Unit 6 Overview: Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I

3 min read•june 18, 2024

hunter_borg

AP Latin 🏛

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Unit 6 Overview

Salvete! Welcome to Unit 6 of AP Latin! This unit covers Book 5, Part 1 (Chapters 24-37) of Julius Caesar's Comentarii de Bello Gallico.

Students will read the entirety of books 5, with students reading the text in Latin in the aforementioned chapters. Reading over the Unit 6 checklist is important in making sure you understand the correct skill categories each unit tackles.

Unit 6 Guide: At a Glance

In AP Latin and other languages, there are no key concepts like there are in other AP subjects. Instead, we will practice skill categories in the form of different style questions to help you prepare for the exam. Then, we will break down the lines within that particular section of the book.

In unit 6, there are 3 main themes focused on:

Literary Style and Genre (LIT)	1) What should we expect from a Latin epic or commentarii in terms of form and content? 2) How do the authors confirm or challenge our expectations? 3) What are the purposes and effects of Vergil's and Caesar's style? 4) What points of view do Vergil and Caesar take when describing events? 5) How do they represent themselves and for what purposes? 6) What means do the authors use to develop characters in the works? 7) How do the authors portray female characters? 8) How do the authors use characterization to develop key themes?
Roman Values (RMV)	1) What values and ideals are portrayed as characteristically Roman? 2) How do these values and ideals differ based on gender, ethnicity, or other criteria? 3) What strengths and weaknesses of character are exemplified by individuals in the works? 4) How do the texts confirm characteristic Roman values? 5) What questions do the texts raise about Roman values?
Leadership (LDR)	1) What different types of leaders (both male and female) and leadership styles do we see in these works? 2) How do leaders deal with setbacks and failures? 3) How does a leader inspire others to follow?

Contextualization for the Comentarii de Bello Gallico

Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, or Commentaries on the Gallic War, is a set of seven books written by Julius Caesar, detailing his military campaigns in Gaul (modern-day France) between 58 and 52 BC. The work covers Caesar's conquest of Gaul, which was a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman Republic against several Gallic tribes. The wars were fought primarily in what is now France and Belgium, but also in other parts of Gaul, such as modern-day Switzerland, and parts of Germany. The Commentaries provides a first-hand account of Caesar's military strategies, battles, and interactions with the Gauls, as well as the political and social context of the time.

The works are written in Latin prose, which is essentially for Julius Caesar just his normal writing. Some of the more important tribes Julius Caesar fought against were the Helvetii, the Aquitani, the Nervii, and the Veneti. You will learn more about them within the texts.