Nephele

Ah! Thanks! But... while I see the lines for latitude and longitude drawn on these maps, I

Does anyone here know of an online source that provides the names of towns and cities of the ancient world -- either still in existence as modern-day cities, or no longer in existence -- when you type in the latitude as a search? I'm asking, because for my latest, time-consuming, pointless pursuit of amusement I thought it would pretty neat to try to find out which ancient sites in the Roman world might correspond directly with where I live right now, by tracing the line of latitude. In other words, if I were to be somehow transported through space and time, but only along the same latitude line upon which I currently stand, in which towns or cities of the ancient Roman world might I find myself? (These are the towns I figure I would rightfully "own" in my little game, heheh.) My latitude is 40', 52" (which I already know is just a degree below Rome itself). Anyone else here weird enough to be amused by stuff like this? Oh, just thought of this -- does the wonderful UNRV map that's for sale through this site provide latitude and longitude? I've been planning to purchase one, anyway. -- Nephele

Scipio Aemilianus, you are a member of the Manilii, a small, plebian gens which nevertheless produced a consul and a tribune. It was unusual for the Manilii to have cognomina, as there weren't that many branches of the family to warrant same. However, you were given the agnomen of "Dexion" (meaning "The Receiver") -- a Greek title once conferred upon the great tragedian, Sophocles, in recognition of his having received the favor of the demigod of healing, Asclepius. Like Sophocles, you are a promoter of Asclepius. (Your mother wanted you to become a doctor.) Your praenomen is "Aulus", abbreviated with an "A." Your full Roman name is... A. Manilius Dexion (xliefianmiadnob -bf +us) Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

I think the dog plays a rather minor role in the first book. And, by the second book, the children have a small pack of three dogs. The social dynamics of this group are quite different from Blyton's Famous Five, as well -- one of the children happens to be a slave to another one of the children. The institution of slavery as depicted in the books may seem odd and unjust to modern-day children, but the author presents it as an accepted part of Roman life (which is precisely what it was). GPM, that's marvelous that you read to your daughter every night! -- Nephele

Vesperii, you have a truly lovely name in your cognomen of "Selene", meaning "the moon" (this was a name also borne by Cleopatra, and given to the daughter she had by Marcus Antonius). Your nomen of "Cordia" mirrors the silver disc of the moon, as this Roman gens is known to us through the silver denarius of Mn. Cordius Rufus (who happens to be your noble ancestor). Your full Roman name is... Cordia Selene (enaerdlenwso -nw +ci) -- Nephele

Your scramble is a bit long to work with, Vesperii. Could you please remove your middle name from it? And -- welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

Thank you, Augusta. The main characters of these stories range in age from 8 to 11, and the books are described as being for ages 9 to 12. But I think the books can be appreciated on another level by teens and adults alike. I noticed that one reader's review at Amazon.com criticized the author for having a "pro-Christian bias" in her books. I'm not Christian, and I can say that I was not offended or put off in the least by the author's portrayal of one of the main characters in the story being a member of a Jewish family which secretly belongs to the outlawed Christian cult. In an interview, the author writes about this, saying: "Every author promotes their own world view, either consciously or unconsciously. I do not hide the fact that I am a Christian. Perhaps because I am also of Jewish descent, I am particularly interested in early Christianity. In the first century AD Christians were essentially members of a Jewish sect, like Essenes or Pharisees. So to answer your question, let's say my books are a conscious attempt to explore what this early type of 'Jewish Christianity' might have been like." -- Nephele

I am so with you on people changing place names. There's a wonderful town in Yorkshire that used to be called "Shitlington", but over the years as it merged with other suburbs of Thornhill it gradually came to be called by the less colorful name of "Middlestown". I know this, because my man is researching his family genealogy, and he found this town on the 1881 and 1891 British Census. But wait! There's more... During his genealogical research, my man not only found an ancestor who had been born in the aforementioned town of Shitlington, this unfortunate ancestor also happened to live on "Butts Lane". -- Nephele

There is a series of children's books set in Rome, 79-80 C.E., that I've been collecting as a complete set for my public library. The series is called "The Roman Mysteries" and the author is Caroline Lawrence, who lives in London. The books aren't too easy to find here in the States, so I finally ordered two copies each of the entire set from a British book dealer. I imagine these books will become more popular over here in the States very soon, as the BBC has just produced a television series based on The Roman Mysteries that's due to be released next month. An article I found in a British newspaper described the upcoming television series as being HBO's Rome "without the sex". (Well, it is geared for children, after all.) While sex is only hinted at in the books themselves (a father tells his daughter that the 11-year-old slave girl she sees at the market may be sold to serve as some man's "wife"), author Caroline Lawrence doesn't cringe from depicting the violent aspects of life in ancient Rome. There is a main character, an 8-year-old boy, who has had his tongue cut out, and the threat to an unattended child wandering the rough streets of Ostia and possibly being kidnapped to be sold into slavery is a very real and ever-present danger to the four friends (ranging in age from 8 to 11) who are bonded together by a love of mystery-solving. Some parents may find such details disturbing, but most children (I trust) will be delighted with the author's anti-saccharine style of children's writing. In these books, children are as likely to die as adults -- and even somebody's pet dog winds up beheaded in one story. When it comes to accurate historical details and convincing depictions of ancient Roman society in these stories (there is a griping description of escape from an erupting Mt. Vesuvius, as well as a poignant description of the death of Pliny the Elder), author Caroline Lawrence knows whereof she writes. Before becoming a children's book author, Ms. Lawrence was a student of Classics at Berkeley and later at Cambridge, as well as a teacher of Latin at a small London primary school. This past weekend I thought I'd e-mail the author to let her know that I'm not "too adult" to enjoy her books. I was surprised to receive an immediate response from her, and delighted to read that she had a couple of posters to send to my public library. In appreciation, I e-mailed her back a blanagram of her Hidden Roman Name, and also gave her a link to the UNRV site. (Who knows? She may be inclined to join us here sometime.) Again she wrote back immediately, telling me she liked her hidden Roman name so much, that she's going to use it in one of her upcoming "Roman Mysteries" novels. How cool is that? -- Nephele

