English Translations: Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge
Copyright © 1972 Goscinny & Uderzo
Abstract
A drunken Vitalstatistix bets his brother-in-law that he can provide a stew seasoned with Caesar's laurel wreath. It is up to Asterix & Obelix to travel to Rome and come up with the goods ...
Table 18.1. Asterix and the Laurel Wreath - Annotations
| Page, Panel | Comment |
|---|---|
| Page 1, Panel 2 | Fructarii = fruit sellers; Peponarii = melon merchant; Olitores = cultivators of herbs and vegetables; Piscatores = fishermen; Vinarii = vintners; Silignarii = wheat flour millers ???; Pastillai = pastry chef |
| Page 1, Panel 4 | Sicambres: See annotations for Page 23, Panel 4 in Asterix in Switzerland |
| Page 3, Panel 7 | See Asterix and Cleopatra |
| Page 4, Panel 8 | "When a man is tired of Lutetia, he is tired of life." Samuel Johnson, 1777: "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." |
| Page 5, Panel 1 | cena = lunch in early Roman times or dinner in Classical Roman times |
| Page 8, Panel 9 | Taberna Bibulus = pub / tavern (taberna = store, bibulus = drink) |
| Page 9, Panel 8 | Why doesn't this guy look very Greek (like in 'Olympic Games')??? Perhaps this is a real person??? |
| Page 10 Panel 3 | (slave market). This is actually the first time a naked breast (and nipple?) appears in an Asterix album. Look closely at the Numidian and the Greek female slaves at middle right; A "Parthian shot" (often referred to as a parting shot) comes from the Parthians of ancient ran, whose horsemen in battle feigned retreat and then fired their arrows back at the enemy; Hoplites = heavily armed infantryman of Greece |
| Page 12, Panel 1 |
The statues are Rodin's 'The Thinker', Polydoros and Athanodoros' 'The
Lakoon' and Myron's 'The Discus Thrower' respectively.
 "The Thinker" by Uderzo
 "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin
 "The Lacoon" by Uderzo
 "The Lacoon" by Polydoros and Athanodoros
 "The Discus Thrower" by Uderzo
 "The Discus Thrower" by Myron
|
| Page 14, Panel 5 | Domus = house |
| Page 14, Panel 6 | Cubiculum = sleeping area |
| Page 18, Panel 1 | Triclinium: dining room with couches |
| Page 22, Panel 1 | The views of the villa here are authentic |
| Page 24, Panel 5 | Quo vadis = where are you going? |
| Page 24, Panel 8 | Vadere quo = To go where? |
| Page 26, Panel 4 | Gloria victis = Glory to the vanquished; Veritas odium parit = Part of the Latin phrase "Obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit" (Terence, Andria L.68) meaning "Obsequiousness begets friends, truth hatred" |
| Page 29, Panel 5 | Delenda (est) Carthago = Carthage must be destroyed. Cato used it as the closing line in every speech he made to the Roman Senate till the Third Punic War when Carthage was destroyed. |
| Page 33, Panel 3 | Tarpeian rock = a cliff on Capitoline Hill in Rome from which traitors were thrown to their death. |
| Page 36, Panel 7 | Caricature of French ringmaster Jean Richard's circus act. |
| Page 37, Panel 5 | Sicarii, effractores, raptores = Assasins, burglars (literally, "fracture") and street robbers. Sebaciaria = night watchmen. (from the subtitles in Dutch). |
| Page 38, Panel 3 | urbs = suburbs |
| Page 39, Panel 2 | "Dido, dido, give me your answer do..." = "Bicycle built for two..."; "There's an old Mola by the Flumen ..." = Probably based on the folk song Nellie Dean; "The Bells of Hades go Ting-a-ling-a" = Reference to popular WWI song "The Bells of Hell' which was also popularized in the movie 'Oh! What a Lovely War'; "hic," "haec," and "hoc," = The word "this" in male, female and neuter forms respectively in Latin. |
| Page 40, Panel 9 | Bar Aurigarum = Bar of Charioteers |
Table 18.2. Asterix and the Laurel Wreath - Names