Nephele

"That's ... Making the world a better place." -- Nephele

Julian the Faithful, your wife is a patrician, a member of the Genucia Gens, and as such her name is "Genucia". Her cognomen is actually a nickname -- "Gemmae" -- meaning "jewels," given to her by her parents who cherish her as their treasure. Her full Roman name is: Genucia Gemmae = mefufeecgagmn -ff +ia -- Nephele

aswell as going to Chile i was 'forced' or lets just say 'convinced' to go to peru and visit both Cuzco and Machu picchu.. i was fine with this until i was told that i was doing the 'trek' which takes like 4 days to get up the bloody hills *oh god* Wow! That's going to be some amazing trip! 4 days on foot, to get there? Please take lots of pictures for us! How exciting! -- Nephele

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! -- Nephele

I do have a "hot dead meat" smell when I drive the car. Coooool. I wish they made air fresheners for cars in "hot dead meat" scent. One of those little thingies you hang from your rearview mirror, maybe in the shape of a deer with the eyes drawn as: x x Glad you're okay! -- Nephele

Julian the Faithful, you are a member of the Herennia Gens, plebeians of Samnite origin who eventually became a Roman family of high rank. Your cognomen of "Augendus" appears in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, and is derived from the gerund of the Latin verb augeo, signifying "increase", "expansion", "augmentation". Your praenomen is "Titus," abbreviated as "T." Your full Roman name is: T. Herennius Augendus = UdunregniZeaatnhes -az +us If you prefer the praenomen "Aulus" over "Titus," then you can alternately be: A. Herennius Augendus = UdunregniZeaatnhes -tz +us -- Nephele

Thanks, JtF. Your second scramble is a big long to work with -- do you have a middle name included in that, that you can remove? -- Nephele

My vote goes for one of the earliest Dr Who serials (starring William Hartnell), which was called "The Romans" (first broadcast 1965). I've seen it. It's pretty bad. Pictured above is William Hartnell (the first Doctor) confronting Nero in the Baths (are those spa towels?). The actor playing Nero is in his forties -- whereas Nero would have been age 26 when the events in this story took place (the summer that Nero supposedly burned Rome). At one point in one of the episodes (there were four episodes to "The Romans"), The Doctor, while playing a lyre, archly refers to his companion Vicki as "the keeper of the liars." It's like, say whut? I dunno. Maybe it was funnier in the '60s. With drugs. -- Nephele

When I read stuff like this it makes me glad I made the choice not to have kids, because I know I'd be a lousy parent. I'm only interested in disciplining adults (black-leather-and-whip style). -- Nephele

Julian the Faithful, you are a soldier and freedman of that Lucius Antonius who was the younger brother of the infamous Marcus Antonius who fought against Octavianus. Although much maligned by Cicero, your master had been elected Consul in 41 BCE, and his last known military appointment was the command of Iberia. As his freedman, you took his praenomen and nomen gentilicium (Lucius Antonius) for your own. Your cognomen/nickname of Anemello indicates your origin from Cisalpine Gaul, as it is a diminutive of the name of the river Anemo that runs through the territory where you were born. You quickly rose from the status of slave, to freedman, to soldier while in the service of Lucius Antonius. Your full Roman name is: L. Antonius Anemello = namllotsleioanenn -n +u Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

I thought Belisarius was a corruption/latinization of his Illyrian name. I'd have to look it up, because the original name did mean something. Smith's Dictionary states that the name "Belisarius" is derived from the "Sclavonic" (Slavonic) Beli-tzar, meaning "White Prince". Smith probably took the sarius element of the name to have come from the old Slavic word tsesar or tsesari, which was derived from Caesar (and which ultimately developed into the Russian word "Tsar"), thus giving the name of "Belisarius" a "princely" connotation. But this etymology for "Belisarius" has since been discounted as being somewhat dubious. -- Nephele

