Here is what I found, re Justin's question about how the Greek Odysseus becomes Ulixes in Latin...as for Polyphemus, there is the huge statue of him in a museum near Rome, in a seaside village called Sperlonga. There emperor Tiberius had had a resort of sorts, part of which was this huge cave decorated with the giant statue. Needless to tell you, it was one of the high points of my life to see this statue last summer!
To read more on Sperlonga, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperlonga Wikipedia gets it right when the information is as basic as this. Have a great weekend all!
PS. And if you want to hear the best summary of what 'Odysseus' means, do get the movie 'O brother where art thou' based loosely on the Odyssey, and listen for the song 'Man of Constant Sorrow'. It's a huge tear jeker I' ll tell you!
The Greek name has several variants: Olysseus (Ὀλυσσεύς), Oulixeus (Οὐλιξεύς), Oulixes (Οὐλίξης) [1] and he was known as Ulysses in Latin or Ulixes in Roman mythology.
The name means "son of pain", according to Homer.[citation needed] The verb οδυσσάομαι-οδυσσωμαι, meaning "to hate" or "to be hated", suggests that the name could be rendered as "the one who hates and, at the same time, is hated". This interpretation is reinforced by Odysseus' and Poseidon's mutual hatred for one another. One may also read the name as "pain", or "the one inflicting and suffering pain" — not surprisingly, Odysseus frequently suffers pain (mental and/or physical) if he inflicts pain on someone else. Yet another origin is the Greek οδηγός: odēgós, "a guide; the one showing the way".
Odysseus sometimes receives the epithet "Laertiades (Greek: Λαερτιάδης') 'son of Laertes'.
His name and stories were borrowed into Etruscan religion under the name Uthuze.[citation needed]
In the Odyssey, Book XIX (405-411) we learn that Odysseus' name means 'son of pain' and his father named him that because his grandfather suggested it. The -d- to -l- alteration in L. is the so-called "Sabine -L-," cf. L. olere "smell," from root of odor, and Ulixes, the L. form of Gk. Odysseus.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
6 comments:
So cool! haec statua est ingens! (I got that right, didn't I? ::is hopeful::)
"O Brother Where Art Thou?" is one of my very favorite movies... and not just because the southern redneck side of me appreciates the self-deprecation greatly.
Statua ingens est! Recte dicis!
I saw O brother at the movies and hated it; then I got the DVD, put on those captions and loved it...turns out my first experience was a good old case of sour grapes...
I knew you'd research the heck of out Justin's question! I admire that. That's a really pretty picture. I want to go to Greece. Maybe next time you go home you can bring a huge suitcase..or coffin...or whatever and I'll smuggle in. :)
Stacey Bedard
Stacey-
That's Rome, sweetie, not Greece...I wish we had that stuff too, but we don't. Let's face it: whatever the Greeks did, the Romans did it ten times better (yes, I am a self-hating Greek!)
soon, E.
Oh, the Romans only did it ten times better (debatably) because they were copycatting overachievers with an inferiority complex... ;P The Greeks still finish first in my book.
Post a Comment