Riverbend Latin
LATIN & THE CLASSICS                                    Return to Home.

ABOUT THE LATIN LANGUAGE

• A History of the Latin Language by Timothy J. Pulju

• The Latin Language by William Harris, Professor Emeritus, Middlebury College

LATIN RESOURCES

• Bibliotheca Latina: an illustrated "dictionary" defining Latin words by image and in Latin!

• Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum: a growing digital library of Latin literature, proofed and reviewed

• Parvum Verborum Novatorum Lexicum: a small list of new Latin words from the Vatican (in Italian)

• The Latin Library: a large collection of Latin texts from a variety of authors

• Pompeiiana Newsletter Archived on Blog

• Glossa: A Latin Dictionary

• NoDictionaries: Adjustable, interlinear vocabulary for Latin literature

• 333 Latin Words: Words in Latin that have come across into English unchained

LATIN IN EVERYDAY USE

• Archive of The Latin Lover with Fr. Reginald Foster: a collection of podcasts on a variety of topics by the head Latinist for the Pope
• Documenta Latina: the Latin version of the Vatican website
• Ephemeris: a newspaper in Latin!
• Google in Latin: Explorare Googles ope
• Nuntii Latini: weekly world news in Latin by Radio Finland
• Roman Numerals and Arithmetic: from Good Math, Bad Math
• Vicipaedia: Latin Wiki: that's Right... A Latin Wikipedia

CLASSICS RESOURCES

• Omnes Viae Itinerarium Romanum: an interactive route planner with all main roads and cities of the Roman Empire. Based on an ancient Roman map of which a copy survived that is now known as the 'Tabula Peutingeriana'.
• Do All Roads Lead to Rome? A press release from the University of Reading (UK): Award winning model offers world's most up to date glimpse of the ancient city of Rome.
• An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology: mythological influences on numerous aspects of our daily lives
• The Greek Mythology Website: from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire
• Maecenas: Images of Ancient Greece and Rome
• Perseus Digital Library: an outstanding resource of images, texts, and other information from the ancient Greek and Roman world. A product of Tufts University
• Exploring Old Rome Without Air (or Time) Travel: Google Earth offers a view of ancient Rome online -- amazing!
• The Ancient Olympics: Archeology Magazine offers several links to understand and appreciate the classical origin of the Olympics
• Rome Reborn 2.0: an online digital model of Rome in AD 320
• Capitolium.org: a webcam you can control, mounted on the Capitoline Hill in modern Rome
• Roman Ball Games: a site describing authentic ball games played by the ancient Romans
• Roman Board Games: a site describing authentic Roman board games and offering rules and instructions on how to play them
• The Roman Calendar: a decent presentation on all aspects of the Roman calendar and Julius Caesar's modifications to it
• Roman Numerals: everything you've ever wanted to know about Roman numerals, and then some
• Panoramic Earth: The Rome Map: an interactive map showing panoramic views of sites around the Eternal City. Very cool!
• The Coinage of Julius Caesar: A neat site depicting the life and career of Julius Caesar as depicted through coins
• Homegrown Romans: A practice site for the National Latin Exam and certamen

