From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Fri Mar 29 1996 - 10:21:37 EST
On 3/29/96, A. B. Hudson wrote:
> Is there any reason why MIAS GUNAIKOS ANDRA could not be a locution for "a
> faithful husband" (ie. not a womanizer)? I have always found it odd that
> this appears in a list otherwise concerned an overseer's behaviour.
I've sort of supposed (don't know whether it could be proved) that it
represents the Roman ideal expressed in the Latin adjective "univira,"
which refers to a woman who has had only one husband--not divorced or
widowed and remarried. The fidelity extended beyond death to a single
husband was thus esteemed in words, however frequently or infrequently in
deed.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:37:39 EDT