I tend to agree with the broader point, but do you think Martial shows any greater sorrow than did Catullus for Lesbia's dead sparrow? I'm rather haunted by the thought that the Romans viewed their slaves as no more than pets, and on that premise, Catullus 3 can be seen as another instance of how familiarity breeds concern that is out of all proportion to general ideas about the worth of a life. Maybe... Good point, MPC. I know you directed this question to FG, but since I started the whole "familiarity breeds concern" theme here in this thread (deliberately inverting the old adage of "familiarity breeds contempt"), I hope you don't mind me cutting in here with my two sestercii. (I look forward to FG's input, as well.) I agree with you that there were Romans who viewed their slaves as pets. In fact, I think the reforms enacted by the Emperor Hadrian, to protect slaves from abuse, were more comparable to our modern society's animal welfare laws than to laws enacted out of any actual humanitarian concerns. (Which I'd previously stated in another thread on this board.) But while Martial has been described as a poet who could occasionally be the most brutal of Romans, actually, I did get the impression that Martial not only showed greater sorrow for Erotion than did Catallus for Lesbia's sparrow, but that Martial also viewed Erotion as a human being "equalized" by death (as depicted in that Pompeiian mosaic of death as the Great Leveler). In his poem, Martial respectfully commended Erotion's ghost to his own dead parents for gentle caretaking. Why should Martial's ghostly parents be concerned about this mere slave child, if not for the fact that their son regarded this child as being worthy of their attention in the afterlife? Catullus, on the other hand, winds up his own little poem in what appears to be almost a peevish reproach to the dead bird. While Catullus notes the effect of the loss on his girl, the extent to which his girl's dead bird has affected him personally amounts to no more than the fact that his girl's otherwise lovely eyes are now red and swollen from weeping. -- Nephele

And they cast Aphrodite herself as Caprica-Six. An extremely versatile actress, that Tricia Helfer. She recently appeared in the television series Supernatural, and I swear I didn't immediately recognize her. Another sci-fi series that drew on history for themes is Firefly (with the spin-off movie Serenity) -- only that one had more to do with the old American West than ancient history. And, of course, there was Stargate, which had gods of various ancient cultures appearing as aliens (posing as gods) for the purpose of enslaving humankind. -- Nephele

Hahaha! Seriously, though, science fiction often draws on ancient history for themes, settings, and costuming. The sci-fi television series Battlestar Galactica (both original and updated versions) made heavy use of Judeo-Graeco mythology for the names of their characters and the legends affirming their characters' quests. Fun find, MPC. -- Nephele

Thanks for the additional description, Faustus. As a person with a lot of experience in the construction trades, I thought you would especially appreciate (and expand upon) the symbolism in that mosaic. Well done! -- Nephele

Nice connection, Faustus! Yes, it does look a bit like a roof truss, but I think you'll agree (after seeing the picture below) that this is actually a carpenter's level from which the skull is hanging. Presumably showing death as being "The Great Leveler". The following description comes from vroma.org:

A Venetian diplomat named Pasqualigo in 1515 described the young (nearly 25-year-old) Henry VIII as being "the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on; above the usual height, with an extremely fine calf to his leg, his complexion very fair and bright, auburn hair combed straight and short, in the French fashion, and a round face so very beautiful that it would become a pretty woman, his throat being rather long and thick..." For those watching The Tudors, this website may enhance your viewing enjoyment (or, at any rate, point out glaring errors in the series' historical treatment of Henry and his contemporaries): Primary Sources: Eyewitness Accounts of People and Events in Tudor England; Letters; Journals; etc. -- Nephele

Possibly, but it needs to be hashed out a bit. This was really a first pass. I'd also like to add the names of those killed in the Sertorian War, due to it's relationship to the Marian/Sullan conflict. I could also use your help via Broughton's on some of those names that aren't associated with an office. Of course, it would probably make sense to continue this through the Caesarian War and the second triumvirate. Perhaps I should go back to the age of the Gracchi and begin there? Any Broughton's look-ups you need, just let me know. Always happy to oblige. And, yes, an expanded list encompassing other wars would be an excellent resource! -- Nephele

Great list, PP. (In addition to noting the effort that went into compiling this, I'm gleaning names from it for my personal interest in Roman names and families.) Will you be adding this list to the History section of the site? -- Nephele

Hahahaha! But... waitaminute... Might this be a fiendishly clever CNN ploy for harvesting people's e-mail addresses? -- Nephele, The Paranoid

Again, Caldrail, I think you're missing the point. I said: It's familiarity that breeds concern. I'm not talking about "humanitarian concerns", but the concern, interest, attention, solicitude, etc. that comes from identification and personal connection. Our modern-day society's concern for suicidal, cult-status celebrities (an example I gave previously) has little to do with humanitarianism, much to do with popularity, and is comparable to that same concern that the ancient Romans exhibited for their own cult-status celebrities of the arena. I have never denied that Roman culture was "hard-hearted" in comparison to our own. I don't think FG was denying that either, in saying that she doesn't believe the Romans placed less value on life than we do (with social status not always being the defining feature of valued life, as in the example of Martial's slave child). And that: "We also put a value on life. Are we honestly as moved by the death of another [anonymous] baby in Africa as we are by a [familiar] great artist or statesman?" (Words in brackets are my additions, which I've taken the liberty to add for clarification of my own point here, which is: familiarity = concern.) And, again, the epigram of Martial's that was quoted illustrated Martial's concern for a slave child that he had known by name and association. A child whose circumstances of birth did not lead to exposure, but rather a child who had the fortune to live long enough in this household (six years) to interact with the family and for the master to have come to know and to learn to care about. It is not at all inconsistent with perceived Roman character to envision many Roman households such as Martial's, and for many of Martial's fellow Romans to have been moved by his words. Martial knew whereof he wrote. No, actually, I might not say that at all. As this is not a discussion about what is or is not necessary for the survival of a species, but rather a discussion of how the Romans may have viewed death. -- Nephele

