Latin Phrases | Roman Landmarks | Homer's Characters | Those Darn Etruscans | Important Ancient Greeks |
---|---|---|---|---|
What is "truth"?
The motto of Harvard is "veritas," meaning this
|
What is the Forum?
A funny thing happened on the way to this Roman center of government and commerce
|
Who is Achilles?
This great warrior is named in the first line of the Iliad
|
What is the Tiber?
The Etruscans mainly lived between the Arno River and this historic river further south
|
Who is Socrates?
This famous philosopher helped shape modern philosophy with his methods and dialogues, and later helped Bill and Ted finish their history project during their 1989 Excellent Adventure
|
What is "ex post facto"?
This three word Latin phrase means "retroactively"
|
What is the Colosseum?
Sun in your eyes while you’re watching gladiatorial combat in this famous amphitheater? No worries – it's got retractable awnings
|
Who is Odysseus?
This "Nobody" took ten years to return home from the Trojan War
|
Who is Neptune?
Let’s sea – Nethuns was the Etruscan equivalent of this Roman god
|
Who is Alexander the Great?
Macedonians will be quick to remind you that this famous ruler was not from modern-day Greece
|
What is "ad nauseam"?
This phrase indicates that something has gone on to the point of sickness
|
What is the Pantheon?
Marcus Agrippa, having been made consul three times, made this Roman temple around 125 C.E.
|
Who is Briseis?
Although her face didn't launch a thousand ships, this captive still caused some fighting between Achilles and Agamemnon
|
What is the toga?
The Tebenna, an Etruscan mantle, evolved into this garment worn most strikingly by John Belushi
|
Who is Pericles?
This "first citizen of Athens" is known for his commission to reconstruct the Parthenon, and lends his name to a period in the mid-fifth century B.C.E.
|
What is "in flagrante [delicto]"?
This phrase is how you catch someone in the middle of a misdeed, often lascivious in nature
|
What is the Circus Maximus?
Don't forget to thank your local aediles for organizing the games here, the largest stadium in Rome
|
Who is Circe?
Don't tell Penelope, but Odysseus spends a year feasting with this witch, who turns half his men into swines
|
What is the wishbone?
Those darn Etruscans were said to use this chicken part to tell their fortune; it wasn’t so lucky for the chicken
|
Who is Sappho?
Known as the "Tenth Muse," only 650 lines of her poetry survive today
|
What is "Mortal actions never deceive the gods"?
Ovid coined this phrase that many ancient protagonists ought to remember - "Acta deos numquam mortalia fallunt"
|
What is the Theater of Pompey?
Besides the first permanent stage in Rome, this structure was also home to a statue gallery, gardens, temple, and the site of Julius Caesar's assassination
|
Who are Telemachus and Telegonus?
Although they have similar names, these sons of Odysseus were brothers from (two) other mothers
|
Who is Augustus?
Maecenas, a leading advisor to this Roman emperor, was descended from Etruscan rulers
|
Who is Draco?
This early Greek legislator had some way harsh punishments - many offenses would result in death
|