Figurative uses of animal names in Latin and their ... - mura di tutti

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TOW reixow iwl ttjv iXeiroXiv /xer^ TocravTrjv jSiai war airoppd^ai
TTjv K€tf)a\^v Tou fii]')(av^itaro'}, rjv 8^ Kai KarwTrrjS'qaa'i e/e n&rav
aXperai, t&v iroX^ixlonVy xal fjteTd, ttoW'^s aSeiai; iirl to ret^os
It is the later life-like heads, with ornamental horns at
the side, as seen in the sculptures on the column of Trajan,
that caused the confusion among the Romans in regard to
the transfer of meaning.
On a priori grounds one would naturally infer that it
was the butting that gave rise to the figurative use of aries.
In the animal there are two aspects, and only two, that
stand out conspicuously, the peculiar spiral horn, and an
innate fondness for removing obstructions, animate or inan-
imate, with his head. The contour of the horn has enriched
us with the /c/otd? of architecture and ichthyology.'^^ A con-
voluted horn, like that of the ram, is however absolutely
useless for battering. Had the horn been the basis of comparison,
bos would have been far more appropriate as the
name of the machine.
A store of proverbs and allusions, emphasizing the butting
propensity of the ram, shows how easy must have been the
transition to aries ' the buttress ' and aries, ' the battering
device.'
Plautus makes excellent use of this characteristic of the
ram: Arietes truces nos erimus, iam in vos incursabimus,''*
' We
shall turn into fierce rams and shall soon be rushing
upon you.'
Suidas informs us that icpio