Nephele

Thank you for your kind praise, Flavia! You're welcome to use my article (and I'd be honored), but I'd appreciate a mention also of UNRV in your use of it. (I owe a lot to this site!) -- Nephele

Thanks for that link, Asclepiades! You always manage to find such interesting stuff! I'm at work and can't read it right now, but I'll definitely read it later when I get home! -- Nephele

I wrote it as an article for UNRV back in April. Here's the link, Flavia: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6401 Your Ferox is on the list! But, sorry, no Scuto. -- Nephele

Wow! That's more than I ever expected! Thanks for all that, Bro'! You know, I think those names look even prettier when spelled with the Hellenic alphabet -- and the etymologies you provided are knock-out. I could've used you awhile back when I was compiling my list of dogs' names mentioned by ancient Roman writers, as many of the suggested names were of Hellenic origin. Thanks again! -- ΝΕΦΕΛΗ

Suetonius wrote: "It is thought that his wife Caesonia gave him a drug intended for a love potion, which however had the effect of driving him mad." (The Life of Caligula, 50) Or maybe he just consciously acted crazy because he knew he could get away with doing whatever he wanted: "When his grandmother Antonia gave him some advice, he was not satisfied merely to listen but replied: 'Remember that I have the right to do anything to anybody.'" (Suetonius, The Life of Caligula, 29) Welcome to UNRV, Claudia Octavia. -- Nephele

Pertinax, I adore the way your mind works. This Venin de Crapaud is especially charming. In fact, it anagrams into the lovely girl's name of: "Davina Prudence". I think I may just troll a baby names message board and suggest "Davina Prudence" as a pretty baby's name, wait until I get enough enthusiastic responses ("Oooo! I'm due any day now and I love that name! I'm going to name my baby Davina Prudence!"), and then I'll tell them what "Davina Prudence" is an anagram of. -- Nephele

My pleasure, Bro'. Hey, since you're here, how about deciphering these Hellenic names for me?: Hyale, Rhanis, Psecas, Phiale, and Crocale? They, along with Nephele, were the nymph-attendants to the goddess Diana/Titania mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses. I kind of already have an idea as to what their names might mean, but I'd appreciate confirmation from you, O Learned Greek One. I need to know what their names mean because they are, after all, my sister nymphs. -- Nephele

Interesting article, Ascelpiades, which addresses the religion of 5th century B.C.E. Greece and earlier. But surely the "notions of will, of duty, and of obligation", along with philosophy, evolved over the centuries in both societal Greece and Rome? As Harvard Professor Arthur Darby Nock wrote in the excerpt I'd quoted, "an increased moral sensitiveness" appeared in late Hellenistic times. Flavia, I enjoyed that quote of yours from Propertius (writing about his lover, Cynthia)! Speaking of "sinning with the eyes", that kind of reminded me of one of my favorite myths as told by Ovid (one of my favorites because there's a Nephele who appears in it): Actaeon spies upon the naked goddess Diana and, for his "sin" (or unfortunate indiscretion), she turns him into a stag and his own hounds attack and kill him. The classical gods were not at all forgiving. The Nephele in that story, by the way, was totally innocent, being merely a nymph-attendant to the goddess. -- Nephele

Yep. The -ez -- and also -es -- ending on Spanish surnames indicates a patronymic. For example, the name "Gonz

Augusta, those names you cited owe their continuing use today more to their having been borne by Roman Catholic saints, than by Roman patrician families. Claudio, the Italian form of Claude, became a popular given name during the 7th century, due to it having been borne by the saint and bishop of Besan

