1.
Patera
–
In the material culture of classical antiquity, a phiale or patera is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has an indentation in the center underside to facilitate holding it. It typically has no handles, and no feet, although the two terms may be used interchangeably, particularly in the context of Etruscan culture, phiale is more common in reference to Greek forms, and patera in a Roman setting. Libation was a central and vital aspect of ancient Greek religion and it is one of the basic religious acts that define piety in ancient Greece, dating back to the Bronze Age and even prehistoric Greece. Libations were a part of life, and the pious might perform them every day in the morning and evening. A libation most often consisted of mixed wine and water, but could also be unmixed wine, honey, oil, water, the form of libation called spondē is typically the ritualized pouring of wine from a jug or bowl held in the hand. The most common ritual was to pour the liquid from an oinochoē into a phiale, the Greeks stood when they prayed, either with their arms uplifted, or in the act of libation with the right arm extended to hold the phiale. After the wine offering was poured from the phiale, the remainder of the contents was drunk by the celebrant, in Roman art, the libation is shown performed at an altar, mensa, or tripod. It was the simplest form of sacrifice, and could be a sufficient offering by itself, the introductory rite to an animal sacrifice included an incense and wine libation onto a burning altar. Both emperors and divinities are frequently depicted, especially on coins, scenes of libation and the patera itself commonly signify the quality of pietas, religious duty or reverence. In architecture, oval features on plaster friezes on buildings may be called paterae, parabiago patera, which is actually a platter or plate
2.
Cornucopia
–
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia or horn of plenty was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers or nuts. Mythology offers multiple explanations of the origin of the cornucopia, one of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father Kronus. In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of attendants, including the goat Amalthea. In another myth, the cornucopia was created when Heracles wrestled with the river god Achelous and wrenched off one of his horns and this version is represented in the Achelous and Hercules mural painting by the American Regionalist artist Thomas Hart Benton. In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive fruit, in most of North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest. Cornucopia is also the name of the annual November Food and Wine celebration in Whistler, British Columbia, two cornucopias are seen in the flag and state seal of Idaho. The Great Seal of North Carolina depicts Liberty standing and Plenty holding a cornucopia, the coat of arms of Colombia, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, and the Coat of Arms of the State of Victoria, Australia, also feature the cornucopia, symbolising prosperity. In the book and film series The Hunger Games, the Cornucopia is filled with weapons, and is the point of the Games. The horn of plenty is used for art and at Halloween, as it is a symbol of fertility, fortune
3.
Aquilia Severa
–
Iulia Aquilia Severa was the second and fourth wife of Emperor Elagabalus. She was the daughter of Quintus Aquilius, twice consul under Caracalla, the praenomen of Julia was given to her after becoming an empress. Both these marriages were revoked shortly afterwards, however and this was possibly on the urging of Julia Maesa, the grandmother who had engineered Elagabalus rise to the imperial throne. Elagabalus then married Annia Faustina, a generally acceptable choice to the senatorial elite. Within a short time, however, Elagabalus had divorced Faustina and returned to living with Severa and it is believed that Severa remained with Elagabalus until his assassination in 222. The two are not believed to have had any children, severas own opinions about the entire affair are not very well recorded. Some sources state that she was forced to marry against her will and it is claimed by some historians, however, that many stories about Elagabalus have been exaggerated by his enemies, and so there is no certainty about what actually happened. It is unclear whether Elagabalus had any real feelings towards Severa, Elagabalus also had relationships with men, and the historian Cassius Dio claims that Elagabalus had a more stable relationship with his chariot driver, Hierocles, than with any of his wives. Media related to Aquilia Severa at Wikimedia Commons
4.
Religion in ancient Rome
–
The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, and attributed their success as a world power to their collective piety in maintaining good relations with the gods. According to legends, most of Romes religious institutions could be traced to its founders, particularly Numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king of Rome, who negotiated directly with the gods. This archaic religion was the foundation of the mos maiorum, the way of the ancestors or simply tradition, as Rome came into contact with foreign cultures, and conquered them, foreign religions increasingly attracted devotees among Romans, who increasingly had ancestry from elsewhere in the Empire. The emperors promoted the Imperial cult around the empire, and this, ultimately, Roman polytheism was brought to an end with the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the empire. The priesthoods of public religion were held by members of the elite classes, there was no principle analogous to separation of church and state in ancient Rome. During the Roman Republic, the men who were elected public officials might also serve as augurs. Priests married, raised families, and led politically active lives, Julius Caesar became pontifex maximus before he was elected consul. The augurs read the will of the gods and supervised the marking of boundaries as a reflection of universal order, Roman religion was thus practical and contractual, based on the principle of do ut des, I give that you might give. Even the most skeptical among Romes intellectual elite such as Cicero, for ordinary Romans, religion was a part of daily life. Each home had a shrine at which prayers and libations to the familys domestic deities were offered. Neighborhood shrines and sacred such as springs and groves dotted the city. The Roman calendar was structured around religious observances, women, slaves, and children all participated in a range of religious activities. The Romans are known for the number of deities they honored. The Romans looked for common ground between their major gods and those of the Greeks, adapting Greek myths and iconography for Latin literature, etruscan religion was also a major influence, particularly on the practice of augury. The mysteries, however, involved exclusive oaths and secrecy, conditions that conservative Romans viewed with suspicion as characteristic of magic, conspiratorial, or subversive activity. Sporadic and sometimes brutal attempts were made to suppress religionists who seemed to threaten traditional morality and unity, one way that Rome incorporated diverse peoples was by supporting their religious heritage, building temples to local deities that framed their theology within the hierarchy of Roman religion. Inscriptions throughout the Empire record the worship of local and Roman deities. Because Romans had never been obligated to one god or one cult only
5.
