HUM / REL 293 - Continuation of Beginning Latin

Course Notes - Week 1
Go here for notes on Roman Britain
General notes

For information on Gaius Salvius Liberalis, see page 24 of the Cambridge Course

Iron and most other metals are not usually found in nature as the metal, but in the form of ores - oxides, sulfides, or other compounds of the metal.

The Cantiaci were the tribe on the south-eastern coast of Britain. The names Kent and Canterbury are derived from this tribe.

In the passage "coniūrātiō", killing the slaves may seem an extreme punishment. In Rome, if a citizen was injured, all the slaves in a household might be killed.

Wheelock, page 101 - Cyrus was the Persian king who overthrew the Babylonian Empire, and allowed the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple on condition that they prayed for him there. The "Cyrus Cylinder" - a clay cylinder with Cyrus' decree letting the Jews return to Jerusalem, is still in existence, on view in the British Museum. Cyrus was a Zoroastrian - a follower of the teacher Zoroaster or Zarathrustra. The main teaching of Zoroastrianism is that there is one "Good God", called Ahura-Mazda, who is symbolized by fire. There is also a "bad god" Shaitan, who fights against Ahura-Mazda. It is the duty of Zoroastrians to fight on the side Ahura-Mazda by doing good deeds. Zoroastrianism flourishes today in India and parts of Iran. Cyrus' tomb (empty) is in Iran

Wheelock, page 102 - "Fabian Tactics" is a term used now for any delaying tactics, usually in war or politics. Quintus Fabius Maximus was a Roman general fighting against Hannibal, the great Carthaginian general in the Punic wars between Rome and Carthage. Hannibal (247-182? BC) started from Carthaginian-held territory in what is now Spain, and led his armies, including elephants, through what is now France, over the Alps, and into Italy. He terrorized the Romans, and defeated them in battles. However, the Italian tribes who had promised to join him against Rome did not do so, and his supply-lines from Carthage were impossibly long and difficult. Fabian did not have a strong enough army to meet and defeat Hannibal in a pitched battle, so he chose to make smaller attacks as they chased one another around Italy, gradually wearing down the Carthaginian army. Hannibal caught malaria from marching through swamps, and was blinded for a time by an eye-infection. His brother Hasdrubal tried to bring reinforcments to him, but was driven off by the Romans. The Romans eventually killed Hasdrubal and tossed his head into Hannibal's camp. Hannibal's army was losing men, and he could get no more supplies. After about 16 years of marching around Italy, with a dwindling army, Hannibal fled to the eastern part of the Mediterranean, where he was either killed, imprisoned, or committed suicide. The "-bal" in Hannibal and Hasdrubal indicates that they had been dedicated to the Phoenician god Baal.

Wheelock, page 108, Sentence 5 - from Vergil's Aeneid - Polyphemus was a one-eyed giant who ate people. This sentence is an example of an asyndeton - the conjunctions which would normally be used have been omitted for dramatic effect.

New Words
carnifex -icis
Literally a "meat maker", from "carō -nis"(f) - flesh, meat; and "faciō facere fēcī factum" to make. It can mean an executioner or a murderer, and can also be used as a term of abuse.
cētērus -a -um
"other" - usually found in the plural. "etc." is an abbreviation for "et cetera" (neuter plural, used as a noun) - "and the others". The same expression in Greek is "kai ta loipa, ktl."
coniūrātiō -ōnis, (f)
A plot, from "coniūrō -āre" to take an oath together, hence to conspire. "iūrō -āre", to swear an oath, and "iūs iūris" (neuter) give us the English words jury, justice, jurisprudence
itaque
is a combination of "ita", (in this way), and "-que" (and)
metallum
A mine or quarry; hence "metal" as that which could be produced from a mine
vīlicus
A vīlicus was the manager or steward of an estate or farm.
vīlla
A Roman villa was not just a house, but an estate in the country. It included the house, the farm buildings and the land. Wealthy Romans in Italy often did not live year-round at their villas, but had a house in a city also. In the provinces a Roman villa might become the center for a region. The English words "vill" and "village" originally denoted such a settlement.

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