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17th March, 45 BC = In his last victory, Julius Caesar
defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle
of Munda.
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Caesar's victory over the supporters of Pompey at Thapsus = The
battle of Thapsus took place on February 6, 46 BC near Thapsus (modern
Ras Dimas, Tunisia). The conservative republicans army, led by Marcus
Porcius Cato, the younger and Quintus Caecillius Metellus Scipio clashed
with the forces of Caesar, who eventually won the battle. With this
victory, Caesar ended the resistance against his power in Africa
and was one step closer to absolute power.
Battle of Munda: took place on March 17, 45 BC in the plains of
Munda, southern Spain. This was the last battle of Julius Caesar's
civil war against the conservative republicans. After this
victory, and the death of Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius
(Pompey the Great's oldest son), Caesar was free to return to
Rome and govern as dictator. Eventually, this lead to the end
of the Roman Republic.
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Xth Legion = The Tenth Legion
was, for most of its history, an elite and honored unit. Like
America's 82nd and 101st
airborne divisions, the Tenth enjoyed a world-wide reputation
for skill in battle. The Tenth earned its stripes, from recruitment
and training to victory as the legion that usually occupied the
position of honor on Caesar's right flank. The Legion helped
Caesar pacify Gaul, crossed the Rubicon and fought a civil war,
endured the assassinations of Pompey and Caesar, cast its lot
with Antony at Actium, and finally captured the Zealot fortress
at Masada. The Romans, it seems, were very skilled and very
ruthless, and the Tenth Legion represented the pinnacle of their
military art. |
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Iberians = Of or relating to ancient Iberia in Transcaucasia or
its peoples, languages, or cultures. The ancient country of
Transcaucasia is roughly equivalent to the eastern part of
present-day Georgia. Iberia was allied to Rome and later ruled
by a Persian dynasty. It became a Byzantine province in the
sixth century AD;
Spanish also uses the exclamation point and question mark
at the end of a sentence as we do and at the
beginning, upside down.
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"To rest on your laurels" = to stop trying so hard having already
achieved so much. |
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Veni, vidi, vici: I came, I saw, I conquered (Julius Caesar) |
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Hombre: Slang. A man; a fellow. [Spanish, from Old Spanish omne, from Latin hom, homin-.] |
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Beati pauperes spiritu = Blessed are the poor in spirit. (Matt. 5:3, King James) |
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Similar to "to see a man about a dog" which is Cockney for going to the
toilet |
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"I'm Dreaming of a White Solstice" = Pun on 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas' |
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"Wonderful wonderful Durovernum" = A reference to the
Danny Kaye song "Wonderful Copenhagen".
Durovernum: When Julius Caesar came on his second expedition
in 54 BC the Roman VIIth Legion
stormed the Celtic hillfort at Big bury. Canterbury became
a permanent settlement and center of trade with the Celtic
name of Durwhern. the Romans returned in AD 43, at the time
of Emperor Claudius and gave the gave the name of Durovernum
Cantiacorum to the present Canterbury. (Durovernum after
the Celtic name of Durwhern and Cantiacorum meaning of the
Cantiaci or Kentish people).
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"Rock-a-bye, Pepe, ..." = A pun on the traditional lullaby 'Rockaby, baby' |
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Hispalis : Seville. The city was both a river port
and bridge between the Atlantic Ocean and the hinterland of
Andalusia. Also Seville was the crossroads between the
North-East and West of the Iberian Peninsula. In the
beginnings of the first millennium B.C. the area of Seville
became the great market place of the Guadalquivir Valley.