True, but beliefs may be expressed in story form. And, perhaps it does depend on definition (as you stated). It may be that the distasteful word "sin" is just, for many of us, too strongly associated with the Judeo-Christian beliefs of our modern-day Western society. If the Romans did have their own concept of "sin" (being not necessarily a transgression of codified law but perhaps more a transgression of what is perceived as moral decency), I can see this "sin" differing from that of Christianity by the fact that the justice to be meted out (via the Furies) would be non-negotiable. Unlike in Christianity, where there appears to be different degrees of sin (as pointed out by GPM in this thread) and where one may easily confess and readily receive forgiveness for one's sins. I picture the ancient Romans as being more interested in justice, whereas Christianity is more interested in redemption. I came across a review of a book on the subject of sin and the ancient Romans that struck me as interesting. The title of the book is Peccatum: Sin and Guilt in Ancient Rome, by Anna Elizabeth Wilhelm-Hooijbergh. While the book isn't reviewed on the Amazon site I linked here, the review I read appeared in The Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 45 (1955). The reviewer, the late Frothingham Professor of History of Religion at Harvard University, Dr. Arthur Darby Nock, wrote this in his review of the book: "Roman attitudes towards what we call sin and guilt were particularly complex. There were many factors: religious tradition defining certain acts as requiring expiation and admitting of it with its patterns of approval and condemnation; law with its determination of degrees of responsibility; a persistent conviction that public misfortunes were due to transgressions -- and this is bound up with a general human tendency to suppose that the scheme of things exacts its price for each transgression; the teachings of Greek philosophy; the increased moral sensitiveness appearing in late Hellenistic times; the special demands which Near Eastern cults made upon their votaries." I haven't a copy of this book, myself, but am thinking of purchasing it. If you might be inclined to read it, Ursus, I'd be especially interested in reading your review of it. -- Nephele

"Ladies, if you're wondering if Tiger Time has a service where men come out in their swimsuits, they do not. They say they've had no requests for the service." Well, sure, if you can get hubby to mow the lawn for free. But when hubby starts to balk, then... WATCH OUT! I give the entrepreneurial Tiger Team a thumb's up. -- Nephele

Now, I'd always thought that parricide was a particularly heinous crime in the eyes of the classical gods, and that they in fact had a highly specialized trio of deities known as the Furies to the Romans, and the Erinyes or (euphemistically) Eumenides to the Greeks, who dealt out due punishment for such a transgression of divine and/or natural law. In fact, the name of one of the Erinyes -- Tisiphone -- literally means "retribution for murder". Stories can be found in ancient Greek literature of the Erinyes hunting down and tormenting members of the delighfully sordid and "sinful" family of Orestes -- starting with the grandfather of Orestes who murdered and served his brother's sons to him on a dinner plate, proceeding to Orestes' father's cousin who seduced the wife of King Agamemnon (Orestes' parents) and conspired along with Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra in his murder, culminating with Orestes who murdered his mother Clytemnestra. Aeschylus' play Eumenides focuses on the Erinyes hunting down Orestes for the crime of killing his mother (even though Orestes had done so to avenge his father's murder): APOLLO: What is this office of yours? Boast of your fine privilege! ERINYES: We drive matricides from their homes. APOLLO: But what about a wife who kills her husband? ERINYES: That would not be murder of a relative by blood... [further on in the play] Aha! This is a clear sign of the man. Follow the hints of a voiceless informer. For as a hound tracks a wounded fawn, so we track him by the drops of blood. My lungs pant from many tiring struggles, for I have roamed over the whole earth, and I have come over the sea in wingless flight, pursuing him, no slower than a ship. And now he is here somewhere, cowering. The smell of human blood gives me a smiling welcome. Look! Look again! Look everywhere, so that the matricide will not escape by secret flight, with his debt unpaid! Cicero, in his De Natura Deorum ("On the Nature of the Gods") wrote: "...the Furies are so, I presume as being the watchers and punishers of misdeeds and crime." (Book III, section 18). Although, admittedly, Cicero is arguing in his work that, if the gods do take notice of human affairs, they often do a poor job of distinguishing the good from the bad. -- Nephele EDIT: Translation of Aeschylus' Eumenides by H.W. Smyth. Translation of Cicero's De Natura Deorum by Francis Brooks.

Since the definition of "sin" is "transgression of divine law", I would say that the Romans definitely had a concept of sin. Perhaps you're thinking of the Christian concept of "Original Sin" -- relating to Adam and Eve's disobedience to god, resulting in their first sin being passed on to all of humankind? (Kind of like a disease, I suppose.) I don't think the Romans might have had any belief in "Original Sin". In fact, I daresay they might even have found it amusing. -- Nephele

JPV do you do professional book-illustrating? I'm always knocked out by your artwork. -- Nephele

A dear, old onomastics buddy of mine who lives in Greece has started up an intriguing website which he is calling Etymologica: Deciphering Hellenic Names. His mission statement is that this site is intended eventually to become "a comprehensive, accurate, and authoritative reference on the meaning and etymology behind Greek names." Knowing Pavlos as I do, I've no doubt that he'll achieve that goal. In fact, he's already off to a great start. Here's a sample of the sort of fascinating information on Hellenic names that he's providing: I hope those of you with an interest in Hellenic culture will visit the site. I'll have to invite my friend over here, as well! -- Nephele

