The Panem Companion

by V. Arrow

  The additional homophone pietà is Italian for pity or lamentation, and is particularly used in a religious context; Michelangelo’s favorite of his sculptures was the Pietà, Jesus’ body cradled by Mary. It has long been legend that Michelangelo stabbed a man to achieve the knowledge necessary to sculpt the human form in its moment of death so accurately, a story that is fueled in part by a perceived stab wound in the abdomen of the Christ figure. The Pietà stabbing wasn’t in the leg—and Michelangelo’s fabled victim probably didn’t frost himself in mud—but the image of Katniss cradling Peeta in the cave still works as a compelling reference to the Madonna cradling the body of Christ.

  When paired with Finnick’s, Peeta’s name evokes the phrase “loaves and fishes,” suggesting that the two help “feed” the multitude in Panem. Panem’s society is a bureaucracy of welfare, where people submit their names to the Hunger Games in exchange for grain and oil; Peeta and Finnick’s roles in the Second Rebellion both literally and metaphorically feed Panem’s citizens by eliminating that barrier to obtaining food and freedom.

  Peeta’s name also suggests a direct connection between him and Panem itself, as panem means bread and pita is a type of bread. As evidenced throughout the series, the connection between Panem and Peeta is reflexive: whatever is happening to Peeta is also happening to Panem, or vice versa. When Peeta is falling in love with Katniss during the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, so is Panem. When Peeta speaks of the unfairness of the Quarter Quell and reaches out to the other victors for support, the rest of Panem’s populace is beginning to erupt in civil unrest, supporting each other in a series of interdependent uprisings. And, most importantly, when Peeta is captured and tortured into insanity, Panem itself simultaneously dissolves into fractious, chaotic disarray. The ending of Peeta’s story is the same as the ending of Panem’s story: because of Katniss, both are able to attain peace and new growth.

  MESSALLA

  CRESSIDA’S ASSISTANT

  One possible Roman origin for Messalla’s name is the historical Messalla Corvinus. Corvinus was educated partly at Athens, together with Horace and the younger Cicero, which mirrors the Hunger Games’ Messalla’s Capitol upbringing and longtime working relationships with Cressida and Plutarch Heavensbee. In early life he became attached to republican principles—the Roman equivalent of rebel plans in the Hunger Games world—which he never abandoned, although in later life he avoided offending Caesar Augustus by not mentioning them too openly, much like the Hunger Games’ Messalla. Corvinus was most famous for the phrase, “I am disgusted with power.”xcvi

  Alternately, the name Messalla could have been taken from a Roman empress named Valeria Messallina, who conspired against her husband and was executed when the plot was discovered. The only ones who mourned for Messalina were her children; the Roman Senate ordered Messalina’s name removed from all public or private places and all statues of her removed.

  OCTAVIA

  MEMBER OF KATNISS’ PREP TEAM

  One of the most prominent women in Roman history, the historical Octavia was respected and admired by contemporaries for her loyalty, nobility, and humanity, and for maintaining traditional Roman feminine virtues. The Hunger Games’ Octavia, too, exemplifies feminine virtues: she is described as fashionable, curvaceous, and “girlish,” and as part of Cinna’s prep team is hell-bent on “feminizing” Katniss (by removing “unsightly” hair, polishing her nails, etc.). Like the historical Octavia, whose “virtue was such as to excite even admiration in an age of growing licentiousness and corruption,”xcvii Octavia is a good person at heart, despite her Capitol upbringing.

  The beauty of Rome’s Octavia was believed to be greater than even that of Cleopatra. In other words, as Posy says of the Hunger Games’ Octavia: she “would be pretty in any color”!M63

  ODAIR, Finnick

  DISTRICT 4 TRIBUTE IN THE QUARTER QUELL

  Finnick is most likely a portmanteau meant to evoke traditional Irish naming. It is most likely a combination of fin, for District 4’s ocean-oriented fishing specialty, and nick or Nicholas, meaning “victory of the people.”

