Circus The Roman racecourse and the stadium which enclosed it. The original, and always the largest, was the Circus Maximus, which lay between the Palatine and Aventine hills. A later, smaller circus, the Circus Flaminius, lay outside the walls on the Campus Martius.
Client One attached in a subordinate relationship to a patron, whom he was bound to support in war and in the courts. Freedmen became clients of their former masters. The relationship was hereditary.
Coemptio Marriage by symbolic sale. Before five witnesses and a libripens who held a balance, the bridegroom struck the balance with a bronze coin and handed it to the father or guardian of the bride. Unlike conferreatio (q.v.), coemptic was easily dissolved by divorce.
Cognomen The family name, denoting any of the stirpes of a gens; i.e., Caius Julius Caesar. Caius of the stirps Caesar of gens Julia. Some plebeian families never adopted a cognomen, notably the Marii and the Antonii.
Coitio A political alliance between two men, uniting their voting blocs. Usually it was an agreement between politicians who were otherwise antagonists, in order to edge out mutual rivals.
Colonia Towns which had been conquered by Rome, where Roman citizens were settled. Later, settlements founded by discharged veterans of the legions. After 89 B.C. all Italian coloniae had full rights of citizenship. Those in the provinces had limited citizenship.
Compluvium An opening in a roof to admit light.
Conferreatio The most sacred and binding of Roman forms of marriage. The bride and groom offered a cake of spelt to Jupiter in the presence of a pontifex and the Flamen Dialis. It was the ancient patrician form of marriage. By the late Republic it was obsolete except for some priesthoods in which the priest was required to be married by conferreatio.
Consul Supreme magistrate of the Republic. Two were elected each year. Insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis. Each Consul was attended by twelve lictors. The office carried full imperium. On the expiration of his year in office, the ex-Consul was usually assigned a district outside Rome to rule as proconsul. As proconsul, he had the same insignia and the same number of lictors. His power was absolute within his province.
Contubernium An eight-man section or squad. There were usually eight contubernia (pl.) to each century, although the number varied. Each contubernium shared a tent made of cow-hide, and rations were usually broken down and distributed by contubernia, making them “messmates” in the army sense.
Cornicen A large, circular trumpet with a crossbar that rested on the trumpeter’s shoulder. Unlike the tuba, the cornicen remained with the standards and was used primarily to summon the soldiers to their eagles.
Curia The meetinghouse of the Senate, located in the Forum.
Cursus Honorum The chain of offices held by men in public life: Quaestor, Praetor, and Consul. The aedileship was not required by constitution for higher office but was a necessity by the first century B.C. The office of Tribune of the People or Plebs could not be held by patricians and Censor was a special office. Therefore these three offices, although prestigious, were not a part of the cursus honorum.
Dictator An absolute ruler chosen by the Senate and the Consuls to deal with a specific emergency. For a limited period, never more than six months, he was given unlimited imperium, which he was to lay down upon resolution of the emergency. Unlike the Consuls, he had no colleague to overrule him and he was not accountable for his actions performed during office when he stepped down. His insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis and he was accompanied by twenty-four lictors, the number of both Consuls. Dictatorships were extremely rare and the last was held in 202 B.C. The dictatorships of Sulla and Caesar were unconstitutional.
Dioscuri Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda. The Romans revered them as protectors of the city.
Eques (pl. equites) Formerly, citizens wealthy enough to supply their own horses and fight in the cavalry, they came to hold their status by meeting a property qualification. They formed the moneyed upper-middle class. In the centuriate assembly they formed eighteen centuries and once had the right of voting first, but they lost this as their military function disappeared. The publicans, financiers, bankers, moneylenders, and tax-farmers came from the equestrian class.
Faction In the Circus, the supporters of the four racing companies: Red, White, Blue, and Green. Most Romans were fanatically loyal to one of these.
Fasces A bundle of rods bound around an ax with a red strap, symbolizing a Roman magistrate’s power of corporal and capital punishment. They were carried by the lictors who accompanied the curule magistrates, the Flamen Dialis, and the proconsuls and propraetors who governed provinces. When a lower magistrate met a higher, his lictors lowered their fasces in salute.
