For the fun of it....

[orichalcum]

So, I'm writing an article/paper/part of the book currently on female-authored Pompeian graffiti. This means that I have to do a lot of interpretation and inference from very little data.

So, gentle reader, tell me a story - who do _you_ think the protagonists and hidden narrative are behind each of these graffiti?


1. "I would not sell my man/husband for any price."

2. Valens [the master of the house], 'Lady.' Would that I were a Lady. We ask for health.

3. Livia greets Alexander. If you are well, I don't care much; if you are dying, I'll come running.

Comments

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

We don't know any of them were written by women, but the female subject at least suggests it. The Latin is Livia Alexandro salute, literally
"Livia greets or "offers good health" to Alexander. Similarly, the "we ask for health" may just be "we greet you;" it's the equivalent of "hope you're well!" So I wouldn't assume ill health on the part of the "we," but you're right that the sudden 1st person plural is bizarre.

Yes, we know Valens to be male.

The quotation marks are all mine, and thus may be confusing - apologies.

Romans didn't know STDs existed, so that theory's out, unfortunately. :)

[darkforge.livejournal.com]

Romans didn't know STDs existed

Really? Some "STDs" are really obvious (like genital warts) and, IMO, obviously sex-related.

They did at least have some sense that dirty genitals were more likely to result in painful/itchy infections, right?

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

Well, we're not sure how old genital warts are - there aren't mentions of them in ancient medical texts. Dirty genitals got blamed on the female partner, but there's no sense of disease associated with them in the texts we have. Who knows what got passed down through oral tradition, though?

[jab2.livejournal.com]

"Who knows what got passed down through oral tradition, though?"

...

so to speak??? (ducks and runs...)