Quintus Caecilius Iucundus is a character in the

Cambridge Latin Course The Cambridge Latin Course (CLC) is a series of textbooks published by Cambridge University Press, used to teach Latin to secondary school pupils. It provides a grounding in vocabulary, grammar and sense which allows progression through Common ...

series of books, set in the

Ancient Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. He was the son of wealthy banker

Lucius Caecilius Iucundus Lucius Caecilius Iucundus (born c. 14 A.D., '' fl.'' 62 A.D.) was a banker who lived in the Roman town of Pompeii around 14 A.D.–62 A.D. His house still stands and can be seen in the ruins of the city of Pompeii which remain after being parti ...

and his wife Metella, one of whom were real people and who lived in Pompeii before 79 AD.

Quintus in the Cambridge Latin Course

In Book One, the reader finds Quintus as a teenager in

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

, in 78 AD, the year before it is destroyed by the volcano

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ...

. As Caecilius is dying, he sends his slave

Clemens Clemens is both a Late Latin masculine given name and a surname meaning "merciful". Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adelaide Clemens (born 1989), Australian actress. * Andrew Clemens (b. 1852 or 1857–1894), American folk artist * ...

to find Quintus, and give him the rights to Caecilius' property and fortune. Quintus' dog also dies in the end of the first book Cambridge Latin Course Book 1. In Book Two, the reader finds Quintus in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...

, living in the house of a distant relative named Salvius, who is also a historical figure. They enjoy several adventures together and with other inhabitants of Britain, including

Cogidubnus Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus (or Togidubnus, Togidumnus or similar; see naming difficulties) was a 1st-century king of the Regni or Regnenses tribe in early Roman Britain. Chichester and the nearby Roman villa at Fishbourne, believed by some t ...

, the client king of Britain. The book then travels back in time to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, in

Roman Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , nation = the Roman Empire , era = Late antiquity , capital = Alexandria , title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis , image_map = Roman E ...

, where Quintus frees his slave Clemens and befriends Barbillus, a very rich Roman. When Barbillus dies, he must find his heir, Rufus, in Britain. In Book Three, Quintus and Salvius become enemies, as Salvius plots to kill King Cogidubnus. Salvius accuses Quintus of treason, but Quintus follows his moral compass and attempts to foil the murder. Along the way, Quintus finds Rufus, who turns out to be a loyal ally, and gives him the letter from Barbillus. In Book 4 the book moves to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Quintus is not present, and he does not appear again until the last stories of Book Five when Salvius goes on trial.

References

*August Mau,
Pompeii: Its Life and Art
', trans. Francis W. Kelsey (New York: The Macmillan Company, 2nd ed. 1902), p. 507. *
Cambridge Latin Course
' Caecilius Iucundus, Quintus Fiction set in the 1st century Pompeii in popular culture

Quintus in the Cambridge Latin Course

See also

Real people with similar names

References