| A | B |
|---|
| Achilles | Greatest Greek warrior, with only one weakness |
| Achilles' Heel | the only place Achilles was vulnerable |
| Acropolis | citadel of Athens it is the ancient hill upon which the Greeks built their most famous monument to civilization the Parthenon |
| ad astra per aspera | to the stars through hardships |
| ad hoc | for this (purpose) |
| Aeolus | king of the winds |
| Aeschylus | One of the three greatest Greek tragic poets, he lived in Athens and his plays include the Oresteia and Prometheus Bound |
| Agamemnon | Leader of the Greek expedition to Troy |
| agenda | things which must be done, a to do list |
| Agora | marketplace Greek equivalent to the forum, it was the political and legal center of the city |
| alea iacta est | "the die is cast" said by Caesar as he crossed the Rubicon |
| Alexander | the Great student of Aristotle, set out to conquer the world at the age of 22 |
| alma mater | school from which one graduated |
| alpha et omega | beginning and end, first and last letters of Greek alphabet |
| Alps | mountains between Italy and Gaul |
| alter ego | another self |
| alumnus/a/i/ae | graduate of a school/university |
| amphitheater | round building used for gladiatorial fights |
| antebellum | before the war, term for pre civil war South |
| Archimedes | Greek mathematician and inventor, one of his inventions was the screw for raising water and he came up with the value for pi. Legend has it that he ran through the streets naked shouting Eureka! After one of his discoveries |
| Argonauts | led by Jason to find the Golden Fleece |
| Aristophanes | Great Comic poet, his plays include the Clouds, the Wasps, the Frogs and the Birds |
| Aristotle | first trained in medicine, the became a student of Plato's, he tutored Alexander the Great |
| ars artis gratia | MGM motto, art for art's sake |
| ars longa vita brevis | art is long, life short |
| Atalanta | fastest runner, was only beaten when she stopped for golden apples |
| Athena | goddess of wisdom |
| Athens | city named after Greek goddess of wisdom |
| Augustus | 1st Roman emperor |
| Aurora | goddess of the dawn |
| Aurora Borealis | Northern Dawn |
| aut disce aut discede | Either Learn or Leave! |
| Basilica | law courts |
| Baucis and Philemon | gave food and shelter to Jupiter and Mercury on earth, they were saved during the flood and turned into trees, there home was turned into a temple |
| Bellerophon | Greek hero who rode Pegasus and died trying to ride him up to Mt. Olympus |
| Beware the Ides of March | a warning to Caesar to be careful on the 15th |
| Brutus | former friend and later assassin of Caesar |
| Byzantine | Eastern Empire that lasted to 1453 AD |
| Byzantium | former name of Constantinople |
| Calliope | muse of epic poetry |
| carceres | prisons or barrier stalls for horses |
| Carpe Diem | Seize the Day, famous phrase by the author Horace |
| Cassandra | Trojan princess whose prophecies were never believed |
| cave canem | Beware of Dog! |
| caveat emptor | Let the buyer beware |
| cf | stands for confer, means compare |
| Chariots | 4 horses per chariot, |
| Cicero | famous Roman orator and senator |
| Cincinnatus | saved Rome, returned to his plow |
| circa | about, around |
| Circus Maximus | used for chariot racing, located between the the Aventine and Palatine hills, built around 500 BC |
| cogito ergo sum | I think therefore I am |
| Colosseum/Flavian Amphitheater | the name of the amphitheatre in Rome |
| Constantine | first recognized Christianity |
| Constantinople | founded by Constantine |
| consul | one of two elected leaders in the republic |
| Corinthian | column with leafy decoration on top |
| Coriolanus | His mother kept him from attacking Rome |
| cornucopia | horn of plenty |
| cum grano salis | with a grain of salt |
| cum laude | with praise |
| curia | Roman senate house |
| Delphi | a city in central Greece sacred to Apollo, where Apollo founded the most famous center for prophecy in the ancient world home of the Oracle of Apollo |
| Demosthenes | famous Greek orator, perhaps the greatest orator of Ancient Greece he practiced his delivery by putting pebbles in his mouth |
| deus ex machina | a god from a machine |
| Doric | column with a flat, plain top |
| dramatis personae | cast of a play |
| dum spiro, spero | As long as I breath, I hope |
| emperors | ruled during Empire, ruled during Empire, Augustus was the 1st |
| ergo | therefore |
| errare est humanum | to err is human |
| et al. | and others |
| Et tu, Brute | Caesar's last words |
| Eureka | means I've found it, shouted by Archimedes |
| Euripides | One of the three greatest Greek tragic poets he lived in Athens and his plays include Medea The Trojan Women and the Bacchae |