Since women in the ancient world were more often than not identified and defined through the male line of their ancestry, I can add to what Ascelpiades posted above by stating that Aemilia Lepida (betrothed to Claudius) came from a long and distinguished line of the patrician Aemilii Lepidi. In addition to her mother having been the granddaughter of Augustus, her father was Lucius Aemilius Paullus, consul in 1 CE (her uncle, too, was consul some years later). Her paternal grandfather had been a consul (34 BCE), her paternal great-grandfather had been a consul (50 BCE), and her paternal great-great-grandfather had been a consul (78 BCE). While her paternal great-great-great grandfather hadn't been a consul himself, his two brothers had been consuls (137 BCE and 126 BCE). Their grandfather in turn had twice been a consul (187 BCE and 175 BCE), and his grandfather had been consul (232 BCE). And, finally, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather of Aemilia Lepida, was the first of the Aemilii Lepidi to be elected consul (285 BCE). (Ref. the Stemma Lepidorum, from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, and Chris Heaton's List of Consuls on the UNRV website.) Aemilia Lepida's family sadly suffered disgrace through her father (not to mention her mother, too), as Suetonius tells us in his Life of Augustus that Aemilia's father had been one of the ringleaders of a conspiracy against the emperor: "After this he nipped in the bud at various times several outbreaks, attempts at revolution, and conspiracies, which were betrayed before they became formidable. The ringleaders were, first the young Lepidus, then Varro Murena and Fannius Caepio, later Marcus Egnatius, next Plautius Rufus and Lucius Paulus, husband of the emperor's granddaughter..." -- Nephele

Their system of values were different to ours, and whilst a person may show affection or concern for others, that was an individual expression of humanity, not the general mindset of a culture, whose attitude toward human life was more concerned with expedience. Your point is valid - I just think it needs to be put in perspective. There were many romans who wouldn't have cared one jot for that female child slave. Plenty more at the market. Yes, the Romans had a different system of values from ours, but I believe that one point FG was making was that, in many ways, the Romans were no different from us. It wasn't so much exhibited as "an individual expression of humanity" (your phrase), but (as with us today) rather more often an expression of humanity for individuals. I agree with FG that there are many people in our society today who are not as moved by the death of another baby in Africa, in comparison to the death of a statesman -- or a celebrity. Our attitude may not be "plenty more at the market" (your phrase for the Roman attitude), but it is certainly not far from something like: "there will always be dying babies somewhere, and still more to be born." In my own nation there were more newspaper headlines over the alleged suicide attempt of actor Owen Wilson, than there have ever been for the thousands of children in the Sudan who are forcibly conscripted to fight (and die) in those civil wars. Or for children living in both your nation and mine who aren't individually "newsworthy". There is certainly not as much individual, personal concern (or media frenzy) for the hundreds of children who are abducted annually as there is for a Madeliene McCann or a JonBenet Ramsey. Even in that touching epigram of Martial's which FG provided, the lowly slave child in question has a name -- Erotion -- and is personally known to Martial. There were no doubt many such slave children in Roman homes, and I believe that Martial may have been expressing a sentiment that his fellow Romans would have readily recognized. It's familiarity that breeds concern. As it is for us, so it was for the Romans who, even en masse, spared their favorite and celebrity-status gladiators. -- Nephele

Speaking of udderly rocks ... (Oh, I am SO going to Tarsus!) Looks like you're going to milk this joke for all it's worth. -- Nephele

I've already told you privately how much I've enjoyed this review of yours, Pertinax, but am adding here that I'm ordering both the hard cover and audio/CD formats of this book for my public library, based on your recommendation. I would have picked up a personal copy for myself at The Strand last weekend, but they were out of stock. Many thanks, for this intriguing introduction to what promises to be a fascinating read! -- Nephele