{"id":2308,"date":"2013-07-31T15:36:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-31T15:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/?p=2308"},"modified":"2014-08-21T18:30:13","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T18:30:13","slug":"how-the-mosquito-shaped-ancient-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/how-the-mosquito-shaped-ancient-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Mosquito Shaped Ancient Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Salvete Omnes,<\/p>\n<p>With July closing, I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer and is making the most of the warm weather. Summer offers many great experiences from trips to the beach, the Fourth of July, fireworks, trips to the park, family reunions and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelandleisure.com\/articles\/things-to-do-in-summer\" target=\"_blank\">so on<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For the Romans, the god of the seasons including\u00a0summer\u00a0was known as\u00a0Vertumnus (which may be related to the verb <a href=\"http:\/\/www.perseus.tufts.edu\/hopper\/morph?l=uertere&amp;la=la\" target=\"_blank\">vertere<\/a> &#8220;to change&#8221;) and he is known as the lord of the season, harvest, and plant accretion.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2326\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Vertumnus_Pomona_Lemoyne_Louvre_RF2716.jpg\" aria-label=\"718px Vertumnus Pomona Lemoyne Louvre RF2716 300x250\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2326\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2326\"  alt=\"Vertumnus and Pomona in the Lourve. Courtesy of Marie-Lan Nguyen.\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/07\/718px-Vertumnus_Pomona_Lemoyne_Louvre_RF2716-300x250.jpg\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2326\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vertumnus\" target=\"_blank\">Vertumnus<\/a> and Pomona in the Louvre. Courtesy of Marie-Lan Nguyen.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>However with the fun-spirited\u00a0breezes of\u00a0summer come the bugs. Now in this articles I wish to discuss one of\u00a0the most determined and dangerous insect of the season: the mosquito. The word mosquito is actually a Spanish word, but the Latin is culex.<\/p>\n<p>Mosquitoes have had a long history with the human race. They have adapted with us in order to ensure their survival and this\u00a0adaptation\u00a0has bred many types of diseases, but none deadlier than <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/MALARIA\/\" target=\"_blank\">malaria<\/a>. Malaria is actually an Italian word meaning &#8220;bad air.&#8221;\u00a0However, Italian as a romance language finds it roots within\u00a0Latin as can be seen with malaria:\u00a0malus which is an adjective meaning &#8220;bad&#8221; and aria coming from aer meaning &#8220;air.&#8221; Sadly, malaria continues today to be a disease that plagues many people, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.malarianomore.org\/pages\/our-impact\" target=\"_blank\">efforts continue <\/a>to be made to eradicate it.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Herbs And Empires: A Brief History Of Malaria Drugs | SKUNK BEAR\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IrNL27eWKOI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Malaria has also been called the <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/1180469.stm\" target=\"_blank\">Roman Fever<\/a>. Although the disease was carried by mosquitoes, not all ancient Romans understood the concept of parasites and thus thought the &#8220;bad air&#8221; brought the disease. They observed that people who lived closer to marshes or swamps were more likely to become ill and die.\u00a0Due to this,\u00a0there was even a goddess to prayer and sacrifice to for malaria: Dea <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thaliatook.com\/OGOD\/febris.html\" target=\"_blank\">Febris<\/a>. She is believed to be related to,\u00a0the Roman god of purification,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Februus\" target=\"_blank\">Februus<\/a> from whom we receive our second month&#8217;s name: February.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2312\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"http:\/\/thesupercargo.com\/2012\/01\/21\/resolutions\/\" aria-label=\"Februus 225x300\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2312\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2312\"  alt=\"Image of the Roman God Februus. Courtesy of SuperCargo.\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/07\/Februus-225x300.jpg\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2312\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of the Roman God Februus. Courtesy of SuperCargo.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Since, the Romans were able to discern that &#8220;bad air&#8221; from the polluted waters of Rome were leading to the illness and death; it prompted change. There was a need for clean water that would promote the health of the people, as <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marcus_Terentius_Varro\" target=\"_blank\">Varro<\/a> said in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">De Re Rustica<\/span> Book I, XII.II:<\/p>\n<p><em>Advertendum etiam, siqua erunt loca palustria, et propter easdem causas, et quod crescunt animalia quaedam minuta, quae non possunt oculi consequi, et per aera intus in corpus per os ac nares perveniunt atque efficiunt difficilis morbos.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>For\u00a0attentiveness must be taken, if in anyway, in\u00a0swampy places, and for the same reasons, and because there are bred\u00a0certain small creatures, these things which the eyes\u00a0cannot follow, and they travel\u00a0through the air\u00a0into the body through the mouth and nose and they produce perilous ailments.*<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Could this description of &#8220;minute creature&#8221; be in reference to mosquitoes? Or simply to bad air particles?<\/p>\n<p>Thus avoidance of dirty stagnant water became an essential along with having access to clean drinking water. One can see from this need where the concept of <a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=1qiFEQ1tAHQC&amp;pg=PT29&amp;lpg=PT29&amp;dq=roman+write+swamp+malaria&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=rifojlZtVo&amp;sig=97dK_YxCOlLh9kztryK6vQDqglk&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=Qiv0UcCXBoTziQKi_IDYDg&amp;ved=0CFsQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&amp;q=roman%20write%20swamp%20malaria&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\">Aqueduct<\/a> must have originated. The word aqueduct is actually a latin word!