Second Conjugation ē Latin Verbs Posted by kunthra on Aug 17, 2009
For this post, the verbs will be in the present indicative, active tense. In general, second conjugation verbs end in ēre in the infinitive. I : –ō You singular : –s He/She/It : –t We : –mus You plural : –tis They : –nt These are the conjugations for the Latin verb ‘to advise’ I…
More Festivals Posted by kunthra on Aug 14, 2009
The festival of Portunes called Portumnalia, was celebrated this month. Portunes was the god of keys and doors. Part of his name means door or porta. For this festival the people of Rome threw keys into the fire for good luck. It was believed that Portunes was responsible for whether people would run into good…
Days of the Week Posted by kunthra on Aug 11, 2009
Monday – dies Lunae. The word dies Lunae comes from the word luna, which means moon in Latin. There was also a ancient Roman moon goddess called Luna. The temple was named Luna Noctiluca (luna that shines by night). Tuesday – dies Martis. Dies Martis literally means day of Mars. Mars was the ancient Roman god…
Months of the Year Posted by kunthra on Aug 8, 2009
Ianuarius (January) Februarius (February) Martius (March) Aprilis (April) Maius (May) Iunius (June) Iulius/Quintilis (July) Augustus/Sextilis (August) September (September) October (October) November (November) December (December) The original Roman calendar used the name Quintilis for July because in Latin Quintilis means fifth as in the fifth month. In the Roman calendar the year was structured to start in March…
Augustus Posted by kunthra on Aug 5, 2009
This post will be dedicated to Augustus, the man who named this month after himself. Originally the month of August was called Sextilis, named after the sixth month of the year. He obviously didn’t hide his humility, because Augustus meant ‘majestic’ in Lain. Of course he made it look like the Senate gave him this name…
Festivals in August Posted by kunthra on Aug 2, 2009
The festival of Opalia was typically observed on August tenth. The festival was held in honor of the goddess Opis, the fertility goddess. In paintings she was depicted as holding a scepter. Her name derives from the Latin word ops, which means plenty and abundance. Her name is also close to the word opus, which…
Gladiator Posted by kunthra on Jul 30, 2009
The word gladiator comes from the Latin word for sword, which is gladius. The image of a gladiator has captivated the modern age. Hollywood in particular, has glamorized the life of a gladiator. However, the life of a real gladiator was far from ideal. Selling gladiators and training them for the mass games was a…