AP Latin/Honors Latin 5 Course description
Why AP Latin? As you know, from lesson one the study of Latin builds language and vocabulary skills
which you can use in almost every facet of your life; and now, after you have learned the fundamental
elements of Latin, you will also benefit greatly from reading Latin authors in their original language.
Reading the seminal works of classical literature offers you perspective on your own life and times by
addressing eternal questions on the value of human existence, the comedy and tragedy of life and the
altruism and selfishness of human beings. The authors of classical antiquity have endured because of the
way they frame life’s profound questions and because of the answers they offer.
The AP Latin course will provide you the opportunity to read substantial sections of two great works of
writing: Vergil’s Aeneid and Caesar’s De Bello Gallico. These works have been at the cornerstone of
western education for millennia and so you will be joining the likes of Petrarch, Shakespeare, Descartes,
Thomas Jefferson, Jane Austen and Robert Oppenheimer in grappling with them. The course requires
the same level of rigor and quantity of lines read as a fourth or fifth semester college class. You will
translate extensive selections from analyze the texts, comprehend the grammatical structures, acquire
an extensive lexicon and write critical essays on topics selected by the College Board. As an intermediate
college course, the demands are probably as high as or higher than anything else you have encountered
in your high school experience; however, everyone in this class has the skills and experience necessary
to excel. Active participation in class and consistent effort at home will make your time in this class more
valuable and enjoyable.
Organization
You will translate all the lines in the AP syllabus for Vergil and Caesar (see attached). During the course
of the year, you should expect to develop your skills as a translator and assignments should get
progressively easier. You will read in English all the sections on the AP syllabus (see attached) and
participate in class discussions. Bi-weekly quizzes on translations, vocabulary and grammar lessons will
assess your skills in Latin. Additionally, there will be frequent essay writing assignments and two AP
formatted tests per marking period.
Grades
Tests (summatives) 60%
Quizzes/writing/ 15%
Homework 15%
Participation 10%
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The course is organized around the following seven themes:
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Literary genres and styles
Roman values
War and Empire
Leadership
Views of non-Romans
History and memory
Human beings and the gods
AP Grammar and Syntax
The following terms can be used on the exam to formulate questions.
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Modifies, is dependent on, complements, antecedent
Relative clause
Gerundive, gerund, supine
Passive periphrastic (Cambridge calls it “gerundive of obligation”)
Mood
Purpose clause, result clause, fear clause, relative clause of characteristic*, relative clause of
purpose*
Indirect statement
Indirect command and indirect question
Conditionals
Imperatives
Hortatory or iussive subjunctive (Cambridge calls it independent use of the subjunctive).
Deponent verbs
Genitives—possession, partitive genitive (Cambridge calls it genitive of the whole), with
impersonal verbs*, with adjectives, with verbs of remembering and forgetting.
Datives-dative of agent (with passive periphrastic), dative of possession, dative of purpose,
dative of reference*, dative with special verbs, dative with compound verbs
Accusative-duration of time and accusative of respect
Ablative-ablative absolute, ablative of time when, ablative of time within which, ablative of
cause, ablative of respect/specification*, ablative of comparison, ablative of degree of
difference*, ablative of separation*, ablative of description*, ablative with special verbs
Vocatives
*concept not introduced before AP Latin/Honors Latin 5
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Literary devices
Unit 1. Book 1 of the Aeneid
Entire book in English.
Lines 1-209 (invocation-both Aeneas’ speeches and killing of the deer)
418-440 (Aeneas coming upon Carthage, Tyrians are like bees, temple)
494-578 (arrival of Dido and Ileonus asks for help)
August 28
August 29
August 30
September 3
September 4
September 6
quiz 1
Aeneid 1.1.18
Aeneid 1.19-33
Aeneid 1. 34-49
Aeneid 1.50-64
Aeneid 1.65-80
Aeneid 1. 81-101
September 9
September 10
September 11
September 12
September 13
1.101-119
1.120-131
1.132-157
1.158-179
1.180-197
September 16
September 17
September 18
September 19
September 20 quiz 2
1.198-209
1.418-440
1.494-512
1.513-545
1.546-66
September 23
1.567-78
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Quiz every Friday—translation of a seen passage, vocabulary and a grammar question.
End of unit test—September 30 and October 1
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Format follows AP test—translate a selection from the above
Short answer section from selection above
Essay on selection from above
Multiple Choice from a seen and unseen section.
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