Interpretatio graeca
–
It is thus a comparative methodology that looks for equivalencies and shared characteristics. Interpretatio romana is comparative discourse in reference to ancient Roman religion and myth, both the Romans and the Gauls reinterpreted Gallic religious traditions in relation to Roman models, particularly Imperial cult. …The meaning of a deity is his or her character as it unfolded in myths, hymns, rites. This character makes a deity comparable to other deities with similar traits, the similarity of gods makes their names mutually translatable. … The practice of translating the names of the created a concept of similarity. Pliny the Elder expressed the translatability of deities as different names to different peoples and this capacity made possible the religious syncretism of the Hellenistic era and the pre-Christian Roman Empire. Herodotus was one of the earliest authors to engage in this form of interpretation, in his observations regarding the Egyptians, he establishes Greco-Egyptian equivalents that endured into the Hellenistic era, including Amon/Zeus, Osiris/Dionysus, and Ptah/Hephaestus. Some pairs of Greek and Roman gods, such as Zeus and Jupiter, are thought to derive from a common Indo-European archetype, some deities dating to Romes oldest religious stratum, such as Janus and Terminus, had no Greek equivalent. Other Greek divine figures, most notably Apollo, were adopted directly into Roman culture, the phrase interpretatio romana was first used by the Imperial-era historian Tacitus in the Germania. Tacitus reports that in a grove of the Nahanarvali, a priest adorned as a woman presides. Elsewhere, he identifies the god of the Germans as Mercury. Some information about the deities of the ancient Gauls, who left no written literature other than inscriptions, is preserved by Greco-Roman sources under the names of Greek, a large number of Gaulish theonyms or cult titles are preserved, for instance, in association with Mars. As with some Greek and Roman divine counterparts, the similarities between a Gallic and a Roman or Greek deity may reflect a common Indo-European origin. Lugh was identified with Mercury, Nodens with Mars as healer and protector, in some cases, however, a Gallic deity is given an interpretatio romana by means of more than one god, varying among literary texts or inscriptions. These tendencies extended to cross-cultural identifications, in the Eastern empire, the Anatolian storm god with his double-headed axe became Jupiter Dolichenus, a favorite cult figure among soldiers. Roman scholars such as Varro interpreted the monotheistic god of the Jews into Roman terms as Caelus or Jupiter Optimus Maximus, some Greco-Roman authors seem to have understood the Jewish invocation of Yahweh Sabaoth as Sabazius. Interpretatio germanica is the practice by the Germanic peoples of identifying Roman gods with the names of Germanic deities, according to Rudolf Simek, this occurred around the 1st century of the common era, when both cultures came into closer contact. This is also the case with Saturn in some West Germanic languages, such as the English Saturday, the West Frisian Saterdei, the Low German Saterdag and the Dutch zaterdag all meaning Saturns day
6.
Harmonia (mythology)
–
Harmonia, in ancient Greek religion, is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia, and her Greek opposite is Eris and her siblings are Eros/Cupid, Phlegyas, Adrestia, and the twins Phobos and Deimos. Her parents are the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, and the God of War, finally, Harmonia is rationalized as closely allied to Aphrodite Pandemos, the love that unites all people, the personification of order and civic unity, corresponding to the Roman goddess Concordia. Almost always, Harmonia is the wife of Cadmus, with Cadmus, she was the mother of Ino, Polydorus, Autonoë, Agave and Semele. When Cadmus was obliged to quit Thebes, Harmonia accompanied him, when they came to the Encheleans, they assisted them in their war against the Illyrians, and conquered the enemy. Cadmus then became king of the Illyrians, but afterwards he was turned into a serpent, Harmonia, in her grief stripped herself, then begged Cadmus to come to her. As she was embraced by the serpent Cadmus in a pool of wine, Harmonia is renowned in ancient story chiefly on account of the fatal necklace she received on her wedding day. When the government of Thebes was bestowed upon Cadmus by Athena, all the gods honored the wedding with their presence. Cadmus presented the bride with a robe and necklace, which he had received either from Hephaestus or from Europa and this necklace, commonly referred to as the Necklace of Harmonia, brought misfortune to all who possessed it. Other traditions stated that Harmonia received this necklace from some of the gods, polynices, who inherited the necklace, gave it to Eriphyle, that she might persuade her husband, Amphiaraus, to undertake the expedition against Thebes. The necklace had wrought mischief to all who had been in possession of it, phayllus, the tyrant, stole it from the temple to gratify his mistress, the wife of Ariston. She wore it for a time, but at last her youngest son was seized with madness, and set fire to the house, in which she perished with all her treasures. According to him, the thing which brought ill fate to the descendents of Harmonia is not a necklace, the necklace gave peace and held Harmonias powers in it, which is what made it cursed. Homonoia goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind Aneris Concordia Eris Cadmus et Hermione Chisholm, Hugh and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Leonhard Schmitz. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
7.
Harmony
–
In music, harmony considers the process by which the composition of individual sounds, or superpositions of sounds, is analysed by hearing. Usually, this means simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches, or chords, the study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic line. In popular and jazz harmony, chords are named by their root plus various terms, in many types of music, notably baroque, romantic, modern, and jazz, chords are often augmented with tensions. A tension is an additional member that creates a relatively dissonant interval in relation to the bass. Typically, in the common practice period a dissonant chord resolves to a consonant chord. Harmonization usually sounds pleasant to the ear when there is a balance between the consonant and dissonant sounds, in simple words, that occurs when there is a balance between tense and relaxed moments. The term harmony derives from the Greek ἁρμονία, meaning joint, agreement, concord, from the verb ἁρμόζω, to fit together, the term was often used for the whole field of music, while music referred to the arts in general. In Ancient Greece, the term defined the combination of contrasted elements, in the Middle Ages the term was used to describe two pitches sounding in combination, and in the Renaissance the concept was expanded to denote three pitches sounding together. Aristoxenus wrote a work entitled Harmonika Stoicheia, which is thought the first work in European history written on the subject of harmony, the underlying principle behind these texts is that harmony sanctions harmoniousness by conforming to certain pre-established compositional principles. Current dictionary definitions, while attempting to give concise descriptions, often highlight the ambiguity of the term in modern use, ambiguities tend to arise from either aesthetic considerations or from the point of view of musical texture (distinguishing between harmonic and contrapuntal. The view that modern tonal harmony in Western music began in about 1600 is commonplace in music theory and this is usually accounted for by the replacement of horizontal writing, common in the music of the Renaissance, with a new emphasis on the vertical element of composed music. Modern theorists, however, tend to see this as an unsatisfactory generalisation, as Carl Dahlhaus puts it, It was not that counterpoint was supplanted by harmony but that an older type both of counterpoint and of vertical technique was succeeded by a newer type. And harmony comprises not only the structure of chords but also their movement, like music as a whole, harmony is a process. Descriptions and definitions of harmony and harmonic practice may show bias towards European musical traditions, pitch simultaneity in particular is rarely a major consideration. Nevertheless, emphasis on the precomposed in European art music and the written theory surrounding it shows considerable cultural bias, the conception of musics that live in oral traditions as something composed with the use of improvisatory techniques separates them from the higher-standing works that use notation. Yet the evolution of harmonic practice and language itself, in Western art music, is and was facilitated by this process of prior composition, some traditions of Western music performance, composition, and theory have specific rules of harmony. This model provides that the seventh and ninth are not dissonant
8.
