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Glossary

Under construction. This glossary is a work in progress. I'll be honing and expanding it as well as adding navigational aids.

A verdict of not guilty in a trial. See also damno.

A tall, slender ceramic jar with a womanly shape. Used for storing or transporting wine or a variety of other products. With pointed bottoms, amphorae were stacked in kitchen corners or in overlapped rows in the hold of a ship.

Greek version of Roman triclinium—dining room with couches.

A ladies’ and children’s drink, one part honey in two parts cool water.

The upper of two peaks on the Capitoline Hill. It lies northwest of the lower peak, the Capitolium. The temple of Juno Moneta lay on the Arx, the temple of Jupiter on the Capitolium. You can still see a small excavated corner of the Temple of Jupiter today.

The outer courtyard or room in which Romans met their guests or in which a man’s clients kicked their heels while waiting to be seen by their patron.

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The bow end of the major beam forming an ancient ship’s spine. The beak protruded ahead of the ship and a little underwater. Used for ramming enemy ships in battle.

See contubernalis.

Campus Martius. Rome’s military drill field and parade ground, a huge area almost as large as the walled part of the city, lying northwest of the Capitoline Hill. Boys trained in military skills there. Consuls recruited troops there. Consular elections were held there, at the Saepta, a special area fenced off for the election counting. And triumphing generals headquartered there (since a general under arms could not enter the city without giving up his imperium) and commenced their triumphal parades there. It was largely open in Scipio’s day but later filled up with temples, circuses, and other buildings. Today it’s full of streets and buildings in modern Rome.

One of the seven hills of Rome, on which lay her most important temple, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Best and Greatest) or Capitolinus, along with other temples, especially Juno Moneta and Jupiter Feretrius. The Capitol overlooked the Forum Romanum on the east and the Campus Martius on the west.

See Tullianum.

See "Augury" in Adkins & Adkins, Dictionary of Religion. The sacred chickens were observed to see what their pattern of eating revealed about the will of the gods. Some were kept on the Capitol, along with geese considered sacred because they had warned Rome of the invasion of the Gauls in 390 B.C.E. Sacred chickens were also taken on campaign (land and sea).

The famous oval arena in which Rome held chariot races (as in Ben Hur) and gladiatorial contests (the Colosseum, or Flavian Amphitheater, had not been built yet in Scipio’s day). It could hold some 100,000 people in its wooden seats and, later, in Imperial times, was directly connected to the Imperial Palace on the nearby Palatine Hill. It was also adjacent to the Forum Boarium. Today you can walk the grassy field and still see the general oval outline. Ruins are under excavation at the southeast end.

Rome’s main sewer, which drained the valley between the Capitoline, Palatine, and Quirinal Hills. Open at first, it was covered later in the Republican era. It drained into the Tiber below Tiber Island and can still be seen there today.

Title of one of Rome’s highest elected officials, or magistrates. Two consuls were elected each year. The one polling the greater number of votes in the Centuriate Assembly was senior consul, the other junior consul. They alternated month by month possessing the fasces, the bundle of rods with an ax inserted that was the symbol of a magistrate’s power, senior consul first. Strong consuls set policy and bent the Senate to their will. Weaker consuls did the bidding of the Senate. Consuls not only governed the city and its possessions but also led armies. A consular army usually consisted of two legions plus auxilia. A man could be consul more than once, though usually some period must elapse between terms—in later Republican times, this was ten years. During times of crisis, the rules might be suspended, so that Fabius Maximus, for instance, served as consul five times, several of them during the 16-year Second Punic War. Other major elected magistrates, in descending order of rank, were the praetors (pry-tors) and the quaestors (kwystors). Praetors led armies and had governing powers (though subordinate to the consuls’). Quaestors were quartermasters, paymasters, and financial managers for the higher magistrates. There were other elected magistrates as well, including tribunes of the plebs, tribunes of the soldiers, and aediles (eye-deé-lays). Men usually served as consuls in their late thirties and beyond—the "proper year" in Caesar’s time was 42. A consul was entitled to be accompanied by a bodyguard of twelve lictors, members of the College of Lictors, who dressed in white tunics inside Rome, or crimson outside the city, with a broad belt. They carried the fasces, a bundle of birch rods tied with red leather thongs. Inside Rome, the bundle did not include the ax, signifying that within the sacred boundary, the pomerium, the magistrate had the power only to chastise. Outside the city, the lictors inserted axes, signifying that the consul could execute. If a consul was kept in service to lead an army or govern a province after his term (something that became more and more frequent during the Republic), he was called proconsul, had near-consular rank (though subordinate to current consuls), and had consular powers (imperium). After serving as consul, a man had consular rank, and was therefore known for the rest of his days as a consular.

