Assignments
All assignments are due on the date for which they are assigned. Please allocate sufficient time. This schedule is possible to maintain, but if you let it slide in the beginning, recovery will be very difficult.
Note that the appendices from The Landmark Caesar from E on are not available in your book, but are part of an extended supplementary volume of forty-four appendices called “Web essays” (about 325 more pages) available online at the Landmark Caesar website. It is a single PDF file that you can download and keep on your own computer for your convenience. Most of them are quite reasonable in length, very clearly written, and will help you understand both your Latin reading and the historical and cultural context in which Caesar was writing.
1. Thu, Sep 5, 2024
Introduction to Caesar and his Latin; general principles of textual scholarship, and how to read Latin prose.
Please read:
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 1: 1-54 (pp. 3-48). This is a longer-than-normal reading assignment in the translation, but you have no Latin to prepare for this class, and I want you to get Book 1 out of the way before you encounter it in Latin, lest you be tempted to use the translation as a crutch in preparing the Latin.
2. Mon, Sep 9, 2024
Please read:
1.1 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 2: 1-17 (pp. 51-64).
Martin Jehne, “Caesar the Politician”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix F (pp. 6-12).
Vocabulary list #1. Take the quiz by Friday.
3. Thu, Sep 12, 2024
Please read:
1.2 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 2: 18-35 (pp. 64-78).
Erich S. Gruen, “The Legitimacy of Caesar’s Wars”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix J (pp. 33-39).
4. Mon, Sep 16, 2024
Please read:
1.3 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 3: 1-14 (pp. 81-94).
Christopher S. Mackay, “The Roman Military”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix D (in the hard copy book: pp. 672-676).
Vocabulary list #2. Take the quiz by Friday.
5. Thu, Sep 19, 2024
Please read:
1.4-5 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 3: 15-29 (pp. 94-106).
Duncan B. Campbell, “The Roman Army Camp”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix Q (pp. 68-72).
6. Mon, Sep 23, 2024
Please read:
1.6-7 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 4: 1-19 (pp. 109-120).
Josh Levithan, “The Rules of War”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix R (pp. 73-78).
Vocabulary list #3. Take the quiz by Friday.
7. Thu, Sep 26, 2024
Please read:
4.24-25 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 4: 20-38 (pp. 120-130). Try to read this after you have prepared your Latin: there was no way to avoid this collision without unduly stretching things, since you have just leapt from the first book to the fourth in the Latin.
Nicolle Hirschfeld, “Caesar at Sea”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix AA (pp. 125-130).
8. Mon, Sep 30, 2024
Please read:
4.26-27 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 5: 1-27 (pp. 133-152).
Ian Ralston, “Oppida: Towns in Caesar’s World”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix L (pp. 44-47).
Vocabulary list #4. Take the quiz by Friday.
9. Thu, Oct 3, 2024
Please read:
4.28-30 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 5: 28-58 (pp. 152-170).
Tom Moore, “Caesar on Britain”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix N (pp. 52-56).
10. Mon, Oct 7, 2024
Please read:
4.31-33 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 6: 1-20 (pp. 173-187).
RIchard J. A. Talbert, “War and Geographical Knowledge”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix W (pp. 97-101).
Vocabulary list #5. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 1 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them. This is probably all fairly unsurprising material.
11. Thu, Oct 10, 2024
Please read:
4.34-36 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 6: 21-44 (pp. 187-200).
Nathan Rosenstein, “Late Republican Provincial Administration”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix P (pp. 63-67).
12. Mon, Oct 14, 2024
Please read:
5.24-26 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 7: 1-28 (pp. 203-223).
Nathan Rosenstein, “The Economics of War”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix T (pp. 84-87).
Vocabulary list #6. Take the quiz by Friday.
13. Thu, Oct 17, 2024
Please read:
5.27-28 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 7: 29-60 (pp. 223-244).
Debra L. Nousek, “The Gallic War as a Work of Literature”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix GG (pp. 229-235).
14. Mon, Oct 21, 2024
Please read:
5.29-32 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 7: 61-90 (pp. 244-268).
Nathan Rosenstein, “Military Logistics”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix V (pp. 92-96).
