Oxford Latinitas

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 “𝐢𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐢”?
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲?

In 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎 𝐴𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎, Cap. 44, p. 145, Ørberg explains that the 𝑖𝑢𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑖 mentioned by Livy (𝐴𝑏 𝑈𝑟𝑏𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑎 I, 42) are the sons of Tarquinius Priscus.

If this is right, Servius’ daughters would be marrying their 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬.

But Livy himself is unsure about the exact relationship:

𝐻𝑖𝑐 𝐿. 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑢𝑠 – 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑖 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑖 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖̄𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡, 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑢𝑚 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑡…
𝐋𝐢𝐯. 𝟏.𝟒𝟔.𝟒

Tacitus stresses that marriages between uncles and nieces were illegal in Rome until the emperor Claudius changed the rule:

𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑢𝑔𝑖𝑎; 𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑛𝑖𝑎, 𝑛𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒 𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑜ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎…
𝐓𝐚𝐜. 𝑨𝒏𝒏. 𝟏𝟐.𝟔

Modern research (Gaudemet, Orestano, Volterra, Robleda, Daube, Thomas) shows that 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, especially within elite families who sought to preserve property and power.
The world Livy describes may reflect an earlier stage, where 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲.

Further reading:
• J. Gaudemet, 𝐿𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑖𝑡 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 – 𝐼𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑢𝑚, RIDA 2 (1949), 309 ff.
• R. Orestano, 𝐿𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑜, Milano 1951.
• E. Volterra, 𝐿𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑑’𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑒̀𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠, Padova 1940.
• O. Robleda, 𝐸𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑜 𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑜 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜, Roma 1970.
• D. Daube, 𝐴𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒, RIDA 25 (1978).
• Y. Thomas, 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎̀ 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑒, RHDF 58 (1980), 345 ff.

🌟 Join our Winter Intensive! 🌟

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This short documentary explores the academic and artistic work behind the Oxford Ancient Languages Society 2024 production of Euripides’ Orestes.

🎼 Learn how a new musical score was composed using ancient evidence — even incorporating a real Euripidean fragment.

🎓 Hear from the scholars, students, and artists who brought the play to the stage in original Ancient Greek.

Watch the full documentary now on YouTube — link in bio!

📜 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 – 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢

This post is based entirely on the insights, translation, and recitation of Professor Armand D’Angour (Professor of Classics at Jesus College, University of Oxford), originally published on his Substack. It explores the idea that Catullus’s “little boat” may not have been a real vessel, but a carved votive model — a miniature telling a much larger story.

Swipe through to read the poem in Latin, Armand’s English translation, and his interpretation.

🎧 To hear him recite the Latin, visit his Substack — link in bio.

Three days remain to sign up for our ancient Greek immersion trip to Euboea, Greece, 19 July – 2 August.

A few spaces are left, and some scholarships are available. Please contact [email protected] for more information, or visit https://www.oxfordlatinitas.org/ancient-greek-immersion-trip-euboea/ .

Candili is beautiful, peaceful, and secluded, with excellent food, and two swimming pools. Most accommodation is in rooms of two or four; a few single rooms may be available on request.

Morning classes follow a structured course, whilst afternoon and evening activities encourage interaction among students and explore various ancient Greek prose and poetry styles through games, singing, and seminars.

The full price is £2,899, which includes meals and lodging for two weeks, textbooks, and agreed airport transfer.

Scholarships are available. All ages welcome.

To sign up, please visit itinera2025.paperform.co

Four places remain for our Latin Immersion Trip to Oxford.

Date: 3-10 August
Price: £2,499
Sign-up deadline: July 14, 2025

All levels of Latin learners are welcome to join this Latin immersion experience for one week at historic Jesus College, Oxford.

You will stay in a College bedroom and enjoy breakfast in the beautiful Elizabethan dining hall, before meeting with your instructors in college lecture rooms or even in the original centuries-old gothic college quads blooming with summer flowers. After lunch there will be optional special classes, silent study sessions with a teacher on hand to answer your questions, and the chance to explore the ‘city of dreaming spires’; we will then meet again for a Latin poetry class where skilled teachers will explain a variety of Latin metres. After dinner you can enjoy optional group entertainment including games or maybe even punting on Oxford’s rivers the Isis and the Cherwell.

Sign up at itinera2025.paperform.co

We are pleased to introduce our first Summer Term, 21 July-21 September, where you can enjoy regular twice-a-week classes as in all our other terms.

£360 per term
£662 for two terms
£940 for three terms

Sign-up deadline July 7.

Course Listings: https://www.oxfordlatinitas.org/9-week-terms/ -term

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Ten days remain to sign up for our ancient Greek immersion trip to Euboea, Greece, 19 July – 2 August.

A few spaces are left, and some scholarships are available. Please contact [email protected] for more information, or visit https://www.oxfordlatinitas.org/ancient-greek-immersion-trip-euboea/ .

Candili is beautiful, peaceful, and secluded, with excellent food, and two swimming pools. Most accommodation is in rooms of two or four; a few single rooms may be available on request.

Morning classes follow a structured course, whilst afternoon and evening activities encourage interaction among students and explore various ancient Greek prose and poetry styles through games, singing, and seminars.

The full price is £2,899, which includes meals and lodging for two weeks, textbooks, and agreed airport transfer.

Scholarships are available. All ages welcome.

To sign up, please visit itinera2025.paperform.co

Interested in coming on our ancient Greek immersion trip to Euboea?

Come to one of our free information sessions!

We'll go over the teaching method, itinerary, daily schedule, sample classes, scholarships, and more!

Register at http://bit.ly/GreekTrip2025

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