Poenica Purpuraria

Poenica is an immigrant from Tyre, the Phoenician city known for its purple. She’s an extraordinary purple-dyer who wants to become a tightrope walker!

In this tale, her shop is visited by different Romans looking to get togas purpled, as well as an honored Vestal in need of a new trim on her sacred veil. Some requests are realistic—others ridiculous.

Is life all work and no play? Can Poenica find the time to tightrope walk?

Level: Beginner Early
Headwords: 55
Word Forms: 208
Total Words: 1612

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.