Septimius Severus, Quadrifons The Urth list — 4 messages, 3 voices, 20 Aug 2011 https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/6051 Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. ============================================================================== António Pedro Marques — 20 Aug 2011, 22:38 Sorry if this have been brought up before. Septimius Severus's triumphal arch in Leptis Magna (Libya) is an arcus quadrifons, i.e. a square with an arch in each side. I don't know whether such arches were normal or rare; another one is one that is tought to have been erected by Constantine, but for no known purposes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leptis_Magna_Arch_of_Septimus_Severus.jpg http://www.livius.org/ro-rz/rome/rome_arch_janus.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lee Berman — 22 Aug 2011, 13:10 follows, by subject match António Pedro Marques Antonio Pedro Marques: > Septimius Severus's triumphal arch in Leptis Magna (Libya) is an arcus > quadrifons, i.e. a square with an arch in each side. I don't know whether > such arches were normal or rare; another one is one that is tought to have > been erected by Constantine, but for no known purposes. Well, I don't know a lot about architecture but I remember the Arc de Triomphe in Paris being quadrifronic http://middlezonemusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/arc-de-triomphe.jpg And it is based on the Arch of Titus, in Rome. So, I'd guess it is a pretty standard form. With regard to its significance in Short Sun, I think this blurb from Wikipedia about Janus Quadrifrons might tie the reference to the concept of planetary and universal destruction and rebirth which was introduced in BotNS. Perhaps the Whorl is meant to show us a faster cycling version of the planets which, in turn, are faster cycling models of the universe. > QUADRIFRONS: > Quadrifrons is believed to be the fourth face of the God Janus and represents an > aspect of the God's attitude and life-cycle. Quadrifrons represents death and > destruction or the end of the life-cycle while Trifrons represents wisdom and > Bifrons represents virility thus completing the beginning-to-end cycle that > begins with Janus itself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ António Marques — 24 Aug 2011, 00:12 in reply to Lee Berman > On 22 August 2011 14:10, Lee Berman wrote: > Antonio Pedro Marques: > > Septimius Severus's triumphal arch in Leptis Magna (Libya) is an arcus > > quadrifons, i.e. a square with an arch in each side. I don't know whether > > such arches were normal or rare; another one is one that is tought to have > > been erected by Constantine, but for no known purposes. > Well, I don't know a lot about architecture but I remember the Arc de Triomphe > in Paris being quadrifronic http://middlezonemusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/arc-de-triomphe.jpg > And it is based on the Arch of Titus, in Rome. ?So, I'd guess it is a pretty > standard form. No, the severin and the possibly constantinian ones really are square, all faces being the same size. > With regard to its significance in Short Sun, I think this blurb from Wikipedia > about Janus Quadrifrons might tie the reference to the concept of planetary and > universal destruction and rebirth which was introduced in BotNS (...) Yes; I just found it interesting that Severus's name (I never saw an explanation for Severian's name, and for whatever reason I expected one) and possibly the first christian emperor were associated to the word 'quadrifons'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mo Holkar — 24 Aug 2011, 09:13 in reply to António Marques > At 01:12 24/08/2011, Ant?nio wrote: > (I never saw an > explanation for Severian's name, and for whatever reason I expected > one) There has been a bit of discussion relating Severian's name to the character Severin in Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs Wolfe being Wolfe, there are likely several strands of reference brought together in the name. (According to LU, there are 5 saints so named.) best, Mo # ~ # ~ # WolfeWiki -- a wiki about Gene Wolfe http://www.wolfewiki.com/pmwiki/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------