Greeks Founding Rome is not a new thread, but it does bring up interesting topics, including the Trojan origin story and mish-mash quality of Roman origin myths.

Cothurnus (pl. cothurni; Greek: κόθορνος) is the Latin name for a high boot surrounding the calf that could reach up to the knee and was laced up the front. Sometimes it was ornamented with animal faces. It is said that the modern English word for this is buskin, so if you know what a buskin is, go for it. To me, they're equally foreign.

While the sole of the cothurnus was normally of the same thickness as ordinary boots, it could be made thicker by means of cork. The cothurnus was part of the costume of the Greek tragic actor and is used as a figure of speech by the Roman poets when referring to (Greek) tragedy. In the accompanying illustration of an actor in Greek tragedy, the figure is made extra tall by means of a head piece and cothurni. For more, see A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, by William Smith and Charles Anthon.

• Ancient Greek Theater
• Greek Terms
• Aeschylus

PD Courtesy of Wikipedia.

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Wordless Wednesday and About.com's Wordless Wednesday

While researching the ancient Greek theater in Syracuse, Sicily, in connection with last Wednesday's "Guess What," I became confused. A caption for a photo of a Greek-looking theater mentioned a Greek amphitheater. To me, in addition to its literal meaning, the word amphitheater conjures up images of gladiators and wild beasts. While the Romans may have staged such events in any appropriate flat area with seating for spectators, the picture I was looking at looked like the setting for a play, not a deadly game.

Some writers seemed to distinguish between a Greek amphitheater and a Roman amphitheater, with the Roman amphitheater dated to before Rome took over Syracuse.

This may have been an issue of hypercorrection. The people saying amphitheater probably thought it was to be preferred to theater. Perhaps they thought it was right in the context of an outdoor place or an area that fell into Roman hands. Actually, I don't know. What I do know is that I was confused. And I may still be missing something.

While I'm not certain I've ironed out all the details, I have made an attempt to provide background on some of the sites of Syracuse, Sicily, still visible today. See Remains of Ancient Greco-Roman Syracuse.

As always, please let me know if I've made mistakes.

Photo of the Theater CC Flickr User Alun Salt.