Angela
Elite member
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Shopkeepers in the agora at Smyrna may have enjoyed playing with acrostics to wile away the time.
Perhaps it also had something to do with Christianity, as the the word is literally "Logos", as in "The Word".
See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/4900-161011-turkey-smyrna-agora
"ZMIR, TURKEY—The Daily Sabah reports that excavators led by Akin Ersoy of Dokuz Eylül University found Greek words and names carved in a wall of the basilica in the marketplace of ancient Smyrna. The positions of the words and names resemble a modern acrostic. “The same words are written both from top to bottom and left to right in five columns,” he said. “The word ‘logos,’ which is located in the center, is on the third column.” Some scholars have suggested that early Christians communicated in such puzzles, but Ersoy says that this one was carved in an area where there were market stalls and is unlikely to have conveyed a secret message. He thinks it is more likely that the salespeople working in the agora’s booths carved the words to entertain themselves during slow periods. Ersoy added that love poems have also been found written on the walls of the agora. "
I love ancient graffiti, even though, like today, it must have marred the beauty of public monuments.
It gives you such a sense of the personality of the people who carved it, the essential humanity of the ancients.
That's one of the things I like about Pompeii....
" On April 19th, I made bread." Wow, this guy should have had a twitter account so people could follow every move.
Travel information and restaurant guide: "Traveler, you eat bread in Pompeii but you go to Nuceria to drink. At Nuceria, the drinking is better."
Ads: "The city block of the Arrii Pollii in the possession of Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius is available to rent from July 1st. There are shops on the first floor, upper stories, high-class rooms and a house. A person interested in renting this property should contact Primus, the slave of Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius."
Then there are the romantics: " Love dictates to me as I write and Cupid shows me the way, but may I die if god should wish me to go on without you."
Anyone interested can read the bawdy and scatological ones privately. People just haven't changed very much.
http://www.pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Graffiti from Pompeii.htm
Perhaps it also had something to do with Christianity, as the the word is literally "Logos", as in "The Word".
See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/4900-161011-turkey-smyrna-agora
"ZMIR, TURKEY—The Daily Sabah reports that excavators led by Akin Ersoy of Dokuz Eylül University found Greek words and names carved in a wall of the basilica in the marketplace of ancient Smyrna. The positions of the words and names resemble a modern acrostic. “The same words are written both from top to bottom and left to right in five columns,” he said. “The word ‘logos,’ which is located in the center, is on the third column.” Some scholars have suggested that early Christians communicated in such puzzles, but Ersoy says that this one was carved in an area where there were market stalls and is unlikely to have conveyed a secret message. He thinks it is more likely that the salespeople working in the agora’s booths carved the words to entertain themselves during slow periods. Ersoy added that love poems have also been found written on the walls of the agora. "
I love ancient graffiti, even though, like today, it must have marred the beauty of public monuments.
It gives you such a sense of the personality of the people who carved it, the essential humanity of the ancients.
That's one of the things I like about Pompeii....
" On April 19th, I made bread." Wow, this guy should have had a twitter account so people could follow every move.
Travel information and restaurant guide: "Traveler, you eat bread in Pompeii but you go to Nuceria to drink. At Nuceria, the drinking is better."
Ads: "The city block of the Arrii Pollii in the possession of Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius is available to rent from July 1st. There are shops on the first floor, upper stories, high-class rooms and a house. A person interested in renting this property should contact Primus, the slave of Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius."
Then there are the romantics: " Love dictates to me as I write and Cupid shows me the way, but may I die if god should wish me to go on without you."
Anyone interested can read the bawdy and scatological ones privately. People just haven't changed very much.
http://www.pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Graffiti from Pompeii.htm
