Recentius's House: Exploring Roman Family Dynamics and Horace's Odes

This homework assignment focuses on the exploration of Roman family dynamics and Horace's Odes, specifically Book 3, Ode 1. The scenario involves the Recentius family, where the student, as Recentius, must navigate family relationships, particularly with his uncle Gaius, while staying at the family's house in Rome. The assignment requires an understanding of Roman family structures, the challenges faced by the Recentius family, and the application of the provided Horace's Odes. The student is tasked with exploring the house and interacting with family members, considering the context of Roman society and culture. The student must also analyze the provided ode from Horace's Carmina, and apply this understanding to the situation. The assignment highlights the importance of family obligations, the role of the paterfamilias, and the challenges of navigating Roman social norms. The solution helps students understand the historical context and themes presented in the assignment.

Operation FABULA AMORIS 2019.
Required: Find your uncle by exploring the house, in a way suited to your Recentius' character and to your analysis of
Horace's first Roman ode (3.1).
In plaustrō extrā domō Recentiā, Rōmae, Spring 8 CE< (In a wagon outside the House of the Recentii)
Your Recentius is sitting in a wagon. The wagon has a broken wheel. Next to you in the wagon is seated your cousin,
another Recentius.
Luckily, the oxen managed to get the wagon nearly to the door before the axle broke too.
The wagon is outside a beautiful house on the Esquiline Hill: your family's home from time immemorial, the Domus
Recentia, where your uncle Gaius lives. You have been coming here all your life, nearly every year to stay for a few
days. This time is different; this time it is only you and your cousin who have come.
You remember your mother and your aunts telling you that you must be respectful to your uncle Gaius while you are
staying in Rome, but that you must not listen to a single thing he tells you. You are in Rome to try to recover the
family's farm in the Sabine Hills. If they could have avoided involving Uncle Gaius, your fathers would have, but there
was no way around it: Gaius is the eldest brother, and thus the paterfamilias of gens Recentia.
"Your uncle is inside," says Eunikos, the kindly old slave whom you've known since you were small, as he tends to the
wagon.
The last time you were here was several years ago; you were a child, then. Suddenly you realize you have no idea
how adults behave in Rome. Your father told you to read those odes from the third book of Horace's carmina, but
you only got around to the first one, and it seemed like stupid stuff--now you wish you'd spent some time thinking
about it.