Metaphor
–
A metaphor is a figure of speech that refers, for rhetorical effect, to one thing by mentioning another thing. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas, antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy and simile are all types of metaphor. The Philosophy of Rhetoric by rhetorician I. A. Richards describes a metaphor as having two parts, the tenor and the vehicle, the tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the object whose attributes are borrowed, other writers employ the general terms ground and figure to denote the tenor and the vehicle. Cognitive linguistics uses the target and source, respectively. Metaphors are most frequently compared with similes, a simile is a specific type of metaphor that uses the words like or as in comparing two objects, whereas what is commonly referred to as a metaphor states that A is B or substitutes B for A. What is usually referred to as a metaphor asserts the two objects in the comparison are identical on the point of comparison, a simile merely asserts a similarity, for this reason a common-type metaphor is generally considered more forceful than a simile. The metaphor category also contains these types, Allegory, An extended metaphor wherein a story illustrates an important attribute of the subject. Antithesis, A rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences Catachresis, A mixed metaphor used by design and accident. Hyperbole, Excessive exaggeration to illustrate a point Metonymy, A figure of speech using the name of one thing in reference to a different thing of which the first is associated, example, in lands belonging to the crown the word crown is metonymy for ruler or monarch. Parable, An extended metaphor narrated as an anecdote illustrating and teaching such as in Aesops fables, pun, Similar to a metaphor, a pun alludes to another term. However, the difference is that a pun is a frivolous allusion between two different things whereas a metaphor is a purposeful allusion between two different things. Metaphor, like other types of analogy, can usefully be distinguished from metonymy as one of two modes of thought. Thus, a metaphor creates new links between otherwise distinct conceptual domains, whereas a metonymy relies on the links within them. A dead metaphor is one in which the sense of an image has become absent. Examples, to grasp a concept and to gather what youve understood use physical action as a metaphor for understanding, the audience does not need to visualize the action, dead metaphors normally go unnoticed. Some people distinguish between a dead metaphor and a cliché, others use dead metaphor to denote both. A mixed metaphor is one that leaps from one identification to a second identification inconsistent with the first, e. g. Checkmate
9.
Discourse
–
Discourse denotes written and spoken communications, In semantics and discourse analysis, Discourse is a conceptual generalization of conversation within each modality and context of communication. The totality of codified language used in a field of intellectual enquiry and of social practice, such as legal discourse, medical discourse, religious discourse. In the work of Michel Foucault, and that of the social theoreticians he inspired, discourse describes an entity of sequences, of signs, therefore, a discourse is composed of semiotic sequences between and among objects, subjects, and statements. The term discursive formation conceptually describes the regular communications that produce such discourses, as a philosopher, Michel Foucault applied the discursive formation in the analyses of large bodies of knowledge, such as political economy and natural history. In the first sense-usage, the discourse is studied in corpus linguistics. In the second sense and in the sense, the analysis of a discourse examines and determines the connections among language and structure. Discourse affects the persons perspective, it is impossible to avoid discourse, for example, two notably distinct discourses can be used about various guerrilla movements describing them either as freedom fighters or terrorists. In other words, the chosen discourse provides the vocabulary, expressions, discourses are embedded in different rhetorical genres and metagenres that constrain and enable them. Discourse is closely linked to different theories of power and state and this conception of discourse is largely derived from the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault. Modernist theorists were preoccupied with obtaining the truth and reality and sought to develop theories which contained certainty and predictability, modernist theorists therefore viewed discourse as being relative to talking or way of talking and understood discourse to be functional. Discourse and language transformations are ascribed to progress or the need to develop new or more words to describe new discoveries, understandings. In modern times, language and discourse are dissociated from power and ideology, in other words, it is the structure itself that determines the significance, meaning and function of the individual elements of a system. Structuralism has made an important contribution to our understanding of language, saussures theory of language highlights the decisive role of meaning and signification in structuring human life more generally. Following the perceived limitations of the era, emerged postmodern theory. Postmodern theorists rejected modernist claims that there was one approach that explained all aspects of society. Rather, postmodernist theorists were interested in examining the variety of experience of individuals and groups and emphasized differences over similarities, in contrast to modern theory, postmodern theory is more fluid and allows for individual differences as it rejected the notion of social laws. Postmodern theorists shifted away from truth seeking and instead sought answers for how truths are produced and sustained, postmodernists contended that truth and knowledge is plural, contextual, and historically produced through discourses. Postmodern researchers therefore embarked on analyzing discourses such as texts, language, French social theorist Michel Foucault developed a notion of discourse in his early work, especially the Archaeology of knowledge
10.
Roman Republic
–
It was during this period that Romes control expanded from the citys immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, by the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation, Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened. The leaders of the Republic developed a tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military. Many of Romes legal and legislative structures can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states, the exact causes and motivations for Romes military conflicts and expansions during the republic are subject to wide debate. While they can be seen as motivated by outright aggression and imperialism and they argue that Romes expansion was driven by short-term defensive and inter-state factors, and the new contingencies that these decisions created. In its early history, as Rome successfully defended itself against foreign threats in central and then northern Italy, with some important exceptions, successful wars in early republican Rome generally led not to annexation or military occupation, but to the restoration of the way things were. But the defeated city would be weakened and thus able to resist Romanizing influences. It was also able to defend itself against its non-Roman enemies. It was, therefore, more likely to seek an alliance of protection with Rome and this growing coalition expanded the potential enemies that Rome might face, and moved Rome closer to confrontation with major powers. The result was more alliance-seeking, on the part of both the Roman confederacy and city-states seeking membership within that confederacy. While there were exceptions to this, it was not until after the Second Punic War that these alliances started to harden into something more like an empire and this shift mainly took place in parts of the west, such as the southern Italian towns that sided with Hannibal. In contrast, Roman expansion into Spain and Gaul occurred as a mix of alliance-seeking, in the 2nd century BC, Roman involvement in the Greek east remained a matter of alliance-seeking, but this time in the face of major powers that could rival Rome. This had some important similarities to the events in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the Roman Republic remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It was not until the time of the Roman Empire that the entire Roman world was organized into provinces under explicit Roman control
11.
