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'.

Seven Wonders of the World

Never had the opportunity to see any of these, I'm not that old. Now when it comes to the origins of the names it is quite obvious why a lighthouse is known as a lighthouse, thus it is only the place names and personal names which I shall bother to look at.

Great Pyramid of Giza takes the simplistic but informative place name coming from gaza and meaning 'to cross'. This shows this was a place known as a good crossing point on the Nile.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon is a Greek place name, translated from the Akkadian Babili. It is thought this Babylonian name is a translation of a non-Semitic place name but one unknown and lost in time. However the name Babili is thought to have come about in the belief it meant 'gate of God', this being the meaning of this phrase but not the original name.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia is a gold statue by the sculptor Phidias standing in a place taking its name from Mount Olympos and not to be confused with Mount Olympus, home of the gods, other than the origins of both are completely unknown. Zeus is a very different story and is easily traced. This Greek supreme deity came straight from Proto-Indo-European dewos meaning simply 'god' which is also the source of the Latin deus 'god' and Old Persian daiva 'demon, evil god'. It has also given us wordsin Old Slavonic and Sanskrit meaning 'to gleam, shine' and it is quite likely the idea of an aura around the god gave rise to all these words.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, a place in modern Turkey.The name of Ephesus is held to be from Greek ephoros meaning 'overseer' and telling of its importance as a religious site. While Artemis is of unknown origin, the alternative Diana can be traced to the Proto-Indo-European root dyeu meaning, as seen in Zeus, 'to shine'.

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus is thought to represent a place name meaning 'fortress', this supposes it comes from Carian, a language spoken alongside Greek in this area and said to be supported by the inscriptions found here of Alos-o-karnos-o.

Colossus at Rhodes sees the city and the island named from the nymph Rhodos of Greek mythology who bore seven sons sired by Helios, the sun god. Whils she gave her name to the island, three of her grandsons are remembered in three places on the island - namely Camirus, Ialysus, and Lindus.

Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria is an easy enough place name to explain for it is named after Alexander the Great. Previously this had been known locally as Rhakotis meaning 'that which is built up' and is still a region of the modern city.