Centesimus Sexagesimus Primus: July 14, 2009: Harena
Theme for the remainder of the month: Alphabet Soup
harena, harenae, f.
Definition: sand; seashore, desert; arena
Sententia: Catullus 7, l. 3-6
quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae
laserpiciferis iacet Cyrenis
oraculum Iovis inter aestuosi
et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum
What great number of Libyan [grains of] sand lie in laserpicium-bearing [laserpicium is just a random herb] Cyrene between the oracle of sweltering Jupiter and the sacred tomb of ancient Battus (Callimachus; a Greek poet who was Catullus' idol).
In this poem, Catullus is telling Lesbia, his love interest, how many kisses "are enough and over for crazy Catullus."
This word, found with and without the beginning "h", though it literally means "sand," also means "arena" because they were filled with sand. It is rather frequent in the Aeneid, occurring 25 times through the whole work. Its etymological roots are unknown.
NB: Bold and underline == macron