A Roman army cadet.

A maneuverable gangplank carried aboard some Roman warships during the First Punic War. The corvus was carried into battle in a hoisted position near the front of the ship and dropped when in close contact with an enemy ship so its spike embedded in the enemy’s deck, fixing the enemy ship fast to its attacker and then used by marines to cross over. Discontinued after early successful uses because of it made ships unstable.

Romans reclined on couches to dine, so a Roman dining room, triclinium, contained several couches arranged in a U-shape (three sides) around low tables for the food. Servants used the open side to replenish the tables. A Roman man (in Scipio’s time, men only) reclined with his left elbow propping him up. Guests removed shoes to dine. Servants washed their feet and, if it was cold, put socks on them. Certain locations on the couches were places of honor, especially on the host’s right. If women and children dined with the men (not, if important business was to be conducted), they sat on straight-backed chairs opposite the men, with one or more couches removed. Other Mediterranean peoples such as the Greeks, and probably the Carthaginians, also dined reclining.

The top magistrates in Rome—consuls, praetors, curule aediles (any office with imperium)—were entitled to sit in a special chair. It was a low stool with small arms but no back, carved of ivory. Its legs formed an X pattern.

Another name for the goddess Aphrodite.

A verdict of guilty in a trial. See also absolvo.

Latin equivalent of "ma’am," "madam," or "mistress," used by a slave or freedman for his mistress/patron. See also Domine, Dominilla.

Latin equivalent of "sir" or "master," used by a slave or freedman for his master/patron. See also Domina, Dominilla.

Latin equivalent of "miss" or "young mistress," used by a slave or freedman for his young female mistress/patron. See also Domine, Domina.

In the manner of the Greek god Bacchus, or Dionysus: describes orgiastic revels involving drunkenness and sexual activity.

An expression like "damn" or "hell" – considered all right for polite use. See Edepol. Used mainly by women.

A military formation in which the men, units, or ships in the front line are staggered from front to rear on both sides, like a V with the point forward.

An expression like "damn" or "hell" – considered all right for polite use. See Ecastor. Used mainly by men in the presence of women.

Rome’s meat market, which lay south of the Capitol and southeast of the Forum Romanum, next to the Tiber. The Forum also contained several temples and shrines.

Rome’s vegetable market, which lay near the Tiber River close to the foot of the Capitoline Hill, on its west.

The principal center of Roman political and commercial life. It lay between the Capitoline, Palatine, and Quirinal Hills and contained many temples and the Curia Hostilia, or Senate House. The principal temples in Scipio’s day were Saturn and Castor and Pollux. The Forum today is a wonderland of architectural and sculptural ruins, with buildings from many eras still represented.

A military punishment in which a squad of men beat the condemned to death with cudgels.

Inhabitants of the Celtic lands that Rome called Gaul, which included most of modern France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland as well as Italy north of the Apennines, in the Po River Valley. The Gauls were a Celtic people rather than a Germanic one. The part of Gaul in Italy I call Italian Gaul, the Romans called Gallia Cisalpina, or nearer Gaul. The Gauls spoke a Celtic language or languages and were a collection of tribes rather than a nation. The Gauls invaded Italy numerous times, capturing most of Rome itself in 390 B.C.E. Rome waged perpetual warfare on Italian Gaul into the second century B.C.E. and Caesar conquered the rest of Gaul across the Alps in the first century B.C.E. For my sources on the Gauls, see the Bibliography for works on the Celts.

