Meaning of “SEVERA INDEOVI VAS” from 3rd Century slab












5















Can someone explain the meaning of the words "SEVERA INDEOVI VAS" on this slab:



Adoration of the Magi



According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus, the above image is of an "Incised sarcophagus slab with the Adoration of the Magi from the Catacombs of Rome, 3rd century. Plaster cast with added colour."



Also, can someone tell me if the person on the far left side of the slab is supposed to be a 3rd century representation of a young Jesus?










share|improve this question









New contributor




Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

























    5















    Can someone explain the meaning of the words "SEVERA INDEOVI VAS" on this slab:



    Adoration of the Magi



    According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus, the above image is of an "Incised sarcophagus slab with the Adoration of the Magi from the Catacombs of Rome, 3rd century. Plaster cast with added colour."



    Also, can someone tell me if the person on the far left side of the slab is supposed to be a 3rd century representation of a young Jesus?










    share|improve this question









    New contributor




    Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.























      5












      5








      5








      Can someone explain the meaning of the words "SEVERA INDEOVI VAS" on this slab:



      Adoration of the Magi



      According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus, the above image is of an "Incised sarcophagus slab with the Adoration of the Magi from the Catacombs of Rome, 3rd century. Plaster cast with added colour."



      Also, can someone tell me if the person on the far left side of the slab is supposed to be a 3rd century representation of a young Jesus?










      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.












      Can someone explain the meaning of the words "SEVERA INDEOVI VAS" on this slab:



      Adoration of the Magi



      According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus, the above image is of an "Incised sarcophagus slab with the Adoration of the Magi from the Catacombs of Rome, 3rd century. Plaster cast with added colour."



      Also, can someone tell me if the person on the far left side of the slab is supposed to be a 3rd century representation of a young Jesus?







      classical-latin latin-to-english-translation christianity inscription






      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 14 hours ago









      luchonacho

      5,77151559




      5,77151559






      New contributor




      Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      asked 16 hours ago









      Sacha T RedSacha T Red

      1411




      1411




      New contributor




      Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.





      New contributor





      Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






      Sacha T Red is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          8














          This inscription does not use spacing to separate words. (Word division was often not marked consistently, or not marked at all in Roman inscriptions.) The second and third lines actually say "IN DEO VIVAS". "IN" is a preposition (meaning "in"), "DEO" is a noun ("god/God") in the ablative case, and "VIVAS" is a verb ("live") in the second-person singular present active subjunctive. This website gives the English translation as "May you live in God." "Severa" is apparently the name of the woman whose burial is commemorated by the slab.





          I don't know whether the figure on the left is meant to be Jesus (if I had to guess, I would say no, though; my first impression is that it is meant to be a depiction of Severa). There is certainly a depiction of Jesus as a baby on the right side of the slab: he is being held by Mary. In front of baby Jesus and Mary (to their left on the slab) are the three magi bringing gifts; behind Mary (on the right) is another figure that I guessed was Joseph (but the author of the blog post that luchonacho found suggests that he is Balaam).






          share|improve this answer

































            5














            Sumelic is right. I just want to add a few things. First, the expression in Deo vivas and related (e.g. vivatis in Christo, "may you live in Christ") seem to be of common use among Christians of the period. For instance, it's also found in a ring saying "Antoni vivas in Deo" (it appears reversed):



            enter image description here



            Other examples are cited here and here.



            Interestingly enough, it seems a ring containing a similar expression (the so called "Ring of Silvianus", with the inscription SENICIANE VIVAS IIN DE) was an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien in his creation of the Middle Earth mythology.



            Finally, regarding the slab in question, this site provides further speculation about the context and meaning of it. It does not mention anything about who Severa might have been though. Who knows, maybe it was Marcia Otacilia Severa, a 3rd century Empress of Rome, with the article suggests (without providing sources), could have been a Christian.






            share|improve this answer

























              Your Answer








              StackExchange.ready(function() {
              var channelOptions = {
              tags: "".split(" "),
              id: "644"
              };
              initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

              StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
              // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
              if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
              StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
              createEditor();
              });
              }
              else {
              createEditor();
              }
              });

              function createEditor() {
              StackExchange.prepareEditor({
              heartbeatType: 'answer',
              autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
              convertImagesToLinks: false,
              noModals: true,
              showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
              reputationToPostImages: null,
              bindNavPrevention: true,
              postfix: "",
              imageUploader: {
              brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
              contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
              allowUrls: true
              },
              noCode: true, onDemand: true,
              discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
              ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
              });


