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Lions riding the waves... Birds dropping out of the sky... Fish in the trees... What's going on? Ask Titus and Publius, the boys adopted by Emperor Domitian, who are in the middle of their literary studies. But even their teacher, the famous Quintilian, can't account for the strangeness of Domitian who mysteriously summons them all to his study.

The Stories

heredes principis I Page 68

The two young heirs of the Emperor are suddenly ordered to appear before him! What have they done wrong? You can't blame them for shaking in their sandals since Domitian is renowned for his harsh and sometimes ruthless punishments...


heredes principis II Page 69

The boys enter Domitian's study. The signs are not encouraging... Domitian is engaged in one of his favorite pastimes - skewering flies with his pen!


versus Ovidiani Page 74

Some of Ovid's most famous verses tell how Jupiter punished the human race for its wickedness by submerging the earth in a great flood. Here are twenty of Ovid's original watery verses taken from Metamorphoses, his celebrated poem all about transformations.