LATIN AND CLASSICS IN THE NEWS

• Hadrian's Buildings Catch the Sun: The emperor's country estate is aligned to meet the solstice: from NatureNews
• Roman Gladiator's Tombstone Describes Fatal Blow: from LiveScience.com via Yahoo News!
• A Most Dangerous Book? Depends who's reading it: A review of Tacitus' Germania from the Washington Post
• Olympia Hit by a Tsunami?: An hypothesis from the University of Gutenberg
• Vox Clamans in Deserto: Save Latin!: a letter to the editor from Morgan Locks
• Harry Potter and the Linguistic Innovator: this article from the UK includes the author's use of Latin
• Forget Mandarin. Latin is the Key to Success: From The Guardian (UK)
• What Can I Do With a Degree in CLASSICS?: Practical information from the University of Tennessee
• Virtual Gladiators and Tigers: Rome gears up for a "Disney-style" theme park. On a related note, take a look at the website for Rewind Rome.
• Roman Colosseum to Host Gladiator Events: Reenactments are coming to your favorite amphitheater in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the Emperor Vespasian. Read about it in this article from The Telegraph in the UK or this one from The Times Online in the UK.
• Colossal Hadrian Found: Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a colossal statue of the Roman emperor.
• Vesuvius: Asleep for Now: A great, new site from the National Geographic
• What Gladiators Were Really Like: from Cosmos: The Science of Everything
• New Museum Seeks Return of the Elgin Marbles: The new Acropolis Museum is set to open in Athens, amid controversy over stolen artifacts. Take a look at the Acropolis Museum's website.
• A Day in Pompeii: An interesting article on visiting Pompeii from The Australian.
• Hadrian and the Pantheon: An interesting article from The Times (London) about the still-stunning temple originally dedicated to all the gods and the emperor who commissioned it. More about Hadrian from Time.
• Chariot Racing to be Revived in Rome in 2009: Calling all charioteers! The Circus Maximus will once again host this long-lost sport. Read the article from the Russian News and Information Agency. Another article from Spiegel International.
• Iconic Symbol of Rome Maybe Not Ancient: Miserabile dictu! The Capitoline Wolf, long thought to have been crafted by the Etruscans around 500 BC, is found to date to the 13th century. Read another article from the Associated Press.
• Are We Rome? Tu Betchus!: Another one of the U.S. as Rome articles (becoming popular these days); by Maureen Dowd, Op-Ed Columnist for The New York Times.
• Latin can help you get into college: Latin students are more attractive to college admissions officers
• Give Us Thinkers Rather Than Droids for the Economy: An Australian Latin student speaks out.
• Snow Day in Athens: An unusual snow storm snarls the capital of Greece. Take a look at snow on the Acropolis!
• Latin Tourist Phrase Book: Miles Kington's humorous take on Latin as the common language for a united Europe.
• Latin Isn't A Dead Language -- It's Resurgent: The Telegraph
• History for Dollars: The New York Times
• Brett Favre and Achilles: Legends Never Die
• What to Do with a Degree in Classics: guardian.co.uk
• As Rome Modernizes, Its Past Quietly Crumbles: The New York Times
• A Classical Education: Back to the Future: The New York Times
• Cool Mythology Website: Family Tree of the Greek Gods
• Nero's Rotating Banquet Hall Unveiled in Rome: from the NY Times
• Careers in Education for Classics Majors
• Classics Majors Find Their Future in the Past
• Branding and Marketing the Classics Major
• Mayor of London Calls for Resurgence of Latin in British Schools
• Do You Need a Better Classical Education?: Take this quiz from lawyers.com to find out.
• An Apology for Latin and Math: Latin and math develop the mind in ways other subjects do not, from Memoria Press/The Classical Teacher
• Janus Rising: a neat article on getting a Classical education
• Back to Latin: an op-ed piece from The New York Times
• 10 Latin Quotes for the Underground: useful Latin quips for that annoying commute
• Student Transfers Capped at Springfield (IL) High School: Too Many Want to Take Latin!
• Excelsior! Teacher says Latin is the secret code of civilization -- and to college admissions: Article from the Melrose Free Press (Beverly, MA)
• The New Cicero: Interesting article of Obama's "classical" eloquence and the debt we in America owe to the ancient Romans
• Councils Ban "Elitist" and Discriminatory" Latin Phrases: From the Telegraph in the UK
• A Dead Language That's Very Much Alive: A story in The New York Times about the resurgence of Latin [10/07/08]
• Boris Johnson Orates: the mayor of London gives a speech in Latin to open show on Hadrian... and the Londoners listen! [7/25/08]
• Excelsior! Teacher says Latin is the secret code of civilization -- and to college admissions: an article from the Melrose Free Press in Beverly, MA [3/7/09]
• It's All Greek to Me: from The Scotsman
• Joe Paterno on Vergil: Penn State's famous football coach tells what Vergil's Aeneid has to do with football and life
• Latin Alive and Kicking: new stats on the rising interest and popularity of the study of Latin
• Latin Oration at Harvard University: Katie Van Schaik from South Carolina gives the annual Latin oration at the commencement exercises
• Latin Resurges in the Classroom: another story of Latin making a come-back, from the Athens Banner-Herald (3/9/09)
• Latin Still Hangs On: the rumors of Latin's demise in public schools have been greatly exaggerated, as explained in the brief article from 1917
• Latin Still on Our Lips: an interesting article from the Barbados Advocate [3/9/09]
• The New Learning That Failed: Victor Davis Hanson on the value of classical learning
• Schools Reviving a Dead Language: Magister Keith was interviewed by The Washington Post in 2002 and the article was picked up by CNN!
• Students Learn Roman Culture for Certamen Tournaments: a nice article from The Free Lance-Star about Latin students at Spotsylvania Middle School
• Vero Possumus: Barack Obama adopts a Latin motto for his "official seal"