Flamen A high priest of a specific god of the state. The college of flamines had fifteen members: three patrician and twelve plebeian. The three highest were the Flamen Dialis, the Flamen Martialis, and the Flamen Quirinalis. They had charge of the daily sacrifices, wore distinctive headgear, and were surrounded by many ritual taboos. The Flamen Dialis, high priest of Jupiter, was entitled to the toga praetexta, which had to be woven by his wife, the sella curulis, and a single lictor, and he could sit in the Senate. It became difficult to fill the college of flamines because they had to be prominent men, the appointment was for life, and they could take no part in politics.
Forum An open meeting and market area. The premier forum was the Forum Romanum, located on the low ground surrounded by the Capitoline, Palatine, and Caelian hills. It was surrounded by the most important temples and public buildings. Roman citizens spent much of their day there. The courts met outdoors in the Forum when the weather was good. When it was paved and devoted solely to public business, the Forum Romanum’s market functions were transferred to the Forum Boarium, the cattle market, near the Circus Maximus. Small shops and stalls remained along the northern and southern peripheries, however.
Freedman A manumitted slave. Formal emancipation conferred full rights of citizenship except for the right to hold office. Informal emancipation conferred freedom without voting rights. In the second or at latest third generation, a freedman’s descendants became full citizens.
Gaul Roughly, modern France, Alsace-Lorraine, Belgium, and the Netherlands; the land between the Rhine and the Pyrenees. Most of the inhabitants were of Celtic descent and spoke Celtic dialects, although there were Germanics and others. The Romans tended to call them all Gauls, whatever their ethnic and linguistic origins.
Genius The guiding and guardian spirit of a person or place. The genius of a place was called genius loci.
Gens A clan, all of whose members were descended from a single ancestor. The nomen of a patrician gens always ended with -ius. Thus, Caius Julius Caesar was Caius, of the Caesarian stirps of gens Julia.
Gladiator Literally, “swordsman.” A slave, prisoner of war, condemned criminal, or free volunteer who fought, often to the death, in the munera. All were called swordsmen, even if they fought with other weapons.
Gladius The short, broad, double-edged sword borne by Roman soldiers. It was designed primarily for stabbing. A smaller, more antiquated design was used by gladiators.
Gravitas The quality of seriousness.
Haruspex A member of a college of Etruscan professionals who examined the entrails of sacrificial animals for omens.
Hospitium An arrangement of reciprocal hospitality. When visiting the other’s city, each hospes (pl. hospites) was entitled to food and shelter, protection in court, care when ill or injured, and honorable burial should he die during the visit. The obligation was binding on both families and was passed on to descendants.
Ides The 15th of March, May, July, and October. The 13th of other months.
Imperium The ancient power of kings to summon and lead armies, to order and forbid, and to inflict corporal and capital punishment. Under the Republic, the imperium was divided among the Consuls and Praetors, but they were subject to appeal and intervention by the tribunes i
n their civil decisions and were answerable for their acts after leaving office. Only a dictator had unlimited imperium.
Insula Literally, “island.” A large, multistory tenement block.
Itinera Streets wide enough for only foot traffic. The majority of Roman streets were itinera.
Janitor A slave doorkeeper, so called for Janus, god of gateways.
Kalends The 1st of any month.
Latifundium A large landed estate or plantation worked by slaves. During the late Republic these expanded tremendously, all but destroying the Italian peasant class.
Legates Subordinate commanders chosen by the Senate to accompany generals and governors. Also, ambassadors appointed by the Senate.
Legion Basic unit of the Roman army. Paper strength was six thousand, but usually closer to four thousand. All were armed as heavy infantry with a large shield, cuirass, helmet, gladius, and light and heavy javelins. Each legion had attached to it an equal number of non-citizen auxiliaries consisting of light and heavy infantry, cavalry, archers, slingers, and others. Auxilia were never organized as legions, only as cohorts.