  Odair may be a play on Adair, a Scotch-Gaelic name meaning “happy spear” (like Finnick’s trident!). It’s possible that it is meant to evoke the Irish name practice of using the prefix O’ to denote that a person is of a certain family or place, though Dair, the Irish name of the seventh letter of the Ogham alphabet, meaning oak, does not appear to relate in any way to Finnick.

  Given Suzanne Collins’ lifelong love of Greek and Roman mythology,xcviii Odair may also have been chosen because of its similarity to the name Odysseus; as discussed in chapter ten, Finnick’s arc in the Hunger Games series almost perfectly mirrors Odysseus’ journey over the course of the Illiad and Odyssey.

  PAYLOR (Commander Paylor)

  REBEL LEADER OF DISTRICT 8 AND FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE NEW PANEM

  One possible origin for Commander Paylor’s name is Master Sergeant Irving Arthur Paylor, who was held as a prisoner of war during the Korean War. He was unaccounted for after the war and is presumed to have died or been killed while in captivity.

  However, given that the Hunger Games’ Paylor is a woman, it is of note that a CSM Larry Paylor is quoted in a recent official military brief as saying:

  We (leaders) don’t look at gender anymore when making assignments. Our missions are too critical. [. . .] Physically, it’s obvious they are women, but their professionalism and expertise in their jobs are what stands out and helped them achieve all their substantial accomplishments. They are the most proficient soldiers I have worked with in my military career.xcvix

  POLLUX

  CAPITOL CAMERAMAN TURNED REBEL PROPOS PRODUCER

  The literal translation of the name Pollux is much sweet wine; in Greek mythology, he was the demigod son of Dionysius, the god of wine and pleasure. Greek myth’s Pollux was the twin brother of Castor, and one-half of the constellation Gemini. (See lexicon entry on Castor.)

  PORTIA

  PEETA’S STYLIST IN THE SEVENTY-FOURTH HUNGER GAMES AND THE QUARTER QUELL

  Portia is perhaps the most puzzling name in the Hunger Games, in terms of how it relates to her relationship to other characters. The Hunger Games’ Portia serves as an assistant/partner to Cinna, but in history, the best-known Portias had ties to Cato and Brutus.

  Collins may have chosen Portia as a name just because it was so common in Rome at the time of Caesar’s assassination; Portia is the feminine form of the gens (or family) Porcii, a nomen (or family name) that branched into three influential Roman lineages.

  The likeliest option for Portia’s namesake is Portia Catonis. She was the second wife of Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar’s assassins. She is best known for her suicide: swallowing live coals. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, she appears in fictionalized form as Brutus’ wife. It is a small role, but the only female role of note in the play. In the fourth act, it is reported that she died by swallowing fire. Her association with fire certainly makes her proprietary knowledge of the technology for the fire that adorned Katniss and Peeta’s opening ceremonies costumes appropriate. And in a way, the Hunger Games’ Portia could also be said to have died by fire—the sequence of events that ended with her death on live television began with the outfit that made Katniss the Girl On Fire.

  Another plausible source origin for Portia’s name is the Porcia Lex, a set of codified Roman laws that prohibited “degrading and shameful forms of punishment, such as scourging with rods or whips, and especially crucifixion.”c The Porcia Lex also established the right of Roman citizens to appeal to the representatives of their districts and made it legal to kill any citizen plotting to become a dictator or tyrant, a law most notably used to absolve the conspirators behind the death of Julius Caesar.ci

  The Porcia Lex also granted a Roman citizen, condemned by a magistrate to death or scourging, the right to appeal to the people—including the common people. This was a crucial addition to the law, because it meant the co
nsuls no longer had the power to pronounce sentences in capital cases against Roman citizens without the consent of the people. The Hunger Games’ Portia was an important part, through her work as stylist, of gaining similar rights for Panem’s citizens against unfair laws of the Capitol.

  PURNIA

  DISTRICT 12 PEACEKEEPER

  Purnia is the name of a district in India, but it may also be derived from the Roman name Calpurnia.