Vocabulary list #7. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 2 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
15. Thu, Oct 24, 2024
Please read:
5.33-35 in Latin.
The Landmark Caesar: Gallic War 8: 1-55 (pp. 271-306). You can skim this — it’s not by Caesar himself.
Alexa Jervis, “The Gallic War as a Work of Propaganda”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix HH (pp. 229-235).
16. Mon, Oct 28, 2024
Please read:
5.36-39 in Latin.
Vocabulary list #8. Take the quiz by Friday.
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 1 in translation.
Kurt A. Raaflaub, “The Roman Commentarius and Caesar's Commentaries”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix CC (pp. 203-209).
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 3 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
17. Thu, Oct 31, 2024
Please read:
5.40-42 in Latin.
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 2 in translation.
Duncan B. Campbell, “Military Engineering and Sieges”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix S (pp. 79-83).
18. Mon, Nov 4, 2024
Please read:
5.43-44 in Latin.
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 3 in translation.
Olivier Büchsenschütz, “Gaul in Caesar’s Time”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix K (pp. 40-43).
Vocabulary list #9. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 4 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
19. Thu, Nov 7, 2024
Please read:
5.45-48 in Latin.
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 4 in translation.
Christopher B. Krebs, “Caesar the Historian”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix DD (pp. 210-213).
20. Mon, Nov 11, 2024
Please read:
6.13-15 in Latin.
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 5 in translation.
Keith Fairbank, “Caesar’s Portrait of ‘Caesar’”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix EE (pp. 214-222).
Vocabulary list #10. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 5 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
21. Thu, Nov 14, 2024
Please read:
6.16-20 in Latin.
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 6 in translation.
Lukas De Blois, “Caesar the General and Leader”, The Landmark Caesar, Appendix X (pp. 102-108).
22. Mon, Nov 18, 2024
Please read:
Introduction to Vergil, Latin poetry and scansion.
Daniel H. Garrison, “The Language of Virgil”, Why Vergil?, pp. 42-45.
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 7 in translation.
Vocabulary list #11. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 6 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
23. Thu, Nov 21, 2024
Please read:
1.1-11
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 8 in translation.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 7 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
24. Mon, Nov 25, 2024
Please read:
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 9 in translation.
1.12-22
Brooks Otis, “The Mystery of the Aeneid”, Why Vergil?, pp. 243-245.
25. Mon, Dec 2, 2024
Please read:
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 10 in translation.
1.23-33
Vocabulary list #12. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 8 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
26. Thu, Dec 5, 2024
Please read:
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 11 in translation.
1.34-41
Brooks Otis, “The Subjective Style”, Why Vergil?, pp. 245-254.
27. Mon, Dec 9, 2024
Please read:
1.42-54
Vergil, Aeneid, Bk. 12 in translation.
Vocabulary list #13. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 9 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
28. Thu, Dec 12, 2024
Please read:
1.55-63
Iliad, 1-2 in translation.
29. Mon, Dec 16, 2024
Please read:
1.64-75
Iliad, 3-4 in translation.
Vocabulary list #14. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 10 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
30. Thu, Dec 19, 2024
Please read:
1.76-86
Iliad, 5-6 in translation.
31. Mon, Jan 6, 2025
Please read:
1.87-101
Iliad, 7-8 in translation.
Vocabulary list #15. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 11 read by now. If you have questions, be prepared to ask them.
32. Thu, Jan 9, 2025
Please read:
1.102-117
Iliad, 9-10 in translation.
Michael Putnam, “The Lyric Genius of the Aeneid”, Why Vergil?, pp. 255-266.
33. Mon, Jan 13, 2025
Please read:
1.118-130
Iliad, 11-12 in translation.
Vocabulary list #16. Take the quiz by Friday.
Syntactical Mechanics: Please have Chapter 12 read by now. There’s probably very little there to ask about.
34. Thu, Jan 16, 2025
Please read:
1.131-141
Iliad, 13-14 in translation.
George Duckworth, “The Architecture of the Aeneid”, Why Vergil?, pp. 148-167.
35. Mon, Jan 20, 2025
Please read:
1.142-156
Iliad, 15-16 in translation.
Vocabulary list #17. Take the quiz by Friday.
