Ok, allow me to show all of you how little I know about Latin. Most of the coins we share here we identify with names, i.e., Tiberias, Domitian, Hadrian, Geta, Aurelian, etc. When I look up a name I generally see a list of names belonging to one of these emperors. By which name were they addressed? For example, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus we refer to as Aurelian(us). But how was he addressed by his subjects, his friends, or his family? Lucius, Domitius, or Aurelian? My curiosity just gets the better of me sometimes. Thanks for any response. And to make this about coins, how about a coin of Aurelianus (or Lucius). AURELIAN Pre-reform Antoninianus (AE20) OBVERSE: IMP AVRELIANVS AVG; radiate, cuirassed bust right REVERSE: ROMAE AETERNAE; Emperor togate stg. r., receiving Victory from Roma std. l. on shield holding a long sceptre (or a spear) in l. hand, EXE: Q Struck at 4th officina, Milan mint, autumn 271 – autumn 272AD 3.80g, 20mm RIC V-1 142 EX. Marc Walter, Vienna, Austria
That's a really good question, Bing. I've been wondering it myself. And what about nicknames? Did anybody every call him, to his face, "Caligula"? His sisters, maybe? It'll be interesting to see if anybody can shed some light on this matter (sorry I cannot).
Whew! I thought maybe I was the only one who didn't know the answer to my question. At least I know I have company in my ignorance.
I just read through that link (thank you @Jay GT4 for that). Wow, that is really confusing to my old brain. So, in the example of Aurelianus, what did his friends call him? I'm still confused.
It probably changed over time. For the Republic and early Imperial period I think a good way of finding out would be by look at the personal letters of Cicero. How did he refer to his friends? Even Caesar's Gallic and civil war writings would help but you'd have to see how the oldest copies were written in latin. Some translations might not be so literal.
Even after taking Latin courses I'm still not sure. Did they call Caligula "Gaius"? Aurelius "Marcus" and so on. How about Caracalla? Marcus as well?
Well, there's always Monty Python's Life of Brian take on Latin names...not sure of the historical accuracy, but it is pretty funny. Didn't post a link - it is a bit naughty.
I watched that clip on YouTube and was laughing so hard last night I scared the cat. But(t) it is spelt with two Gs - Biggus. Or is that BIGGVS? And don't forget his wife, Incontinentia B...
Auri? Don't feel bad. I took 2 years of Latin in high school and about the only thing I remember is how to count to 20. That and Picus Nicus. Something my Latin teacher made up for Picnic. Oh...and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Latin.......
Eight semesters of Latin, high school and college. And this is about it: Semper Ubi Sub Ubi: "Always wear underwear." (Always where under where). Sorry.
One note. In Latin, when one person addresses another, the vocative form of the name is used. Typically this isn’t a translation problem since the vocative case is often the same as the nominative, except for names ending in —us and -ius, which have vocative endings of -e and -i, respectively. So if you wanted to say “Hello Anna,” you’d simply say, “Ave, Anna.” But if you wanted to say, “Hello Marcus,” you’d say, “Ave, Marce.” I doubt anyone called an adult Caligula “Caligula” to his face. But it’s possible that some Praetorian said, “Ave, Gai” before stabbing him in a Palatine alleyway.
Good question. That I don’t know. It’s an interesting question—how formal or informal such addresses might be among an emperor’s associates. Not sure what kind of sources would’ve recorded that kind of private interaction.
