Friday, August 15, 2014

What's What: SPQR

Fleeing from The Bishop, Prospero finds traces of Roman influence in the stonework of the castle in the form of this abbreviation [The Dolphin Cross; Magic Mirrors; 226].

SPQR is an abbreviation from the Latin phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus – The Senate and People of Rome – referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic. The phrase's date of origin is not known, but its meaning places it generally after the founding of the republic. It appears many hundreds of times in Roman political, legal, and historical literature, including the speeches of Cicero and the history of Titus Livius.

Today SPQR is still the municipal symbol of the city of Rome.

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