Name for Roman villa

[cinzia8]

Hi all:

 

I'm writing in Late Antiquity and I'm looking for a name for my Roman villa.  Any suggestions are appreciated.  They have to be in Latin and nature related would be nice. Thanks.

 

Cinzia

[Onasander]

In late antiquity, if Christian, Gethsemane.

 

If Pagan, pick the religion.... and we can narrow it down a tad. The Romans deities inhabited the earliest era of its natural world, nature as  we know it, except when barren or out of contrast with a activity such as agriculture or city life, wasn't a secular idea.

 

You pick a religion, or a region this family comes from, and it will be easier.

 

You gotta realize, the Romans were the ones building exotic enclaves of mystical far away lands for their mystery cults in temples, on villa walls, and below ground. A concept is a loaded idea.

[Viggen]

...i wonder what difference location would make, a villa in southern spain compared to one in sicily, belgium or britain?

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

"Ad Gallinas Albas" like Livia's Prima Porta house ? 

[cinzia8]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas.  

 

My character who owns this fictional villa is the real Senator Herculanus who was quickly wed to Valentinian's (III) sister, the misbehaved Honoria.  Most evidence of villa's today are from Britain, or there is the Villa Romana Casale in Sicily. I also have been using Pliny's writing on his Villa Laurentinium.  I believe this is a location and that Pliny also referred to it as Laurens.  Does Laurens have a meaning in Latin?

 

My heroine is a Christian and her new husband is a converted Frank. However, I'm going to assume that Herculanus was a Christian, especially if wed to Honoria.  It really won't matter too much as far as the plot goes.  

 

What does Ad Gallinas Albas mean? Something with trees?  Alberi in Italian--trees.  Also, believe it or not, I've used the real Gethsemane

in the prologue to set up the mystery quest.  So that might be redundant or symbolic.  I'll have to chew on that for a bit.

 

Cinzia

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

"Ad Gallinas Albas" I'd translate as "at the place of the white chicken", but I'm not 100% sure there is not another meaning to the word (I'm too far from my dictionnary right now)... 

[Onasander]

It can have a Greek name as well, being Christian.

 

This is stumping me, I'm used to thinking of nature within Christianity from a monastic outlook, like Mt Argo, or a place of physical trial like Jesus 40 days in the wilderness, or Moses stuck in the Sinai.

 

Monastic likely isn't the direction you want, but just adopting a pagan alternative isn't good either in a era Christians were trying to separate from topological superstitions of the pagans.

 

I don't know much about this senator..... did he ever travel to a foreign land, or hold post/office out of Italy? A place he saw that transfixed his memories long after leaving? Or a philosophical principle from the Pre-Socratics he held as a universal principle substituted as nature?

 

If he went to Antioch, for example, simply calling it Cappadocia would stir memories of weeks in the saddle in rough terrain, rainbows, plants in rocks on cliffs, pretty girls in headscarfs, eagles flying overhead..... in a major spiritual exploration of the self in the greater world. Joshua (under Moses) would travel out into the desert when faced with hard decisions. I always think of Joshua Moon, very cryptic, when out hiking at night under the moon, thinking...... in the isolation of nature.

[cinzia8]

It can have a Greek name as well, being Christian.

 

This is stumping me, I'm used to thinking of nature within Christianity from a monastic outlook, like Mt Argo, or a place of physical trial like Jesus 40 days in the wilderness, or Moses stuck in the Sinai.

 

Monastic likely isn't the direction you want, but just adopting a pagan alternative isn't good either in a era Christians were trying to separate from topological superstitions of the pagans.

 

I don't know much about this senator..... did he ever travel to a foreign land, or hold post/office out of Italy? A place he saw that transfixed his memories long after leaving? Or a philosophical principle from the Pre-Socratics he held as a universal principle substituted as nature?

 

If he went to Antioch, for example, simply calling it Cappadocia would stir memories of weeks in the saddle in rough terrain, rainbows, plants in rocks on cliffs, pretty girls in headscarfs, eagles flying overhead..... in a major spiritual exploration of the self in the greater world. Joshua (under Moses) would travel out into the desert when faced with hard decisions. I always think of Joshua Moon, very cryptic, when out hiking at night under the moon, thinking...... in the isolation of nature.