Lictor Attendants, usually freedmen, who accompanied magistrates and the Flamen Dialis, bearing the fasces. They summoned assemblies, attended public sacrifices, and carried out sentences of punishment. Twenty-four lictors accompanied a dictator, twelve for a Consul, six for a propraetor, two for a Praetor, and one for the Flamen Dialis.
Liquamen Also called garum, it was the ubiquitous fermented fish sauce used in Roman cooking.
Lituus The crook-topped staff carried by an augur. Also, a cavalry trumpet of similar shape.
Ludus (pl. ludi) The official public Games, races, theatricals, and so on. Also, a training school for gladiators, although the gladiatorial exhibitions were not ludi.
Munera Special Games, not part of the official calendar, at which gladiators were exhibited. They were originally Funeral Games and were always dedicated to the dead. In munera sine missione, all the defeated were killed and sometimes were made to fight sequentially or all at once until only one was left standing. Munera sine missione were periodically forbidden by law.
Municipia Towns originally with varying degrees of Roman citizenship, but by the late Republic with full citizenship. A citizen from a municipium was qualified to hold any public office. An example is Cicero, who was not from Rome but from the municipium of Arpinum.
Nobiles Those families, both patrician and plebeian, in which members had held the Consulate.
Nomen The name of the clan or gens (e.g., Caius Julius Caesar).
Nones The 7th of March, May, July, and October. The 5th of other months.
Novus Homo Literally, “new man.” A man who is the first of his family to hold the Consulate, giving his family the status of nobiles.
Optimates The party of the “best men” (i.e., aristocrats and their supporters).
Optio A centurion’s assistant, second in command of the century.
Patria Potestas The absolute authority of the paterfamilias over the children of his household, who could neither legally own property while their father was alive nor marry without his permission. Technically, he had the right to sell or put to death any of his children, but by Republican times this was a legal fiction.
Patrician A descendant of one of the founding fathers of Rome. Once, only patricians could hold offices and priesthoods and sit in the Senate, but these privileges were gradually eroded until only certain priesthoods were strictly patrician. By the late Republic, only about fourteen gens remained.
Patron A man with one or more clients whom he was bound to protect, advise, and otherwise aid. The relationship was hereditary.
Peculium Roman slaves could not own property, but they could earn money outside the household, which was held for them by their masters. This fund was called a peculium, and could be used, eventually, to purchase the slave’s freedom.
Peristylium An open courtyard surrounded by a colonnade.
Pietas The quality of dutifulness toward the gods and, especially, toward one’s parents.
Pilum An extremely heavy javelin peculiar to the Roman legions. It was employed primarily to deprive the enemy of his shield and was designed in various ways to be disabled upon impact so that it could not be thrown back.
Plebeian All citizens not of patrician status.
Pomerium The line of the ancient city wall, attributed to Romulus. Actually, the space of vacant ground just within and without the wall, regarded as holy. Within the pomerium it was forbidden to bear arms or bury the dead.
Pontifex A member of the highest priestly college of Rome. They had superintendence over all sacred observances, state and private, and over the calendar. There were fifteen in the late Republic: seven patrician and eight plebeian. Their chief was the pontifex maximus, a title now held by the pope.
Popular Assemblies There were three: the centuriate assembly (comitia centuriata) and the two tribal assemblies: comitia tributa and consilium plebis, q.v.
Populares The party of the common people.
Posca A mixture of sour wine vinegar and water, often heated, drunk by Roman soldiers and the poor.
Praenomen The given name of a freeman, as Marcus, Sextus. Caius, etc. (e.g., Caius Julius Caesar); Caius of the stirps Caesar of gens Julia. Women used a feminine form of their father’s nomen (e.g., the daughter of Caius Julius Caesar would be named Julia).
