34. A pavīmentum or floor mosaic from Sousse, Tunisia, showing the poet Vergil accompanied by the Mūsae, the Muses, of history (left) and tragedy (right). Aenēida in genibus habet, he is holding the Aeneid on his knees.

35. Signum marmoreum Imperātōris Augustī Prīmae Portae, a marble statue of the emperor Augustus from Prima Porta. His breastplate depicts the Parthians, the most powerful kingdom in the Near East, returning the standards or signa to Rome that had been lost decades earlier at the battle of Carrhae. Note the Cupīdō or Cupid riding on a dolphin. Since Augustus claimed descent from Venus, and Cupid was the son of Venus, the two were distantly related.

Explōrātiō Sexta Decima (XVI) Adventure Sixteen

Where and When Are We Today?

Mixed I-Verbs (3rd Conjugation -iō Verbs)

Vocabulary

Mixed I-Verb Present Tense, Active and Passive Voice Forms

Exercises 1-6

Mixed I-Verb Imperfect Tense, Active and Passive Voice Forms

Mixed I-Verb Future Tense, Active and Passive Voice Forms

Exercises 7-12

Mixed I-Verb Infinitive and Imperative Forms

Mixed I-Verb Perfect Tense Forms

Exercises 13–17

Vocabulary

Exercises 18-26

Ablative of Accompaniment and Ablative of Manner

The Irregular Noun vīs

Vocabulary

Exercises 27-29

Family ‘History’: The gēns Iūlia

Vergil and the Aeneid

Vergil’s Aeneid: Jupiter Makes a Promise to Venus

Where and When Are We Today?

Mōns Palātīnus, Rōma

Mēnsis Iūnius

Imp. Caesare Dīvī fīliō C. Norbānō Flaccō cōnsulibus

Palatine Hill, Rome

June, 24 B.C.E.

“Today, while we’re visiting, you’re going to be sōlus, on your own, sine mē.”

I tensed up at the news and shouted Quid? She put both hands on my cheeks, looked me in the eye, and said, “You’ll be fine.”

How do you know? I asked, forgetting the premise of our time traveling for a moment.

“Because the place we are visiting is the past, where everything has already happened and nothing can be changed.”

As we left the Forum behind us Latinitas directed me: hīc verte, turn here. We were headed uphill along a tree-lined road paved in stone, straight into the rays of the setting sun. “Hic est collis Palātīnus, this is the Palatine Hill,” she gestured. “Domum Octaviānī petimus, we are heading for the home of Octavian.” Ubi est? I asked, where is it? “Mox cernēs, you will notice it soon.”

At the top of the hill the road offered us a picturesque view. Immediately below stretched the Circus Maximus, the largest racecourse in Rome and the place where chariot races were held. To our right we could see the Campus Martius, dominated by the Theater of Pompey. On the far side of a bend in the Tiber river ran the ridge of the Janiculum Hill, the sun on the verge of going down behind its trees. There were no races in the Circus this evening, but the atmosphere was festive as people milled about and enjoyed the spontaneous entertainments: musicians, magicians, tightrope walkers, and cockfights. An amateur boxing match drew a large crowd that had gathered near a tall, odd-looking cone in the middle of the racetrack. Latinitas told me that this cone was called a mēta, or racing post, and marked the end of the race. Everywhere we looked, people appeared to be having a good time.

“Haec eius domus, this is his house.” Octavian’s residence was a large structure, but not ostentatiously so – no larger than Atticus’, with two floors and a three-storey tower on one corner. But a beautiful temple attached to it by a portico made it more impressive; dedicated to the god Apollo, it looked like an inspired addition. Latinitas had me sit on the temple steps, and we watched a couple playing fetch with a canis, a stray dog, and a pila, a ball. She was a pretty breed of hound, with some wolf in her. Pete! Pete pilam! Quam bona canis! Fetch, fetch the ball! What a good dog!

