Idus Martiae

“Beware the Ides of March!”

It’s 44 BC, and strange things are happening in Rome. A sacrificed bull is found to have no heart. Senators are meeting in houses secretly, speaking in whispers and hiding in the shadows. A soothsayer is warning people in the streets to “beware the Ides of March.” Mysterious boxes are beginning to turn up…containing daggers. Pompeia, her brother Cornelius, and her friend Roscus set out to investigate these strange happenings and soon find themselves entangled in a web of intrigue, deception…and murder!

One day when the Gauls arrive to invade Rome, Aulus thinks that he is responsible—he didn’t eat his food and has therefore brought bad fortune to the city! Driven by guilt, he wants to help fix the problem he thinks he created. But what can a little goose do to help defend the Romans against the invaders?

Written for low-intermediate students of Latin, Idus Martiae is (loosely) based on Suetonius’ and Plutarch’s biographies of Julius Caesar.

Level: Elementary Early
Headwords: 379
Word Forms: 818
Total Words: 4198

Storybase Books publishes books that help beginners learn Latin and Greek by reading. Our novellas use limited vocabulary to tell engaging stories that are accessible to novice- and intermediate-level readers. Meanings for many words are provided in footnotes, and a full index of all words, word forms, and phrases is included in each novella. Readers can thus read each novella on their own, with others, or with a class.