36. Thu, Jan 23, 2025
Please read:
1.157-173
Iliad, 17-18 in translation.
37. Mon, Jan 27, 2025
Please read:
1.174-193
Iliad, 19-20 in translation.
Vocabulary list #18. Take the quiz by Friday.
38. Thu, Jan 30, 2025
Please read:
1.194-209
Iliad, 21-22 in translation.
Gregory A. Staley, “Aeneas’ First Act: 1.180-194”, in Why Vergil?, pp. 52-60.
39. Mon, Feb 3, 2025
Please read:
1.418-440
Iliad, 23-24 in translation.
Vocabulary list #19. Take the quiz by Friday.
40. Thu, Feb 6, 2025
Please read:
1.494-519
Odyssey, 1-2 in translation.
Roger A. Hornsby, “The Vergilian Simile as a Means of Judgment”, Why Vergil?, pp. 80-89.
41. Mon, Feb 10, 2025
Please read:
1.520-543
Odyssey, 3-4 in translation.
Vocabulary list #20. Take the quiz by Friday.
42. Thu, Feb 13, 2025
Please read:
1.544-578
Odyssey, 5-6 in translation.
Bernard M. W. Knox, “The Serpent and the Flame: The Imagery of the Second Book of the Aeneid”, Why Vergil?, pp. 65-79.
43. Mon, Feb 17, 2025
Please read:
2.40-56, 201-211
Odyssey, 7-8 in translation.
Vocabulary list #21. Take the quiz by Friday.
44. Thu, Feb 20, 2025
Please read:
2.212-249
Odyssey, 9-10 in translation.
45. Mon, Feb 24, 2025
Please read:
2.268-297
Odyssey, 11-12 in translation.
Vocabulary list #22. Take the quiz by Friday.
46. Thu, Feb 27, 2025
Please read:
2.559-587
Odyssey, 13-14 in translation.
47. Mon, Mar 3, 2025
Please read:
2.588-620
Odyssey, 15-16 in translation.
Vocabulary list #23. Take the quiz by Friday.
48. Thu, Mar 6, 2025
Please read:
4.160-188
Odyssey, 17-18 in translation.
Charles Segal, “Dido’s Hesitation in Aeneid 4”, Why Vergil?, pp. 90-100.
49. Mon, Mar 10, 2025
Please read:
4.189-218
Odyssey, 19-20 in translation
Vocabulary list #24. Take the quiz by Friday.
50. Thu, Mar 13, 2025
Please read:
4.259-295
Odyssey, 21-22 in translation.
Helen Bacon, “The Aeneid as a Drama of Election”, Why Vergil?, pp. 123-141.
51. Mon, Mar 17, 2025
Please read:
4.296-330
Odyssey, 23-24 in translation.
Vocabulary list #25. Take the quiz by Friday.
52. Thu, Mar 20, 2025
Please read:
4.331-361
Marilyn B. Skinner, “The Last Encounter of Dido and Aeneas: Aen. 6.450-476.”, Why Vergil?, pp. 101-107.
53. Mon, Mar 24, 2025
Please read:
4.659-705
Vocabulary list #26. Take the quiz by Friday.
54. Thu, Mar 27, 2025
Please read:
6.295-332
W. R. Johnson, “Eliot’s Myth and Vergil’s Fictions”, Why Vergil?, pp. 327-342.
55. Mon, Mar 31, 2025
Please read:
6.384-425
56. Thu, Apr 3, 2025
Please read:
6.450-476, 847-853
D. C. Feeney, “History and Revelation in Vergil’s Underworld”, Why Vergil?, pp. 108-122.
57. Mon, Apr 7, 2025
Please read:
6.854-899
58. Thu, Apr 10, 2025
Grammatical review.
59. Mon, Apr 21, 2025
Technical review: scansion.
60. Thu, Apr 24, 2025
Technical review: figures of speech.
61. Mon, Apr 28, 2025
Literary review: Caesar and Vergil
62. Thu, May 1, 2025
General review and exam-taking strategies.
NB.: The AP EXAM is MONDAY, MAY 5, 2025 in the morning session.
Verify this with the College Board AP Central Site.
Mon, May 5, 2025
No class.
63. Thu, May 8, 2025Exam debriefing, if relevant. We can discuss whether we should meet again.