As the couple left and the dog scampered away, Latinitas mused aloud: “There’s a legend that the founder of the city of Rome, Romulus, was raised along with his brother Remus by a lupa, a she-wolf. It was in a cave at the base of this hill, in a place called the Lupercal. Maybe her descendants still haunt this area? She was a wolf but she was a good mother: her adopted son went on to found this great city, and gave its residents their name, Romans, Rōmānī.”

Did Romulus speak Latin?

“He certainly did, though that was 700 years ago, and the language was different then.”

So did he invent Latin?

“No; no single person or small group of persons can create a living language. Languages evolve, like species of animals, from older ones. Latin was already spoken by the mother of Romulus and Remus. Their mother, Ilia, was a priestess and a member of the royal family of Alba Longa, a city on the volcanic mountain you saw from Cicero’s villa; that’s the center of the land of the Latin-speaking peoples. Rome lies on the edge of Latin territory. Back in those days, once you crossed the Tiber river, you would be in the territory of the Etruscans, a people who spoke a very different language. Hic est ager Latīnus, this is Latin land, et ibi habitābant Etruscī, and there dwelt the Etruscans,” she said, gesturing far away towards the sunset and the Janiculum.

Mixed I-Verbs (3rd Conjugation -iō Verbs)

“I want to teach you some new verbs today. They belong to a family of I-verbs called mixed I-verbs or 3rd conjugation –iō verbs:”

Vocabulary

Mixed I-Verbs (3rd Conjugation –iō Verbs)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
capiō, cap-ere, cēp-ī	to take; pick up
accipiō, accip-ere, accēp-ī	to receive
excipiō, excip-ere, excēp-ī	to take out; receive
incipiō, incip-ere, incēp-ī	to begin
cupiō, cup-ere, cupīv-ī	to desire
faciō, fac-ere, fēc-ī	to make; do
dēficio, dēfic-ere, defēc-ī	to fail; run out
fugiō, fug-ere, fūg-ī	to flee

Mixed I-Verb Present Tense, Active and Passive Voice Forms

“What do these verbs all have in common?”

They have an –iō in the first principal part, but –ere in the second.

“That’s right. These are I-verbs because they have the same infinitive ending as regular I-verbs: –ere. In the present tense, active voice they have the –is, –it, –imus, and –itis endings of regular I-verbs (with short –i–), but they have the –iō and –iunt endings of long I-verbs:”

Mixed I-Verb Present Tense, Active Voice Forms

Ending		Verb Stem + Ending		English Translation
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-iō	-imus	faciō	facimus	I make	we make
-is	-itis	facis	facitis	you make	you all make
-it	-iunt	facit	faciunt	he, she, it makes	they make

“The present tense, passive voice endings are the same as regular I-verbs, except for the first person singular and third person plural, where they have the long I-verb endings –ior and –iuntur:”

Mixed I-Verb Present Tense, Passive Voice Forms

Ending		Verb Stem + Ending		English Translation
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-ior	-imur	capior	capimur	I am taken	we are taken
-eris/-ere	-iminī	caperis/ere	capiminī	you are taken	you all are taken
-itur	-iuntur	capitur	capiuntur	he, she, it is taken	they are taken

Exercises 1-6

1. Nātūra, nōn ordō, virum bonum facit.

2. Urbs vestra ab hostibus capitur.

3. Multa bona superīs ā deīs accipimus.

4. Cōpiae nostrae arma relīquērunt et nunc fugere incipiunt.

5. Hōs hominēs excipiō, nam dūrī sunt.

6. The leader is taken; what do you desire to do?

Mixed I-Verb Imperfect Tense, Active and Passive Voice Forms

“The imperfect tense endings are exactly the same as those for long I-verbs:”