The original Seville was born where the river became no
longer navigable for seagoing ships. Archaeological
excavations confirm that the first permanent settlements
date back to the 9th century. |
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Salisbury Plain is Stonehenge |
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Chicken in the basket = popular dish |
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Vaccaeians = a tribe in NE Spain |
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Pompaelo / Pamplona: A city of northern Spain
east-southeast of Bilbao, an ancient Basque city located
on a hill overlooking the Arga River that permitted it to
dominate the surrounding valley, caused it to be populated
from very remote times. Historians believe that this
primitive nucleus could have been used as a stopover by
the Celts, and there is no question that in the winter of
74-75 B.C., the area served as a camp for the Roman general
Pompeyo. He is considered to be the founder of "Pompaelo"
(Pamplona). It was captured by the Visigoths, Franks, and
Moors and became the capital of the kingdom of Navarre
(824-1512). The annual running of the bulls during the feast
of San Fermin was celebrated in Ernest Hemingway's 'The Sun
Also Rises' (1926). |
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Don Quixote and Sancho Panza |
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Replete: stuffed, gorged |
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Thermopylae Pass = Site of famous battle between the Greek Alliance and
the Persians circa 480 BCE;
Milk of Magnesia = Magnesium hydroxide;
Cos Lettuce = A type of lettuce;
Salamis = A type of sausage.
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Cauca / Coca: The village of Coca is located at the
North-West of the province of Segovia, 48 Km from
the city of Segovia, in the region known as Tierra
de Pinares (Pine tree land). It is 140 Km away from
Madrid, and 60 Km from Valladolid. Excavations started
in a place known as Los Azafranales (Saffron fields)
at the watershed of the Voltoya and Eresma rivers mapped
the population sequence (Celtiberian, Roman and Late
Antiquity) thanks to the evidence obtained: Visigothic
slate pieces, terra sigilata vases, Celtiberian cups,
bowls, jugs, a dolium ans some decorated vases that
belong to the Rauda type.
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Segovia: A city of central Spain north-northwest
of Madrid. An important Roman town, it was held
sporadically by the Moors from 714 to 1079. The Roman
aqueduct of Segovia, probably built c. A.D. 50, is
remarkably well preserved. |
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Helmantica / Salamanca: A city of west-central
Spain west-northwest of Madrid. Conquered by Hannibal
in 220 B.C., it was captured by Moors in the 8th
century A.D. and held by them until the late 11th century. |
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Corduba / Cordoba: Córdoba flourished as
a major Roman settlement from the 1st
century BC to the 5th century AD and
subsequently was captured first by the Visigoths (572) and then
by the Moors (711). In 756, Abd-ar-Rahman I, a member of the
Umayyad family, made Córdoba the capital of Moorish
Spain, and for the next 250 years the city was one of the
world's great commercial and intellectual centers. In 929
Abd-ar-Rahman III established the caliphate of Córdoba.
The city declined after the early 11th century as Muslim rule
in Spain disintegrated, but it remained a center of literature
and scholarship. In 1236 the city was captured and became part
of Spain. It was captured by France during the Napoleonic Wars
(1799-1815). |
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Vandalusia: Andaluca was settled in the 5th century BC by the
Carthaginians and was later conquered by the Roman Empire. In
the 5th century AD the country was
overrun by the Vandals, from whom the region took the name
Vandalusia (later corrupted into Andaluca). The Vandals were
succeeded by the Visigoths, who ruled until the Arab invasion
of 711, after which Andaluca became the center of civilization
for the Saracens and Moors. From 1516 the history of Andaluca
merges with that of the united kingdom of Spain.
The resemblance of the hoods to those used by the Ku Klux Klan
(a historical white-supremacist group in the US) is
conincidental. The hoods here depicted predate the Klan
considerably. These hoods are traditionally used in Spain
during Christian processions; people who want to make a penance
carry the Saints statues litter, or walk bare-foot. They wear
hoods so as not to be recognized (to avoid gossips), and they
are pointy so that all man appear to have the same size, to
further prevent onlookers to try and recognize them.
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Amontillado el amoroso = Amontillado = fine wine, Amoronos = Loving.
Hence - Loving fine wine. |
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Panem et circenses = bread and circuses (Juvenal,Satires x.80 60-130AD) |
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The person conducting the circus music is a caricature of the composer and conductor Gerard Calvi. |
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Aurochs = Extinct European Ox |
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"A fish, a fish, my kingdom for a fish" = a parody of "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse"
(Richard III, Shakespeare) |
