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Vagitanus
In ancient Roman religion, Vagitanus or Vaticanus was one of a number of childbirth deities who influenced or guided some aspect of parturition, in this instance the newborn's crying. Some sources relate it to the Latin noun ''vagitus'', "crying, squalling, wailing," particularly by a baby or an animal, and the verb ''vagio, vagire''. Vagitanus has thus been described as the god "who presided over the beginning of human speech," but a distinction should be made between the first cry and the first instance of articulate speech, in regard to which Fabulinus (''fari'', "to speak"; cf. '' fabula'') was the deity to invoke. Vagitanus has been connected to a remark by Pliny that only a human being is thrown naked onto the naked earth on his day of birth for immediate wails (''vagitus'') and weeping. Name The "divine functionaries" (German ''Sondergötter'') whose names express their sphere of influence are considered characteristic of Indo-European religions. The name ''Vaticanus'' wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Roman Birth And Childhood Deities
In ancient Roman religion, birth and childhood deities were thought to care for every aspect of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and child development. Some major deities of Roman religion had a specialized function they contributed to this sphere of human life, while other deities are known only by the name with which they were invoked to promote or avert a particular action. Several of these slight "divinities of the moment" are mentioned in surviving texts only by Christian polemicists. An extensive Greek and Latin medical literature covered obstetrics and infant care, and the 2nd century Greek gynecologist Soranus of Ephesus advised midwives not to be superstitious. But childbirth in antiquity remained a life-threatening experience for both the woman and her newborn, with infant mortality as high as 30 or 40 percent. Rites of passage pertaining to birth and death had several parallel aspects. Maternal death was common: one of the most famous was Julia, daughter of Juli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatican Hill
Vatican Hill (; ; ) is a hill in Rome, located on the right bank (west side) of Tiber river, opposite to the traditional seven hills of Rome. The hill also gave the name to Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The ancient Romans had several opinions about the derivation of the Latin word ''Vaticanus''. Varro (1st century BC) connected it to a ''Deus Vaticanus'' or '' Vagitanus'', a Roman deity thought to endow infants with the capacity for speech evidenced by their first wail (''vagitus'', the first syllable of which is pronounced in Classical Latin). Varro's rather complicated explanation relates this function to the tutelary deity of the place and to the advanced powers of speech possessed by a prophet ('' vates''), as preserved by the later antiquarian Aulus Gellius: We have been told that the word ''Vatican'' is applied to the hill, and the deity who presides over it, from the ''vaticinia'', or prophecies, which took place there by the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religion In Ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the Roman people, people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, and attributed their success as a world power to their collective piety () in maintaining Pax deorum, good relations with the gods. Their Polytheism, polytheistic religion is known for having honoured List of Roman deities, many deities. The presence of Magna Graecia, Greeks on the Italian peninsula from the beginning of the historical period influenced Culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, introducing some religious practices that became fundamental, such as the of Apollo. The Romans looked for common ground between their major gods and those of the Greeks (), adapting Greek mythology, Greek myths and iconography for Latin literature and Roman art, as the Etruscans had. Etruscan religion was also a major influence, partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus ("Varro of Rieti") to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus ("Varro of Aude (river), Atax"). Biography Varro was born in or near Reate (now Rieti in Lazio) into a family thought to be of Equites, equestrian rank. He always remained close to his roots in the area, owning a large farm in the Reatine plain (reported as near Lago di Ripasottile,) until his old age. He supported Pompey, reaching the office of praetor, after having served as tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people, ''quaestor'' and ''curule aedile''. It is probable that Varro was discontented with the course on which Pompey entered when the First Triumvirate formed 60 BC, and he may thus have lost his chance of rising to the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Di Nixi
In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the ''di nixi'' (or ''dii nixi''), also ''Nixae'', were birth deities. They were depicted kneeling or squatting position, squatting, a more common Childbirth positions, birthing position in antiquity than in the modern era. The 2nd-century grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus, Festus explains their name as the participle of the Latin conjugation, Latin verb ''nitor, niti, nixus'', "to support oneself," also "strive, labor," in this sense "be in labor, give birth." Varro (1st century BC) said that ''enixae'' was the term for women in labor brought about by the ''Nixae'', who oversee the types of religious practices that pertain to those giving birth. In some editions of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', a phrase is taken as referring to the Lucina (goddess), birth goddess Lucina and her counterpart collective, the Nixi. A statuary group of three kneeling ''nixi'' or ''nixae'' stood in front of the Temple of Minerva on the Capitoline Hill. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eileithyia