              }
              });






              Sacha T Red is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










              draft saved

              draft discarded


















              StackExchange.ready(
              function () {
              StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2flatin.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f9280%2fmeaning-of-severa-indeovi-vas-from-3rd-century-slab%23new-answer', 'question_page');
              }
              );

              Post as a guest















              Required, but never shown

























              2 Answers
              2






              active

              oldest

              votes








              2 Answers
              2






              active

              oldest

              votes









              active

              oldest

              votes






              active

              oldest

              votes









              8














              This inscription does not use spacing to separate words. (Word division was often not marked consistently, or not marked at all in Roman inscriptions.) The second and third lines actually say "IN DEO VIVAS". "IN" is a preposition (meaning "in"), "DEO" is a noun ("god/God") in the ablative case, and "VIVAS" is a verb ("live") in the second-person singular present active subjunctive. This website gives the English translation as "May you live in God." "Severa" is apparently the name of the woman whose burial is commemorated by the slab.





              I don't know whether the figure on the left is meant to be Jesus (if I had to guess, I would say no, though; my first impression is that it is meant to be a depiction of Severa). There is certainly a depiction of Jesus as a baby on the right side of the slab: he is being held by Mary. In front of baby Jesus and Mary (to their left on the slab) are the three magi bringing gifts; behind Mary (on the right) is another figure that I guessed was Joseph (but the author of the blog post that luchonacho found suggests that he is Balaam).






              share|improve this answer






























                8














                This inscription does not use spacing to separate words. (Word division was often not marked consistently, or not marked at all in Roman inscriptions.) The second and third lines actually say "IN DEO VIVAS". "IN" is a preposition (meaning "in"), "DEO" is a noun ("god/God") in the ablative case, and "VIVAS" is a verb ("live") in the second-person singular present active subjunctive. This website gives the English translation as "May you live in God." "Severa" is apparently the name of the woman whose burial is commemorated by the slab.





                I don't know whether the figure on the left is meant to be Jesus (if I had to guess, I would say no, though; my first impression is that it is meant to be a depiction of Severa). There is certainly a depiction of Jesus as a baby on the right side of the slab: he is being held by Mary. In front of baby Jesus and Mary (to their left on the slab) are the three magi bringing gifts; behind Mary (on the right) is another figure that I guessed was Joseph (but the author of the blog post that luchonacho found suggests that he is Balaam).






                share|improve this answer




























                  8












                  8








                  8







                  This inscription does not use spacing to separate words. (Word division was often not marked consistently, or not marked at all in Roman inscriptions.) The second and third lines actually say "IN DEO VIVAS". "IN" is a preposition (meaning "in"), "DEO" is a noun ("god/God") in the ablative case, and "VIVAS" is a verb ("live") in the second-person singular present active subjunctive. This website gives the English translation as "May you live in God." "Severa" is apparently the name of the woman whose burial is commemorated by the slab.





                  I don't know whether the figure on the left is meant to be Jesus (if I had to guess, I would say no, though; my first impression is that it is meant to be a depiction of Severa). There is certainly a depiction of Jesus as a baby on the right side of the slab: he is being held by Mary. In front of baby Jesus and Mary (to their left on the slab) are the three magi bringing gifts; behind Mary (on the right) is another figure that I guessed was Joseph (but the author of the blog post that luchonacho found suggests that he is Balaam).






                  share|improve this answer















                  This inscription does not use spacing to separate words. (Word division was often not marked consistently, or not marked at all in Roman inscriptions.) The second and third lines actually say "IN DEO VIVAS". "IN" is a preposition (meaning "in"), "DEO" is a noun ("god/God") in the ablative case, and "VIVAS" is a verb ("live") in the second-person singular present active subjunctive. This website gives the English translation as "May you live in God." "Severa" is apparently the name of the woman whose burial is commemorated by the slab.





                  I don't know whether the figure on the left is meant to be Jesus (if I had to guess, I would say no, though; my first impression is that it is meant to be a depiction of Severa). There is certainly a depiction of Jesus as a baby on the right side of the slab: he is being held by Mary. In front of baby Jesus and Mary (to their left on the slab) are the three magi bringing gifts; behind Mary (on the right) is another figure that I guessed was Joseph (but the author of the blog post that luchonacho found suggests that he is Balaam).







                  share|improve this answer














                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited 12 hours ago

























                  answered 16 hours ago









                  sumelicsumelic

                  7,74511853




                  7,74511853























                      5














                      Sumelic is right. I just want to add a few things. First, the expression in Deo vivas and related (e.g. vivatis in Christo, "may you live in Christ") seem to be of common use among Christians of the period. For instance, it's also found in a ring saying "Antoni vivas in Deo" (it appears reversed):



                      enter image description here



                      Other examples are cited here and here.