  Although the name may be taken from Calpurnia Pisonis, the final wife of Julius Caesar, it is more likely that she received her name from the Lex Acilia Calpurnia, a set of codified Roman laws against legal political corruption, as Purnia is the only Peacekeeper to step forward in protest when Gale is whipped in Catching Fire.

  RIPPER

  HOB BOOTLEGGER

  The name Ripper may be a homage to moonshine culture in the Appalachians, where moonshine is also called “fence-ripper,” for the propensity of those who drink it to get drunk and fall down. In Hungary, the most alcoholic distilled fruit alcohols are (informally) referred to as “kerítésszaggató” in Hungarian, which literally means fence-ripper and also referring to a drunkard’s loss of balance. Famous bootlegger Al Capone was also a member of the gang “The Brooklyn Rippers” in his childhood.

  ROOBA

  DISTRICT 12 BUTCHER

  Rooba is an Estonian surname, which may offer some insight into the cultural origins of the people of District 12 (though it’s unlikely, if Melungeon heritage is the intended model). The homophone Ruba is a town in Belarus.

  It is possible that Rooba is a variation on the first syllables of the traditional American nursery rhyme “Rub-a-Dub-Dub,” which involves a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker. Given that Rooba’s profession is butcher and she is a part of Katniss’ trade route as much as the candlestick maker (as Katniss frequently trades for paraffin)—and, obviously, the District 12 baker!—this rhyme allusion might be a sly nod to the idea of the Hob, which is a gathering place for these types of independent craftsmen.

  Further evidence that her name may be an allusion to the Hob comes from the origins of the nursery rhyme itself. As the butcher for District 12, it stands to reason that Rooba is a merchant—and therefore, should not be participating in the Hob’s black market (although, technically, no one should really be participating in a black market; that’s what makes it a black market). There are distinct regional variances in the rhyme between England and the United States, but the three most common versions are:

  Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub. And who do you think were there? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, and all jumped out of a rotten potater. It was enough to make a man stare.

  Hey, rub-a-dub, ho, rub-a-dub, three maids in a tub. And who do you think were there? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, and all of them going to the fair.

  Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub. And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker the candlestick maker. Turn them out, knaves all three.cii

  In all three cases, the “respectable tradesfolk” are caught doing something they shouldn’t have been: the “rotten potater” suggests that they were cheating their customers; “the fair”—another term for a bawdy house—and “knaves all three” implies the men are at a gay bath-house. Choosing to sell meat from dying animals at the Hob rather than from properly butchered livestock in the merchant area suggests that Rooba may be a bit of a “rotten potater” herself.

  RUE

  DISTRICT 11 TRIBUTE IN THE SEVENTY-FOURTH HUNGER GAMES

  As stated in the novels, Rue derives from the flower Ruta graveolens, also known as the Herb-of-Grace, which is well known for its ability to tolerate harsh conditions. In European folk medicine, rue is said to improve appetite and to prevent the Black Death. In Rome (particularly around Caesar’s time), it was used to induce abortion. Brushing against a Ruta graveolens plant can result in cuts and burn-like bubbles (much like tracker jacker stings, but without the hallucinations and death).

  To rue means to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly; wish that something had never been done or never taken place.

  The French homophone roux is a thickening agent in both Creole and Cajun cuisines in the Deep South. Rue’s origins are in the same geographical location, and her death “thickens” or deepens the discord between District 11 and the Capitol while cohering the relationship between District 11 and District 12.

  Another homophone, the German Ruhe, means peace.

  SEEDER

  DISTRICT 11 TRIBUTE IN THE QUARTER QUELL

  Seeder, or one who seeds or plants seeds, is most likely derived from the District 11 specialty of agriculture. The name could also allude to her role in “sowing the seeds of rebellion” by being a part of the Quell plot—and possibly participating in the District 11 riots in Catching Fire.

  SNOW, Coriolanus

  The name Snow is fairly straightforward, as it’s also a modern English word. Snow’s primary characteristic is that it is cold, physically—just as the Hunger Games’ Snow is cold emotionally.