Pax (goddess)
–
Pax, more commonly known in English as Peace, was the Roman goddess of peace, the equivalent of the Greek Eirene. Worship of Peace was organized as a goddess during the rule of Augustus, on the Campus Martius, she had a temple called the Ara Pacis and another temple on the Forum Pacis. She was depicted in art with olive branches, a cornucopia, there was a festival in her honor on January 3. The daughter of Jupiter and Justice, Peace was often associated with spring, personification Media related to Pax at Wikimedia Commons http, //www. unrv. com/culture/minor-roman-god-list. php http, //www. theoi. com/Ouranios/HoraEirene. html
12.
Homonoia
–
Homonoia is the concept of order and unity, being of one mind together or union of hearts. It was used by the Greeks to create unity in the politics of classical Greece and it saw widespread use when Alexander the Great adopted its principles to govern his vast Empire. The concept of Homonoia was an ancient Greek concept which traditionally was not applied beyond their own culture, the Greeks viewed Homonoia as an absence of factional fighting in their city states. The Greeks viewed outside cultures as barbarians, the famed scholar Aristotle once told his student, a young Alexander the Great, treat Greeks as friends, but as animals. It was the scholar Isocrates who first looked beyond the Greek people, while he didnt preach that the savages of the non-Greek world could be on par with the superior Greek people, he did believe they could be made Greek and thus be of one mind together. He claimed that Greekness could become a matter of nurture rather than nature and it was during his time spent in the court of Philip II of Macedon that Isocrates was able to teach the concept to an influential audience. Philip II took much of the concept to heart, but he too viewed it as a reserved for the Greeks. He used the concept as his force behind creating the Corinthian League. After Philip II was assassinated his son Alexander the Great became King of Macedonia, alexanders tutor, Aristotle, viewed non-Greeks as barbarian animals. Alexander however, ignored his teachers indication and expanded on the concept of Homonoia, with an Empire covering most of the known world, Alexander sought to rule his subjects, whether they were Greek, Persian or Egyptian, under the concept of Homonoia. He also married the officers of his army to Persian wives in an effort to create a sense of oneness in his new Empire. Through his policies he wanted to create a new Greco-Oriental empire as distinct from the traditional system of a small ruling class of conquerors ruling over the recently vanquished. It was his practice to place the old style Persian satrap as governors but in the newly created offices of taxation, after his death most of his reforms lived on even as the Empire fragmented into successor states. In the first century CE, the Greek rhetor Dio Chrysostom sought in one of his Discourses to establish homonoia between two cities that claimed the sobriquet first city, Nicaea and Nicopolis. Homonoia Greek goddess of order and unity Notes References Arrian, Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, Books 5–7. - Total pages,608 Chrysostom, Dio, Trans, defining the Web of Power in Asia Minor, The Novelist Chariton and His City Aphrodisias. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, interstate Relations in Classical Greece, Morality and Power. - Total pages,313 Mauriac, Henry M. de, Alexander the Great and the Politics of Homonoia
13.
Augusta (honorific)
–
Augusta, was a Roman imperial honorific title given to empresses and honoured women of the imperial families. It was the form of Augustus In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater Castrorum. The title implied the greatest prestige, Augustae could issue their own coinage, wear imperial regalia, and rule their own courts. List of Roman and Byzantine empresses
14.
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans and this legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the Western Church. For theonyms, or the names and epithets of gods, see List of Roman deities, for public religious holidays, see Roman festivals. For temples see the List of Ancient Roman temples, individual landmarks of religious topography in ancient Rome are not included in this list, see Roman temple. The verb abominari was a term of augury for an action that rejects or averts an unfavourable omen indicated by a signum, the noun is abominatio, from which English abomination derives. At the taking of formally solicited auspices, the observer was required to acknowledge any potentially bad sign occurring within the templum he was observing, regardless of the interpretation. He might, however, take actions in order to ignore the signa, including avoiding the sight of them. The latter tactic required promptness, wit and skill based on discipline, thus the omen had no validity apart from the observation of it. The aedes was the place of a god. It was thus a structure that housed the image, distinguished from the templum or sacred district. Aedes is one of several Latin words that can be translated as shrine or temple, for instance, the Temple of Vesta, as it is called in English, was in Latin an aedes. See also the diminutive aedicula, a small shrine, in his work On Architecture, Vitruvius always uses the word templum in the technical sense of a space defined through augury, with aedes the usual word for the building itself. The design of an aedes, he writes, should be appropriate to the characteristics of the deity. Thus in theory, though not always in practice, architectural aesthetics had a theological dimension, the word aedilis, a public official, is related by etymology, among the duties of the aediles was the overseeing of public works, including the building and maintenance of temples. The temple of Flora, for instance, was built in 241 BC by two aediles acting on Sibylline oracles, the plebeian aediles had their headquarters at the aedes of Ceres. In religious usage, ager was terrestrial space defined for the purposes of augury in relation to auspicia, there were five kinds of ager, Romanus, Gabinus, peregrinus, hosticus and incertus. The ager Romanus originally included the space outside the pomerium. According to Varro, the ager Gabinus pertained to the circumstances of the oppidum of Gabii
15.