Ditto on what DoL said. Many, many thanks for all that all of you do. I've found my "home" on the 'net here at UNRV, and I can't express enough my gratitude for having such an enjoyable, informative venue to spend my time. The friends I've made here are people I both respect and cherish for their wit, intelligence, and kindness. I'm pleased beyond measure to hear that this site is getting such richly deserved recognition. I never miss an opportunity to promote UNRV. I'm truly proud to be a part of your growing community! -- Nephele

According to Suetonius, the Emperor Caligula was known to threaten the statue of the god Jupiter Capitolinus: ...in the daytime he would talk confidentially with Jupiter Capitolinus, now whispering and then in turn putting his ear to the mouth of the god, now in louder and even angry language; for he was heard to make the threat: "Lift me up, or I'll lift you." (translated by J.C. Rolfe, Suetonius, Harvard University Press, 1920). But then, Caligula was somewhat less than sane. -- Nephele

I always check with The Straight Dope for answers to stuff such as "How do I keep mosquitoes from biting?" The Straight Dope Staff agrees with Pantagathus that nothing beats DEET. But read further along in that link, because there's a possibility that catnip, surprisingly enough, may be an effective repellent. Straight Dope Staffer Doug says: At any rate, if I had to pick a plant-based repellent, the evidence favoring catnip sounds pretty convincing, and I'd just be careful when buying a catnip repellent to make sure it is the EXACT same chemical that was tested - nepetalactone; folks selling generic "catnip extract" may NOT be selling the right stuff. The Straight Dope had this to say about ultrasonic mosquito repellers: ultrasonic mosquito repellers all have one thing in common: none of them work. At all. As for me, I've a pond in my back garden, and every spring I stock it with bullfrog tadpoles. The tadpoles and, later, adult bullfrogs do a nice job of keeping down our mosquito population throughout the summer and fall. But then my dogs, who believe that they're at the top of the food chain as far as the back garden is concerned, spend the summer and fall hunting down and eating the bullfrogs. So I have to start all over again with store-bought tadpoles each spring. *sigh* -- Nephele

This LINK goes to another post of the same story, but with 2 additional links to a couple of cool videos about BIPEDAL DOGS. Have some fun! Thanks for the bi-pedal dog stories, Asclepiades! (You know I can't resist a good dog story.) I couldn't get those links to work, but I found these on You Tube (in case anyone else is also having trouble with those links): Faith and I hadn't heard of Faith before, but the Dominic video is currently being shown at the newly re-opened Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum at NYC's Time Square, which is where I first saw it. Unlike humans having evolved to walk upright because it's easier, for these dogs the learned behavior was a matter of survival. And no less extraordinary -- if not more so. -- Nephele

Gippy, you are a member of the patrician gens Curtia, which produced the consul Caius Curtius Philo in the 5th century B.C.E. and the historian Quintus Curtius Rufus who was a contemporary of the Emperor Claudius. Your cognomen of Clementia means "mildness; sweetness", describing your most admired attribute that makes you greatly sought after by the young, unmarried patrician males of Rome. Clementia is also the name of the Roman goddess of mercy, and this is the name you go by. Your full Roman name is: Curtia Clementia riicetanklnCMet -kn +au Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

This was entertaining and of practical use! What say you about foxglove, Pertinax? I've got a garden full of the stuff and don't know what to do with it. -- Nephele

I first heard about Norman Borlaug three years ago while watching an episode of Penn & Teller's Showtime series: Bull's-Hit (that's as close as I can type the actual title without the little asterisks automatically appearing to disguise the naughty word). Dr. Borlaug appeared in the first season episode, titled "Eat This!", and here is what Penn & Teller had to say about him: Last year, Penn Jillette interviewed Dr. Borlaug on his radio show, referring to him as "my biggest hero." Hero indeed. I was pleased to see Dr. Borlaug get the recognition he so richly deserved, via an admiring Penn & Teller. -- Nephele

"A successful player completes the eight levels by killing US and Israeli soldiers, stealing their laptops which hold secret information and finally liberating the scientists and the diplomats." And, if Ahmad isn't clever enough to make it all the way to Level Eight, he needn't sulk. He can still "win" at Level One by hitting the self-destruct button as a suicide bomber! Wheeee! Don't forget to pass Go and collect your 72 virgins. -- Nephele