Tying two ships together during battle, usually with some sort of grappling hooks on lines, so an enemy ship can be boarded by marines. Early naval warfare used ramming more extensively (see beak). The Romans used the corvus to grapple an enemy.

A woman belonging to a class of Greek prostitutes valued not only for sex but for witty conversation and culture. Like a very high-class call girl today, but more special, more exotic.

Spain.

A wax image made of an important Roman man’s face. It had real human hair and was painted to look lifelike. Imagines (plural of imago) were kept in a special cabinet, along with the imagines of one’s ancestors, in the atrium of one’s house.

A title used by victorious soldiers to salute their commander. A general who was hailed Imperator (im-per-AH-tor) was usually entitled to a triumph when he returned to Rome.

A lieutenant or key subcomammander under a Roman general. Usually commanded one or more of the consul or praetor’s legions. Not clear when the term came into use—certainly the time of Gaius Marius, but was it in use in Scipio’s day? I’ve used it thus.

A unit of Roman military organization, usually consisting of some 4 – 5,000 men, accompanied by 300 or so cavalry. Commanded by a consul, praetor, or military tribune usually; sometimes by a proconsul or propraetor.

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Roman names. An eldest son was usually named after his father, so that the eldest son of Publius Cornelius Scipio was also called Publius Cornelius Scipio. Other sons usually received first names (praenomina) that were traditional in the family. Men’s names had two or three segments: the first name, or praenomen, the family or gens (clan) name, and often a third name, or cognomen, often based on a nickname or a physical trait (e.g. baldness) but later sometimes added in honor of a man’s achievements. Thus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus—the hero of our story—had the same praenomen as his father, Publius, and the same gens name, Cornelius. He also inherited the cognomen of his branch of the great Cornelius gens, Scipio ("staff"). But after defeating Hannibal at Zama in Africa, Scipio took the honorific second cognomen Africanus. In practice, at least in early times, Roman men used one of only about twenty praenomena: see the table just below. The table below shows men’s praenomina (with common abbreviations):

 

A. Aulus	M. Marcus
Ap. Appius	Opit. Opiter
C. Gaius	P. Publius
Cn. Gnaeus	Pro. Proculus
D. Decimus	Q. Quintus
Imp. Imperator*	Ser. Servius
K. Caeso	Sex. Sextus
L. Lucius	Sp. Spurius
Mam. Mamercus	T. Titus
M'. Manius	Ti. Tiberius

*Used by emperors instead of or in addtion to Praenomen

Daughters’ names were based on the father’s gens name. All daughters of a Cornelius were thus named Cornelia. If there were two daughters, they were usually Cornelia Major and Cornelia Minor, though they often had nicknames to simplify everyday life. A Julia might be called Julilla, for instance, to distinguish her from a sister. If there were more than two daughters, they were usually called Cornelia Prima, Cornelia Secunda, Cornelia Tertia, and so on: First, Second, Third, etc.

The great hill south of the Forum Romanum and between it and the Circus Maximus. In Republican times it contained homes, especially of the rich, and some temples. In Imperial times, it was the seat of the Imperial Palace. The ruins you see there today are mostly of the ancient palaces.

A back-bench senator, not considered important enough to speak in the Senate.

In Scipio’s day, Greek doctors were not yet the norm in Rome, but no doubt Greeks from Sicily were there, as well as Roman doctors. They practiced a fairly sophisticated herbal medicine and did some surgeries, though not very complex ones, and they also resorted to spells, prayers, and magic. One cult of medicine was centered around the Temple of the god Aesculapius, son of Apollo, who was associated with healing. The temple stood on Tiber Island. Battlefield surgery was mostly amputation and suturing of wounds.

A short Roman javelin. In the later Republic, Gaius Marius altered its design so that when it struck a target the shaft bent, rendering the weapon unusable—so it couldn’t be turned back on the Romans. But in Scipio’s day, the pilum may not yet have come into use. Men in the ranks used a longer spear called the hasta, and cavalrymen probably used short javelins, though not pilae. This is all a bit murky.

Originally the common people of Rome, as opposed to the Patricians, who were the aristocracy. Also "plebs." But Plebeians over the centuries wrested much power from the Patricians and, if rich and prominent enough, could become part of the aristocracy. They had their own Plebeian Assembly and ten Tribunes of the Plebs.

