Transcript Classical Literacy I

Classical Literacy I
Part 3
alias
1. An assumed name: The swindler
worked under various aliases. From
the Latin, alius, meaning other.
alibi
Law. the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an
alleged offense was committed.
2. an excuse, especially to avoid blame.
3. a person used as one's excuse: My sick grandmother was my alibi for missing
school.
verb (used without object) 4. Informal. to give an excuse; offer a defense: to
alibi for being late.
amphora
is a type of container of a characteristic
shape and size. Amphorae were used in vast
numbers for the transport and storage of
various products, both liquid and dry, but
mostly for wine.
amphitheater
large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised
seating – built by the Ancient Romans. They were used
for events such as gladiator combats, chariot races,
venationes (animal slayings) and executions. The
Colosseum is a specific amphiteather.
April 21, 753 BC
Traditional date of the founding of
Rome
Archimedes
Atlantis
A legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean
west of Gibraltar, said by Plato to have
sunk beneath the sea during an
earthquake.
bacchanalia
wild, unrestrained revelry (noun)
bellicose
Warlike (adj) from bellum meaning
war
Bona fide
In good faith
Campus Martius
The name Campus Martius comes from the age of Roman Kings. It was
dedicated to Mars, the god of war, and an altar to the god was erected at the
site. In fact, the historian Livy relates that “Tarquin's field dedicated to Mars has
been used for military practice and exercises since Rome's founding.” In the age
of the Republic, the army continued to gather here.
Because it was outside the Pomerium – the sacred boundary of the city – it
came to be considered as a kind of “neutral ground.” This is where foreign
ambassadors were received.
centaur
a member of a composite race of
creatures, part human and part
horse.
Crete
Crete was the center of the Minoan
civilization. It is the site of the palace of
Knossos – where King Minos supposedly
reigned and had the labyrinth with the
Minotaur.
Danaids
were the fifty daughters of Danaus. They were to
marry the fifty sons of Danaus's twin brother. In the
most common version of the myth, all but one of
them kill their husbands on their wedding night, and
are condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a
sieve or perforated device.
Daphne
a Naiad—a female nymph associated with fountains, springs,
streams…
because of her beauty, Daphne attracted the attention and ardor
of the god Apollo. Apollo pursued her and just before being
overtaken, Daphne pleaded to her father Peneus to be rescued.
Peneus, who was a minor river deity, turned her into a laurel tree.
etymology
Study of the history of words, their
origins, and how their meaning
change over time
fortuitous
Happening by good luck – It was
fortuitous that a doctor was in the room
when the man had a heart attack.
Gallia
France
gregarious
Fond of company, sociable – from
grex, gregis = flock
Graces
THE KHARITES (Charites) or Graces,
were the three goddessesof grace,
beauty, adornment, mirth, festivity,
dance and song.
Golden Age
refers to the first Ages of Man. The "Golden Age"
denotes a period of peace and prosperity. Humans did
not have to work to feed themselves, for the earth
provided food in abundance. They lived to a very old
age with a youthful appearance.
Harpy
was one of the winged spirits best known
for constantly stealing all food from Phineus.
The term is often used to refer to a nasty or
annoying woman.
Hecate
ancient goddess, most often shown holding two
torches or a key and in later periods depicted in triple
form. She is variously associated with crossroads,
entrance-ways, fire, light, the Moon, magic, witchcraft,
knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants,
necromancy, and sorcery.
Helvetia
Modern day Switzerland
Hispania
Modern day Spain
Horatius
horticulture
is the science, technology, and
business involved in intensive plant
cultivation. hortus = garden
Indo-European
Indo-European languages are a family of
several hundred related languages and dialects.
If you go WAY back, Spanish, English, Hindi,
Bengali, Russian, German, French, Italian,
Punjabi, and Urdu have a common ancestor.
Iris
personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods.
The word iridescence is derived in part from the name of this goddess.
"Arco iris" and "arco-íris" are the words for "rainbow" in Spanish and
Portuguese, respectively, where "Arco" means "bow“.
