
Sabine women.
here.
Romulus & Remus.
here.
Roman legion.
here.
Horatii.
here.
Pax Romana.
here.
Pantheon (Smarthistory), here.
Pantheon (Naked Science), here.
Julius Caesar.
here. (6)
Founding of Rome.
here.
Simple History Colosseum, here.
Coliseum, here.
Coliseum flooded, here.
velarium, -i; hypogaeum, -i.
Duties, establishment, make up, 6 AD, 600 men, later 1000s, disbanded 4th c.
How Latin works, here.
Coliseum by air, here.
UsefulCharts, here. Greek Mythology Family Tree.
Did the Romans think Caesar was a god?, here.
Did Christians face the lions in the Coliseum, here.
Roman religion before the Greeks, here. *
Overview of Roman history, here.
Roman Eagle, here.
Founding of Rome, here.
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captivating history: romulus and remus, here
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verb with subject in person number |
concord |
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adjective with substantive in g n c |
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| relative with antecedent in g n & person
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