Mixed I-Verb Imperfect Tense, Active Voice Forms

Ending		Verb Stem + Ending		English Translation
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-iēbam	-iēbāmus	faciēbam	faciēbāmus	I was making	we were making
-iēbās	-iēbātis	faciēbās	faciēbātis	you were making	you all were making
-iēbat	-iēbant	faciēbat	faciēbant	he, she, it was making	they were making

Mixed I-Verb Imperfect Tense, Passive Voice Forms

Ending		Verb Stem + Ending		English Translation
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-iēbar	-iēbāmur	capiēbar	capiēbāmur	I was being taken	we were being taken
-iēbāris/iēbāre	-iēbāminī	capiēbāris/iēbāre	capiēbāminī	you were being taken	you all were being taken
-iēbātur	-iēbantur	capiēbātur	capiēbantur	he, she, it was being taken	they were being taken

Mixed I-Verb Future Tense, Active and Passive Voice Forms

“The future tense endings are exactly the same as those for long I-verbs:”

Mixed I-Verb Future Tense, Active Voice Forms

Ending		Verb Stem + Ending		English Translation
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-iam	-iēmus	faciam	faciēmus	I will make	we will make
-iēs	-iētis	faciēs	faciētis	you will make	you all will make
-iet	-ient	faciet	facient	he, she, it will make	they will make

Long I-Verb Future Tense, Passive Voice Forms

Ending		Verb Stem + Ending		English Translation
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-iar	-iēmur	capiar	capiēmur	I will be taken	we will be taken
-iēris/iēre	-iēminī	capiēris/iēre	capiēminī	you will be taken	you all will be taken
-iētur	-ientur	capiētur	capientur	he, she, it will be taken	they will be taken

Exercises 7-12

7. Tōtō pectore meō haec cupiēbam.

8. Quid faciēmus? Nesciō.

9. Hī sōlī mūnera accipient.

10. Lūmina in caelō dēficere incipēbant.

11. The walls of our town will be taken by these (men).

12. They were desiring to flee, but they were being compelled to stay.

Mixed I-Verb Infinitive and Imperative Forms

“The mixed I-verb present active infinitive ends in –ere; the present passive infinitive ends in –ī, same as for regular I-verbs:”

Present Infinitive Endings Compared: A-Verbs, E-Verbs, I-Verbs, Long I-Verbs, Mixed I-Verbs

Verb Conj.	Active Ending	Passive Ending
A-Verb	-āre	-ārī
E-Verb	-ēre	-ērī
I-Verb	-ere	-ī
Long I-Verb	-īre	-īrī
Mixed I-Verb	-ere	ī

Mixed I-Verb Present Infinite Example

Stem + Active Ending	Stem + Passive Ending	English Translation
capere	capī	to take	to be taken

“The imperative forms are the same as for regular I-verbs:”

Imperative Endings Compared: A-Verbs, E-Verbs, I-Verbs, Long I-Verbs, Mixed I-Verbs

Verb Conj.	Singular Act.	Plural Act.	Singular Pass.	Plural Pass.
A-Verb	-ā	-āte	-āre	-āminī
E-Verb	-ē	-ēte	-ēre	-ēminī
I-Verb	-e	-ite	-ere	-iminī
Long I-Verb	-ī	-īte	-īre	-īminī
Mixed I-Verb	-e	–ite	–ere	–iminī

Mixed I-Verb Imperative Forms Example

Stem + Sg. Act. Ending	Stem + Pl. Act. Ending	Stem + Sg. Pass. Ending	Stem + Pl. Pass. Ending
Cape	Capite	Capere	Capiminī
Take!	Take, you all!	Be taken!	Be taken, you all!