The iris of the eye is named after her to reflect the many colours of the eye.
ichor
The fluid that is the blood of
gods/immortals
Laws of the 12 Tables
the ancient legislation that stood at the foundation of
Roman law. The Law of the Twelve Tables formed the
centerpiece of the constitution of the Roman Republic
and the core of the mos maiorum (custom of the
ancestors).
Metamorphosis
Written by Ovid. One of our best
sources of myth from ancient times. It
tells the stories of ‘changes’ – such as
Daphne turning into a tree.
Metis
First wife of Zeus. She was the
personification of wisdom. Zeus swallowed
her – and she became the cause of his
headache from which Athena sprang.
Midas
Mythological possessor of the "Midas
touch", the power to transmute
whatever he touched into gold.
Mycenae
is an archaeological site in Greece, in
the Peloponnese. Agamemnon was
king – he led the Greek forces to Troy.
Niobe
Niobe had fourteen children. She bragged about her seven sons and seven
daughters to Leto, who only had two children, Apollo and Artemis. Apollo and
Artemis slaughtered all of Niobe's children.
Niobe is weeping even to this day. Carved on a rock cliff on Mt Sipylus is the
fading image of a female that the Greeks claim is Niobe. Composed of porous
limestone, the stone appears to weep as the water after a rain seeps through it.
nominal
In name only (from nomen, name): My
father is the nominal head of the
household; everyone knows that my
mother makes all the decisions.
Oceanus
Titan god of the great earth-encircling
river Okeanos, the font of all the earth's
fresh-water: including rivers, wells,
springs and rain-clouds.
Orion
A giant who was a hunting companion of the goddess Artemis. The
circumstances of his death are variously related. In one version he desired to
marry the goddess but her brother Apollo tricked Artemis into shooting him
with an arrow as he was swimming far out at sea. In another version, Artemis
killed him deliberately after he raped her attendant Oupis. However the most
common story was that Orion bragged he would hunt down all the beasts of the
earth, and so Mother Earth sent up a giant scorpion to destroy him. Both the
giant and scorpion were placed amongst the stars, one rising as the other set.
Ostia
The port of Rome
P.O. / per os
By mouth – a medical directive “Take
this medication per os.
plebiscite
comes from the plebiscita, which originally meant a
decree of the Concilium Plebis, the popular assembly
of the Roman Republic. In the United States, a
plebiscite is typically known as an initiative when
originating in a petition of ordinary citizens; it can
become a referendum.
Peloponnesus
is a large peninsula, located in a
region of southern Greece. Sparta
was located here.
Pompey
was a military and political leader of
the late Roman Republic.
posthumous
literally, "after the ground"; meaning
after one has died and is buried
pulchritude
Beauty (from pulcher)
Countries where Romance
languages are official (dark
orange) or national/secondary
(light orange)
Romance Languages
ROMANce languages developed from Latin:
French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and
Romanian are the most commonly spoken.
There are other Romance languages.
Rubicon
"Crossing the Rubicon" means to pass a point of no return,
and refers to Julius Caesar's army's crossing of the river in
49 BC, which was considered an act of insurrection – it
meant that Caesar was marching his troops against Rome.
Julius Caesar uttered the famous phrase "alea iacta est" the die is cast – as he crossed the river.
Silver Age
The second age of Man. In the silver age
Zeus reduced the spring, and reconstructed
the year into four seasons, so that men for
the first time sought the shelter of houses
and had to labor to supply their food.
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with, as a minimum,
the body of a lion and the head of a human or a cat. In
Greek tradition, it has the haunches of a lion, the
wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is
seen as treacherous and merciless.
stilus
The Roman equivalent to a pen.
Tarquinius Superbus
The seventh (and last) king of Rome
Titans
Gods who ruled before the
Olympians
Vergil
Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of
Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid has been
considered the national epic of ancient
Rome from the time of its composition to
the present day.
Vestal Virgins
were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The
Vestals were regarded as fundamental to the
continuance and security of Rome. They tended the
sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. The Vestals
were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and
bear children.
Via Appia
One of the earliest and most
important Roman roads. Called the
regina viarum: the queen of roads
zephyr
The west wind (blows from the west
to the east) – considered to be the
mildest and most favorable wind.