| ex animo | from the heart |
| ex post facto | after the fact |
| exeunt omnes | They all leave, stage directions |
| facta non verba | deeds, not words |
| factiones | racing teams |
| Golden Fleece | Jason and the Argonauts looked for this |
| Graces | the goddesses who bestowed beauty and charm and who were themselves the embodiment of both, attendants of Aphrodite |
| habeas corpus | you shall have the body |
| Hippocrates | Father of Medicine the oath doctors take today is named after him he based his medicine on observations and the study of the human body not on superstitions |
| Homer | Greek epic poet, wrote the Odyssey and the Iliad |
| Horatius | Roman who bravely defended the Sublican bridge and helped save Rome from the Etruscans |
| ibid. | stands for ibidem, means in the same place |
| Ides of March | March 15th, day Caesar died |
| in absentia | in the absence of |
| in loco parentis | in the place of a parent |
| in medias res | into the middle of things |
| in memoriam | in memory of |
| in toto | in all |
| Ionic | column with curls on either side |
| Jason | sent to get the golden fleece with the Argonauts, married Medea |
| Julius Caesar | born 100bc, died 44BC |
| Kings | 1st rulers of Rome (Monarchy), Romulus was the 1st |
| lapsus linguae | slip of the tongue |
| Ludi Circenses | Chariot races, There were 7 laps in a typical race |
| magna cum laude | with great praise |
| magnum opus | lifetime achievement, greatest work |
| Mare Nostrum | The Roman name for the Mediterranean |
| mea culpa | my fault |
| Medea | helped Jason get the golden fleece, married him, killed her children |
| memorandum | full spelling of "memo", something which needs to be remembered |
| Olympia | home of the first Olympic games |
| Olympics | ancient games held in honor of Zeus, the winners were given olive wreaths |
| Pantheon | domed building with an oculus, built by Hadrian, dedicated to all the gods |
| Parthenon | temple to Athena, built on the Acropolis in Athens |
| pater familias | head of Roman household |
| per capita | by each, by heads |
| per diem | per day |
| per se | by itself |
| Pericles | major political leader in Athens he initiated a great public building program that included the Parthenon |
| persona non grata | unwelcome person |
| Plato | founder of the Academy |
| Plutarch | he was a philosopher and a biographer The Parallel Lives looks at the lives of great men and examines the character of them |
| pompa circensis | parade |
| post mortem | after death |
| prima facie | legal term, at first appearence |
| pro forma | done as a formality |
| Pyrrhic Victory | a victory won at a great cost |
| Pythagoras | credited with a2+b2=c2 he founded a society which bore his name |
| Python | man-eating snake |
| quid pro quo | something for something |
| rara avis | a rare bird |
| Romulus and Remus | twin sons of Mars, Romulus founded Rome and became its first king |
| Rubricon | Once Caesar crossed this river, he declared war on Rome |
| semper fidelis | always faithful, Motto of the Marines |
| semper paratus | always prepared |
| sic | thus, used to indicate original spelling is not a typo |
| Socrates | Greek philosopher and public figure who was convicted of corrupting the youth and died by drinking hemlock, he believed in learning by questioning |
| Sophocles | One of the three greatest Greek tragic poets his plays include Oedipus Rex Oedipus at Colonos and Antigone, he believed that the moral laws of the universe made it impossible for man to control his own destiny and that one gained wisdom through suffering |
| Sparta | fought Athens during the Peloponnesian War boys trained for military from the age of 7 |
| Sphinx | woman's head, lion's body, the "riddler" |
| spina | dividing wall in circus |
| status quo | the way things were |
| sub poena | under penalty |
| sui generis | in a class by itself |
| summa cum laude | with highest praise |
| The Academy | famous school in Athens founded by Plato in the 4th century |
| Thucydides | wrote an objective historical account of the Peloponnesian War (between Athens and Sparta) contracted but survived the Plague |
| Tiber | river on which Rome was founded |
| Trajan | emperor when Rome was her largest |
| Triumphal Arch | set up to commemorate important Roman victories |
| Twelve Tables | recorded the Roman law code |
| Veni Vidi Vici | "I came, I saw, I conquered" words sent by Caesar to Roman Senate after victory in Gaul |
| Vestal Virgins | guarded Vesta's fire in the Roman forum, served for 30 years |
| veto | I forbid |
| Via Appia | Goes from Rome to Brundisium |
| vs. | versus |