Mixed I-Verb Perfect Tense Forms

“The perfect tense forms of mixed I-verbs consist of the usual perfect tense endings on the perfect stem (3rd principal part) of the verb:”

Mixed I-Verb Perfect Tense Forms Example: faciō, facere, fēcī

	Perfect Tense Forms		English Translation
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st	fēc-ī	fēc-imus	I made/have made	we made /have made
2nd	fēc-istī	fēc-istis	you made /have made	you all made /have made
3rd	fēc-it	fēc-ēre/-ērunt	he/she/it made /has made	they made /have made

Mixed I-Verb Perfect Tense Infinitive Example: faciō, facere, fēcī

Perfect Tense Form	English Translation
fēc-isse	to have made

“To sum up: mixed-I verbs (3rd conjugation –iō verbs) have long-I (4th conjugation) endings, except for the present infinitives, the imperatives, and the four short –i– endings in the present tense (1st plural, 2nd singular and 2nd plural, and 3rd singular).”

Exercises 13–17

13. Locum hunc armīs cēpimus.

14. Cape cum cūrā caput miserum huius virī.

15. Litterāsne hās dē bellō excēpistī?

16. The liberty of the country will fail, just as it failed before.

17. So many men were being taken by the enemy before the eyes of the citizens.

Vocabulary

A-Verb (First Conjugation)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
stō, stare, stetī	to stand

I-Verbs (Third Conjugation)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
cadō, cadere, cecidī	to fall
cernō, cernere, crēvī	to notice
condō, condere, condidī	to found; store
gerō, gerere, gessī	to wear; conduct “This verb is often idiomatic: bellum gerere means ‘to wage war’; rem gerere means ‘to carry out a task’.”
parcō, parcere, pepercī + dat.	to spare; save “The object of this verb will be in the dative.”

Second Declension Neuter Noun

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
rēgnum, rēgn-ī	n.	kingdom

I-Stem Third Declension Noun

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
sēdēs, sēd-is	f.	seat; dwelling; abode

Third Declension Neuter Noun

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
ōs, ōr-is	n.	face; mouth

US-A-UM (First and Second Declension) Adjective

Latin Adjective	English Meaning
pulcher, pulchr-a, pulchrum	attractive

Conjunction

Latin Conjunction	English Meaning
quandō	since; when

Adverbs

Latin Adverb	English Meaning
etiam; et	even “Notice how ‘et’ could be an adverb or the conjunction meaning ‘and’.”
mox	soon

Exercises 18-26

18. Mox in hāc terrā bellum hī gerent.

19. Quandō ūnō ōre dīcēmus?

20. Cadetne rēgnum nostrum?

21. Condite arma in castrīs.

22. Et malīs temporibus pulchra et bona spērāmus.

23. Dux saevus nōbīs nōn parcet.

24. Rōmulus populum ‘Rōmānōs’ ab nōmine suō dīcet.

25. Quid hic agit? Nōn crēvī.

26. Hīs ego nec mētās rērum nec tempora pōnō; namque hīs imperium sine fīne dō. “The meaning of mēta was explained at the very beginning of today’s adventure.”

Ablative of Accompaniment and Ablative of Manner

“In Latin the preposition cum, which means ‘with’, can indicate that you are ‘with’ a person, or sometimes a thing. This is called the ablative of accompaniment: cum amīcō, ‘with a friend’; mēcum, ‘with me’; multis cum militibus, ‘with many soldiers’.”

“The preposition cum is also used to describe how something is accomplished: cum timōre, ‘with fear’; cum amōre ‘with love’; cum īrā ‘with anger’. This use is called the ablative of manner. This use of the ablative can often be translated into English using an adverb: ‘fearfully’, ‘lovingly’, ‘angrily.”

“Sometimes an ablative noun of manner is modified by an adjective: cum magnō timōre, ‘with great fear’. When an adjective modifies an ablative noun of manner , the preposition cum is often omitted: magnō timōre; when this happens, you must supply ‘with’ when you translate.”

“When cum is used, it often falls between the adjective and the noun. Do you know the phrase magnā cum laude?”

Yeah, you get it when you sit in the front row and graduate top of your class.

