CSCP - CLC - Book 3

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Stage 22 ~ defixio
A beautiful British barmaid, an arrogant Roman soldier and a jilted lover. Strong passions, high drama, and deadly curses - a tale of the ordinary folk of Aquae Sulis.

Vilbia

Page 24

Meet Vilbia, a British inn-keeper's daughter. She's got a secret and she just has to tell her sister about it. Washing-up has never been so exciting!

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Modestus

Page 25

Meet Modestus, a Roman soldier. He's got a personality problem and he just has to be flattered by his side-kick. Match-making has never been so excruciating.

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	Test your understanding

amor omnia vincit

"Love conquers all" according to the Roman poet Virgil - but how will the dice fall in this Romano-British love triangle?

scaena prima

Page 27

Bulbus is not happy. He's been dumped by Vilbia and he's losing at dice. Can things get any worse? Yep!

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scaena secunda

Page 28

Modestus and Bulbus come face to face - and there's not a handshake in sight. Could be trouble ahead...

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scaena tertia

Page 29

Will it be kisses or curses at the baths? The romantic liaison between Modestus and Vilbia is about to be gate-crashed! Will love conquer all?

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Revise vocabulary & practise the language by using these activities:
"Test your Vocabulary" is against the clock and can be set to all words in this stage, up to this stage, etc.
"Word Endings" exercises are based on the Practising the Language section in the Books, and follow this format.
"Sorting Words" asks you to sort words by meaning, case, etc.

Are you having problems running any of the activities? See our technical support page.

Test your vocab:
	Stage 22 vocabulary
Word Endings:
	Practise nouns
	Practise adjectives

Sorting Words:
	Participles
	Which gender?
	Which case - nouns?
	Which case - adjectives?
	Singular or plural?
	Which declension?
	Adjective or adverb?
	Which character?

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ROMAN CURSES

Stage 22 title-page: The Vilbia curse-tablet

Found in the sacred spring at Bath, this lead curse-tablet was thrown into the pool by Vilbia's ex-lover; he (or she) hoped the magical powers of the spring would make the curses come true.
It reads:
May he who has taken Vilbia from me dissolve like water. May s/he be dumb who devoured her, whether it be Velvinna or Exsupereus or Verianus or Severinus or Augustalis or Comitianus or Catus Minianus or Germanilla or Jovina.
As illustrated on the CLC Stage 22 title-page; in the Baths Museum, Bath.

Curses 1

A humorous webpage - initially describing the modern curses of today's Rome (cars and dogs) - which details the "dos and don'ts" of cursing in Roman times.

Curses 2

Numerous aspects of Greek and Roman curse tablets are covered under various headings; images, further reading and links to further web-pages and images are to found at the bottom of the page.

Curses 3

An excellent analysis of Roman curse tablets, with emphasis on those found in Britain. As this British Academy Research Project website states: "Of the former provinces of the Roman empire, Britain is perhaps the most prolific in producing new Latin documents"... especially curses it seems! Don't forget to click the links to images and progress reports.

Curses 4: a new discovery 2006

News on a recently discovered curse tablet from Leicester. It involves a cloak-thief!

ANCIENT MAGIC

There is surprisingly little reliable information on the Web about ancient magic. The following, though, may be of interest:

Magic 1

Greek "voodoo dolls". A detailed, serious site with images and inscriptions, hindered only by the misspelling of "puppets" as "poppets".

Magic 2

A long, very detailed review of ancient literary references, people and objects all associated with magic in the Greek and Roman world. For super-keen, older surfers.

Magic 3

Here's one I made earlier... For a magical potion visit Getafix and the rest of Asterix's village!

Superstitions: click if you dare!

Modestus - the swaggering soldier

Our vain, self-important soldier, ironically-named Modestus, is based loosely on the main character from the play Miles Gloriosus (The Swaggering Soldier) by the Roman playwright Plautus.
This link takes you to a summary of the plot and pictures from a production of the play by St Olaf College in Minnesota, USA.

Roman Brooches 1

Short, informative survey of the types of Roman brooches found in Great Britain.

Roman Brooches 2

Great example of a complete, silver trumpet brooch from the 1st century AD.

ROMAN DICE

Roman Dice

Real Roman rollers.

Wall-painting: playing dice

Fresco from a bar on the Via Mercurio in Pompeii. It's still in situ and suffering from lack of care...

Roman dice games

E-cards are the thing. He knows. Trust Quintus!

See an example

Send a card

King C.,

Somewhere,

Britannia.

TODAY‘S PROVERB

	timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

Guess the translation Change proverb: LUCKY DIP

...and where else to choose it but our own Wallpaper Department.

7th September 2010 in the Roman calendar is:
ante diem septimum Idus Septembris
or
a.d. VII Id. Sept.
for short!
Important dates? Try them the Roman way (with explanation).

Trust Quintus to use the best - a CSCP calendar or diary.


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