Longinus

This name derives from the Latin “lŏngus,” meaning “long, extended, large,” which in turn derives from the Ancient Greek “dolikhós (δολιχός),” meaning “long, protracted,” traced to the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction of “*dlhgós.” Longos was the author of an ancient Greek novel, “Daphnis and Chloe.” We know little about his life, and we believed that he lived on the island of Lesbos (setting of Dafni and Chloe) during the second century AD. Longinus is a legendary figure of Christian history as the name given in medieval and some modern Christian traditions to the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus in his side with a lance, the “Holy Lance” (lancea, as related in the Latin Vulgate Bible) while he was on the Cross. Domitia Longina (~53/55–126/130) was an Empress of Rome and wife to the Roman Emperor Domitian.