Libertas

Libertas (Latin for Liberty) was the Roman goddess and embodiment of liberty.

Temples and derived inspirations

In 238 BC, before the Second Punic War, having long been a Roman deity along with other personified virtues, Libertas assumed goddess status. Tiberius Gracchus ordered the construction of her first temple on Aventine Hill; census tables were stored inside the temple's atrium. A subsequent temple was built (58–57 BC) on Palatine Hill, another of the Seven hills of Rome, by Publius Clodius Pulcher. By building and consecrating the temple on the former house of then-exiled Cicero, Clodius ensured that the land was legally uninhabitable. Upon his return, Cicero successfully argued that the consecration was invalid and thus managed to reclaim the land and destroy the temple. In 46 BC, the Roman Senate voted to build and dedicate a shrine to Libertas in recognition of Julius Caesar, but no temple was built; instead, a small statue of the goddess stood in the Roman Forum.

Libertas, along with other Roman goddesses, has served as the inspiration for many modern-day symbols, including the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in the United States of America. According to the National Park Service, the Statue's Roman robe is the main feature that invokes Libertas and the symbol of Liberty from which the Statue derives its name.

Libertas (Czech Republic)

Libertas.cz is a eurosceptic party in the Czech Republic that was founded in 2009 by the former media entrepreneur and MEP Vladimír Železný. After some controversies it became an associate of Declan Ganley's pan-European alliance Libertas.eu.

History

After comprehensive negotiations with president Václav Klaus and other leading Czech eurosceptics, Ganley's attempts to bring about a Czech branch of Libertas.eu remained unsuccessful. The newly founded Party of Free Citizens, which was endorsed by Klaus, unexpectedly refused to cooperate with Ganley's pan-European alliance, leaving the name Libertas unclaimed in the Czech Republic.

This enabled the former media mogul Vladimír Železný, a eurosceptic Member of the European Parliament to register a party under exactly the designated name by January 21, 2009. It remained unclear whether the registration had been accomplished in some way on behalf of the European Libertas.eu or without any consent.

Supporters of Železný's Libertas.cz included Jana Bobošíková and Vlastimil Tlustý but not Declan Ganley and his followers, who promptly disavowed the party. However, after Václav Klaus intervened, two MPs, Vlastimil Tlustý and Jan Schwippel, changed sides, leaving ODS and joining Železný's Libertas.cz. This led the European Libertas.eu to a volte-face, now claiming Železný's Libertas.cz an affiliate.

Xi Aquilae

Xi Aquilae (abbreviated ξ Aquilae, ξ Aql), also named Libertas, is a red clump giant star located at a distance of 184 light-years (56 parsecs) from the Sun in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. As of 2008, an extrasolar planet (designated Xi Aquilae b, later named Fortitudo) has been confirmed in orbit around the star.

Nomenclature

Xi Aquilae is the Bayer designation. Following its discovery the planet was designated Xi Aquilae b. In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars. The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names. In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning names were Libertas for this star and Fortitudo for its planet.

The winning names were those submitted by Libertyer, a student club at Hosei University of Tokyo, Japan. The names which were originally proposed were in English and were 'Liberty' and 'Fortitude', but to comply with the IAU's rules they were modified to be Latin versions of the same words, and so the final names became 'Libertas' and 'Fortitudo' respectively. 'Aquila' is Latin for 'eagle', a popular symbol of liberty and embodiment of fortitude - emotional and mental strength in the face of adversity.

Selma

Selma may refer to:

Places

Selma, Alabama

Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 20,756 as of the 2010 census.

The city is best known for the 1960s Selma Voting Rights Movement and the Selma to Montgomery marches, beginning with "Bloody Sunday" in March 1965 and ending with 25,000 people entering Montgomery at the end of the last march to press for voting rights. This activism generated national attention to social justice and that summer, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress to authorize federal oversight and enforcement of constitutional rights of all citizens.

It had been a trading center and market town during the years of King Cotton in the South. It was also an important armaments manufacturing and iron shipbuilding center during the Civil War, surrounded by miles of earthen fortifications. The undermanned Confederate forces were defeated during the Battle of Selma.

Selma (film)

Selma is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel,Hosea Williams, Martin Luther King, Jr., and John Lewis. The film stars actors David Oyelowo as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Tim Roth as George Wallace, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, and rapper and actor Common as Bevel.

Selma premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11, 2014, began a limited US release on December 25, and expanded into wide theatrical release on January 9, 2015, two months before the 50th anniversary of the march. The film got a re-release on March 20, 2015 in the honor of the 50th anniversary of the historical march.

Selma had four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor, and won for Best Original Song. It was also nominated for Best Picture and won Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards.