Nephele

Wheee! Or, we could have another one from you, Maty. That was a great one that you gave! Note to our UNRV members who may not feel they are fluent enough in English to attempt a rhyming riddle: You don't have to rhyme in that case -- you can do free verse. It's the riddle that counts the most. Next? -- Nephele

Oh hell yes. But I doubt he'd let you pet the cat for free. He was pretty surly, and he only posed for the picture after I gave him money. -- Nephele

Nessus? Nope, but you're right about him being a centaur. I can't hold back any longer... Are you... the centaur Chiron? The "four legs" and "handy" were major clues, Maty! You know with my love of names I would connect "handy" with the meaning of the name "Chiron" (or, "Kheiron"). Hercules had poisoned arrows that he had dipped into the blood of the hydra he had slain, and he shot Chiron. ("By an archer slain.") Chiron would have suffered interminably (being immortal), but to spare himself the suffering he abandoned his immortality and was placed in the constellation of Sagittarius ("With an archer I live.") I waive my turn. Come on, we need more people to participate here! -- Nephele

Bah, you need to come back to NYC to experience serious panhandling. Like the guy below, who was panhandling at Columbus Circle when I snapped this pic. I gave him money, mostly to feed his cat. Bet you would've, too. -- Nephele

Correct. I see LW has gotten into the game now. Yay! (Anyone reading this latest post in this thread, see previous post for LW's riddle.) -- Nephele

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Nice genealogical tracing, Caesar. By the time of the Empire, praenomina were falling into disuse, and it wasn't unknown for brothers to have the same praenomen. Compare with the case of the emperor Vespasianus, a Titus who named both his sons "Titus." (As mentioned above in this thread.) Additionally, a cognomen could be derived from one's mother, and a precedent for this had already been set long before the time of the Empire. (Again, for the reasons mentioned above.) Not being familiar with this particular family, I can only guess that either the cognomen of "Pacatus" was given to this son to honor a relative bearing that name, or perhaps the son acquired or assumed the cognomen later in life, due to having a distinctively peaceful nature (which is what this cognomen signifies), as opposed to his brothers named Caius. In addition to the cognomen or agnomen of "Maximus" meaning greatest (as in military recognition), it might have been used to distinguish the eldest among his brothers. CIL IV 5355 cites Minimus used for a younger child, so Maximus might have been similarly used for an older child. More likely, though, Maximus, along with the surnames Honoratus, Iustus, Magnus, and Verus, was given as an additional, distinguishing name. All of these surnames were common among both the senatorial nobility and the plebs ingenua. A notably tall person might be called "Longinus," if he hadn't already inherited the surname. The "rules" or the mos maiorum as regards naming were not followed as strictly by the time of the Empire, as had been done in the time of the Republic. But even in the time of the Republic, exceptions could be found. EDIT. Forgot to mention the thing about double nomina gentilicia. Again, this wasn't unprecedented. See discussion here regarding C. Plinius Caecilius Secundus. Do we know whether C. Arrius Calpurnius Fontinus Honoratus might have been adopted by his relative? -- Nephele

You are... Orpheus? I love that story of Orpheus and Eurydice. So sad. Nicely done! Who's next? Not me again! -- Nephele

You're exceptionally good at these rhyming couplets, MPC. Okay, you are clearly Atlas. As for the decoding... Creation's first lovers... Would that be Heaven and Earth, who gave birth to the titans? From Hesiod's Theogony (translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White): "And Heaven came, bringing on night and longing for love, and he lay about Earth spreading himself full upon her." ...denied embrace Heaven (Uranus) was castrated by his son Cronus. ...crush my shoulders, fix my place. Atlas was made to bear Heaven (and the World) on his shoulders. Two tortures set by an Olympian thug... That Olympian thug being Zeus (son of Cronus and cousin of Atlas). Why must I struggle? Why not shrug? Hahaha! Nice Rand reference! That is precisely the advice that Francisco d'Anconia would give. It's late now and I'm packing in. So somebody besides me has to come up with the next one. No using poets allowed! Y'all have to make up something of your own, as MPC and I are doing! -- Nephele

You are... Hero and Leander? Very nicely written! (But I believe the credit for these couplets goes to Mr. Marlowe.) -- Nephele

Okay, this one requires a few couplets: Zeus wanted me, But a prophecy That my son would outshine his sire Cooled that randy god's desire. Naked, I rode my bridled dolphin, And Zeus found a mortal stand-in. Who am I? -- Nephele

Ah, very nicely done, MPC! Are you... Atalanta? She was swift-ankled, the suitor's bane in that those who failed to catch her in a race suffered the penalty of death. She was finally "subdued" by Hippomenes (with his trick of the golden apples), but both Hippomenes and Atalanta offended the goddess Cybele by having sex at her temple and, as punishment, Cybele transformed them both into lions - hence, "subdued by man, by mane". (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 10) Am I right? If so, I waive my turn and eagerly await the next riddle any of our creative forum members might come up with! -- Nephele

Correct! Who's next? -- Nephele

Who wants to play? Think of a god, goddess, hero, nymph, etc. from classical legend and describe him or her in a rhyming couplet. Whoever guesses the riddle correctly, gets to pose the next rhyming riddle. I'll start: Doorways, hinges, thresholds of stone, These things I guard, these are my own. Who am I? -- Nephele

I found Jim Bowen doing his Philogelos shtik on YouTube: baddaboom! It's like ancient Greece transplanted to the Catskills. You can also purchase the e-book with accompanying video from YUDU: World's Oldest Joke Book -- Nephele

...I know!!! Eek! I think you and Bill Gates are in cahoots! Did you sell him real estate in Homunculum? -- Nephele

Oh gee, thanks, MPC. Now you've given me Microsoft to obsess over. Bill Gates had better keep his nose out of my bathroom skylight. Anyway, I tried downloading Google Earth, and it slowed down my computer. Plus, my Spy Sweeper popped up with all sorts of warnings. I wound up uninstalling Google Earth. -- Nephele

Ditto on the thanks! I'm almost tempted to download Google Earth now, 'cept I'm suspicious of downloading anything. Anyone here ever have any problems after downloading Google Earth? I mean... If you attract their attention by downloading their stuff, they don't hunt you down with their Google Earth satellites, do they? I've got a skylight in my bathroom... -- Nephele

G-Man! Where the heck have you been hiding yourself lately? I've been wanting to ask if you might be inclined to put your skillz to gothing up a picture of Sarah Palin and maybe some of the other candidates. lol -- Nephele

Broughton's citing of this Merula's magistracies is as follows: 198 - Praetor Urbanus, in which year he distinguished himself by suppressing a conspiracy of slaves and Carthaginian hostages (Liv. 32.26.4-18). 194 - one of the triumviri coloniis deducendis (along with an unidentified Quintus and a C. Salonius) for colonized Tempsa (Liv. 34.45.3-5). 193 - Consul. -- Nephele

Of course they did, Neil. And I'll bet they all had the one about teeth falling out too! Hahahaha! But I think you've hit on an excellent point. Anxieties that we suppress during our waking hours can emerge in our dreams. I'm sure the ancient Romans weren't much different from us in that respect. Perhaps looking for meaningful significance in such dreams might have been as much a means for coping with anxiety for the ancient Romans, as it is for some modern-day folks. -- Nephele

It's remarkable is that this delicate piece of jewelry appears to be relatively undamaged, after all these years. I can see museum gift shops selling reproductions of a set of these beautiful earrings. I'd certainly be tempted to buy. -- Nephele

I'm not sure that family connections will be easily found between the well-known families of the Cornelii and the lesser known families. But perhaps knowing the dates when the lesser-known families were at their peak (as far as holding Republican magisterial positions), might give some sort of clue. I checked Broughton, and compiled the following list of the lesser-known families (from your own list; there were more) of the Cornelii. For each family, I listed the total number of members who held magisterial positions during the Republic. This is followed by the earliest representative from the family, and the latest representative. Blasio: Total of 5 Earliest: Cn. Cornelius P. f. Cn. n. Blasio - Consul in 270 (and again in 257) Latest: Cn. Cornelius Blasio - Monetal ca. 105 Cethegus: Total of 8 Earliest: M. Cornelius M. f. M. n. Cethegus - Curule Aedile and Pontifix Successor in 213; possibly a Flamen in ?-233 (Consul in 204) Latest: ? Cornelius Cethegus and C. Cornelius Cethegus - both Senators 63. Mammula: Total of 4 Earliest: A. Cornelius Mammula - Praetor of Sardinia in 217 Latest: M. Cornelius Mammula - Ambassador Legate in 173 Merenda: Total of 2 Earliest: Ser. Cornelius P. f. Ser. n. Merenda - Lieutenant Legate in 275 (Consul in 274). Latest: Cn. Cornelius Merenda - Ambassador Legate? in 189-188. Merula: Total of 5 Earliest: L. Cornelius L. f. Merula - Praetor Urbanus in 198 (Consul in 193). Latest: L. Cornelius Merula - Consul Suffectus and Flamen Dialis in 87. -- Nephele

Thank you, all, for your contributions to this thread! But what about when the Romans filled in the inner moat, a short time following the construction of the wall? Do we have evidence that attacks from the south then increased, if the inner moat had previously been a deterrent? Can anyone offer an explanation as to why the inner moat was filled in, if not for the reason concluded by Shenkman, Woodward, et al. (that the Romans themselves eventually realized that the inner moat was superfluous)? -- Nephele

Pardon, Caesar! -- Nephele