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
–
The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority of the Roman State. Augustuss reforms transformed Romes Republican system of government to a de facto monarchy, couched in traditional Roman practices, the princeps was expected to balance the interests of the Roman military, Senate and people, and to maintain peace, security and prosperity throughout an ethnically diverse empire. A deceased emperor held worthy of the honor could be voted a state divinity by the Senate, in the development of Imperial rule from Principate to Dominate, the role of the Senate was increasingly marginalised and military loyalty became the key to Imperial authority. The Imperial cult was inseparable from that of Romes official deities, whose cult was essential to Romes survival, Traditional cult was a focus of Imperial revivalist legislation under Decius and Diocletian. Christian apologists and martyrologists saw the cult of the Emperor as a particularly offensive instrument of pagan impiety and it therefore became a focus of theological and political debate during the ascendancy of Christianity under Constantine I. The emperor Julian failed to reverse the declining support for Romes official religious practices, Romes traditional gods and Imperial cult were officially abandoned. However, many of the rites, practices and status distinctions that characterized the cult to emperors were perpetuated in the theology, for five centuries, the Roman Republic did not give worship to any historic figure, or any living man, although surrounded by divine and semi-divine monarchies. Romes legendary kings had been its masters, with their removal, Republican Romans could identify Romulus, similarly, Aeneas was worshipped as Jupiter Indiges. The aristocrats who held almost all Roman magistracies, and thereby occupied almost all of the Senate, among the highest of honors was the triumph. The triumphator rode in a chariot, bearing divine emblems, in a supposed to be inherited from the ancient kings of Rome. Whatever his personal ambitions, his victory and his triumph alike served the Roman Senate, people, in private life, however, tradition required that some human beings be treated as more or less divine, cult was due from familial inferiors to their superiors. A client could call his patron Jupiter on earth, the dead, collectively and individually, were gods of the underworld or afterlife. A prominent clan might claim divine influence and quasi-divine honors for its leader, death masks were made for all notable Romans and were displayed in the atria of their houses, they were used to represent their ghostly presence at family funerals. The mask of Scipio Africanus, Cornelias father and victor over Hannibal, was stored in the temple of Jupiter, a tradition arose in the centuries after his death that Africanus had been inspired by prophetic dreams, and was himself the son of Jupiter. There are several cases of unofficial cult directed at men viewed as saviors and this celebration, in Spain, featured a lavish banquet with local and imported delicacies, and a mechanical statue of Victory to crown Metellus, who wore a triumphators toga picta for the occasion. These festivities were organized by the quaestor Gaius Urbinus, but were not acts of the state, Metellus liked all this, but his older and pious contemporaries thought it arrogant and intolerable. After Gaius Marius defeated the Teutones, private citizens would offer food and drink to him alongside their household gods, when the Romans began to dominate large parts of the Greek world, Romes senior representatives there were given the same divine honours as were Hellenistic rulers. There were similar instances of divine cult to humans in the century, although some rulers, like Agesilaus
16.
Caduceus
–
The caduceus is the staff carried by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology and Hermes in Greek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris and it is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. C. to 3000 B. C. As a symbolic object, it represents Hermes, and by extension trades, occupations, in later Antiquity, the caduceus provided the basis for the astrological symbol representing the planet Mercury. Thus, through its use in astrology and alchemy, it has come to denote the elemental metal of the same name and it is said the wand would wake the sleeping and send the awake to sleep. If applied to the dying, their death was gentle, if applied to the dead and this association is ancient, and consistent from the Classical period to modern times. The caduceus is also used as a symbol representing printing, again by extension of the attributes of Mercury, the term kerukeion denoted any heralds staff, not necessarily associated with Hermes in particular. In his study of the cult of Hermes, Lewis Richard Farnell assumed that the two snakes had simply developed out of ornaments of the crook used by heralds as their staff. This view has been rejected by later authors pointing to parallel iconography in the Ancient Near East and it has been argued that the staff or wand entwined by two snakes was itself representing a god in the pre-anthropomorphic era. Like the herm or priapus, it would thus be a predecessor of the anthropomorphic Hermes of the classical era, william Hayes Ward discovered that symbols similar to the classical caduceus sometimes appeared on Mesopotamian cylinder seals. He suggested the symbol originated some time between 3000 and 4000 BCE, and that it might have been the source of the Greek caduceus. From this perspective, the caduceus was originally representative of Hermes himself, in his form as the Underworld god Ningishzida. The caduceus is mentioned in passing by Walter Burkert as really the image of copulating snakes taken over from Ancient Near Eastern tradition, in Egyptian iconography, the Djed pillar is depicted as containing a snake in a frieze of the Dendera Temple complex. The caduceus also appears as a symbol of the coins of the Maurya Empire in India. Numismatic research suggest that this symbol was the symbol of the Buddhist king Ashoka, the Homeric hymn to Hermes relates how Hermes offered his lyre fashioned from a tortoise shell as compensation for the cattle he stole from his half brother Apollo. Apollo in return gave Hermes the caduceus as a gesture of friendship, the association with the serpent thus connects Hermes to Apollo, as later the serpent was associated with Asclepius, the son of Apollo. The association of Apollo with the serpent is a continuation of the older Indo-European dragon-slayer motif, one Greek myth of origin of the caduceus is part of the story of Tiresias, who found two snakes copulating and killed the female with his staff. Tiresias was immediately turned into a woman, and so remained until he was able to repeat the act with the male snake seven years later and this staff later came into the possession of the god Hermes, along with its transformative powers. Another myth suggests that Hermes saw two serpents entwined in mortal combat, separating them with his wand he brought about peace between them, and as a result the wand with two serpents came to be seen as a sign of peace
17.
Salus
–
She was the goddess of safety and well-being of both the individual and the state. She is sometimes equated with the Greek goddess Hygieia, though her functions differ considerably and this view though is disputed among scholars. The issue is discussed in the section below, the two gods had temples in Rome on the Collis Salutaris and Mucialis respectively, two adjacent hilltops of the Quirinal, located in the regio known as Alta Semita. The high antiquity and importance of her cult is testified by the ceremony of the Augurium Salutis. Her cult was spread over all Italy, literary sources record relationships with Fortuna and Spes. She started to be associated to Valetudo, the Goddess of Personal Health. Later she became more a protector of personal health, around 180 BCE sacrificial rites in honour of Apollo, Aesculapius, and Salus took place there. There was a statue to Salus in the temple of Concordia and she is first known to be associated with the snake of Aesculapius from a coin of 55 BC minted by M. Acilius. Her festival was celebrated on March 30, the two deities were related in several ways. Their shrines were very close to other on two adjacent hilltops of the Quirinal, the Collis Mucialis and Salutaris respectively. Some scholars also claim some inscriptions to Sancus have been found on the Collis Salutaris and these deities were connected to the ancient agrarian cults of the valley of the Circus Maximus that remain mysterious. German scholars Georg Wissowa, Eduard Norden and Kurt Latte write of a deity named Salus Semonia, there is consensus among scholars that this line is a later addition and cannot be dated with certainty. In other inscriptions, Salus is never connected to Semonia, Salus was often shown seated with her legs crossed, leaning her elbow on the arm of her throne. Often, her right hand out a patera to feed a snake which is coiled round an altar. The snake is reared up and dips its head to the patera, sometimes her hand is open and empty, making a gesture. Sometimes the snake directs its gaze along with hers, sometimes there is no altar, the snake is coiled around the arm of her throne instead. Occasionally, Salus has a staff in her left hand with a snake twined around it. Later, Salus is shown standing, feeding her snake and this became the commonest pose, she is standing and grasping the wriggling snake firmly under her arm, directing it to the food she holds out on a dish in her other hand
18.
