Caecilius and Metella
Apr. 13th, 2008 02:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
incandescensWhen I heard those names, I couldn't believe it. But they were. And it was deliberate.
You see, a couple of dozen years ago (and probably at the point when the current Doctor Who writers were studying it, too) the basic beginning Latin books were about this family living in Pompeii. Father Caecilius, mother Metella, daughter and son whose names I forget. Sentences like "Metella est mater" and "Metella est in atrio". (Metella is the mother. Metella is in the atrium.)
So imagine my delight when tonight's Doctor Who, set in Pompeii, featured a family named Caecilius/Metella/etc/etc.
What's more, I saw a bit of the Confidential afterwards, and the choice of names was entirely knowing and deliberate.
Brilliant.
Oh yes, and it was quite an enjoyable episode, too.
You see, a couple of dozen years ago (and probably at the point when the current Doctor Who writers were studying it, too) the basic beginning Latin books were about this family living in Pompeii. Father Caecilius, mother Metella, daughter and son whose names I forget. Sentences like "Metella est mater" and "Metella est in atrio". (Metella is the mother. Metella is in the atrium.)
So imagine my delight when tonight's Doctor Who, set in Pompeii, featured a family named Caecilius/Metella/etc/etc.
What's more, I saw a bit of the Confidential afterwards, and the choice of names was entirely knowing and deliberate.
Brilliant.
Oh yes, and it was quite an enjoyable episode, too.
