{"id":1059,"date":"2011-06-06T23:15:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-06T23:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2011-06-06T23:15:17","modified_gmt":"2011-06-06T23:15:17","slug":"sayings-that-ancient-romans-would-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/sayings-that-ancient-romans-would-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Sayings that Ancient Romans Would Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some wise sayings that only someone who lived in ancient Rome or well versed in ancient Roman culture would know. Take for instance this one: \u201cNon licet omnibus adire Corinthum<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

If you translate this into English it means, \u201cNot everyone is permitted to go to Corinth.\u201d To understand this quote, one has to know a little something about the city of Corinth. Like for instance, the ancient Romans believed the Greek city of Corinth to be a decadent and debauched city. Strabo was an ancient Greek philosopher and he was one of the writers who wrote about the mythical story about there being more than one thousand temple prostitutes at the Temple of Aphrodite in Corinth. Perhaps this is where the ancient Romans got the idea that the best brothels were in Corinth. Therefore, the saying \u201cNot everyone can go to Corinth,\u201d meant that only those who were privileged and wealthy enough to spend lavishly could go to Corinth.<\/p>\n

The saying, \u201cHannibal a<\/strong>ntes <\/strong>portas<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cHannibal before the gates\u201d. Hannibal is the Carthaginian commander that occupied much of Italy for fifteen years until the Roman general Scipio defeated him in the Battle of Zama. Even after Hannibal was defeated, he was dreaded and feared for many years after. The Hannibal in \u2018Hannibal towards the gates\u2019 is a metaphor for danger or doom. The \u2018gates\u2019 alludes to the gates of Rome. Therefore \u201cHannibal ad portas\u201d is used when someone is behaving in a lackadaisical manner when there is a situation of impending danger.<\/p>\n

There is also the saying \u201cHannibal ad portas<\/strong>\u201d which means \u201cHannibal is at the gates.\u201d The \u2018ad\u2019 can mean \u2018toward\u2019 as when something moves closer and closer to an object, but it can also have the meaning \u2018at\u2019, as when something reaches or attains or is \u2018being\u2019. \u201cHannibal ad portas\u201d is more urgent than \u201cHannibal antes portas\u201d because \u201cHannibal antes portas\u201d means that there is still some distance before Hannibal\/danger reaches the gates, but \u201cHannibal ad portas\u201d implies that Hannibal\/danger is right before the gates\/city of Rome. Moreover, \u201cHannibal ad portas\u201d was used by ancient Roman parents to scare their children when they misbehaved. In this sense Hannibal is like the boogeyman of ancient Rome.<\/p>\n

The Punic Wars were deeply embedded in the consciousness of the ancient Romans. There is another saying that goes something like this, \u201cCarthago delenda est<\/strong>.\u201d It means \u201cCarthage must be destroyed\u201d. The phrase comes from Cato the Elder, who used this phrase in every speech to the Senate. Even when the speech had nothing to do with Carthage, he always concluded his speech with the phrase \u201cceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam<\/strong>\u201d which means \u201cApart from that, I conclude that Carthage must be destroyed.\u201d After continued usage of this phrase by Cato, it became a common phrase used when someone incessantly harps on the same subject.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are some wise sayings that only someone who lived in ancient Rome or well versed in ancient Roman culture would know. Take for instance this one: \u201cNon licet omnibus adire Corinthum\u201d. If you translate this into English it means, \u201cNot everyone is permitted to go to Corinth.\u201d To understand this quote, one has to…<\/p>\n

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