An Etymologist's look at Roman Mythology.

Continuing on after my recent course on ancient languages, I thought it would be interesting to examine a selection of Roman mythological figures and examine the etymologies for their names.

Aurora comes from the Proto-Italic ausos and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h eusos 'the dawn'.

Ceres is the goddess of agriculture, which is seen in the name for Proto-Italic keres 'grain' and Proto-Indo-European kerh-os meaning 'to feed' support this.

Cupid comes from Latin cupio 'desire', itself from Proto-Italic kupi 'to desire', and ultimately Proto-Indo-European kupei 'to tremble, desire'.

Diana is probably from the Latin dius 'godly', from Proto-Italic divios 'divine, heavenly', and ultimately Proto-Indo-European diwyos also meaning 'divine, heavenly'.

Flora is from the Proto-Italic flosa 'goddess of flowers', derived from the Proto-Indo-European behos 'blossoming'.

Janus is Latin ianus 'arched passage, doorway'; from Proto-Italic ianu 'door'; and Proto-Indo-European iehnu 'passage'.

Juno was once thought to be connected to Iove or Jove, but for the last century it has been accepted this comes from Iuvenis 'young'. This Latin origin can be followed through Greek aion to Proto-Indo-European where the meaning is seen as 'vital energy' and particularly 'fertile time'. This would be appropriate for the goddess of marriage and childbirth.

Jupiter is from Proto-Italic djous pater 'father of the day/sky'.

Mars, the Roman god gave his name to the planet, is from Old Latin and appears as Mavors in earliest records. This is thought to be a transferred name (Romans famously absorbed any gods they encountered on their travels and conquests - well you can never have too many gods, or so they thought) and from the Etruscan child-god Maris. While the etymology would seem to fit this explanation, detractors suggest there is little to connect the two figures, unlike that of the Proto-European god Perkwunos who was known for his thunder.

Mercury is another who gave his name to a planet, his name is thought to be related to the Latin merx 'merchandise', thus from the Proto-Indo-European root merg or 'boundary' and is thus the keeper of boundaries.

Neptune also gave his name to a planet (I'd settle for a street!), a name from Proto-Indo-European nebh 'cloud' (compare nebula).

Pluto took its name from the Greek Plouton who was the god of wealth. The Roman Pluto is identified with the Greek Hades, both gods of the underworld, but the link is through the 'underground', for all the wealth was seen to come from the earth in the form of minerals and gems.

Saturn, the god giving his name to the planet, may have come from satus 'sowing', appropriate as Saturn is the god of agriculture. There are other thoughts however, suggesting the origin is stercus meaning 'dung, manure', or even satis 'time' and a reference to the seasons. With these suggestions, perhaps the Saturnians (if there are any) might prefer a less shit name and a different etymology.

Terra is a god, not just the name for that planet otherwise known as Earth, and is derived from the phrase tersa tellus 'dry land'.

Venus, which is Latin for 'love, charm', comes from Proto-Italic wenos 'desire', and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wenh-os desire'.

Easter Lagomorphs

Seven years ago I posted something on hares. I recreate same here, suitably amended.

While the rabbit is today considered to be lucky (as in the foot), historically the hare is anything but. Indeed so much superstition and folklore surrounds the poor creature I decided to dig a little and found the following:

As Easter is upon us, along with its association with the rabbit (ie Easter Bunnies), it came as something of a surprise to find Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands preferring an Easter Hare.

The Anglo-Saxon personification of the sun was Ostara, whose ears were those of a hare and who carried eggs on her back. This is how eggs have become associated with Easter.

Pagan followers associate the hare with the goddess Eostre, from where we get the name for Easter.

Gods in other cultures associated with hares are Hittavainen, Cupid, Aphrodite, Venus, Holda, Freyja, Andraste, Cerridwen, Kaltes,

That the creature has been considered sacred and associated with spring, and almost certainly has been since prehistoric times, is down to the hare only really being seen when they are seen boxing in the mating season. Incidentally, the long held belief these are males fighting over a female was shown to be wrong when it was realised at least one of the combatants could just as easily be female.

Several ancient cultures saw the hare the symbol of fertility, of rebirth, and held to possess supernatural powers. The genitals of the jack were carried to ward off infertility. This fertility idea has some truth for the doe can produce up to forty-two young in a single year.

Some ancient African cultures believed the hare to have a lunar origin.

The tales of Brer Rabbit, as told by Uncle Remus, were brought to North America via the slave trade and are adapted from traditional African narratives. Thus these cannot be about a 'rabbit' but a hare for Africa has no rabbits around the tropical latitudes.

In Egyptian mythology Osiris is also known by other names and is then depicted with the head of a hare, as was the goddess Unut. He is also cited as being the messenger of the god Thoth.

Pliny wrote of how he believed the hare was androgynous, likened to the waxing and waning of the Moon when it was deemed to be masculine and feminine respectively.

The hare is also associated with the Moon in ancient China, held to possess knowledge of the elixir of immortality. Other writings show the hare with the phoenix and the unicorn, ubiquitous mythological creatures of wonder and magical powers.

Hindus in India tell the story of Buddha, whose earliest life on Earth was as a hare. Hence the animal is seen as a symbol of resurrection. It is also the subject of a number of traditional tales where it represents wisdom.

Native American cultures speak of Michabo or Manitou, the Great Hare, which is common to the ancestral mythologies of many tribes. Unlike the Old World, in the New World the hare is associated with the sun.

The madness of hares was likened to a coven of witches. Some held the hares were witches who had changed their appearance to allow them to suckle cows until they were dry.

Sailors, probably the most superstitious career which ever has been or ever will be, consider the hare unlucky and would not allow any mention of them while at sea.

Pregnant women would carrying a hare's foot, for should the animal cross her path it could result in a miscarriage or the child being born with a hare-lip.

The hare's foot charm was also held to be the answer to rheumatism, while the stage perfomance of many a thespian was solely down to such being hidden beneath their costume.

The fat from a hare would be used to fuel a lamp burned when it was important that all present should be in good spirits throughout.

The brain of the hare was added to wine to prevent any danger of oversleeping.

Cambridgeshire folk seeing a hare running through the streets saw this as a sign that a fire was about to break out.

Cornish girls who died of a broken heart after being spurned by their lover would turn into a white hare and pursue him from beyond the grave.

Personally I just wish I could taste this recipe for jugged hare.