Nephele

"Shut up, Cacophonous, you loud bastard." Hahaha! It never gets tired. -- Nephele

Ah, Austria, where the sexual innuendo sizzles like blutwurst on a griddle. Soldiers stroking their big guns is soooo hot. -- Nephele

Yikes! All that from a scratched index finger? Feel better, Viggen. -- Nephele

Looks like the producers of I, Claudius were paying attention to detail! Pictured below is Augustus (played by Brian Blessed): The 1966 movie, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, also shows a Roman (Erronius, played by Buster Keaton) in one of those broad-brimmed hats: -- Nephele

You're right about slavery being a condition of disenfranchisement, but Roman law addressed the status of a captive citizen in two different ways. Quoting from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law (by Adolf Berger, compiled under the auspices of the American Philosophical Society, 1952): As you surmised, the barbarians that captured Patrick probably "were not highly regarded by Rome," and more than likely viewed as being troublesome bandits. In which case, Patrick would not have suffered deminutio capitis (the loss of civil status of a Roman citizen) as a result of his enslavement. Apologies to kurtedwr for taking this off topic -- although I think it might make an interesting topic to discuss Roman citizens' captivity and resulting status, and if others here are interested then I'll split off this discussion. You brought up some good points, Caldrail. -- Nephele

I'm not sure that enslavement through capture by enemies automatically negated Roman citizenship, Caldrail. Additionally, Roman citizens who were landholders in Britain (Patrick's father owned a villa) may have chosen to continue living in Britain after the emperor had given up on the country and, again, I'm not certain that this, too, would have automatically negated their birthright to Roman citizenship. In any case, for anyone here who is interested, the words of Patrick himself can be read at Ancient Texts: The Confession of St. Patrick (believed to have been written around 450 C.E.): I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was at that time about sixteen years of age... I think so, too, Neil. And, getting back to the light-heartedness of the topic, one cannot think of pop culture and ancient-to-late Rome without at least bringing up the toga party (made famous in the 1978 movie Animal House). -- Nephele

"Corn" is an Old English word generally meaning "grain"

I just want to say that I found that article fascinating. (I don't know whether the males of UNRV were able to read it without wincing, though...) I especially liked the way the author cited all those sources at the end of the article. I'm planning to look a few of them up for further reading, as they may shed some light on your question here, Barca. -- Nephele

I watched episode 2 (on line, for free) last night. John Hannah gets fluffed and Lucy Lawless makes a Roman feminist pronouncement about propriety and female enslavement. Star of this episode: The house of Batiatus. Interesting camera panning, coming down through the compluvium, into the dry impluvium with its fish mosaics, then out into the atrium and through the house. Great interiors and exteriors. Character to watch: The baby-faced, blond, curly-haired Roman citizen who has sold himself into slavery to be trained as a gladiator, in order to pay off his debts and provide for his family. Spartacus has befriended him, and his name is Varro. Could this possibly be Marcus Terentius Varro, the Roman writer? Funniest bit: The gladiator with the honkin' huge "FUGITIVUS" painted (?) or tattooed (??) around his forehead. I guess this is supposed to represent the branding of runaway slaves, although I find it difficult to believe that a branding iron bearing the entire word of FUGITIVUS could have wrapped around the guy's forehead so neatly, leaving behind such a legible word. Presumably, the production crew of this series must have figured that viewers would be confused by seeing the more likely brand of an "F" abbreviation on the gladiator's forehead

JGolomb, I noticed in that article you linked that the author goes on to talk about experiencing the virtual reality of SPQR in Second Life. Has anyone here participated in SPQR? I've never really looked into Second Life -- the first time I even heard of it was from watching an episode of The Office (Dwight Schrute has a superhero alter ego in Second Life). The Roman theme of Second Life's SPQR sounds interesting, but I'd like to know if anyone here has tried it and found it entertaining (if not exactly edifying). -- Nephele

I'd like to know, too! My hefty Lewis & Short only states that the double-p in Juppiter should appear "in all good manuscripts." There is a reference to Wagner, Orthogr. Vergl. sub hac voce, which I presume (from the catalogue at the front of the book) is to a note on orthography under the word "Juppiter" in Philip Wagner's work on Vergil (if I'm deciphering this correctly). Not having ready access to the work, I can only wonder if the answer to the double-p might be found there. Maty -- what say you? -- Nephele