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UNDER CONTRUCTION:

The National Committee for Latin and Greek Releases
a Promotional Video for the Study of Latin

A Random, And Brief, Latin Poem:
 

ECCE VERITAS!

An interesting anecdote told to a Latin teacher by a friend from college:
"Did I ever tell you my high school Latin story? When I was a senior (in the 1980's) I dropped computer science COBOL class for Latin II. The computer teacher didn't want to sign my form because he considered Latin a "dead" language. The joke's on him now!"

(Note from Mr. Keith: COBOL was a computer programming language widely used about 20-25 years ago. It has since been replaced by more modern and efficient languages. Interestingly enough, though, Latin is still around and going strong!)

> Courtland Latin video singing Gaudeamus Igitur

> Little Caesar's Travels: Our Little Caesar is the best-traveled character at RHS

All Things Classical

The Acropolis at Night
The Acropolis at Sunset
The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Latin is a Dead Language...
Latin Lyrics for the EU Anthem?
The Seal and Motto of the County of Spotsylvania, Virginia
The Temple of Aphaia in Aegina, Greece
What Can I Do with a Career in Classics?
What Have the Romans Done for Us Lately?

Latin Motto of the European Union: In varietate concordia
"United in diversity"

Proposed Lyrics in Latin for the EU Anthem:

Est Europa nunc unita
et unita maneat;
una in diversitate
pacem mundi augeat.

Semper regant in Europa
fides et iustitia
et libertas populorum
in maiore patria.

Cives, floreat Europa,
opus magnum vocat vos.
Stellae signa sunt in caelo
aureae, quae iungant nos.

Europe is united now
United it may remain;
Our unity in diversity
May contribute to world peace.

May there forever reign in Europe
Faith and justice
And freedom for its people
In a greater motherland

Citizens, Europe shall flourish,
A great task calls on you.
Golden stars in the sky are
The symbols that shall unite us.

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The Temple of Aphaia in Aegina, Greece

The Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece (July 2004)
(in a watercolor effect)

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The Acropolis at Night

The Acropolis of Athens at night (The view from our hotel, July 2004)

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Latin is a Dead Language...

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The Acropolis at Sunset

A recent photograph of the Acropolis in Athens.

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What Have the Romans Done for Us Lately?

From RogueClassicism:

~ Funniest Movie Scene

Blockbuster in the UK has apparently conducted some sort of survey on what the funniest scene in movie history was. The winner was John Cleese's "What have the Romans done for us lately" scene from the Life of Brian. I'm sure everyone who reads rogueclassicism has this scene memorized, but in case you haven't:

REG
They've bled us white, the bastards. They've taken everything we had, not just from us, from our fathers and from our fathers' fathers.

STAN
And from our fathers' fathers' fathers.

REG
Yes.

STAN
And from our fathers' fathers' fathers' fathers.

REG
All right, Stan. Don't labour the point. And what have they ever given us IN RETURN? (he pauses smugly)

XERXES
The aqueduct?

REG
What?

XERXES
The aqueduct.

REG
Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That's true.

MASKED COMMANDO
And the sanitation!

STAN
Oh yes ... sanitation, Reg, you remember what the city used to be like.

REG
All right, I'll grant you that the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans HAVE done ...

MATTHIAS
And the roads ...

REG
(sharply) Well YES OBVIOUSLY the roads ... the roads go without saying. But apart from the aqueduct, the sanitation and the roads ...

