Latin Resources

on this page you will find the following:

• Inscriptions found in Pompeii
• Orpheus & Eurydice exercise 1
• Orpheus & Eurydice exercise 2
• NEAB GCSE Vocab List
• AQA AS Latin word list
• Latin Descriptors

NEW - Harry Potter Latin quiz.
This quiz was devised by Katy Moe, keen Latin scholar and avid Harry Potter reader of Redland High School in Bristol. Click here to download the quiz in pdf format.

Sherlock Holmes in Latin

Dear "latin lovers",

This month begins in EPHEMERIS a monthly serie of short novels from Conan Doyle. Follow the adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Latin:

http://ephemeris.alcuinus.net/holmesiaca.php

And enjoy it!

Inscriptions

Writing and Graffiti from Pompeii

The following four are all graffiti that occur on a piece of wall plaster 63cm. wide by 20cm. high.

EPAPHRODITUS CUM THALIA HAC. Epaphroditus (was) here with Thalia.
(This record the meeting of two slaves.)

2. Venimus hoc cupidi, multo magis ire cupimus
Sed retinet nostros illa puella pedes.
We were keen to come here, but now we're even keener to leave; but it's that girl that keeps us here.

quisquis amat valeat.
good luck to all lovers.

5. vinum acceptum ab domino vii Idus Apriles. The Master took delivery of wine on
7th. April. (from Herculaneum, House of Neptune and Amphitrite)

amantes ut apes vitam mellitam exigunt. -vellem.
Lovers, like bees, live a honeyed life. - I wish!

The following three are all inscriptions discovered on the wall of the house of Trebius Valens in Pompeii:-

Gaium Iulium Polybium aedilem viis aedibus sacris publicis procurandis.
(Vote for) Gaius Iulius Polybius as aedile for supervising roads, sacred temples and public works.

Decimi Lucreti Satri Valentis flaminis gladiatorum paria decem pugnabunt.
10 pairs of gladiators owned by Decimus Lucretius Satrius Valens, a priest, will fight. (Valens was a priest in the cult of Nero)

lanternari tene scalam
Lantern-bearer, hold on to the ladder.

10. admiror, paries, te non cecidisse ruinis,
qui tot scriptorum taedia sustineas.
I am amazed, wall, that you have not fallen in ruins,
you who bear the weight of so many boring inscriptions.

A sketch survives which shows a gladiator descending a flight of stairs and holding a palm of victory proudly above his head, may well refer to the riot in the amphitheatre in Pompeii in A.D. 59. Under the sketch were scribbled the following words:
Campani, victoria una cum Nucerinis peristis.
Men of Campania, you died with the Nucerians in the same victory.

Our daughter was born early in the evening on Saturday, August 2.

13.(a) Aufidius was here.
(b) Gaius Pumidius Dipilus was here on October 3.
(c) Publius Comicius Restitus stood here with his brother.
(d) A benevolent god lives here in this house.
(e) Burglar, watch out!
(f) This is no place for idlers. On your way, loafer.
(g) Ampliatus Pedania is a thief.
(h) Albanus is a bugger.

14 (a) Stronnius is a know-nothing.
(b) I don't want to sell my husband.
(c) Gaius Julius Primigenius was here. Why are you late?
(d) Let anyone who invites me to dinner prosper.
(e) I have a head cold.
(f) On April 19 I baked bread.
(g) We were here, two dear friends, comrades forever. If you want to know our names, they are Gaius and Aulus.
(h) Epaphra is not a ball-player
(i) Learn this well: while I am alive, you are my enemy, Death.

15. (a) Sarra, you're not acting very nicely, leaving me all alone.
(b) Restitutus has deceived many girls many times.
(c) When I came here, I had sex. Then I returned home.
(d) Let him who chastises lovers try to fetter the winds and block the endless flow of water from a spring.

16. One homeowner in Pompeii tried to prevent rude behaviour at his dinner parties by painting rules of conduct on the walls of his triclinium. His house has been labelled by modern scholars as the "House of the Moralist".
" Keep your lascivious looks and bedroom eyes away from another man's wife. Maintain a semblance of decency on your face.
Be sociable and put aside, if you can, annoying quarrels. If you can't, go back to your own home."

17. (a) Celadus, the Thracian, makes all the girls sigh.
(b) Crescens, the net fighter (retiarius) , holds the hearts of all the girls.

Exercise 1

Year 11 Latin - Orpheus and Eurydice lines 22-43

Read the following passage and answer the questions below:

1. hanc ... legem (line 24): what is Virgil referring to here?
2. What reason does Virgil give in line 25 for the failure of the plan to get Eurydice out of the underworld?
3. manes (line 26): what does this word mean?
4. immemor heu! victusque animi(line 28): is Virgil right to describe Orpheus in these terms?
5. What happened in line 30 to signal the disaster in the underworld?
6. What is being referred to by the word lumina in line 33? Why are they described as natantia?
7. How do the words feror (line 34) and invalidas (line 35) emphasise the helplessness of Eurydice's situation?
8. ceu fumus in auras / commixtus tenues: discuss whether this is a successful simile in your opinion.
9. Who was the portitor Orci (line 39)?
10. Does line 43 in your opinion bring to an effective end the section on the loss of Eurydice?

