Abbreviations

Latin Learning Latin
1

I’m looking at a painting of the triumphs held after Julius Caesar’s victories, and some people are carrying banners. I know the “SPQR” stand for “Senatus populusque Romanus,” but does anyone know what the other letters stand for? The Romans are a little overly fond of abbreviation I think… This is roughly what they look like:

Banner 1
SPQR IVLIVS CAESAR P-M-

Banner 2
SPQR DIVO IVLIO CÆSARI D-P-P-P-


Oh yeah, and what does SPQR have to do with Julius Caesar? He nullified the Senate practically as soon as he came into power.

2

[quote=“benissimus”

Banner 1
SPQR IVLIVS CAESAR P-M-

Banner 2
SPQR DIVO IVLIO CÆSARI D-P-P-P-


Oh yeah, and what does SPQR have to do with Julius Caesar? He nullified the Senate practically as soon as he came into power.[/quote]

P-M = Pontifex Maximus (chief priest)

DIVO IVLIO CÆSARI = to the divine Julius Caesar

D-P ??

PP = pater patriae (father of the country)

SPQR was a symbol of Roman power.

Magistra

3

Wouldn’t divus mean that Julius was already dead? This site didn’t have the answer to your question but is perhaps worth knowing about anyway:

http://asgle.classics.unc.edu/abbrev/latin/

This site, however,

http://www.locutio.com/expressions-abreviations/abreviation-intro.htm

gives decreto publico for DP

4

Another great site :smiley: [/quote]

5

In this case, it could be also dictatori perpetuo “dictator for ever”, although the above mentioned site gives PP for the abbreviation of perpetuus.

6

As Bingley has noticed it, DIVO IVLIO “to the Divine Julius” implies that Caesar is already dead. In the following times, the dead emperors were regularly labelled DIVVS by the Senate : DIVVS AVGVSTVS, (not Tiberius, not Caligula) DIVVS CLAVDIVS (not Nero) DIVVS VESPASIANVS, DIVVS TITVS, etc. They say that Vespasian, as he was about to die, said : Vae, puto, deus fio “Woe is me ! I think I am becoming a god !” A very British Roman.

7

I usualy try to avoid posting silly remarks on what I know very little, but I can’t help mentioning this…

Today there are too great a population of acronyms in electronics world so that ‘PCMCIA’ is made a “backronym” for “People Cannot Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms”. Romans must had similar satirical terms.

8

They say that Vespasian, as he was about to die, said : > Vae, puto, deus fio > “Woe is me ! I think I am becoming a god !” A very British Roman.

So THAT’S what he said! I read an excerpt of Seneca’s Apocolocyntosis in which he says (mockingly) “Vae me, puto, concacavi.”

9

Wasn’t the Apocolocyntosis about Claudius, not Vespasian?

10

You are right. Claudius made this less humorous comment. And what said Augustus ? “Acta est fabula ?”

11

So he didn’t use an indirect statement in “Vae, puto, deus fio”? How common was that actually, or was it more common in speech than in writing?