ANOTHER MASKED COMMANDO
Irrigation ...

OTHER MASKED VOICES
Medicine ... Education ... Health

REG
Yes ... all right, fair enough ...

COMMANDO NEARER THE FRONT
And the wine ...

GENERAL
Oh yes! True!

FRANCIS
Yeah. That's something we'd really miss if the Romans left, Reg.

MASKED COMMANDO AT BACK
Public baths!

STAN
AND it's safe to walk in the streets at night now.

FRANCIS
Yes, they certainly know how to keep order ...
(general nodding)
... let's face it, they're the only ones who could in a place like this.
(more general murmurs of agreement)

REG
All right ... all right ... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order ... what HAVE the Romans done for US?

XERXES
Brought peace!

REG
(very angry, he's not having a good meeting at all)
What!? Oh ... (scornfully) Peace, yes ... shut up!

And just to keep the Latin teachers happy, here's the next scene from the flick:

C: What's this thing?
"ROMANES EUNT DOMUS"?
"People called Romanes they go the house"?
B: It, it says "Romans go home".
C: No it doesn't. What's Latin for "Roman"?
B: (hesitates)
C: Come on, come on!
B: (uncertain) "ROMANUS".
C: Goes like?
B: "-ANUS".
C: Vocative plural of "-ANUS" is?
B: "-ANI".
C: (takes paintbrush from Brian and paints over) "RO-MA-NI".
"EUNT"? What is "EUNT"?
B: "Go".
C: Conjugate the verb "to go"!
B: "IRE". "EO", "IS", "IT", "IMUS", "ITIS", "EUNT".
C: So "EUNT" is ...?
B: Third person plural present indicative, "they go".
C: But "Romans, go home!" is an order, so you must use the ...?
(lifts Brian by his hairs)
B: The ... imperative.
C: Which is?
B: Ahm, oh, oh, "I", "I"!
C: How many romans? (pulls harder)
B: Plural, plural! "ITE".
C: (strikes over "EUNT" and paints "ITE" to the wall)
(satisfied) "I-TE".
"DOMUS"? Nominative? "Go home", this is motion towards, isn't it, boy?
B: (very anxious) Dative?
C: (draws his sword and holds it to Brian's throat)
B: Ahh! No, ablative, ablative, sir. No, the, accusative, accusative,
ah, DOMUM, sir.
C: Except that "DOMUS" takes the ...?
B: ... the locative, sir!
C: Which is?
B: "DOMUM".
C: (satisfied) "DOMUM" (strikes out "DOMUS" and writes "DOMUM") "-MUM".
Understand?
B: Yes sir.
C: Now write it down a hundred times.
B: Yes sir, thank you sir, hail Caesar, sir.

Full script at lagged.za

::Tuesday, December 21, 2004 7:35:05 AM::

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The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia

The obverse side of the great seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus representing the spirit of the Commonwealth. She is dressed as an Amazon, a sheathed sword in one hand, and a spear in the other, and one foot on the form of Tyranny, who is pictured with a broken chain in his left hand, a scourge in his right, and his fallen crown nearby, implying struggle that has ended in complete victory. Virginia's motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis (Latin for "Thus Always to Tyrants"), appears at the bottom.

Source: Emblems of the Commonwealth

On the reverse side of the seal are the three Roman goddesses, Libertas (Liberty) in the center holding a wand and pileus in her right hand, Aerternitas (Eternity) with a globe and phoenix in her right hand, and Ceres (Fruitfulness) with a cornucopia in her left hand and an ear of wheat in her right. At the top is the word Perservando (Latin for "by Persevering"). A border of Virginia creeper encircles the designs on each side.

Source: Emblems of the Commonwealth

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The Seal and Motto of the County of Spotsylvania, Virginia

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This page has been created and is maintained by Mark A. Keith for the Latin program at Riverbend High School in Fredericksburg, VA. The content herein is solely the responsibility of the website editor and does not imply promotion, sponsorship, or endorsement by Riverbend High School or Spotsylvania County Public Schools.
Created: February 10, 2011. Last Revised: November 12, 2011.