Just for fun, imagine that you have lived many lives in the past, and one of those lives was in the ancient Roman world. You might have been born to a noble Roman family, or you may have found your way to Rome as a slave (slaves were often given Greek names by the Romans, or Latin names that indicated place of origin, function, etc.).

Through the magic of anagrams (or blanagrams), I propose to tell you who you were in your ancient life -- whether you were known by a Roman or Greek name in classical times, whether you were free-born or slave. Often, ancient names revealed physical and personality characteristics, as well.

To participate, you will need to give me a scramble (for privacy) of the letters just TWO of your names. You can make it a scramble of your first and last names, or a scramble of your first and middle names, or any other combination. But it can be only two names.

If you prefer, I can use your screen name instead of your actual name scrambled.

Then I will anagram (or blanagram) your classical name, with an accompanying description of who you were in the ancient world.

If you need help scrambling your letters, you can use this: Letter Scrambler

Be sure to scramble your two names together as one word (for additional privacy). Like this: briakmymrisa

-- Nephele

Hey! I'm in on the ground floor here!

stvecriiucn


Go to it, scriba!

Lachrymose, I added the Latin word for "I am..." (sum) to your name for the first anagram.

In your past life, you were a crafty, freeborn Roman, but of low class and you chiefly lived by your wits. Your praenomen (first name) was "Spurius," customarily abbreviated as "S." Your nomen was "Circumventius," which may or may not have been your birth name, but it was the name by which you were known on the streets of Rome, due to your reputation for shifty dice-play and get-rich-quick schemes.

S. Circumventius
= stvecriiucn sum

Circumventius: derived from the Latin word circumventio, meaning "a circumventing; defrauding."

In another one of your ancient Roman incarnations, your name was:

V. Creticinus
= stvecriiucn

V.: The customary Roman abbreviation for the praenomen "Vibius."

Creticinus: meaning "of Creticus; like Creticus." You were given this additional name while serving as a high-ranking military officer under the command of the consul Q. Caecilius Metellus Creticus, who himself had received the honorific agnomen of "Creticus" for having subdued the island of Crete in 67 BCE.

-- Nephele

I always wondered who i was in Roman times...

Married:

lgkorbamnaaeeahasioeiceatwd

Maiden:

tgacnsieeakeraelbaai

Just two names scrambled, please, Midi. Long scrambles don't work well for this anagram theme. Thanks!

-- Nephele

Could you just use my Screen Name? I like that name. It's more me than my birth name...

Absolutely! In fact, if anyone else here would prefer to use their screen name instead, I'll be happy to work with that.

Midi, you were a freedwoman of the emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus. As was customary, upon being granted your freedom you took on the name of your master's household in the feminine form ("Flavia"). Attached to this name, was your original Greek name of "Metis" followed by an additional name which had been given to you by your master to indicate that you were a woman to be reckoned with:

Flavia Metis Dynamia
= I am Midieval Fantasy

Metis: In Greek myth, Metis was the personification of good counsel, advice, planning, cunning, craftiness, and wisdom. She was also the first wife and love of the god Zeus, and (in a strange way) the mother of the goddess of wisdom, Athena. You can read more about your goddess patroness here.

Dynamia: Latin derivation from the Greek word dynamis, meaning "power."

-- Nephele

Wadunrmrephy

Black Milk, I had to blanagram your scramble (replacing the w with an o).

You were a slave in ancient Rome, working in what today would be considered a very gothic occupation. Your function was to either cremate or bury the dead. Your master had a lively funeral business going, that covered both Roman citizens and foreigners. Burial was viewed in Rome as being a foreign custom -- from the last century of the Republic onwards, Roman citizens chiefly cremated their dead. Your name reflected both funereal customs, and was:

Pyrander Humo
= Wadunrmrephy –w +o

Pyrander: a Greek name, meaning "man of fire."

Humo: a Latin cognomen given to you by your master, meaning: "I bury the body."

-- Nephele

I think that is my favorite name ever! Thanks, Nephele!

You're welcome! I thought the goddess Metis suited you.

-- Nephele

So I was Goth before The Goths?
Thats pretty GAF

Glad you enjoyed, Milky! I have another for you, this time using your screen name. But I had to swap out the two k's for u and s.

In your other incarnation, you were a Roman citizen named Marcus Bacillus:

M. Bacillus
= Black Milk –kk +us

M: The customary Roman abbreviation for the common praenomen "Marcus."

Bacillus: a Roman name derived from a Latin word meaning "the wand or staff of the lictor." A famous bearer of the name was Lucius Bacillus, who was a praetor in 45 BCE. Because Caesar refused to give Bacillus a province to govern (giving him money instead as a consolation prize), Bacillus felt so dissed that he committed suicide through voluntary starvation.

Incidently, "bacillus" (as known in modern times) also describes bacteria. (Because the bacteria is rod-shaped, like a lictor's wand, or bacillus.)

-- Nephele

Wow. I could never do that.

(and yes, Metis was very fitting, I thought. *in love*)

Me neither! But the ancient Romans (particularly the Stoics among them) were all about committing suicide as a matter of personal honor. When Cato the Younger found himself on the losing side of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, he took his sword and sliced open his abdomen. His friends tried to save him, and got a doctor to try to sew him up. But Cato was determined, and with his own hands he ripped himself open again and pulled out his intestines.

-- Nephele