MAGISTRA BANKS

Texts and Thematic Units of Study

Review Text Latin First Year, 2nd edition

Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 2, North American 4th edition

Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 3, North American 4th edition

 

LIFE IN ROMAN BRITAIN

This unit discusses the lifestyles of both Romans new to Britain and native Celts in regard to their dwellings and occupations. The story line focuses in part on the roles of slaves imported by wealthier Romans into a recently acquired province.

 

THE ROMAN INVASION OF BRITAIN 

This unit is a historical presentation of the Roman invasion of Britain, which had a long-lasting influence on the island, both on the physical nature of towns and cities and the lives of the inhabitants. There is also an emphasis on the process of Romanization as a means to pacify the natives of new province. Also discussed is how the Romans attempted to control their provinces in light of the necessity to employ their legions in maintaining the borders of their Empire.

 

THE CELTS: FRIEND OR FOE?

This unit looks closely at three Celtic leaders and their dealings, positive and negative, with the invading Romans: Boudicca, Cardtimandua and Cogidubnus.

 

THE PALACE AT FISHBOURNE

This unit provides an overview of the archaeological findings of the palace believed to have been bestowed upon Cogidubnus as a reward for his loyalty to the Romans during the invasion of Britain.

 

ALEXANDRIA

In this unit, through a flashback, the storyline moves to the city of Alexandria, the city to which the surviving members of the Caecilius family traveled after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This unit and the three following present examples of life in the city.

 

GLASSMAKING

The focus of the storyline of this unit is the purchase of a glass shop and the threats of extortion on the new owner. This focus leads to a detailed discussion of glassmaking, the methods of creating glass articles and the variety of their forms. The unit also discusses methods of creating glass articles and the variety of their forms. The unit also discusses the life of the lower classes in Egypt, before and under the control of the Romans.

 

THE WORSHIP OF ISIS

This unit deals with the goddess Isis and the beliefs and cults connected with her. Specifically, it describes an annual festival in her honor, which occurred in early March. As an aside, the unit also describes crocodile hunting on the Nile River.

 

MEDICINE AND SCIENCE

This unit describes the efforts of a doctor and an astrologer in trying to cure a severely wounded man. From this story line develops a close view of medical and scientific concepts that arose in the ancient world, especially in Alexandria. A discussion of astrology is also included in this unit.

 

AQUAE SULIS AND ITS BATHS

In this unit, the narrative returns to Roman Britain where King Cogidubnus had fallen seriously ill and wants to visit the thermal baths at Aquae Sulis. Salvius, on the other hand, wants the curator to devise a means for killing Cogidubnus. As part of the story line, this unit examines the bath complex at Aquae Sulis.

 

MAGIC, CURSES, AND SUPERSTITIONS

In this unit, the story line provides a comic interlude to the political drama introduced in the previous unit. Combining archaeological evidence from the Sacred Spring in Aquae Sulis with Roman comedy, the story line introduces a comic love triangle occurring in the vicinity of the bath complex.

 

ROMAN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

Returning to the political drama, this unit describes a divination by a haruspex to determine whether King Cogidubnus would receive divine help in dealing with a serious illness. The story line gives a detailed description of the divination and also discusses in depth various aspects of Roman religious beliefs.

 

TRAVEL AND COMMUNICATION

In this unit, two main characters in the political drama decide to travel to Deva, a considerable distance from Aquae Sulis, in order to seek the help of the Roman governor of Britain. This point in the story line leads to a description of the Roman road system and various means of transportation.

 

THE LEGIONARY SOLDIER

The story line in this unit focuses on the two soldiers from the comic interlude introduced earlier. In it we are introduced to different officers in a Roman legion and to some of the duties of a legionary. As part of the unit, the careers, duties, equipment, etc, of a Roman legionary are discussed in detail.