Hannibal 3x03: "Secondo"

[cleolinda]

This recap is entirely ridiculous with the pictures and the book quotes and the movie references and the background research and I'm not even sorry because this third season is all we have left, you guys. The show's throwing in everything plus the kitchen sink, so I might as well follow suit

Comments

FOOTNOTE: Name background: Hannibal Lecter

[cleolinda]

I tend to believe that European Aristocracy wasn't a background Harris had in mind when he wrote Red Dragon; the name "Hannibal Lecter" does not sound Lithuanian in the least. (Real talk: We all know he chose it because it rhymes with "cannibal.") I've yet to hear of "Lecter" being a real-life surname, but you can surmise that it derives from words like lector, lectern, lecture--and not just in the Hannibal Lecture sense; they're all words that ultimately derive from from the Latin leggere, "to read," and Hannibal is nothing if not ridiculously erudite.

"Hannibal" is a bit more complicated etymologically--there are many very nice people, I'm sure, named "Hannibal," but I think its initial positive connotation comes from Hannibal Barca, "one of the greatest military commanders in history," famous for marching his army, complete with elephants, over the Alps to attack Italy during the Roman Republic. Because if you really looked at its meaning--who would name their kid "grace of Baal, a demon who likes child sacrifice"? Well, Phoenicians, for one. Turns out that "Ba'al" was an honorific used for a number of weather/fertility gods or even mere mortals; the name didn't really crystallize into Prince of Hell (see also: Ba'al Zebub, Beelzebub) until the goetic writings of the 17th century. So back in the day, Carthage was a Phoenician colony, and Baal-hamon was its supreme deity--the Lord of Two Horns.



[ x]

So Hannibal Barca would have been named in honor of his city's primary deity, a perfectly reasonable and positive choice. Although, yes, the Carthaginians were sacrificing children--burnt offerings, no less (I need to go lie down now). But then, remember that on this show, Hannibal seems to be associated with fire, particularly with his cooking. So I find the idea of child sacrifice--well, I mean, I want to burn sage all through my house right now, but on a purely theoretical level, I find it "interesting" in the context of his sister dying at a young age.