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Oregon, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Monday, November 06, 2006

Caesar's horse

The ancient historian Suetonius, whose Lives of the Caesars makes for a very diverting read (he assures us that Caligula smelled strongly of goat), has this to say about Julius Caesar's most unusual horse:

"He rode a remarkable horse, too, with feet that were almost human; for its hoofs were cloven in such a way as to look like toes. This horse was foaled on his own place, and since the soothsayers had declared that it foretold the rule of the world for its master, he reared it with the greatest care, and was the first to mount it, for it would endure no other rider. Afterwards, too, he dedicated a statue of it before the temple of Venus Genetrix (my note: Julius Caesar's family was said to be descended from the goddess Venus). "

It's also said he called his horse... Toes.

1 comment:

bartolina said...

I'm italian and I can just to say: "wow! What a wanderful words"