“Oh hush: you can get it if you sit in the back row. Anyway, it means ‘with great praise’. So, think of this as magna-cum-laude word order: adjective-preposition-noun:”

Ablative of Manner Examples

magnō cum labōre / magnō labōre	with great effort
multō cum timōre / multō timōre	with much fear
maximō cum amōre / maximō amōre	with the greatest love

The Irregular Noun vīs

“Latin has an irregular third declension i-stem noun often used as an ablative of manner. Put this in your vocab:”

Vocabulary

Irregular I-Stem Third Declension Noun

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
vīs, vīr-ium (gen. pl.); vim (acc. sg.), vī (abl. sg.)	f.	force; strength; power

“This noun has no genitive or dative singular”

Declension of vīs

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	vīs	vīrēs
Gen.	––	vīrium
Dat.	––	vīribus
Acc.	vim	vīrēs
Abl.	vī	vīribus

Exercises 27-29

27. Magnā vī Rōmānī hoc bellum gessērunt.

28. Multō cum labōre discēdēmus ab hāc sēde, sī cūncta haec ferēs.

29. Even in bad times we were waging war with the greatest force.

As we worked, a stream of important-looking guests was arriving at Octavian’s house. While I was watching them Latinitas disappeared. When she returned, she was dressed in an elegant robe with a gorgeous gold and purple shawl, her hair oiled and gathered in elegant ringlets that hung over golden earrings, scented with a rosewater perfume. Somewhat incongruously, she also held a bucket full of seaweed, which she handed over to me.

“Hoc tibi, this is for you.” Quid est? I asked. “It’s a bucket of snails, cochleae. Your job is to walk up to the kitchen area, yell cochleae, cochleae until someone takes this off your hands, then hide in the cella, the storage closet, just off the main dining room, to watch the poet Vergil perform before dinner.”

As I ran through this scenario in my mind, I began to panic.

“What if I say cochleae and they think I’m saying ‘of the snail’, or ‘to/for the snail’? It will give me away!”

“No one is going to think you’re using the genitive or dative!”

“But what if they do? What if they do and they cut off my head and nail it to the Forum?”

“No one is going to cut off your head! Think: if someone came to you with this bucket and said ‘Snails!’, would you interpret what you heard as ‘Snail’s’ and think they were crazy? As if it belonged to a man named Snail?”

“No.”

“There you go. Context is King.”

Well, she was right: I walked into the kitchen area with my bucket, yelled cochleae, and someone grabbed it from my hands. I then tip-toed down one wing of the house to a dark cella that had a view of the entranceway and the front of the dining room.

Family ‘History’: The gēns Iūlia

As I hid there and let my heart settle down, I watched a painter talk to Octavian’s guests about a wall-painting he had just finished. It was an artistic representation of the genealogy of the gēns Iūlia, the family line of the Iūliī. Julius Caesar belonged to it, as did Octavian, who was Caesar’s adopted son as well as his heir.

“Haec Venus,” the painter said, pointing to a scene of the goddess floating in the air. She was leading her son Aeneas out of the burning city of Troy with his elderly father Anchises and his young son, Ascanius. Venus was holding the end of a red ribbon, and the three males had their hands on it too; the ribbon, I came to understand, represented the Julian family line.

In the scene below, a bald and grey-bearded Aeneas was standing on a hill, looking like the supervisor of a construction project as he watched a city being built in the valley below. The city was labelled LAVINIVM, Lavinium. This was Italy now, and not Troy.

The ribbon spiraled loosely around Aeneas’ outstretched arm and continued down to the next scene. There a solemn figure labelled ASCANIVS was seated in a regal chair; haec Alba Longa, the painter explained. (The Romans often leave out the est when they say ‘this is Alb Longa’, or whatever.) The ribbon passed through Ascanius’ hands, then looped down through a long series of ghostly figures representing early Latin kings, until it passed through the hands of Ilia. From there it passed to the infants Romulus and Remus, who were playing tug-of-war with it; and in the next scene, Romulus wrapped it around his forehead as he laid down the walls of Rome. Behind the walls you could just make out the feet of Remus, who was lying dead, murdered by his brother.