Maty, I'm not quite certain that the names Poppaedius and Poppaeus represent the same families. It appears to me that the name Poppaedius/Pompaedius may have been derived from Poppaeus/Pompaeus, just as Aufidius was derived from Aufeius, Decidius from Decius, Fufidius from Fufius, and so on. But each of these developed into distinct families, despite the derivation of their names. If I'm wrong about Poppaedius and Poppaeus being distinct families, then I shall forfeit my week's supply of Falernian wine to you. And, that's a good point -- wondering whether the name might be originally Marsian. You're thinking of Quintus Poppaedius (or Pompaedius) Silo, right? -- Nephele

It's not just a male fantasy. Hey, I didn't know I could watch it for free online -- thanks for that link! I found it quite entertaining. Although, I must admit, watching the blood splatter in slo-mo, along with assorted limbs and disembodied heads flying about, made me want to reach for a pair of 3D glasses. Funniest line (when the Thracians are fighting the Getae): "Where the fuck are the Romans??" -- Nephele

You have my envy! Well, Livy mentions the Alban king Agrippa in his History of Rome (I.3): "Then Agrippa, the son of Tiberinus; after Agrippa, Romulus Silvius ascends the throne, in succession to his father." (translated by D. Spillan) But it's likely that the name Agrippa is of Greek origin (despite Pliny's fanciful explanation of the name in his Natural History). The name Agrippa itself doesn't occur in Greek sources, but there are a number of similar names to suggest that the Italians borrowed the name from the Greek colonies in Italy and altered it. Agrippa most likely means "wild horse" (from the Greek agrios and hippos). Livy mentions a few people using Agrippa as a praenomen: Agrippa Menenius, Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, and Agrippa Furius. I don't know whether this might count as "popular," but here are a few double-p gentes who had representative members serving as magistrates during the republican era: Appuleius (also spelled Apuleius), Eppius, Oppius, and Poppaedius (sometimes rendered Pompaedius). There were also the Poppaei and, although they're not represented during the era of the republic as having held magisterial office, they were most likely around during the republic. The Appuleii also had a branch which sported a double-p cognomen: Tappo. (The cognomen of Tappo can also be found in a branch of the Valerii). Another form of this cognomen

At least I learned a new word (the name of a job that I had no idea exists) from this review Fluffer! Hahaha! I knew what that is! (Don't ask.) -- Nephele

If the story had broken around 1 April I would have been tempted to wonder if it was a joke and they were trying to pull the 'udder' one.... As to how they would taste with a side order of fries unless you were careful I suspect it would be more of a case of them having any prospective dinners without the side order I wouldn't take a chance on attempting to butcher one of those monster cows. The steaks are too high. -- Nephele

Re-creating such dangerous cows sounds like udder madness. -- Nephele

Hahaha! Did you come up with these yourself, kurtedwr? Very clever! -- Nephele

I rather think the Romans did have archers, even if the majority of those archers weren't Roman citizens themselves. Is this what you meant, Caldrail? Reference Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities: "In the Greek and Roman armies the sagittarii, more anciently called arquites, i.e. archers, or bowmen (Festus, s.v.), formed an important part of the light-armed infantry. (Caesar, Bell. Civ. i. 81, iii. 44; Cic. ad Fam. xv. 4.) They belonged, for the most part, to the allies, and were principally Cretans." There's also a JSTOR article titled "Roman Arrowheads from Dinorben and the Sagittarii of the Roman Army" that might be of interest to you. I'm fortunate enough to have JSTOR access and, if you like, I'll be happy to send you a copy of the article. Just PM me your e-mail address. -- Nephele

Considering what passed for delicacies in ancient Roman, I have a feeling that the ancient Romans would've swooned over chicken in a can (with mucus discharge gravy) and snaky elongated freak eggs. -- Nephele

Hope you had a wonderful day, Neil! Now, party through the night! -- Nephele

Nah, not impossible...I can teach you! It's just al alveolar trill! Next time you come to New York, Doc, I'm going to take you up on that! We'll be happily alveolarically trilling down Fifth Avenue, and frightening the tourists. -- Nephele

Upon being set free, former slaves would wear the pilleus or pilleum

I believe the rhetorician Quintilian may be at least one source you're looking for. In his Institutio Oratoria (Book I, Chapter 7), Quintilian wrote of Claudius' spelling reforms, stating: "It was not without reason that Claudius introduced the Aeolic digamma..." You can read the entire English translated passage at Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site (I.7.26) I know that doesn't answer your entire question, but I suppose it's a start. Interestingly, Quintilian continues in that passage to comment on the use of the letter "C" as an abbreviation for the name "Gaius"

I'd like a picture of your dancing at the Parthenon, like Isadora Duncan. Then I can vicariously live my desire to visit Athens through you. Have a great trip, Klingan! You sure do get around! -- Nephele