Nephele

I would be a contortionist/dancer, the headliner entertainment at imperial banquets. I would catch Caesar's eye, who would exclaim in admiring astonishment: "Holy Hades! That puella has more twists than the Tiber!" Caesar would then order urns filled with golden coins, to be deposited at my feet. I would wink at Caesar, with my right leg demurely hooked behind the back of my neck. Caesar's jaw would immediately drop to the marble floor, his tongue rolling out like a carpet and his eyeballs shooting from their sockets, cartoon-style ("ah-OOO-gah!" sound effects included, of course). Cleopatra would be reclining in the audience, doing a slow burn, while Marc Antony was drunkenly laughing his ass off at her. -- Nephele Click here for Your Hidden Roman Name

kio709, or Caius, you belong to the plebian Grania gens, from which some members rose to senatorial rank under the Republic, and to high stations in the army under the Empire. You have the distinction of possessing two cognomina: your primary cognomen of Niger ("black") suggests that your ancestors were dark-haired, while your secondary cognomen of Venator ("huntsman") indicates an ancestral occupation. igcravronnengrustien (-n +a) = C. Granius Niger Venator -- Nephele

ModernMarvel (or, Lucius Aelius Remus), you are a member of the Aelia gens, which spawned many a notable Roman. Your cognomen of Remus suggests that your particular family line may have sided with the unfortunate Remus at the start of Rome's history. ehnyr bmealln (-hnybn +iusus) = L. Aelius Remus -- Nephele

Thank you for letting me play with your name! -- Nephele

Rameses, you hail from the family of Granius, whose early member's wit forever associated this name with same: Andrew Nagy Rezk -rewyz +iusus = K. Granius Audens "His wit and caustic humor rendered him famous among his contemporaries, and have transmitted his name to posterity." (from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology) Your cognomen, "Audens", means "bold; daring" in Latin. ****************************************************** I find "Carnal" to be an amusing surname for an atheist such as myself: "The carnal mind is enmity against god: for it is not subject to the law of god..." (Romans 8:7). Although my carnal predilections don't generally invoke biblical passages. -- Nephele

Yikes! Andrew, do you have a middle name you can give me? -- Nephele

Kosmo, you hail from the notable Vinicius family, which gave birth to consuls. Your cognomen is probably derived from the Latin word mola, meaning "millstone", suggesting a humbler ancestry of millers. Zabalovici Cosmin -zbo +uus = A. Vinicius Molacus -- Nephele

Loke, are you a bloke? Or female? Since you didn't say, I did Roman names for both genders. Either way, you have a spotty family history... daMltie imreadznrA -izr +cus = C. Dalmatius Merenda daMltie imreadznrA -dz +at = Dalmatia Tremerina Tremerina: Feminine name derived from "Tremerus", the island to which Augustus Caesar banished his granddaughter, Julia, as punishment for her adultery and other vices. -- Nephele

Hi, Loke. Male or female? -- Nephele

When I attend Town Hall meetings (I've been involved in a few grassroots political movements, so I attend Town meetings to know what my local politicians are up to) everyone is always led in a recitation of the Pledge at the start of the meeting. I'm not bothered by reciting the Pledge at Town Hall meetings. It's a tribal ritual, as far as I'm concerned, and not a particularly stimulating tribal ritual either, if you ask me. To tell you the truth, I'd feel a LOT more patriotic if we also were to include a tribal ritual of dancing naked and whooping around a huge bonfire in the center of Town Hall. I'll bet THAT would encourage more folks to attend Town meetings and get involved, for crapsake. -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, Pertinax! Hope you had a cool day! -- Nephele

Every nation state ever created at NationStates Which reminds me.... It's time for me to create a new nation of my own and gleefully SMASH my fantasized authoritarian fist down upon my pitiful subjects! Wheeee! Shan't. The truly SMART villains don't let themselves get sucked into explaining their modus operandi. Once they start doing that and get distracted, you just know the so-called "hero" is going to seize his opportunity to turn the tables. -- Nephele

