The vases showed they were made by a Messalla's slave. Indeed they were stamped with the Latin inscription "Hermia Va(leri) (M)arci s(ervus) fecit," meaning "Made by Hermias, slave of Marcus Valerius." [Laura Pagliantini]
Posted on 02/19/2015 1:12:27 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists investigating the Tuscan island of Elba have identified the remains of the villa belonging to the real-life individual that inspired one of the principal characters in the epic tale of Ben-Hur.
Overlooking Portoferraio's bay, the once magnificent 1st-century B.C. villa has long been believed to have been owned by Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, portrayed as Ben-Hur in the Hollywood blockbuster starring Charlton Heston.
Now in ruins, the property was known as Villa Le Grotte (the Caves) because of the shape of its vaulted facades facing the sea.
While Ben-Hur was a fictional villain dreamed up in Lew Wallace's 1880 novel and immortalized in the 1959 MGM movie, the Messalla character was based on a real-world historical figure. Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus was a member of one of the oldest and most important families in Rome, the patron of the poet Ovid, and a commander at the battle of Actium in 31 B.C., fighting for Octavian against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
The now ruined villa has long been associated to Messalla's patrician family but no evidence was ever found to confirm the speculation. It is known that the poet Ovid, of whom Messalla was patron, went to visit Messalla's son on Elba prior to his exile on the Black Sea. However, in his account Ovid doesn't provide any detail about the place he was staying.
Startling evidence about Le Grotte's owner came when archaeologists excavated the area just below the villa. Along with the remains of a large collapsed building, five dolia, large earthenware vases, were uneathed. Each vase could hold between 1,300 and 1,500 liters of wine. Clearly, the site was a farm serving the Roman villa.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
The vases showed they were made by a Messalla's slave. Indeed they were stamped with the Latin inscription "Hermia Va(leri) (M)arci s(ervus) fecit," meaning "Made by Hermias, slave of Marcus Valerius." [Laura Pagliantini]
Can I lease it over Easter weekend?
Ban Hur was not the villain, Messalla was the villain.
I thought that Ben Hur was the Hero of the book and that Marsella was the villian, not the reverse.
Ben-Hur’s rival, I have on good authority, was named
Ben-Hym.
I thought Ben Hur’s friend was Ben Him and their rival was Ben Gay!
I stopped reading when I saw that mistake. This author doesn’t know squat.
On 2nd thought, I guess from the anti-Christian view, Marsella was the hero.
Are you laughing at my fweind's name?
And in just one vase.
You are reading the article correctly.
And you are correct about Ben Hur.
Of course, I suppose it’s possible some atheist, retard, movie director has done a stupid remake, has twisted the conventional roles around, and that this woman is only familiar with the remake.
Yeah...whassup widdat? This makes no sense.
That is what is known an a BFV.
*
Or maybe an anti-semite.
Ben Hur was the Jew; Messala was his Gentile (Roman) friend until he turned.
Which means he would have been in his 80s or older around the time of the death of Christ, when Ben Hur takes place.
*biggus....
Yeah, one of the graphics had that spelled out - I eschewed that.
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