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Unusual names

Roman history is littered with very unusual sounding names.  As are the historical records of many civilizations of yesteryear.

As far as Roman folks are concerned here are a few that make their way in today's quotes or anecdotes.


  • Pliny the Elder - This dude lived 2,000 years ago and was a naturalist, botanist and scientist and became a commander in the Roman army in its initial days of being an empire.  He was friend to emperor Vespasian.  The name Vespa (for modern day scooters) has nothing to do with this emperor however (that honor goes to the Italian word meaning Wasp).  He is also credited in finding a word for hops used in beer making - Lupus Salictarius.
  • Pliny the Younger - The nephew of who else but Pliny the Elder.  These two hung out a lot.  The elder in fact died helping people running away from the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius which buried the town of Pompeii in the south of Italy.
In our travels through Italy we visited these ruins and excavations that to this day remain a major archeological activity.


Train to Pompeii 



some ruins
  • Attila the Hun - leader of the Huns and other tribes in central Europe this guy was feared by his enemies.  He ran amok in Europe during the 5th century and decimated armies.
Switching continents -
  • Red Cloud and Crazy Horse - some of the native Indian chiefs that ruled the current land mass known as America.
  • Sacajawea - a woman that ran into Lewis and Clarke as they headed west of the Mississippi to discover the western frontier.
Switching continents yet again and moving into the mythical time period now in India I am fascinated by names like -

  • Ghatotkacha - this was a Rakshasa or Ogre that was created when Bhima (a warrior in the then famous five or Pandavas) hung out with Hidimbi.  Ghatotkacha went on to fight valiantly in the battle told in the poetry called Mahabharata.
  • Yudhishthira - or one who is 'Sthir in Yudh' as in one who stands steady during war was a king of Hastinapura.

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