Nephele

Welcome aboard, Will! Basic Training doesn't sound like much of a vacation, but we'll be looking forward to your return when you're done. In the meantime, enjoy UNRV -- and we'll enjoy your visit! -- Nephele

What an enriching experience! -- Nephele

Welcome, tk421! You may find this topic helpful, regarding your question about forum ranks: A Note on Member Ranks, Forum Member Groups, etc. And, if you'd like to know your "Hidden Roman Name," I invite you to this topic. -- Nephele

Zombies class up anything. And, I think I shall declare 2009 to be The Year of the Zombie. I'm still celebrating my man's zombie story in History Is Dead. -- Nephele

Aw, thanks, CS! And, good to see you back! -- Nephele

You're absolutely correct, Aurelia. That "Cn" is a name abbreviation, and not a title abbreviation. Here's a link to an earlier discussion on the subject: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showto...amp;#entry61598 kdags, the ancient Romans were in the habit of abbreviating their most common praenomina (first names), just as modern-day folks sometimes use the abbreviations "Wm" for "William" and "Jn" for "Jonathan." For the pronunciation of "Gnaeus" (for your presentation), pronouce it with a silent "g": "nai-us". -- Nephele

Is that when (according to popular belief) you're able to balance an egg on its end? I'll bet the Pantheon is filled to the rafters with religious egg-stasy on that day. -- Nephele

How nice that the Christians in Rome should acknowledge their Jesus as being just another god, that they should worship him in the Pantheon, which is consecrated to all the gods. btw, great pictures, Klingan! -- Nephele

Yes, Smith's Dictionary mentions both of those Plutarch and Strabo references, but states that whatever may have existed of Dellius' work became incorporated into the work of those writers. As for the New Pauly's reference to a possible fragment of Dellius' work to be found in volume 2 of the Historicorum Romanorum Reliquiae, I think our friend Aemilianus is going to have a tough time getting hold of that one. I know of only one English translation -- by Peter Hermann -- and can find no library that offers it. There is a copy (in either Latin or German translation) currently available for purchase at ABE Books, for $112.35, but I don't know if that's within your budget, Aemilianus. -- Nephele

You're not going to find a history by Dellius, for the reason given in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology: "Dellius appears to have been a man of some talent; he did at least some service to literature by writing a history of the war against the Parthians, in which he himself had fought under Antony... This work is completely lost, and we cannot even say whether it was written in Latin or in Greek; but we have reason for believing that Plutarch's account of that war (Ant. 37-52) was taken from Dellius, so that probably we possess at least an abridgement of the work. (Plut. Ant. 59)." For Plutarch's Life of Antony, which may have had bits based upon Dellius' work and in which Dellius is mentioned, click here. -- Nephele

Salve and felicitations, Lady Aurelia! Welcome to the neighborhood! My, what a lovely place you have here! I love how the morning sunlight graces your atrium. How restful -- and elegant! As a domus-warming present I have brought you a new anagram alias. This is a colorful hippie name that you can wear to the beach this summer: pcnbiiaractorairo = Ciara Tropic-Rainbo Try it on and tell me if it fits. -- Nephele

Thanks for the interesting news article! We may even see the name "Hatshepsut" ("Hattie" for short) becoming a trendy baby name, as quite a number of parents derive baby names from the names of perfumes. In the year 2000, there were 269 baby girls born in the U.S. who were given the name of "Chanel," and 21 who were given the name of "Shalimar." -- Nephele

Hails to you, GPM! May you have the best of days! So glad your computer woes are over and you made it back to us in time for your birthday! It would have been very sad, setting out the virtual cake and you not being able to attend your party. -- Nephele

Perhaps the kid's family is of German descent, and he was just proudly displaying the family coat of arms... German Penis Names -- Nephele

Very interesting, Maty, and I'm looking forward to your forthcoming Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual. That scene described by Caesar of Gauls struggling with unwieldy shields that have been stuck together by Roman spears sounds almost comical. I can picture a Gaul with a stuck shield swearing "aw, F it!" and tossing away his shield. -- Nephele

Ooo, thanks for this news! I'll have to share it with my man, as he grew up in Nottingham and has always been interested in the Robin Hood legends. -- Nephele

Ow. I think we have another winner. -- Nephele

Oh gawds, this had me laughing out loud. Thanks for these finds! Too funny! -- Nephele

"You need to be within the UK or the Republic of Ireland to watch Channel 4 programmes." Aw, hell. Well, maybe somebody will put it on YouTube. -- Nephele

Stuff like this makes me think Google Earth should be called Giggle Earth. -- Nephele

Yep: Declamations, Volume II. But if your public or university library doesn't have these, I would still try WorldCat.org to find the nearest library for this, or another, translation. -- Nephele

Aemilianus, try WorldCat.org, to locate a translation of this work in a library near you. -- Nephele

I believe the Druids went even further than merely sacrificing criminals, as they were strict authoritarians (if Caesar's Gallic Wars is to be believed) and would also happily sacrifice dissenters. But then, defying a Druid's authority would have been considered a criminal act anyway, thereby making all dissenters criminals, I suppose. The Druids weren't above sacrificing the innocent, either, as (again, according to Caesar) human victims would be offered up to the gods in sacrifice as a substitution for the lives of those who might be going into battle and likely to lose their own lives (if not for having first appeased the gods with someone else's life). If all the criminals had previously been used up, then slaves would make handy sacrifices in such a case. I hadn't heard of the Druid cannibalism thing before, either, and I wish the author of that piece had given a more specific reference to Pliny. All I could find in Pliny's Natural History was Pliny's mention of the Scythians as being a people who ate human flesh (Book 6, Chapter 20). I could have missed the Druid/cannibalism bit, though. -- Nephele

Nah, I'm not really into l33t-speak that much. I much prefer rude emoticons... ( o ) ( o )