  “SNOW” was also the codename of a Welsh mole during WWII who specialized in bugging his enemies, something at which the Hunger Games’ Snow also excels.

  Colloquially, to “snow” someone is to intentionally deceive, double-cross, or con them.

  Coriolanus was the name of a Roman emperor with philosophical parallels to the Hunger Games’ President Snow. As a general, he successfully led the city’s soldiers against an enemy tribe, the Volscians; however, after defeating them and thereby winning support from the patricians of the Roman Senate, Coriolanus argued against the democratic inclinations of the common people. After ruling in tyranny, Coriolanus was charged with misappropriation of public funds, convicted, and permanently banished from Rome.

  Shakespeare’s play about the exiled emperor, titled Coriolanus, opens in Rome shortly after the expulsion of the Tarquin kings. There are riots in progress after stores of grain are withheld from ordinary citizens. The rioters are particularly angry with Coriolanus, whom they blame for the grain being taken away. Coriolanus is openly contemptuous of the common people and says that the common people are not worthy of the grain because of their lack of military service. Faced with this opposition, Coriolanus flies into a rage and rails against the concept of popular rule, comparing allowing plebeians to have power over the patricians to allowing “crows to peck the eagles.” He leads a new wartime assault against the city and is stopped only by a tenuous peace accord . . . which is broken by his execution. For readers who know the play, the name may also serve as false foreshadowing, given that Katniss chooses against assassinating Snow at the last moment.

  TAX

  ARCHERY INSTRUCTOR FOR THE QUARTER QUELL

  Tax most likely comes from taxes—perhaps intended to evoke “No taxation without representation!”—the slogan of another rebellion, though there’s no evidence Tax was involved with the rebel cause.

  In the 1970s in the United States, there was actually a specific tax on archery equipment; this is probably a coincidence.

  TEMPLESMITH, Claudius

  THE ANNOUNCER OF THE HUNGER GAMES

  A templesmith is literally a person who creates temples, which are houses of worship, but also places devoted to a special purpose or particular rite—such as the Hunger Games in Panem.

  The best-known historical Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) was the great-great grandnephew of Julius Caesar and the first Roman emperor to be born outside of Italy. Claudius constructed many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the empire during his reign and took a personal interest in law, presiding at public trials and issuing up to twenty edicts a day. His death allowed Nero to become emperor. Emperor Nero is best known for his lackadaisical, inappropriate behavior during the Great Fire of Rome (thus the often-used phrase “Nero fiddles while Rome burns”)—behavior reminiscent of the Capitol’s preparations for the Quarter Quell, even as the rest of Panem begins disintegrating in riots
and strikes.

  THOM

  DISTRICT 12 MINER

  Thom is a shortened form of Thomas, meaning a twin.

  Thomas the apostle, or “Doubting Thomas,” is best known for disbelieving Jesus’ resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming “My Lord and my God!” upon seeing him alive again. He was the only apostle who may have gone outside the Roman Empire to preach. He is also believed to have crossed the largest area in proselytizing—making him a good fit as namesake for the Hunger Games’ Thom, whose role in civil service for the government of New Panem takes him far outside District 12.

  THREAD, Romulus

  REPLACEMENT HEAD PEACEKEEPER IN DISTRICT 12 WHO WHIPS GALE

  Thread may mean exactly what it sounds like, thread, and be an indication that the Peacekeeper has District 8 origins, despite Katniss’ claim that most Peacekeepers are from District 2. However, it may also be a reference to the Fates, who spin, measure, and snip the thread of life, choosing the time and manner of each person’s death. Romulus Thread seems to find the latter to be his purview as well, given his arbitrary interpretation of the laws for corporal punishment in District 12 in regard to Gale.

  In Greek mythology, Theseus uses Ariadne’s thread to find his way through the Minotaur’s maze; for Katniss, it is Romulus Thread’s mistreatment of Gale that leads her to a greater understanding of the depth of the Capitol’s ills.