Today I spent watching an entertaining DVD of a British television series called Prehistoric Park, which features a Steve Irwin-like character who goes back in time to "rescue" prehistoric beasts ("Cor! Look at the incisors on that saber tooth! Blimey, she looks angry... Let's get a little closer!") from the brink of extinction. The computer animation is fantastic, making the creatures look incredibly real. And, of course, I'm feeling terribly guilty for not taking advantage of my free time this weekend to knock out the promised book review for Ursus' Principate era focus group. But, hey -- it is a holiday today, after all. Heheh. -- Nephele

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yer SICK! Gotta love it! -- Nephele

Nephele arrives a bit late, but nonetheless ready to party! She makes a grand entrance into Virgil's colonnaded atrium with her very special and exotic birthday gift -- a golden chariot drawn by a pair of tame zebras imported from the provinces in Africa! The zebras snort and stamp nervously and... Oh dear, I wasn't expecting the zebras to make such a mess on the lovely marble floor of your atrium, Virgil. So sorry... (Nephele hands a mop to Gaius Octavius...) Birthday hails to you, Virgil! -- Nephele

Aediles do it in public. Barbarians do it in the sack. Charioteers do it faster. Consuls do it in pairs for a year. Legionaries do it in formation. Lictors do it with their rods. Litter bearers do it all over town. Pythagoreans do it by degree. Triumviri do it in threesomes. -- Nephele

Thank you! How very gratifying it will be to see Insula Longa in Vicipaedia! -- Nephele

So many dormice, so few recipes. -- Nephele

Teller (of Penn & Teller), Amherst College Class of '69, degree in Classics and former high school Latin teacher. -- Nephele

Who wants to see Pastor Fred Phelps nearly blow an aneurysm? Michael Moore brought his Sodommobile to Topeka, Kansas and took on the Westboro Baptist Church. AND MADE THEM RUN AWAAAAY! Hahahahahaha! This is hilarious! Michael Moore Pwns Phelps -- Nephele

This excerpt from an article on the subject may be of help, and it does appear to confirm your guess that the official traveler did not have to pay for accommodations in the mansiones. The following is taken from an article titled "Requisitioned Transport in the Roman Empire: A New Inscription from Pisidia", by Stephen Mitchell, for The Journal of Roman Studies, Volume 66 (1976): -- Nephele

Ah! Thank you for the info on Hecatee of Meletus! As for your Roman identity... You are of the gens Baebii, a somewhat obscure plebian family of old Rome. In a desperate bid to make a name for yourself and your future descendants, you broke away from the respectability of your father's business to voluntarily offer yourself up as a gladiator in the arena. You adopted the cognomen of "Thraex", naming yourself for the type of gladiator you were trained to be, fearlessly wielding a small shield and saber. You retained your original first name of "Gaius" (abbreviated with a "C."). Your full Roman name is... C. Baebius Thraex (Bryaxis Hecatee -ey +um) But wait -- there's more! You get a choice of Roman identities. You might be a member of the Laelii, with the first name of "Publius" and the cognomen of "Macer" (describing your branch of the gens as being somewhat thin in physical appearance). P. Laelius Macer (Pascal Lemaire -a +u) Or you might be a member of the gens Maelii, again with the first name of "Publius", but with the cognomen of "Laeca" (describing a strong trait of left-handedness in your family line). P. Maelius Laeca (Pascal Lemaire -r +u) Which do you choose? -- Nephele

Yay! So, does this mean that you'll eventually be adding a Vicipaedia entry for my beloved Insula Longa? -- Nephele

Thank you, Andrew Dalby! Does the modern-day Catholic Church count as a source? I see that their Diocese of Rockville Centre (a town here on Long Island) is called Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa If the RC Church

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Ah, excellent! Perhaps he can tell me if "Insula Longa" is correct for my home region of "Long Island", as Vicipaedia doesn't seem to include this. -- Nephele

I've been amusing myself with Vicipaedia, looking up the profile locations of various UNRV members to see what they might be in Latin. Here are a few I found: NYC = Urbs Novum Eboracum NY = Novum Eboracum Chicago = Sicagum Illinois = Illinoesia Pittsburgh = Pittsburgum Pennsylvania = Pennsilvania Columbus = Columbopolis Ohio = Ohium San Francisco = Fanum Sancti Francisci or Franciscopolis Colorado = Coloratum Manchester = Mamucium , Mancunium, Mameceastra, Mantio, or Manucium Leeds = Ledesia For the Latin scholars on this board: Any comments regarding whether or not these are plausible Latin translations by Vicipaedia's contributors? And, just for fun, how many of you have tried looking up your own location, to see how it translates into Latin? -- Nephele

Roman bl00d, you are a member of the Varii, a gens which claimed many illustrious members, among whom were a famous poet, and an equestrian senator. You are also a descendant of the infamous, 5th century B.C.E. Vestal Virgin known as Postumia, who got in trouble for having a bit too much wit and charm. Fortunately for Postumia, she was merely warned, and didn't suffer the fate of live burial to which other erring Vestals were subjected. As a lovely, irrepressible maiden of Rome, exhibiting the wit and charm of her Vestal ancestor, you have earned a cognomen in her honor. Your full Roman name is... Varia Postumia (raiam suthpoav -h +i) -- Nephele