How many baskets are there in a
Dodekathronon?
Etymology, Etymology, and more Etymology
as well as grammar, usage, euphemism, slang, jargon, semantics (meaning), linguistics, neologism, idiom, word origin, syntax, dialect, lexicon (vocabulary), diction, pidgin, synonym, antonym, homonym, cant, argot, lingo, and redundancy.
The critically-acclaimed board game
MooT
consists of tough questions about the nuances of the English language.
Answer:
12
The word Dodekathronon derives from the
Greek dodeka, twelve (from duo, two, and
deka, ten) and thronos, high
seat.
According to William Dalrymple's From the
Holy Mountain, during the Byzantine era, Constantinople's collection
of holy relics was the finest in Christendom.
"In one
shrine alone ... were secreted the holy nails used in the crucifixion, the axe
with which Noah built the Ark, and the Dodekathronon, the twelve baskets in
which had been collected the leftover loaves and fish from the feeding of the
five thousand...."
However, according to the
Jerusalem Post, "An old Byzantine manuscript enumerates the
Christian holy sites around Tiberias and its lake. The ancient text mentions
familiar sites such as Capernaum, and the Jordan River, but also a hill called
Dodekathronon (twelve seats), where Christ sat down and taught
and where, as tradition has it, he also multiplied the seven loaves and fed the
four thousand."
If anyone has
further info about the Dodekathronon - which is it: a place or a set of
baskets? - please pass it along.
Please note that these are draft questions for the board game MooT.
If you spot an error or disagree with anything I've said here,
please let me know and I'll fix it.
(the Mootguy)
Feedback
Given the frequency with which artifacts are
named after their places of origin or discovery, there is no reason why both
would not be correct. Famous examples include Sutton Hoo, Rosetta, and Lascaux.
For most people, the place names have come to signify the archaeological
materials found there. Presumably, only to local residents do the places rank
before the finds when the names are spoken or read.
x-claudialorenz-@-shaw.ca
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