Praetor Judge and magistrate elected yearly along with the Consuls. In the late Republic there were eight Praetors. Senior was the Praetor Urbanus, who heard civil cases between citizens. The Praetor Peregrinus heard cases involving foreigners. The others presided over criminal courts. Insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis, and Praetors were accompanied by two lictors. The office carried the imperium. After leaving office, the ex-Praetors became propraetors and went to govern propraetorian provinces with full imperium.
Praetorian Guard Prior to the reign of Tiberius Caesar (A.D. 14–37), a guard or reserve force of varying size and makeup organized at the pleasure of a general. During the Republican and Augustan periods, it was not the permanent, “kingmaking” unit it became under the Principate.
Praetorium A general’s headquarters, usually a tent in camp. In the provinces, the official residence of the governor.
Princeps “First Citizen.” An especially distinguished Senator chosen by the Censors. His name was the first called on the roll of the Senate and he was first to speak on any issue. Later the title was usurped by Augustus and is the origin of the word “prince.”
Proscription List of names of public enemies published by Sulla. Anyone could kill a proscribed person and claim a reward, usually a part of the dead man’s estate.
Publicans Those who bid on public contracts, most notably builders and tax-farmers. The contracts were usually let by the Censors and therefore had a period of five years.
Pugio The straight, double-edged dagger of the Roman soldiers.
Quaestor Lowest of the elected officials, they had charge of the treasury and financial matters such as payments for public works. They also acted as assistants and paymasters to higher magistrates, generals, and provincial governors. They were elected yearly by the comitia tributa.
Quirinus The deified Romulus, patron deity of the city.
Rostra A monument in the Forum commemorating the sea battle of Antium in 338 B.C., decorated with the rams, “rostra” of enemy ships (sing. rostrum). Its base was used as an orator’s platform.
Sagum The Roman military cloak, made of wool and always dyed red. To put on the sagum signified the changeover to war-time status, as the toga was the garment of peace. When the citizens met in the comitia centuriata, they wore the sagum in token of its ancient function as the military muster.
Salii “Dancers.” Two colleges of priests dedicated to Mars and Quirinus, who held their rites in March and October, respectively. Each college consisted of twelve young patricians whose parents were still living. On their festivals, they dre
ssed in embroidered tunics, a crested bronze helmet, and breastplate, and each bore one of the twelve sacred shields (“ancilia”) and a staff. They processed to the most important altars of Rome and before each performed a war dance. The ritual was so ancient that, by the first century B.C., their songs and prayers were unintelligible.
Saturnalia Feast of Saturn, December 17-23, a raucous and jubilant occasion when gifts were exchanged, debts were settled, and masters waited on their slaves.
Sella Curulis A folding camp chair. It was part of the insignia of the curule magistrates and the Flamen Dialis.
Senate Rome’s chief deliberative body. It consisted of three hundred to six hundred men, all of whom had won elective office at least once. Once the supreme ruling body, by the late Republic the Senate’s former legislative and judicial functions had devolved upon the courts and the Popular Assemblies and its chief authority lay in foreign policy and the nomination of generals. Senators were privileged to wear the tunica laticlava.
Servile War The slave rebellion led by the Thracian gladiator Spartacus in 73-71 B.C. The rebellion was crushed by Crassus and Pompey.
Sica A single-edged dagger or short sword of varying size. It was favored by thugs and used by the Thracian gladiators in the arena. Classified as an infamous rather than an honorable weapon.
Signifer A legionary standard-bearer.
Solarium A rooftop garden and patio.
Spatha The Roman cavalry sword, longer and narrower than the gladius.
SPQR “Senatus populusque Romanus.” The Senate and People of Rome. The formula embodying the sovereignty of Rome, used on official correspondence, documents, and public works.
Stirps A subfamily of a gens. The cognomen gave the name of the stirps (e.g., Caius Julius Caesar). Caius of the stirps Caesar of gens Julia.
Strigil A bronze implement, roughly S-curved, used to scrape sand and oil from the body after bathing. Soap was unknown to the Roman Republic.
Strophium A cloth band worn by women beneath or over the clothing to support the breasts.
Subligaculum A loincloth, worn by men and women.
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