Eileithyia or Ilithyia (; ; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery, and the daughter of Zeus and Hera. In the cave of Amnisos (Crete) she was related with the annual birth of the divine child, and her cult is connected with ''Enesidaon'' (the earth shaker), who was the chthonic aspect of the god Poseidon. It is possible that her cult is related with the cult of Eleusis. In his ''Seventh Nemean Ode'', Pindar refers to her as the maid to or seated beside the Moirai (Fates) and responsible for the creation of offspring. Her son was Sosipolis, who was worshiped at Elis. Etymology The earliest form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek , ''e-re-u-ti-ja'', written in the Linear B syllabic script. Ilithyia is the latinisation of '. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but debated among scholars. R. S. P. Beekes suggests a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Civitate Dei
''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' (), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. Augustine wrote the book to refute allegations that Christianity initiated the decline of Rome and is considered one of his seminal works, standing alongside the '' Confessions'', the '' Enchiridion'', '' On Christian Doctrine'', and '' On the Trinity''. As a work of one of the most influential Church Fathers, ''The City of God'' is a cornerstone of Western thought, expounding on many questions of theology, such as the suffering of the righteous, the existence of evil, the conflict between free will and divine omniscience, and the doctrine of original sin. Background The sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 left Romans in a deep state of shock, and many Romans saw it as punishment for abandoning traditional Roman religion in favor of Christianity. In response to these accusations, and in order t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classical Latin
Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin, and developed by the 3rd century AD into Late Latin. In some later periods, the former was regarded as good or proper Latin; the latter as debased, degenerate, or corrupted. The word ''Latin'' is now understood by default to mean "Classical Latin"; for example, modern Latin textbooks almost exclusively teach Classical Latin. Cicero and his contemporaries of the late republic referred to the Latin language, in contrast to other languages such as Greek, as or . They distinguished the common vernacular, however, as Vulgar Latin (''sermo vulgaris'' and ''sermo vulgi''), in contrast to the higher register (sociolinguistics), register that they called , sometimes translated as "Latinity". ''Latinitas'' was also called ("speech of the good fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin, also known as Colloquial, Popular, Spoken or Vernacular Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. ''Vulgar Latin'' as a term is both controversial and imprecise. Spoken Latin existed for a long time and in many places. Scholars have differed in opinion as to the extent of the differences, and whether Vulgar Latin was in some sense a different language. This was developed as a theory in the nineteenth century by François Just Marie Raynouard, Raynouard. At its extreme, the theory suggested that the written register formed an elite language distinct from common speech, but this is now rejected. The current consensus is that the written and spoken languages formed a continuity much as they do in modern languages, with speech tending to evolve faster than the written language, and the written, formalised language exerting pressure back on speech. ''Vulgar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jakob Gronovius
Jacobus Gronovius a.k.a. Jacob Gronow (10 October 1645 – 21 October 1716) was a Dutch classical scholar. He was born in Deventer, the son of the German classical scholar Johann Friedrich Gronovius and Aleyda ten Nuyl, and father of the botanist Jan Frederik Gronovius. His family moved to Leiden in 1658. He studied classics under the guidance of his father and then he completed his education in Oxford and Cambridge. Between the beginning of 1671 and the end of 1673 he visited France, Spain and Italy during a Grand Tour. In Florence he met the Italian librarian Antonio Magliabechi. His religious faith caused him some difficulties, therefore he came back to the Netherlands in 1674. He then lived in Deventer until 1679, when he was appointed Professor of Greek history and language at the University of Leiden. One year later, on 5 May 1680 he married Anna van Vredenburch from Rotterdam. Gronovius is chiefly known as the editor of the ''Thesaurus antiquitatum Graecarum'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aius
Aius Locutius (, spoken affirmation), or Aius Loquens (, speaking affirmation), was a Roman deity or numen associated with the Gallic invasions of Rome during the early 4th century BC. According to legend, a Roman plebeian named M. Caedicius heard a supernatural, nocturnal voice that issued from Vesta's sacred grove, at the base of the Palatine hill. It warned him of an imminent Gaulish attack, recommended that the walls of Rome be fortified and instructed him to pass these messages on to the tribune of the plebs, but because of the messenger's humble station, the message was ignored. In consequence, the Gauls entered and burned the city (c. 390 BC). Once the Gauls were repelled, the Senate built a temple and altar (known as ''Ara Aius Locutius'' or ''Ara Saepta'') to propitiate the unknown deity who had offered the warning. This was said to have been set up where Caedicius had heard the divine voice. Later Roman historians disputed its exact location and no trace remains o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
