- published: 27 Oct 2013
- views: 446
- author: jiri111000
Antonio is a Greek, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish first name. In the English language it is translated as Anthony, and has some female derivatives: Antonia, Antónia, Antonieta, Antonietta, and Antonella. It also has some male derivatives, such as Anthonio, Antonis, Antoñito, Antonino, Antonello, Tonio, Toño, Toñín, Tonino, Nantonio, Totò, Tó, Toni and Toñito. The Portuguese equivalent is António or Antônio. In old Portuguese the form Antão was also used. The Greek versions of the name are Antonios and Antonis (Αντώνης).
The name derives from Antonius, a well known Latin family name, probably of Etruscan origin. Antonius has been said to derive from the Ancient Greek God "Adonis". This, however, is quite unlikely, since the Greek letter "δ" (delta) is equivalent to the Latin letter "d" and there is no recorded transformation of "δ" or "d" to "nt". The Roman general Marcus Antonius held that the origin of the name was Anthon, son of Hercules. This myth, recorded by Plutarch, was probably created by Marcus Antonius himself, in order to claim divine parentage. The name was in use throughout the Roman world which, at its height, comprised the whole of the Mediterranean and much of Europe as well as the Near and Middle East. When the Roman Empire became Christian, the name continued in popularity because of the many great saints who bore the name. Later, the name was spread all around the world as Christianity was introduced into indigenous populations (e.g. the Far East, the Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa).
Don Juan (Spanish, or "Don Giovanni" in Italian) is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra (The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest) by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630. Evidence suggests it is the first written version of the Don Juan legend. Among the best known works about this character today are Molière's play Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre (1665), Byron's epic poem Don Juan (1821), José de Espronceda's poem El estudiante de Salamanca (1840) and José Zorrilla's play Don Juan Tenorio (1844). Along with Zorrilla's work (still performed every year on November 2nd throughout the Spanish-speaking world), arguably the best known version is Don Giovanni, an opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, first performed in Prague in 1787 (with Giacomo Casanova probably in the audience) and itself the source of inspiration for works by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Alexander Pushkin, Søren Kierkegaard, George Bernard Shaw and Albert Camus.