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#21994 03/10/01 04:30 PM
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Since my own Latin stops at "ave", I was surprised when a dictionary listing of famous non-English phrases rendered it "men doomed to die."

No, it has to be "those" rather than "men". Female gladiators, after all, were not uncommon. Apart from that the translation of MORITVRITESALVTANT you have found is probably as valid as any other, since there was no exact Latin equivalent of the word "doomed".

However, it doesn't mean "condemned" as in "the condemned criminal". There was a noun, not based on mori, judicio or damno, which was used for this. But (sob) I can't remember what it was.

However, someone (Seneca, I think), said "Gladiator in arena consilium capit." Roughly translated, it means "Think before it's too late." Literally, it means "The gladiator is making plans in the arena." Shortly, I presume, after he or she had already done the "Morituri te salutant" thing.

As I said, a mordant lot, the Romans.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#21995 03/10/01 04:44 PM
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a mordant lot, the Romans

But great party givers! (Aside from the death-by-being-torn- apart-by-lions thing.)
wow


#21996 03/10/01 05:07 PM
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One thing about Roman parties I cannot understand, the preference for eating lying down. I could never enjoy breakfast in bed. I feel more secure swallowing when seated upright. No "hindlick maneuvers" for me!


#21997 03/10/01 05:32 PM
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Roman parties I cannot understand, the preference for eating lying down
Not really prone, whh, rather more like lounging. Just one end of the couch was raised, you leaned against it with the back sort of tucked under your arm and your body stretched out on the flat part. A sort of Madame Recarmier (sp?) kind of thing. How about chaisse longue as a reference? That's more what I mean. No acid reflux . Couches are depicted in movies and also appear in frescoes on walls at Pompei, Italy.
wow



#21998 03/10/01 10:27 PM
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About dining horizontally, or course "prone" was a lapsus cerebri cortici (dog Latin) meaning I goofed. Even supine would not be right. Anyhow, I'm chuckling that nobody noticed the intervention suggested. Teehee.


#21999 03/10/01 10:57 PM
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wwh> About dining horizontally...

During what we call here the Second Temple Period, when Judea was occupied by Rome, the 'normal' way of dining was, in fact, almost horizontally... propped up on cushions, with the food in front most probably on low tables. In fact, all those wonderful European painters who pictured the "Last Supper" as a long table with everyone on one side and Jesus in the middle were, in a word, WRONG!

In fact, the type of 'dining' was called a triclineum - a three-sided table, in a U-shape, low to the floor, so that the diners were, as mentioned above, propped up on cushions, around both the outside and sometimes the inside, as well, of the table(s).

A good place to see how this was arranged is at Zippori (Sepphoris) in the Lower Galilee (just 6 kms north of Nazareth). If you have seen any information on any of the archaeological excavations there, you will have seen a mosaic floor which contains what we fondly call "the Mona Lisa of the Galilee" - a beautiful woman with a stark expression looking straight out (at the camera, so to speak). It's a beautiful example of the type of mosaic work that was prevalant in wealthy Hellenistic homes of the period. Anyway, the floor that contains this small piece is in what would have been the 'main' room of the home. The entire mosaic design is a tribute to Dionysus and only one portion contains the face of the woman but it also has a plain white mosaic section that forms a U-shape around the outside of the design at one end of the room. On this white section is where the tables would have been placed. The mosaic floor, then, was the forerunner of our carpets!

BTW - since the designation for Joseph, the father of Yeshua (Jesus), as "capenter" in translation is not exactly correct - he was more likely a 'tekton' which would have been either a stone mason or general handyman or both - I offer that he worked, not in Nazareth which was a poor village of only 200-300 people, but in that grand wealthy gleaming white city on the hill just outside of Nazareth called Zippori (Hebrew for "bird in a nest" as it sits comfortably on the hill overlooking the vast valleys all around it).

The place to EXPERIENCE this type of dining is a terrific and fun restaurant called The Cardo Cullinaria which is located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Upon entering, you are greeted by trumpets announcing your entrance, asked to don typical Roman garb (which is provided), to sit at a triclineum table and enjoy 2,000-year-old food - actually not bad considering...

Hope y'all don't mind - just practicing!

Shoshannah

*One footnote - this 'villa' in Zippori was undoubtedly NOT a Jewish home, as it is doubtful that a Jewish home would have included images of people or animals in the design since it is against Jewish law (the Torah) to do so. As well, no Jewish home would have included a tribute to Dionysus in the design, obviously!



suzanne pomeranz, tourism consultant jerusalem, israel - suztours@gmail.com
#22000 03/10/01 11:32 PM
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OK, Bill, I'll bite: Methinks thou dost protest too much! I'll bet you're planning a Roman banquet right now, in the hope of choking on a chicken nugget just so some sweet young thing in a toga can hindlick you right out of distress. Caligula, move over.

Woohooo - paaarrr-teee!


#22001 03/10/01 11:45 PM
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Shoshannah: Thanks for the informed guided tour. I keep trying to learn, but it is like trying to fill a pail with a small hole in the bottom. Bill


#22002 03/10/01 11:50 PM
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Dear Sparteye:
Actually not even in my wildest dreams would I seek such ministrations. No missionary would have objected to my performances.


#22003 03/11/01 03:26 AM
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like trying to fill a pail with a small hole

Methinks it would take more than one hole. We know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.


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