Postea rhetor Romanus in foro dicit se etiam Athenis docere solere.

Because this is indirect statement after dicit.

Latin often reports what someone says by using:

• a verb of saying/thinking
• an accusative subject
• an infinitive

So:

• dicit = he says
• se = that he / himself
• docere solere = usually teaches

Se is the reflexive pronoun, and it refers back to the subject of dicit. In other words:

• rhetor Romanus dicit se... = the Roman rhetor says that he...

If Latin used eum, that would usually mean someone else, not the speaker of dicit.

This is a classic accusative-and-infinitive construction, often called indirect statement.

The structure is:

• dicit = he says
• se = subject of the indirect statement, in the accusative
• docere solere = infinitives expressing what he says about himself

So literally it is something like:

• he says himself to be accustomed to teach also at Athens

More natural English:

• he says that he also usually teaches at Athens

The important idea is that Latin does not need a separate word for that here.

Because solere is one of those verbs that is normally followed by another infinitive.

• docere = to teach
• solere = to be accustomed, to be in the habit of, usually

So:

• docere solere = to usually teach / to be accustomed to teach

Inside indirect statement, both stay in the infinitive:

• se docere solere = that he usually teaches

A helpful way to think about it is:

• solere gives the idea of habitual action
• docere names the action itself

Here solere means something like:

• to be accustomed to
• to be in the habit of
• usually to

So docere solere does not mean merely to be able to teach or to want to teach. It means that teaching there is something he regularly does.

Thus:

• Athenis docere solere = usually to teach at Athens

In smoother English:

• he also usually teaches at Athens
• he is also in the habit of teaching at Athens

Because Athens in Latin is Athenae, a plural place name, and names of cities often use a special case called the locative to show place where.

So:

• Athenis = at Athens

You do not need in with the locative of a city name.

Compare the pattern:

• Romae = at Rome
• Carthagini = at Carthage
• Athenis = at Athens

Why is it plural? Because Athenae is plural in Latin, just as Athens is historically plural in Greek and Latin usage.

Because Latin treats ordinary nouns and city names differently.

• in foro = in the forum
• Athenis = at Athens

With a normal common noun like forum, Latin usually uses in + ablative for location:

• in foro = in the forum

But with names of cities, small islands, and a few special words like domi, Latin often uses the locative instead of in:

• Athenis = at Athens

So the difference is not random; it comes from two different Latin ways of expressing location.

Because in with the ablative usually expresses location:

• in foro = in the forum

If there were motion into the forum, Latin would normally use in with the accusative instead:

• in forum = into the forum

So here:

• in foro dicit = he speaks/says in the forum

The action is happening there; he is not moving into it.

Rhetor is a Greek loanword in Latin. It usually means a teacher of rhetoric or a rhetorician.

That is a little different from orator, which more often means a speaker or public orator.

So rhetor Romanus suggests a Roman man associated with rhetorical teaching or rhetorical skill, not just any speaker.

Also, rhetor is a perfectly normal nominative singular here:

• rhetor Romanus = the Roman rhetorician

Latin adjective position is much freer than English adjective position.

Both of these can be normal in Latin:

• Romanus rhetor
• rhetor Romanus

They both mean:

• Roman rhetorician

The adjective does not have to come before the noun as in English. What matters most is that it agrees with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here Romanus agrees with rhetor in nominative singular masculine.

Because Latin has no articles.

So:

• rhetor Romanus could mean a Roman rhetorician or the Roman rhetorician
• in foro could mean in the forum or sometimes just in a forum, depending on context

English requires articles, but Latin usually leaves that idea to context.

Etiam means also, even, or too, and its exact force depends on context and placement.

In this sentence it most naturally means:

• he also usually teaches at Athens or
• he usually teaches at Athens too

So it adds one more fact about him. The idea is probably that besides speaking in the forum, or besides teaching elsewhere, he also teaches at Athens.

Because Latin word order is flexible, etiam can stand near the word or phrase it especially emphasizes, but its scope is often understood from context rather than from rigid position.

Because Latin relies much more on endings and much less on fixed word order.

English has to keep a fairly regular order:

• The Roman rhetor later says that he also usually teaches at Athens in the forum

Latin can move pieces around more freely because the forms show their functions:

• rhetor is nominative, so it is the subject
• se is accusative, so it is the subject of the infinitive clause
• foro is ablative after in
• Athenis is locative

That means Latin word order is often used for:

• emphasis
• style
• rhythm

rather than basic grammatical clarity.

The main verb dicit is present:

• he says

In indirect statement, the infinitive does not work exactly like an English finite verb, but here docere solere is present infinitive, which normally expresses action at the same time as the main verb.

So the sense is:

• he says that he is in the habit of teaching
• he says that he usually teaches

If Latin wanted to show action earlier than dicit, it would normally use a perfect infinitive. If later, a future infinitive could be used.

Postea means:

• afterwards
• later
• then

It situates the sentence in sequence. So it tells us that this statement happens after something previously mentioned.

Its placement at the beginning is very natural, since it sets the time frame for the whole sentence:

• Postea = Afterward / Later on

No. Here Athenis is a locative, meaning at Athens, not a direct object.

If Latin wanted to say teach the Athenians, you would expect Athenienses or some other accusative object, not Athenis.

So:

• Athenis docere = to teach at Athens not
• to teach Athens or to teach the Athenians

The form of the noun tells you its role.