                      Interestingly enough, it seems a ring containing a similar expression (the so called "Ring of Silvianus", with the inscription SENICIANE VIVAS IIN DE) was an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien in his creation of the Middle Earth mythology.



                      Finally, regarding the slab in question, this site provides further speculation about the context and meaning of it. It does not mention anything about who Severa might have been though. Who knows, maybe it was Marcia Otacilia Severa, a 3rd century Empress of Rome, with the article suggests (without providing sources), could have been a Christian.






                      share|improve this answer






























                        5














                        Sumelic is right. I just want to add a few things. First, the expression in Deo vivas and related (e.g. vivatis in Christo, "may you live in Christ") seem to be of common use among Christians of the period. For instance, it's also found in a ring saying "Antoni vivas in Deo" (it appears reversed):



                        enter image description here



                        Other examples are cited here and here.



                        Interestingly enough, it seems a ring containing a similar expression (the so called "Ring of Silvianus", with the inscription SENICIANE VIVAS IIN DE) was an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien in his creation of the Middle Earth mythology.



                        Finally, regarding the slab in question, this site provides further speculation about the context and meaning of it. It does not mention anything about who Severa might have been though. Who knows, maybe it was Marcia Otacilia Severa, a 3rd century Empress of Rome, with the article suggests (without providing sources), could have been a Christian.






                        share|improve this answer




























                          5












                          5








                          5







                          Sumelic is right. I just want to add a few things. First, the expression in Deo vivas and related (e.g. vivatis in Christo, "may you live in Christ") seem to be of common use among Christians of the period. For instance, it's also found in a ring saying "Antoni vivas in Deo" (it appears reversed):



                          enter image description here



                          Other examples are cited here and here.



                          Interestingly enough, it seems a ring containing a similar expression (the so called "Ring of Silvianus", with the inscription SENICIANE VIVAS IIN DE) was an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien in his creation of the Middle Earth mythology.



                          Finally, regarding the slab in question, this site provides further speculation about the context and meaning of it. It does not mention anything about who Severa might have been though. Who knows, maybe it was Marcia Otacilia Severa, a 3rd century Empress of Rome, with the article suggests (without providing sources), could have been a Christian.






                          share|improve this answer















                          Sumelic is right. I just want to add a few things. First, the expression in Deo vivas and related (e.g. vivatis in Christo, "may you live in Christ") seem to be of common use among Christians of the period. For instance, it's also found in a ring saying "Antoni vivas in Deo" (it appears reversed):



                          enter image description here



                          Other examples are cited here and here.



                          Interestingly enough, it seems a ring containing a similar expression (the so called "Ring of Silvianus", with the inscription SENICIANE VIVAS IIN DE) was an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien in his creation of the Middle Earth mythology.



                          Finally, regarding the slab in question, this site provides further speculation about the context and meaning of it. It does not mention anything about who Severa might have been though. Who knows, maybe it was Marcia Otacilia Severa, a 3rd century Empress of Rome, with the article suggests (without providing sources), could have been a Christian.







                          share|improve this answer














                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer








                          edited 12 hours ago









                          Community

                          1




                          1










                          answered 14 hours ago









                          luchonacholuchonacho

                          5,77151559




                          5,77151559






















                              Sacha T Red is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










                              draft saved

                              draft discarded


















                              Sacha T Red is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













                              Sacha T Red is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












                              Sacha T Red is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















                              Thanks for contributing an answer to Latin Language Stack Exchange!


                              • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                              But avoid



                              • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                              • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                              To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                              draft saved


                              draft discarded














                              StackExchange.ready(
                              function () {
                              StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2flatin.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f9280%2fmeaning-of-severa-indeovi-vas-from-3rd-century-slab%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                              }
                              );

                              Post as a guest















                              Required, but never shown





















































                              Required, but never shown














                              Required, but never shown












                              Required, but never shown







                              Required, but never shown

































                              Required, but never shown














                              Required, but never shown












                              Required, but never shown







                              Required, but never shown







                              Popular posts from this blog

                              How did Captain America manage to do this?

                              迪纳利

                              南乌拉尔铁路局