\u00a0 Latin <a href=\"http:\/\/www.perseus.tufts.edu\/hopper\/morph?l=aquaeductus&amp;la=la\" target=\"_blank\">aquaeductus<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.perseus.tufts.edu\/hopper\/morph?l=aquae&amp;la=la\" target=\"_blank\">aquae<\/a> is the genitive of aqua &#8220;of water&#8221; and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.perseus.tufts.edu\/hopper\/morph?l=ductus&amp;la=la\" target=\"_blank\">ductus<\/a> means a leading. So literally, an aqueduct is a &#8220;leading of water.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2321\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pont_du_Gard_Oct_2007.jpg\" aria-label=\"300px Pont Du Gard Oct 2007\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2321\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2321\"  alt=\"Pont du Gard, Roman Empire. Courtesy of Emanuele.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/07\/300px-Pont_du_Gard_Oct_2007.jpg\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2321\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pont du Gard, Roman Empire. Courtesy of Emanuele.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Roman lifestyles changed due to this disease drastically, swamps were drained (even by Julius Caesar), summer home were built in mountains to avoid the marshes, and malaria continued to run rampage in Rome\u00a0that even <a href=\"http:\/\/www.malariasite.com\/malaria\/history_victims.htm\" target=\"_blank\">four popes <\/a>died of it hundreds of years later. For an in-depth analysis of how Rome\u00a0took precautions\u00a0please read Sura&#8217;s Article: <a href=\"http:\/\/classicalstudies.duke.edu\/uploads\/assets\/08_CloacaMaxima.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">The Cloaca Maxima<\/a>. The Cloaca Maxima was\u00a0one of the\u00a0earliest sewer systems which drained swamp water, stagnant water, and other unwanted liquids into the Tiber River.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2331\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Map_of_downtown_Rome_during_the_Roman_Empire_large-annotated.jpg\" aria-label=\"500px Map Of Downtown Rome During The Roman Empire Large Annotated 300x212\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2331\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2331\"  alt=\"Map of central Rome during the Roman Empire, the Cloaca Maxima in red. Courtesy of Wikimedia.\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/07\/500px-Map_of_downtown_Rome_during_the_Roman_Empire_large-annotated-300x212.jpg\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2331\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of central Rome during the Roman Empire, the Cloaca Maxima in red. Courtesy of Wikimedia.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>So, who do you think had it worse when it came to mosquitoes? Some may argue that we can never know the true potency of the mosquito in\u00a0modern times\u00a0due to all the medical, commercial, and domestic advances. However, it can not be ignored that this ancient civilization in which most of Western civilization is based upon was greatly impacted by these tiny winged pests. But, was this a positive or negative impact?\u00a0Some have\u00a0argued that it was the mosquito that brought the Roman Civilization to its knees and even destroyed it.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How Malaria Destroyed the Roman Empire\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lb0_XhneKHc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The mosquito is a determined little bug\u00a0who has adapted along side with humans; it\u00a0has been jestingly called\u00a0the modern day vampire!\u00a0So with the summer,\u00a0come the\u00a0mosquitoes\u00a0which bring\u00a0the agonizing bug bites, itching, bumps, and soreness, this is of course not mentioning the dangers of <a href=\"http:\/\/chicago.cbslocal.com\/2013\/06\/05\/mans-fight-with-west-nile-highlights-the-danger-of-the-virus\/\" target=\"_blank\">West Nile Virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2311\" style=\"width: 256px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:%22Are_you_a_mosquito_breeder%22_-_NARA_-_513877.jpg\" aria-label=\"493px  Are You A Mosquito Breeder    NARA   513877 246x300\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2311\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2311\"  alt=\"World War II era pamphlet. Courtesy of  Nation Archives and Records Administration, College Park.\" width=\"246\" height=\"300\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/07\/493px-_Are_you_a_mosquito_breeder__-_NARA_-_513877-246x300.jpg\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2311\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">World War II era pamphlet. Courtesy of Nation Archives and Records Administration, College Park.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/07\/25\/mosquito-populations_n_3647584.html\" target=\"_blank\">Huff Post<\/a>, 2013 has been projected to have\u00a0a huge boom in the mosquito population due to the hot weather and unusual wet summer. While, West Nile is rare and the death toll from it even rarer; one must be careful to guard against the unwanted blood-suckers! Here is\u00a0a page on<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/westnile\/faq\/\" target=\"_blank\"> awesome tips <\/a>to have a mosquito-free summer! So be safe, prepared, and have a wonderful summer!<\/p>\n<p>Valete Omnes,<\/p>\n<p>-Brittany Britanniae<\/p>\n<p>*Questions on the translation please feel free to comment below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"220\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/07\/cartoon-mosquito-91.gif\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image tmp-hide-img\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><p>Salvete Omnes, With July closing, I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer and is making the most of the warm weather. Summer offers many great experiences from trips to the beach, the Fourth of July, fireworks, trips to the park, family reunions and so on.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For the Romans, the god of the seasons including\u00a0summer\u00a0was&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/how-the-mosquito-shaped-ancient-rome\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":2334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3691,60854],"tags":[60850,3754,235642,235643,60855,60869],"class_list":["post-2308","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-language","category-roman-culture","tag-classic-culture","tag-latin-vocabulary","tag-malaria","tag-mosquito","tag-roman-culture-2","tag-roman-history"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2308"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3424,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2308\/revisions\/3424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}