Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-29639328-20160815225033

I've noticed that this game universe often references classical antiquity through some of the names of its characters, as well as its use of (sometimes ungrammatical) Latin.

While first playing Skyrim, I didn't know as much as I do now about Roman history and culture, but I still thought Cicero's name was familiar, because I had vaguely heard of a historical Cicero before.

After learning a bit of Roman history and a bit of Latin, I found out about the ancient Cicero, a lawyer, statesman, philosopher, military commander, and governor. His speeches contain what is typically seen as the "highest" form of Latin, and what is supposedly taught in public schools across the U.S. This "Ciceronian Latin" is what I was supposed to have learned from my Latin courses. I suggest you look him up, as he was one of the most famous ancient Romans, and is probably among the most-admired by modern people. It's a shame that when I play some online game and mention Cicero, most people think of the insane, murderous jester, and only rarely the historical figure. That does, however, say a lot about the popularity of The Elder Scrolls.

The full name of the historical Cicero was Marcus Tullius Cicero. Doesn't the "Tullius" bit sound familiar? It was M. T. Cicero's nomen, or familial name. The Romans often had three names; these were the praenomen, or personal first name, the nomen mentioned above, and the cognomen, which was a nickname, often passed down through a family. Thus, Cicero's first name was Marcus, he was from the Tullius family, and his nickname was Cicero. This nickname, meaning "chickpea," was passed down from his ancestor, who apparently earned it thanks to a deformity on his nose that resembled a chickpea.

There are many other possible references to historical figures and Roman names within the games. Here are a few of them:

-Nepos the Nose, former administrator of Markarth: Possibly named after the Roman historian Nepos, who according to Wheelock's Latin was never considered an historian with a critical approach. The Latin word nepos can mean "grandson," "nephew," and "playboy" or "spendthrift," to name a few definitions.

(Will add more characters later) 