Next, the ribbon wound through a mass of unlabeled faces before it spun around the waist of Julius Caesar, who was ascending to a starry caelum with a halo around his head. This was his anima rising to heaven after his assassination, and there was Venus again, waiting to greet him. Finally, at the very bottom of the painting, Octavian was holding onto the end of the ribbon as he watched his father’s soul soar upwards.

Now, who should pass in front of me at that moment but Octavian himself; I recognized him, and a herald called out his name. Other dinner guests followed, whose names I could make out as they were announced. Agrippa was there, and I recognized him from the time we saw Vitruvius. Livia, Octavian’s wife, shared a couch with her husband. Messalla, Sulpicia’s uncle, came cum Horātiō, with Horace, a poet who we would meet on our next visit. And then there was a man called Maecenas, accompanied by a woman who winked at me as she passed. Oh my god, I half-whispered out loud – Latinitas was disguised as Maecenas’ wife or maybe mistress! What the explanation behind this was, I couldn’t wait to hear.

Vergil and the Aeneid

With a nod in my direction Latinitas gestured to the couch next to her, where a tall man sat in an actor’s robe. His young male lover was massaging his shoulders, as if preparing him for a boxing match. The older man, I soon figured out, was the poet Vergil, Publius Vergilius Maro. Octavian made a speech introducing him and told the guests that they were about to hear the debut recital of the first book of his forthcoming epic, the Aeneid. In case you didn’t know, the Aeneid is the epic adventure of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was a founder of the Latin people, and thus, indirectly, of the Romans.

I did not understand much of what I heard after that, although I got the sense that Aeneas, the protagonist, was caught in a storm at sea. Vergil was a wonderful entertainer, full of energy, gestures, dramatic pauses, and sound effects. He spoke in different voices for each character, he and would change the arrangement of his robe to match their identity. One thing you should know, my reader, is that Roman poets were not just guys reading out loud from books in cafes; many were like famous actors or musicians. Vergil recited the whole thing from memory.

Latinitas had instructed me to listen for words or phrases I understood, and I did best with a scene where Jupiter was speaking to Venus. The goddess was worried about the future of her son Aeneas. To ease her fears, Jupiter laid out the future in a prophecy.

Vergil’s Aeneid: Jupiter Makes a Promise to Venus

If you want to know what it felt like to be there, you should read the Latin aloud with a partner. I interpreted the Latin for you; find the Latin that corresponds to each English word in bold:

Parce metū, Cytherēa: manent immōta tuōrum

fāta. Tibi cernēs urbem et prōmissa Lavīnī

moenia, sublīmemque ferēs ad sīdera caelī

magnanimum Aenēān, neque mē sententia vertit.

Spare your fear, (Venus) Cytherea: they remain unmoved, your peoples’

fates. You shall see the city and the walls of Lavinium promised to you,

you will carry on high, to the stars of the sky,

great-souled Aeneas, nor has some feeling changed me.

Hic tibi (fābor enim, quandō haec tē cūra remordet,

longius et volvēns fātōrum arcāna movēbō)

bellum ingēns geret Ītaliā, populōsque ferōcēs

contundet, mōrēsque virīs et moenia pōnet…

For you this man (for I shall speak, since this care gnaws at you,

a little longer, and by unrolling the secrets of fate, shall set them moving)

will wage huge war in Italy, will beat down fierce peoples,

and will lay down customs and walls for his men.

At puer Ascanius, cui nunc cognōmen Iūlō

additur – Īlus erat, dum rēs stetit Īlia rēgnō –

trīgintā magnōs volvendīs mēnsibus orbīs

imperiō explēbit, rēgnumque ab sēde Lāvīnī

trānsferet, et Longam multā vī mūniet Albam.