Fortuna
–
Fortuna was the goddess of fortune and personification of luck in Roman religion. She might bring good or bad luck, she could be represented as veiled and blind, as in modern depictions of Lady Justice, and came to represent lifes capriciousness. She was also a goddess of fate, as Atrox Fortuna, she claimed the lives of the princeps Augustus grandsons Gaius and Lucius. Her father was said to be Jupiter and like him, she could also be bountiful, as Annonaria she protected grain supplies. June 11 was sacred to her, on June 24 she was given cult at the festival of Fors Fortuna, fortunas Roman cult was variously attributed to Servius Tullius – whose exceptional good fortune suggested their sexual intimacy – and to Ancus Marcius. The two earliest temples mentioned in Roman Calendars were outside the city, on the bank of the Tiber. After undisclosed rituals they then rowed back, garlanded and inebriated, also Fortuna had a temple at the Forum Boarium. Here Fortuna was twinned with the cult of Mater Matuta, and the temples have been revealed in the excavation beside the church of SantOmobono. Fortuna Primigenia of Praeneste was adopted by Romans at the end of 3rd century BC in an important cult of Fortuna Publica Populi Romani on the Quirinalis outside the Porta Collina, no temple at Rome, however, rivalled the magnificence of the Praenestine sanctuary. Fortunas identity as personification of chance events was closely tied to virtus, an oracle at the Temple of Fortuna Primigena in Praeneste used a form of divination in which a small boy picked out one of various futures that were written on oak rods. Cults to Fortuna in her many forms are attested throughout the Roman world, dedications have been found to Fortuna Dubia, Fortuna Brevis and Fortuna Mala. She is found in a variety of domestic and personal contexts, during the early Empire, an amulet from the House of Menander in Pompeii links her to the Egyptian goddess Isis, as Isis-Fortuna. She is functionally related to the god Bonus Eventus, who is represented as her counterpart. Her name seems to derive from Vortumna, the earliest reference to the Wheel of Fortune, emblematic of the endless changes in life between prosperity and disaster, is from 55 BC. Never have sceptres obtained calm peace or certain tenure, care on care weighs them down, great kingdoms sink of their own weight, and Fortune gives way ‘neath the burden of herself. Sails swollen with favouring breezes fear blasts too strongly theirs, the tower which rears its head to the clouds is beaten by rainy Auster. Whatever Fortune has raised on high, she lifts but to bring low. ”Fortuna did not disappear from the imagination with the ascendancy of Christianity. Let the bad worship her. this supposed deity, Fortuna, then, was a servant of God, and events, individual decisions, the influence of the stars were all merely vehicles of Divine Will
19.
Hercules
–
Hercules is the Roman adaptation of the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures, the Romans adapted the Greek heros iconography and myths for their literature and art under the name Hercules. In later Western art and literature and in culture, Hercules is more commonly used than Heracles as the name of the hero. Hercules was a figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later artists and writers to pick. This article provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the later tradition, Hercules is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches of the Greco-Roman world. One cycle of these adventures became canonical as the Twelve Labours, one traditional order of the labours is found in the Bibliotheca as follows, Slay the Nemean Lion. Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis, clean the Augean stables in a single day. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon. Steal the apples of the Hesperides, Hercules was a favorite subject for Etruscan art, and appears often on bronze mirrors. The Etruscan form Herceler derives from the Greek Heracles via syncope, a mild oath invoking Hercules was a common interjection in Classical Latin. Hercules had a number of myths that were distinctly Roman, one of these is Hercules defeat of Cacus, who was terrorizing the countryside of Rome. The hero was associated with the Aventine Hill through his son Aventinus, Mark Antony considered him a personal patron god, as did the emperor Commodus. Roman brides wore a belt tied with the knot of Hercules. The comic playwright Plautus presents the myth of Hercules conception as a sex comedy in his play Amphitryon, during the Roman Imperial era, Hercules was worshipped locally from Hispania through Gaul. Tacitus records a special affinity of the Germanic peoples for Hercules, in chapter 3 of his Germania, Tacitus states. They say that Hercules, too, once visited them, and they have also those songs of theirs, by the recital of this barditus as they call it, they rouse their courage, while from the note they augur the result of the approaching conflict. For, as their line shouts, they inspire or feel alarm, some have taken this as Tacitus equating the Germanic Þunraz with Hercules by way of interpretatio romana. In the Roman era Hercules Club amulets appear from the 2nd to 3rd century, distributed over the empire, mostly made of gold, a specimen found in Köln-Nippes bears the inscription DEO HER, confirming the association with Hercules
20.