Exercise 2

Orpheus and Eurydice exercise 2

Read the following passage and answer the questions below:

(a) In line 1 who is referred to as ipse?[1]
(b) What is the cava .. testudine in line1? For what particular skill was this mythical character famous?[2]
(c) How does Virgil, by his choice of words, word order and sound effects, help to convey the desperate sorrow of this character in lines 3-4?[3]
(d) Why, in line 4, did the character go to Taenarias ... fauces ?[1]
(e) Who, in line 6, is the regem .. tremendum ?[2] (f) Translate lines 8-9 (at cantu ... carentum).[3]
(g) What in lines 10-11 are the umbrae and simulacra likened to? What is the point of the comparison?[3]
(h) What specific groups of people does the character see in lines 12-13? [3]
(i) How does Virgil suggest that he feels particular sorrow for the iuvenes in line 14?[2]
(j) How does Virgil's use of adjectives in lines 15-17 help to give the reader an idea of the unpleasantness of the scene?[3]

(23 marks)

Read the following passage and answer the questions below:

(a) What had happened just before the beginning of this passage? [3]
(b) Translate lines 1-3 (illa ... somnus)[5]
(c)How does Virgil emphasise Eurydice's helplessness in lines 4-5? [3]
(d) What is Eurydice's disappearance likened to in lines 6-7?[2]
(e)How does the rhythm in line 6, compared with the rhythm of line 8, help to portray the difference in situation between Orpheus and Eurydice?[2]
(f)In lines 8-9, what actions does Orpheus try to perform and which, in the end, only serve to show his frustration.[2]
(g) Who was the portitor Orci in line 9, and what was the paludem in line 10? [2]
(h)Why does Virgil add the words nec ... amplius in lines 9-10? [2]
(i) What is the purpose of the series of questions in lines 11-12? [3]
(j) In what way does Virgil, in line 13, provide an answer to the questions in lines 11-12? How does Virgil in line 13 suggest that this episode in the story has now finished?[3]

(27 marks)

Latin Descriptors

Latin grade descriptors

Level 3

Pupils are familiar with a limited number of Latin words and can look up unfamiliar words in a glossary or vocabulary list. They can understand simple sentences and answer simple comprehension questions. They are aware that Latin sentences do not always have the same word order as English. They are aware that some English words come from Latin.

They know some common facts about Roman civilisation. They respond to primary sources of information to answer questions about the Roman world. They can recognise some similarities and differences between Roman and modern societies.

Level 4

Pupils are familiar with a range of Latin words, and make use of glossaries and vocabulary lists to find out what unfamiliar words mean. They can see that some English words are derived from Latin and can give some examples. They are aware that Latin nouns and verbs change their endings. They can understand the general sense of short stories written in simple Latin.

They use their knowledge of simple facts about Roman civilisation to describe some characteristic features of the period. They can use primary sources to answer questions and to generate basic lines of enquiry.They can recognise and describe some similarities and differences between Roman and modern societies.

Level 5

Pupils know a range of Latin vocabulary. They can use a vocabulary list with some awareness of how nouns and verbs are listed. They can use English derivations to help them work out some unfamiliar Latin words.They are aware that word endings affect meaning. They can translate short Latin stories with reasonable accuracy and are beginning to develop a personal response to what they read.

They use their knowledge of Roman civilisation to describe a range of characteristic features of the period. They can use a range of primary sources to ask and answer questions about the Roman world. They give reasons for some of the similarities and differences between Roman and modern societies.

Level 6

Pupils know an extended range of Latin vocabulary, and use reference tools, such as vocabulary lists and grammar notes, to support their learning. They have a growing understanding of the links between Latin and English. They have some understanding of grammatical terminology and simple linguistic structures. They can accurately translate longer Latin stories. They can express a personal response to characters and situations, based on the stories they have read.

They use their knowledge of Roman civilisation to make links between characteristic features of the period. They use with some discrimination a range of primary sources to ask and answer increasingly complex questions about the Roman world. They show a growing awareness of the relationship between Roman and modern societies.

Level 7

Pupils have confident knowledge of an extended range of Latin vocabulary, and make increasingly confident use of reference tools. They understand the links between Latin and European languages, especially English. They have an increasing understanding of more complex linguistic structures and terminology. They can accurately translate longer and more complex Latin stories and can apply their linguistic knowledge in new contexts. They articulate a personal response to characterisation and plot in stories of greater length and complexity.

They use their knowledge of Roman civilisation to analyse links between characteristic features of the period. They make critical use of a wide range of primary sources to deepen their understanding of the Roman world. They are beginning to form their own views about the relationship between Roman and modern societies and show some awareness of the legacy of Roman civilisation to modern Europe.

Level 8

Pupils have a thorough knowledge of a wide range of vocabulary, and show a clear understanding of the links between Latin and modern European languages, especially English. They make confident use of reference tools to aid their understanding of complex language. They can recognise and translate accurately complex linguistic features, and can express these in idiomatic English. They articulate a critical response to characterisation, plot and style in stories of greater length and complexity, and can justify their views.

Pupils have a detailed factual knowledge of Roman civilisation which they use to develop a critical understanding of the period. They analyse and evaluate a wide range of primary evidence to form substantiated conclusions about the Roman world. They make independent and critically based judgements about the relationship between Roman and modern societies, and show appreciation of the legacy of Roman civilisation to modern Europe.

[Please note these descriptors are not QCA approved since QCA cannot formally approve level descriptors for subjects which are not within the National Curriculum.]