But the boy Ascanius, to whom now the nickname Iulus

is added – he was Ilus, while Ilium still stood as a kingdom –

will complete thirty great cycles as the months roll by

in power, and will transfer his kingdom from its seat

in Lavinium, and will fortify Alba Longa with much force.

Hīc iam ter centum tōtōs rēgnābitur annōs

gente sub Hectoreā, dōnec rēgīna sacerdōs,

Mārte gravis, geminam partū dabit Īlia prōlem.

Here there will then be a kingdom for a whole three hundred years

under Hector’s family line, until a royal priestess

pregnant by Mars, Ilia, will give in birth twin offspring.

Inde lupae fulvō nūtrīcis tegmine laetus

Rōmulus excipiet gentem, et Māvortia condet

moenia, Rōmānōsque suō dē nōmine dīcet.

Then, happy in the grey shelter of his wolf nurse,

Romulus will receive the family line, and will found the walls

of Mars, and will call [them] Romans after his own name.

Hīs ego nec mētās rērum nec tempora pōnō;

imperium sine fīne dedī…

For them I lay down neither goalposts for their world nor time (limits);

I have given them empire without end…

Nāscētur pulchrā Troiānus orīgine Caesar,

imperium Ōceanō, fāmam quī terminet astrīs,—

Iūlius, ā magnō dēmissum nōmen Iūlō.

A Trojan Caesar will be born from a handsome origin,

who will mark his empire’s limit with the Ocean, his fame with the stars –

Iulius, a name passed down from great Iulus.

Hunc tū ōlim caelō, spoliīs Orientis onustum,

accipiēs sēcūra; vocābitur hic quoque vōtīs.

Someday you, carefree, will receive this man, weighed down

by the loot of the East, in heaven; he too shall be called in prayers.

Aspera tum positīs mītēscent saecula bellīs;

cāna Fidēs, et Vesta, Remō cum frātre Quirīnus,

iūra dabunt; dīrae ferrō et compāgibus artīs

claudentur Bellī portae; Furor impius intus,

saeva sedēns super arma, et centum vīnctus aēnīs

post tergum nōdīs, fremet horridus ōre cruentō.

“Then harsh generations will turn gentler, their wars set aside;

white-haired Trust, and Vesta, Quirinus [Romulus] with his brother Remus,

will deal justice; the dire gates of War will be closed

with iron and tight joints; inside, disloyal Madness,

sitting on top of savage arms, and bound behind his back

with a hundred bronze knots, will roar horribly from his gory mouth.”

Vergil let loose a loud roar, at which much of the crowd laughed and clapped.

At the end, as I slipped outside again, I heard Octavian shout above the noise to Agrippa, asking what he thought of Vergil’s poem. Agrippa gave his answer – cacozēlos, “Pretentious” – before taking, from a platter offered to him, a snail lightly fried in garlic, oil, and saffron.

I’d felt the power of the performance, and I had some respect for the propaganda, too, even if it was blatant. As Latinitas told me later, when your society has fallen apart and you have to put it back together again with some pieces missing, you need some fibs to fill in the gaps.

So, I asked her as we left, what was the story with Maecenas?

“Maecenas does special jobs for Octavian: he keeps an eye on the city of Rome while he’s away, and he collects talent for him. Vergil and Horace – they were Maecenas’ ‘finds’. He has a good ear for poetry.”

No, I mean, what were you doing with him?

“Oh, he’s very handsome. One of the few mortal men in this city who knows how to treat a woman right.”

So he’s single?

“His wife Terentia was taking a long nap. I left before anything happened. No harm, no foul.”

Well, it was none of my business and I didn’t pry further. But it made me wonder whether in my past I had ever interacted with someone who was actually a god or a goddess in disguise.

36. Wall paintings from the ‘Mask Room’ in the domus or house of the emperor Augustus on the Palatine Hill in Rome. The walls of Roman houses were normally painted or decorated, and more ambitious houses often had elaborate paintings like this that were intended to create an illusion of depth.