The public baths or spas (thermae) are an essential element in the concept of the city, of the Latin “urbs”, the city of the Romans. They built many cities in the territory of the Empire and not all missing or forum or square, or a temple, or basilica (multipurpose palace) or theater or amphitheater or baths.
Why the hour’s dividers are called minutes and minute’s dividers are called seconds?
Perhaps some reader has ever asked about so seemingly irrelevant question as the origin of the names “minute” and “second”, the time’s dividers, but any knowledge is valuable.
“Digitus impudicus”, “the impudent finger”
Each of the fingers has its own name: thumb, index, middle, ring and little finger. The third, or half finger o heart finger, also is called “digitus impudicus” “obscene finger.” Why?
A 2000 years old Handbook for an election campaign
We are in one of several election campaigns that decide issues that make up our lives. In this case it’s European Parliament elections. Also in the ancient world, there were elections for public office and, even certain differences with the current time there were, many similarities are also too numerous, until to the point that some people will stay really surprised.
Local elections in Pompeii
We are now in election campaign to we elect deputies or representatives in the European Parliament. The streets are again plastered with election ads. Also the Old World had elections for some political office and had “campaign” with their messages of propaganda to persuade voters.
Marcus Tullius Tiro, father of shorthand
We find it striking and curious the usual image of some officials (mostly women) of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, busily transcribing on a paper tape the oral intervention of the deputies. They are shorthand writers or fast writers (actually they are stenographers, as we will clarify later).
Ancient cities were very noisy
We often develop our busy lives in an excessively noisy urban environment. The life and urban society, labor activity and some social customs and practices as hobby to large outdoor concerts, often produce excessive noise no according to health and peace of mind.
Gabriel García Márquez and the Greek and Latin classics
Many elements of Greco-Roman culture still alive in our time, among many others, myths and literary topics. The current writers and artists sometimes look to them directly and consciously even quoting verbatim, sometimes develop the same issues adapting them to changing times and on other occasions they integrate them into their work unaware naturally.
Plato rejects writing by the mouth of Socrates
Frequently hear someone reject the computer as an educational tool for children and youth with the argument that it harms the development of memory or of some reasoning ability. Previously we heard similar arguments in rejecting electronic calculators that would prevent the ability of mathematical thinking. All this reminds me of a famous passage in Plato’s dialogue Phaedrus 274c-277a; Plato in the mouth of Socrates rejects the invention of writing by the same reason that it will end up with memory, essential human faculty.
No book is so bad as to not have something of use in some part of it. (Nullum esse librum tam malum, ut non in aliqua parte prodesset) Pliny Pliny the Younger, Epist.3,5,10
This may be a good phrase to celebrate World Book Day, which according to UNESCO is celebrated on 23 April every year since 1995. On that day, in 1616, Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and the poet Garcilaso de la Vega, the Inca, died.