:blush: Thanks! But I prefer "Internet Performance Artiste". -- Nephele

George W. Bush? George Walker Bush -wkh +ius = Gregorius Belaeus "The heresiarch Donatus wrote to him a most insolent letter, calling him 'the stain of the senate,' 'the disgrace of the prefects,' and similar names..." (regarding Gregorius, from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology) -- Nephele

I am definitely still in business! In fact, I was starving for business. Thanks for keeping me busy and off the viae! Your lady friend's father is a member of the Terentia gens -- plebian but nevertheless notable. Her mother is a member of the Herennia gens (a "family of rank in Italy"), and your friend's cognomen is taken from that in the form of an affectionate diminutive. Eilelkeatetrhreny -eky +nia = Terentia Herenilla -- Nephele

I usually go by the screen name of "Nephele Carnal" (an anagram of my actual name). For this board, however, I substituted the Late Latin, feminine carnalis (from which "carnal" is derived) for my "surname". -- Nephele

Eh, what they do to Sadam in Iraq is the business of the Iraqis. As for the death penalty in the United States (where I live)... My objection to the death penalty isn't so much that I pity the convicted, as that I object to my government having that much power -- the power to execute someone. Once somebody is stopped (as in imprisonment) from violating the rights of others, I see no necessity in taking it any further. Especially considering that there have been cases where people have been mistakenly accused and convicted. You can always free a prisoner, but you can't reverse an execution. But my main objection is to my government having the power of execution, along with those additional powers that our current presidential administration assumes for itself more and more each year. -- Nephele

Gratias tibi ago, o optime Octavi. You are my knight in shining toga! :wub: -- Nephele

brotus maximus, you are a freedman of Servius Curiatius and, as customary, when you became a Roman citizen you took your former master's praenomen and nomen for your own, while keeping your original Greek slave name as your cognomen. Ser. Curiatius Procyon prtynrkoakhesoskiri -hkkk +ccuu -- Nephele

Gini, you are a member of a very ancient patrician family of Rome, as indicated by your gens name of Herminia. Your cognomen of Reginina suggests your regal bearing, and also that you are perhaps a younger daughter (your elder sister might be named "Regina"). In fact, your nickname of "Gini" is most likely taken from "Reginina". Herminia Reginina (eifrejnn mray ngii -fjy +hia) -- Nephele

ummidia quadratilla, you are a princess of Gaul, brought up and educated in Rome as a foreign hostage and "houseguest" of the imperial family... Commia Gloria (mlamaomlr cog -lm +ii) -- Nephele

Hahahahaha! This is brilliant! Have you seen the section on Latin? Cogito ergo sum - "You need brains to do math, you know." Corpus Delicti - Dead people are tasty. Malum Discordiae - I don't think it's a good idea to pull that plug. Opera omnia - Talk shows are everywhere. Per aspera ad astra - Stinking to high heaven. Vivat rex! - My God, it's a living DINOSAUR!! -- Nephele

In Book VII of his Historia Naturalis, Pliny the Elder wrote of the "undead", including this one account of somebody with a peripatetic "soul": "With reference to the soul of man, we find, among other instances, that the soul of Hermotinus of Clazomenae was in the habit of leaving his body, and wandering into distant countries, whence it brought back numerous accounts of various things, which could not have been obtained by any one but a person who was present. The body, in the meantime, was left apparently lifeless. At last, however, his enemies, the Cantharidae, as they were called, burned the body, so that the soul, on its return, was deprived of its sheath, as it were." From a non-supernatural view of possible vampirism in ancient Rome... if Suetonius is to be entirely believed regarding the excesses of the Roman emperors, then it probably wouldn't be too far-fetched to imagine perhaps Tiberius or Caligula having indulged in blood-drinking fetishes. -- Nephele

You're very welcome, Cohort, Pax Romana, and everyone else. -- Nephele

Pax Romana, you have both literary and royal blood running through your noble Roman veins... A. Terentius Aruns saaarirtnenewts -aw +uu -- Nephele