Humanities desk
< January 6	<< Dec \| January \| Feb >>	January 8 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

January 7

Statue ID

Any idea what's this statue of a woman with rotor blades or where it's located? Reverse image search failed. Thanks. Brandmeister^talk 13:27, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I searched for "woman statue propeller blades" and found that it is Arman's La Libellule (The Dragonfly), at the Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, Missouri. [1] --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 17:32, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Darius III

What did Codomannus, the Greek sobriquet of Darius III, mean?--The Traditionalist (talk) 16:51, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I did some rigorous googling, here's what I found: The name appears only in Justin (10.3.3.): Hereditas regni Ocho tradita, qui timens parem coniurationem regiam cognatorum caede et strage principum replet, nulla, non sanguinis, non sexus, non aetatis, misericordia permotus, scilicet ne innocentior fratribus parricidis haberetur. Atque ita veluti purificato regno bellum Cadusiis infert. In eo adversus provocatorem hostium Codomannus quidam cum omnium favore processisset, hoste caeso victoriam suis pariter et prope amissam gloriam restituit. Ob haec decora idem Codomannus praeficitur Armeniis. Interiecto deinde tempore post mortem Ochi regis ob memoriam pristinae virtutis rex a populo constituitur, Darii nomine, ne quid regiae maiestati deesset, honoratus; etc., Translation: "Having thus, as it were, purified his kingdom, he made war upon the Cardusii; in the course of which one Codomannus, followed by applause from all the Persians, engaged with one of the enemy that offered himself for single combat, and, having killed his antagonist, regained the victory for his fellow soldiers, as well as the glory which they had almost lost. For this honourable service Codomannus was made governor of Armenia. Some time after, on the death of Ochus, he was chosen king by the people from regard to his former merits, and, that nothing might be wanting to his royal dignity, honoured with the name of Darius." As for its meaning: Rüdiger Schmitt in Achaemenid Throne-Names, in: Istituto Orientale di Napoli, Annali, 42 (1982), pp. 83-95, quoth "A hint at the original name of this last Achaemenid king seems to be given by Iustinus, where we read, that a certain Codomannus (X,3,3-4), having deserved well of his king and his country in the Cadusian War and therefore having been created chief of the Armenians, ... 'some time after the death of king Ochus is appointed king by the people in remembrance of his previous bravery, honoured with the surname of Darius'" (p. 86). Babylonian astronomical texts have ascertained that the original name of Darius III was Artashata...These data point categorically to that Darius III originally was not called Codomannus as generally is inferred from Iustinus ... With that new evidence the facts fit in very well that the name Codomannus attested only in Iustinus is quite isolated, has neither resembling nor comparable names at its side, and has found rather suspicion than an evident etymological interpretation...In most recent times Harmatta [Az utolso Achaimenida, in: Antik Tanulmanyok 16] 1969 ... traced it back to an Old Iranian or even OP *Katu-manah- 'of warlike mind'..." Ernst Badian suggests a different derivation here, according to him, it's a Western Semitic name which means "from the East, Easterner". --Edith Wahr (talk) 17:34, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Roosevelt

Apparently Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt were sixth cousins, they shared a common ancestor from two centuries ago. How did they meet? Was it an arranged marriage of some sort? Or did they simply happen to meet each other by chance, and said something like "Good afternoon, miss. I'm Roosevelt." "Pleased to meet you, sir. I'm Roosevelt too."? JIP | Talk 18:37, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See Eleanor Roosevelt#Marriage and family life:

"In the summer of 1902, Eleanor encountered her father's fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), on a train to Tivoli, New York. The two began a secret correspondence and romance, and became engaged on November 22, 1903"

Rojomoke (talk) 19:58, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

So it was by pure chance that they were both from the Roosevelt family? JIP | Talk 20:03, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Coincidentally, I caught Sunrise at Campobello on TV the other day, and I learned something I never knew. They were both Roosevelts, but they were sufficiently distantly related that the family of one of them pronounced the name "ROOZ-evelt" and the other family said "ROZE-evelt". I can't remember which was which. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:07, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Ken Burns series about the Roosevelts also pointed out that the branches of the family were at some odds politically. Teddy (Eleanor's uncle) was in the Republican branch and FDR was in the Democratic branch. For that reason among others, FDR's mother did not approve of the marriage and made Eleanor's life hell for a number of years. I'm not sure how Teddy (and Eleanor) pronounced their last names, but FDR said "ROZE-evelt". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:05, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I doubt that politics was a significant reason for FDR's mother's treatment of Eleanor. Sara Roosevelt's article also states "Though Sara became known popularly as a stereotypical domineering mother-in-law after being portrayed as such in the film Sunrise at Campobello, her actual relationship with Eleanor was more complex. The pair grew close during the early years of the marriage ..." Clarityfiend (talk) 02:32, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

A ROZE by any other pronunciation would smell just as sweet. Clarityfiend (talk) 02:34, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a newsreel of FDR's first inaugural, 1933.[2] He says his own name at about the 1:30 mark. To me he sounds like he's saying "ROZE-uh-vuhlt". In January of 1945, a sickly-looking and subdued FDR says his own name again, the same way, at about the 2:30 mark.[3] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:21, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This page[4] says Teddy pronounced the name "ROZE-e-velt", i.e. pretty similar to FDR's way. The name supposedly comes from Dutch Rosenvelt. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:37, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]