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Aulus Gellius 11.6

Translation copyright 2003 Neil W. Bernstein; all rights reserved.

That women in Rome did not swear by Hercules, nor men by Castor. (1)

  3. However it is not easy to say why men do not call on Castor when swearing oaths. A woman saying "By Hercules!" or a man saying "By Castor!" cannot be found anywhere in correct writers.
  4. However "edepol," which is an oath by Pollux, is common to both men and women.
  6. Little by little, nevertheless, through ignorance of ancient custom, men began to say "edepol," and this became a habit of speaking. But "By Castor!" said by a man is to be found in no ancient source.


  2. Cf. Propertius 4.9.69, Macrobius Saturnalia 1.12.28.
  3. The surviving works of Varro (116-27 BC), "the most learned of the Romans", include an essay on farming (Res Rustica) and part of a treatise on the Latin language (de Lingua Latina).

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