I received this email a few days ago. Thought some of you may also be interested.
Hi Dwane,
First, thank you for this incredible site! I am in my second year of teaching (and learning!) Latin and this site has been a great tool. Thank you.
I was wondering how much (if any) Roman history you teach in your Latin class? Do you have any resources you would recommend that would help me learn some Roman history and culture? I know, big topic, so I’ve been a little overwhelmed. The Latin book we use includes some culture and I’ve been teaching a rough overview of Rome, but haven’t been going into too many details.
Thanks for your help!
My reply:
With some warnings (he swears from time to time), I would highly recommend “The History of Rome Podcast”, by Mike Duncan. Very entertaining. He only deals with Roman political history, unfortunately. However, at the end of each episode he recommends books to go deeper into Roman history. Super helpful.
Librivox releases free readings of public domain books. From time to time, these deal with Roman history. Start with St Augustine’s book, The City of God. No one dismantles Roman silliness like him. After Augustine’s book, and only after, you could also read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon. He is completely opposed to Christianity, but he knows how to write beautifully.
Of course, I don’t know how deep you want to go. If you just want some fun stuff for your students, you could start here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kRwJJwxGZE
This is a new question for me. I will start looking for helpful links and start posting them over at Visual Latin.
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I recommend the Hardcore History podcasts, by Dan Carlin. He is a natural storyteller who loves using primary materials to bring history to life. His most recent project was a 14-hour (6-part) series on the fall of the Roman Republic. Fascinating – and free!
Never have listened to it, so, I can’t recommend it. Sounds interesting, though. I’ll check it out.