The body in Roman government created by the Plebeians to stand for their rights against the Patricians. By Scipio’s time, the Plebeian Assembly, or Assembly of the Plebs, made almost all Roman law, having taken that power from the Senate, which could only propose. Run by the ten Tribunes of the Plebs.

Ass, buttocks

An elective magistrate of Rome below the consulship. Praetors could command legions, serve as governors, and so on. Two special praetors were the Praetor Urbanus (praetor of the city), who oversaw city government, and the Praetor Peregrinus, who oversaw interactions between Romans and non-Romans and between non-Romans. In Scipio’s time, there were four praetors, a number set in 230 B.C.

An official with the imperium of a consul, but not currently serving as one. Used to govern provinces and command legions, usually.

An official with the imperium of a praetor, but not currently serving as one. Used to govern provinces and command legions, usually.

The Roman month of July, until it was renamed for Julius Caesar. See also Sextilus. The other months had names similar to the modern ones we use: January (for the god Janus), February, March (for Mars), April, May, June (for Juno), September (seventh month in a year that began in March), October (eighth), November (ninth), December (tenth).

An ancient ship with five oars per rowing station. Also called a Five. Compare to trireme, bireme, quadrireme, etc.

A heavy cloak or coat that soldiers wore on campaign. Best ones made of Ligurian wool, well greased.

The Roman month of August, until it was renamed for Augustus Caesar. See also Quinctilis.

An ancient ship with six rowers per rowing station. Compare to bireme, trireme, quadrireme, quinquereme. There were also Sevens, Eights, and so on, the largest much used being the Sixteen or Sixteener.

Spolia opima. The spoils (booty) taken from an enemy king slain in single combat by the Roman commander before commencement of battle. Only three Romans ever won it. The first was Romulus, the last Marcellus. See Plutarch, Life of Marcellus, 92, and New College Latin & English Dictionary under "spolium."

The pure white "manly" toga worn by a young Roman man of sixteen or seventeen to signify his new status as a man.

See Couch.

A celebratory parade and feast, with sacrifices, held to celebrate the triumphant return of a conquering general in Rome. Chapter 2 describes Marcellus’s triumph and the traditional triumphal route through Rome in some detail. The victorious general paraded through the streets with his spoils, captives, soldiers, and an antique chariot. He dressed in a special toga, purple with gold palmate decorations, wore a laurel crown, and painted his face with minim, the red paint used to paint the face of the statue of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in his temple. He also held a rod and an olive branch in his hands. A slave rode with the triumphator, whispering in his ear, "You are mortal." This was to keep him from getting ideas about kingship. The triumphal route ran from the assembly point on the Campus Martius into the city through the Porta Triumphalis, a special gate at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, then through the streets of the Velabrum, through the Forum Boarium, through the Circus Maximus, then through more streets and into the Forum Romanum along the Via Sacra, and finally up to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill, where a white bull was sacrificed. Soldiers marched in the parade, but they carried staffs, since they were not allowed to enter the city under arms. It’s fun to walk the triumphal route today—a wonderful walking tour of the city as it was in ancient times.

A volcanic stone common in Italy and used for building. Early Roman temples were of wood and tufa, not marble, and Rome’s streets were not paved until after Scipio’s time.

Richardson, 71, says the Tullianum was the lower chamber, reached by a hole in the floor of the upper chamber, the Carcer.

An everyday garment worn by men, women, and children, with its skirt coming to the knees or a little below and its sleeves short. Often worn belted. If a man wore a toga, he usually had a tunic underneath.

In the mid-fifth century B.C., Rome’s legal system was thoroughly codified for the first time on twelve tablets. The Twelve Tables specified every aspect of the legal and governmental systems. A good source on Roman law is Roman Law: An Historical Introduction, by Hans Julius Wolff.

Velabrum. The area of streets containing shops and homes between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills, southwest of the Forum Romanum. You can still walk the streets today, and enter the Forum Romanum.

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The right and left sections of an army or fleet in battle formation.

A carriage.