Fun things for Latin students to read
It’s crucial to not let your Latin skills and vocabulary slip away due to disuse, but reading the textbook can be a nightmare. Rereading old stories is too boring, but new stories often include unlearned grammar and vocab which make them extremely challenging, not to mention having to redo them at school as well. Here we’ll share some other texts you can read, no matter what level you’re looking for! Best of all, they’re all free.
Read until the end, the last one is our favourite!
Legonium
Legonium is a free website containing mountains of Latin resources — all illustrated with LEGO photographs! The most notable features on the site are the orgininal stories found under the “Season One” and “Season Two” tabs; some parts of the Aeneid (plus a simplified version), Cicero’s in Catilinam, and more ancient texts; as well as a chapter-by-chapter grammar guide (particularly aimed at Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata users). Take a tour of the website here.
I find that Legonium does not display images when my browser is full screen. Try split-screen or making your window smaller if you have the same problem.
Perseus
The Perseus Digital Library Project contains a huge number of ancient texts from the Greek and Roman world, stored and displayed for you for free! Alongside these texts you can open commentaries and translations, though both are old and often quite archaic. Clicking on a Latin word opens a new tab revealing the Lewis and Short Dictionary entry which is a game-changer for advanced Latinists, but not the smoothest experience for students learning new vocab.
As for what to read? Though there are easier extant texts, I recommend Ovid’s Metamophoses due to the short story format and familiar narratives. Look around for a particular story that catches your attention rather than starting from the beginning. My favourites are Arachne (Book 6) and Midas (Book 11), though I haven’t read them all.
Cambridge Latin Course Online
If you use the Cambridge Latin Course in class then you must certainly know about the Cambridge Latin Course Online resources; if you are new, however, prepare to be amazed!
All of the stories in the Cambridge textbooks can be found in an immaculate E-Reader with pop up definitions and parsing! The level of detail in these glosses increases with the reading level of the text. The website also includes great grammar exercises and vocabulary tools.
If you want an easy holiday read, go all the way back to book one, fall in love with Caecilius and his family and be heartbroken as the story of Mount Vesuvius unfolds!
Bennet’s Easy Latin Stories
Written in intermediate Latin, these stories are a good way to breeze through a lot of Roman ideas without too much hassle. These stories are also easy to Copy-Paste, download, or print if you desire. I recommend Hercules’ Labours since they are referenced frequently in ancient and modern literature (and they’re fun!).
Legentibus
This revolutionary app allows you to follow along while a really slick audio track narrates. This is great for students who hate to read out loud because developing a sense of rhythm in Latin words is crucial for later poetry study. There are built in definitions for words you tap on and the track rewinds easily if you need to ponder a phrase. The app contains several free books including a mix of modern and ancient Latin texts. It also contains some progress tracking for some streak-building, habit-tracking goodness.
This app also contains paid content.
We hope you enjoy these Latin texts! If you need help cracking Latin grammar or staying on top of your study one of our tutors can help. Reach out today!