Mercury (mythology)
–
Mercury is a major Roman god, being one of the Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages/communication, travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery and thieves. He was considered the son of Maia and Jupiter in Roman mythology, in his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, both gods share characteristics with the Greek god Hermes. He is often depicted holding the caduceus in his left hand, similar to his Greek equivalent he was awarded the caduceus by Apollo who handed him a magic wand, which later turned into the caduceus. Mercury did not appear among the di indigetes of early Roman religion. Rather, he subsumed the earlier Dei Lucrii as Roman religion was syncretized with Greek religion during the time of the Roman Republic, starting around the 4th century BC. He was often accompanied by a cockerel, herald of the new day, a ram or goat, symbolizing fertility, like Hermes, he was also a god of messages, eloquence and of trade, particularly of the grain trade. Mercury was also considered a god of abundance and commercial success, particularly in Gaul and he was also, like Hermes, the Romans psychopomp, leading newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Additionally, Ovid wrote that Mercury carried Morpheus dreams from the valley of Somnus to sleeping humans, archeological evidence from Pompeii suggests that Mercury was among the most popular of Roman gods. The god of commerce was depicted on two bronze coins of the Roman Republic, the Sextans and the Semuncia. This is probably because in the Roman syncretism, Mercury was equated with the Celtic god Lugus, Romans associated Mercury with the Germanic god Wotan, by interpretatio Romana, 1st-century Roman writer Tacitus identifies him as the chief god of the Germanic peoples. The Romans also made use of small statues of Mercury. Mercurius Arvernus, a syncretism of the Celtic Arvernus with Mercury, Mercurius Cimbrianus, a syncretism of Mercury with a god of the Cimbri sometimes thought to represent Odin. Mercurius Cissonius, a combination of Mercury with the Celtic god Cissonius, Mercurius Esibraeus, a syncretism of the Iberian deity Esibraeus with the Roman deity Mercury. Esibraeus is mentioned only in an inscription found at Medelim, Portugal, and is possibly the deity as Banda Isibraiegus. Mercurius Gebrinius, a syncretism of Mercury with the Celtic or Germanic Gebrinius, known from an inscription on an altar in Bonn, Mercurius Moccus, from a Celtic god, Moccus, who was equated with Mercury, known from evidence at Langres, France. The name Moccus implies that this deity was connected to boar-hunting, Mercurius Visucius, a syncretism of the Celtic god Visucius with the Roman god Mercury, attested in an inscription from Stuttgart, Germany. Visucius was worshiped primarily in the area of the empire in Gaul
21.
Temple of Concord
–
The Temple of Concord (Italian, Tempio della Concordia| in the ancient city of Rome was a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia at the western end of the Roman Forum. The temple was vowed in 367 BC by Marcus Furius Camillus but was not built until 167 BC. It was destroyed and restored multiple times in its history, and its final restoration, in approximately AD1450 the temple was razed and turned into a lime kiln to recover the marble for building. It was again restored between 7 and 10 AD by Tiberius as Augustuss heir, to use the limited available area on the site. He probably rededicated it in AD12, backed up against the Tabularium at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, the architecture had to accommodate the limitations of the site. The cella of the temple, for instance, is almost twice as wide as it is deep, in the cella a row of Corinthian columns rose from a continuous plinth projecting from the wall, which divided the cella into bays, each containing a niche. The capitals of columns had pairs of leaping rams in place of the corner volutes. Only the platform now remains, partially covered by a road up to the Capitol, encyclopaedia Romana Gazetteer Merida excavations Rome Alive
22.
Marcus Furius Camillus
–
Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of patrician descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, Camillus belonged to the lineage of the Furii Camilli, whose origin had been in the Latin city of Tusculum. Although this city had been an enemy of the Romans in the 490s BC, after both the Volsci and Aequi later began to wage war against Rome, Tusculum joined Rome. Soon, the Furii integrated into Roman society, accumulating a long series of magistrate offices, thus the Furii had become an important Roman family by the 450s. The father of Camillus was Lucius Furius Medullinus, a tribune of consular powers. Camillus had more than three brothers, the eldest one was Lucius junior, who was consul and tribune of consular powers. The Latin noun camillus denoted a child acolyte at religious rituals, during Camilluss infancy, his relative Quintus Furius Paculus was the Roman Pontifex Maximus. The military tribunes with consular authority or consular tribunes, were elected with consular power during the so-called Conflict of the Orders in the Roman Republic. Consular tribunes served in 444 BC and then continuously from 408 BC to 394 BC, the office was created, along with the magistracy of the censor, in order to give the plebeian order access to higher levels of government without having to reform the office of consul. At that time in Romes history, plebeians could not be elected to the highest magistracy of Consul, Camillus had been a noteworthy soldier in the wars with the Aequi and Volsci. Subsequently, Camillus was a military tribune, in 403 BC, he was appointed censor with Marcus Postumius Albinus Regillensis and, by means of extensive taxation, took action to solve financial problems resulting from incessant military campaigns. In 406 BC, Rome declared war against the rival Etrurian city of Veii, the city of Veii was powerful and was located on a well-fortified and elevated site. This required the Romans to commence a siege lasting several years, in 401 BC, as the war started to grow increasingly unpopular in Rome, Camillus was appointed consular tribune. He assumed command of the Roman army, and within a time he stormed two allies of Veii, Falerii and Capena, which resisted behind their walls. In 398 BC, Camillus received consular tribune powers and then looted Capena, when Rome suffered severe defeats in 396 BC, the tenth year of this war, the Romans resorted again to Camillus, who was named dictator for the first time. After defeating both Falerii and Capena at Nepete, Camillus commanded the final strike against Veii and he dug the soft ground below the walls and the Romans infiltrated through the citys sewage system effectively, defeating the enemy. Not interested in capitulation terms, but in Veiis complete destruction, for the battle, Camillus had invoked the protection of Mater Matuta extensively, and he looted the statue of Juno for Rome. Back in Rome, Camillus paraded on a quadriga, a chariot
23.
Roman Forum
–
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, here statues and monuments commemorated the citys great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has called the most celebrated meeting place in the world. Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum, the Roman kingdoms earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as the Umbilicus Urbis and this is where the Senate—as well as Republican government itself—began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials, over time the archaic Comitium was replaced by the larger adjacent Forum and the focus of judicial activity moved to the new Basilica Aemilia. Some 130 years later, Julius Caesar built the Basilica Julia, along with the new Curia Julia, eventually much economic and judicial business would transfer away from the Forum Romanum to the larger and more extravagant structures to the north. The reign of Constantine the Great saw the construction of the last major expansion of the Forum complex—the Basilica of Maxentius and this returned the political center to the Forum until the fall of the Western Roman Empire almost two centuries later. This is the case despite attempts, with success, to impose some order there, by Sulla, Julius Caesar, Augustus. By the Imperial period, the public buildings that crowded around the central square had reduced the open area to a rectangle of about 130 by 50 metres. Its long dimension was oriented northwest to southeast and extended from the foot of the Capitoline Hill to that of the Velian Hill, the Forums basilicas during the Imperial period—the Basilica Aemilia on the north and the Basilica Julia on the south—defined its long sides and its final form. The Forum proper included this square, the buildings facing it and, sometimes, originally, the site of the Forum had been a marshy lake where waters from the surrounding hills drained. This was drained by the Tarquins with the Cloaca Maxima, because of its location, sediments from both the flooding of the Tiber and the erosion of the surrounding hills have been raising the level of the Forum floor for centuries. Excavated sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the hills was already raising the level in early Republican times. As the ground around buildings rose, residents simply paved over the debris that was too much to remove and its final travertine paving, still visible, dates from the reign of Augustus. Excavations in the 19th century revealed one layer on top of another, the deepest level excavated was 3.60 metres above sea level. Archaeological finds show human activity at that level with the discovery of carbonised wood, an important function of the Forum, during both Republican and Imperial times, was to serve as the culminating venue for the celebratory military processions known as Triumphs. Victorious generals entered the city by the western Triumphal Gate and circumnavigated the Palatine Hill before proceeding from the Velian Hill down the Via Sacra, from here they would mount the Capitoline Rise up to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the summit of the Capitol
24.
