National Latin Exam (NLE) cheat sheet

Roman Culture, Mythology, and History

• Founding legends: Aeneas flees Troy to Italy; Romulus and Remus, sons of Mars and Rhea Silvia, are raised by a she-wolf; Romulus founds Rome traditionally in 753 BCE.

• Roman state: monarchy (753–509 BCE), Republic (509–27 BCE), Empire (27 BCE onward); the Republic had consuls, Senate, and assemblies; the Empire began with Augustus.

• Major historical figures: Julius Caesar (dictator, assassinated 44 BCE), Pompey, Cicero (orator, consul 63 BCE), Augustus (first emperor), Nero, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius.

• Roman gods (Greek equivalents): Jupiter (Zeus), Juno (Hera), Neptune (Poseidon), Minerva (Athena), Mars (Ares), Venus (Aphrodite), Diana (Artemis), Mercury (Hermes), Vulcan (Hephaestus), Pluto (Hades).

• Mythology: Aeneid by Vergil; Metamorphoses by Ovid; heroes include Hercules, Perseus, Theseus, Jason; monsters include Medusa, Minotaur, Cyclops.

• Roman daily life: paterfamilias held authority; clients greeted patrons at the salutatio; thermae (baths) were social centers; the forum was the civic and commercial hub.

• Entertainment and architecture: Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater, dedicated 80 CE), Circus Maximus (chariot racing), Pantheon (dome), aqueducts, and the via Appia.

• Latin literature authors: Plautus and Terence (comedy), Catullus (lyric), Caesar (commentaries), Livy (history), Vergil (epic), Horace (odes), Ovid (elegy/epic), Tacitus (historiography).