I like the idea of the moon.  I like to sit outside on a summer night and look at the moon.  In the winter where I live, the moon shines bright and high around 2AM (I'm an indoor night walker<g>).  What if Herculanus bought it and it was called _______ Moon.  Joshua is beautiful but the average reader won't get the biblical reference.  It also has to be in Latin; however, if purchased it may have a 'soft' pagan or nature connection.  The sound is key as well.  Shining moon, bright moon, golden moon, silvery moon, strong moon, lady moon.  Does anyone know any of these in Latin?   I can probably use a translator.  Ex. Lady Moon  would this be Luna Domina?

I'm kind of liking this Lady Moon. :-) 

Edited April 9, 2014 by cinzia8

[guy]

Good luck on your novel. Sounds exciting.

 

How will you reference the date of the setting in the book?

 

 

guy also known as gaius

[cinzia8]

Good luck on your novel. Sounds exciting.

 

How will you reference the date of the setting in the book?

 

 

guy also known as gaius

Hi Gaius,

 

Thanks for the well wishes.  I'm referencing the book first by giving you the time and place at the top of the chapter 'GAUL: A Roman field camp AD 450' This seems the most common way to help place the reader from the start and then as someone once said, "It's all in the details." 

[guy]

 

Thanks for the well wishes.  I'm referencing the book first by giving you the time and place at the top of the chapter 'GAUL: A Roman field camp AD 450' This seems the most common way to help place the reader from the start and then as someone once said, "It's all in the details."

 

That's probably the most straightforward way.

 

I saw how one author set the story by something like "it is now 420 years after the death of her savior from Nazareth who was crucified for being a traitor."

 

Your way is better since it is more precise and there were certainly more than one traitor who was crucified at that time. Plus, most people don't know that Christ died sometime around AD 32-36.

 

 

guy also known as gaius

Edited April 10, 2014 by guy

[Onasander]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassus_Herculanus

 

Okay.... the guy seems a duty bound Christian Stoic willing to be cuckolded due to unknown reasons..... that goes beyond the sense of duty. I'm guessing he had either a mistress, other kids proceeding the marriage, or like the much later Narses, was a eunuch adopted into the purple fold precisely because he couldn't compete.

 

Don't think they were intentionally making Eunics yet.... so he lost the ability to reproduce at some point. This made him appealing as he was a tool that could work for a dynasty but not threaten that said dynasty.

 

Any thoughts on what happened to the poor guys nuts? I doubt any Senator could remain a Senator having willingly lost such a body part. Any naturally born children or non royal relatives of the guy prior to marriage to Honoria might of been elevated or flushed with gold and station and class, but not real contenders for the throne. 

[cinzia8]

Herculanus probably wanted to save his nuts and that's why he said yes to marrying Honoria.  I believe he was much older, so he most likely didn't mind having a young, flirtatious and somewhat mindful woman to gape at. LOL  It may have been win-win.  She could run around after he went to bed at sundown. <g>

 

However, no matter the quality of their marriage, I'm still open to villa names.  

 

For Gaius, did the author stating "420 years after the death of her savior…" set the book in AD 420 or 450?  It seems too roundabout, but there might be more to the statement such as the character's deep Christian feelings.

 

Cinzia 

[guy]

For Gaius, did the author stating "420 years after the death of her savior…" set the book in AD 420 or 450?  It seems too roundabout, but there might be more to the statement such as the character's deep Christian feelings.

 

Cinzia

 

This is from Haley Elizabeth Garwood's novel "Zenobia."

 

This is from Chapter one.

On top of the chapter: 252 A.D. The Syrian Desert

 

Here's the exact quote:

 

Your Christian man says that we had our first battle in the 244th year after his god's death.

 

guy also known as gaius

Edited April 12, 2014 by guy

[cinzia8]

 

For Gaius, did the author stating "420 years after the death of her savior…" set the book in AD 420 or 450?  It seems too roundabout, but there might be more to the statement such as the character's deep Christian feelings.

 

Cinzia

 

This is from Haley Elizabeth Garwood's novel "Zenobia."

 

This is from Chapter one.

On top of the chapter: 252 A.D. The Syrian Desert

 

Here's the exact quote:

 

Your Christian man says that we had our first battle in the 244th year after his god's death.

 

guy also known as gaius

 

Interesting way to start, especially if you take in account that many believe Christ was 33 when he died.  How does one figure the 244 and the chapter reference of 252?  In any case, I try to keep it clear and simple because my time period isn't that common.  

Cinzia