Language and Literature

The ancient Romans spoke Latin. As their empire expanded, that language replaced local languages in many of the provinces. Five languages evolved directly from Latin: French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. As a group they are called the Romance languages because their parent language was the language spoken by the Romans. Although English grew out of a different family of languages, many English words, including art, beauty, justice, space, and time have Latin origins.

Ancient Rome’s greatest works of literature are still read today in the original Latin and in translation. Many of these works were written around the time of Augustus’ peaceful reign, including the works of Virgil (70-19 b. c.), who is viewed today as ancient Rome’s greatest poet.1 Virgil's long epic poem the Aeneid, which

President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address in 2012. The United States government, with its executive branch headed by the president, and its legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, is based in part on the organization of the ancient Roman Republic.

The great wooden horse loomed at the gates of Troy after the Greek besiegers had apparently withdrawn. The Trojans, curious brought it into their city. At night, the Greeks emerged from the wooden horse and captured the city. This is one of the stories that Virgil relates in the Aeneid.

Celebrates the achievements of the empire, is a literary classic. Ovid (43 b. c.-a. d. 17) is known today for his often irreverent poems, which display what modern readers might call “attitude.” That may explain why

Augustus banished Ovid to Tomis on the coast of the Black Sea.

Another writer who was banished and then executed was Cicero (106-43 b. c.), considered by many to have been Rome’s greatest public speaker and essayist. He was devoted to preserving the Republic and was not afraid to speak out against anyone he considered a threat. Among his famous speeches were the fourteen he delivered against Marc Antony, which Cicero paid for with his life. Eight hundred of Cicero’s letters survive today. They are a valuable source of information on ancient Rome for historians.