Aedile
–
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and they also had powers to enforce public order. An aedilis curulis was classified as a magister curulis, the office of the aedilis was generally held by young men intending to follow the cursus honorum to high political office, traditionally after their quaestorship but before their praetorship. It was not a part of the cursus, and hence a former quaestor could be elected to the praetorship without having held the position of aedile. The plebeian aediles were created in the year as the Tribunes of the People. Originally intended as assistants to the tribunes, they guarded the rights of the plebs with respect to their headquarters, subsequently, they assumed responsibility for maintenance of the citys buildings as a whole. Their duties at first were simply ministerial and they were the assistants to the tribunes in whatever matters that the tribunes might entrust to them, although most matters with which they were entrusted were of minimal importance. Around 446 BC, they were given the authority to care for the decrees of the senate, when a senatus consultum was passed, it would be transcribed into a document, and deposited in the public treasury, the Aerarium. They were given power because the Roman Consuls, who had held this power before. They also maintained the acts of the Plebeian Council, the plebiscites, plebiscites, once passed, were also transcribed into a physical document for storage. While their powers grew over time, it is not always easy to distinguish the difference between their powers, and those of the Roman Censors, occasionally, if a Censor was unable to carry out one of his tasks, an Aedile would perform the task instead. Curule Aediles, as magistrates, held certain honors that Plebeian Aediles. Besides having the right to sit on a Curule Chair and to wear a toga praetexta and these edicts often pertained to matters such as the regulation of the public markets, or what we might call economic regulation. Livy suggests, perhaps incorrectly, that both Curule as well as Plebeian Aediles were sacrosanct, although the curule aediles always ranked higher than the plebeian, their functions gradually approximated and became practically identical. Within five days after the beginning of their terms, the four Aediles were required to determine, by lot or by agreement among themselves, there was a distinction between the two sets of Aediles when it came to public festivals. Some festivals were Plebeian in nature, and thus were under the superintendence of Plebeian Aediles, other festivals were supervised exclusively by the Curule Aediles, and it was often with these festivals that the Aediles would spend lavishly. This was often done so as to secure the support of voters in future elections, because Aediles were not reimbursed for any of their public expenditures, most individuals who sought the office were independently wealthy. Since this office was a stone to higher office and the Senate
25.
Graecostasis
–
The Graecostasis was a platform in the Comitium near the Roman forum, located to the west of the Rostra. The name refers to the Greek ambassadors for whom the platform was built after the Roman Republic conquered Greece. Placed at the southwest end of the Comitium, the platform was the spot for all representatives of foreign nations and dignitaries from the republic. Although one scholar has disputed this interpretation and argues that it may have served as a platform for entertainment. The Graecostasis was, as Niebuhr remarks, like privileged seats in the hall of a parliamentary assembly, the Stationes Municipiorum, of which Pliny speaks, appear to have been places allotted to municipals for the same purpose. When the sun was seen from the Curia coming out between the Rostra and the Graecostasis, it was mid-day, and an accensus of the announced the time with a clear loud voice. Much of the history of the structure has been effected in the way as other known similar monuments. It is believed this may have been from riots stirred up by political speeches on the Rostra or a theatrical performance or show. While there have been excavations of the site, the exact location remains unclear, several layers of rubble in the Comitium show constant changes within a small period of time, which raised the level of the space and, consequently the location of the platform. Its use was for training and exercise and is the ancient equivalent to a large complicated gymnasium, near the Graecostasis and Rostra was an ancient shrine called the Vulcanal. It and the Lapis Niger represent the oldest parts of the Comitium space, the altar, originally a shrine to the god Vulcan, became the first suggestum or speakers platform, similar in nature to the Rostra and was probably first used for oration by the kings of Rome. The environs of the Vulcanal, Rostra and the Graecostasis is also the site of historic monuments as well as two trees supposedly planted by Romulus. The original location of the Comitium was on a shelf like slope of the Capitoline hill and this shelf was wider due to the depression between two summits of the hill and located directly in front of the Tabularium. When the Tiber River flooded, water would cover the Forum and Comitium stalling all business for days on end
26.
Arx (Roman)
–
Arx is a Latin word meaning citadel. In the ancient city of Rome, the arx was located on the spur of the Capitoline Hill. At Rome, sentries were posted on the Arx to watch for signals displayed on the Janiculum if an enemy approached. A red flag would be raised and a trumpet blown, the Arx was not regularly garrisoned, however, and should not be regarded as a fort. However, in the Gallic siege of Rome, the Arx was considered the point of last retreat and it thus held a symbolic power beyond its importance in military strategy, and was a central place in archaic Roman religion. In the early Republic, some patricians were permitted to live on the Arx, after 384 BC, the Senate banned all private dwellings from the Arx and the rest of the Capitolium. The house of Marcus Manlius Capitolinus, a champion of the plebs, was torn down at this time and became the site of the Temple of Juno Moneta. This auguraculum was the stone where the monarch, during the Roman Kingdom, was seated by the augurs with his face to the south. Major temples on the Arx include that of Juno Moneta, where the mint was located, Concordia, Honor and Virtue, jupiter, however, was the god of the Arx. The Romans also referred to the citadel of other cities as an arx, excavations in Cosa, Tuscany, conducted in 1948–54 and 1965–72, uncovered the settlements arx. Frank E. Brown and his team studied the site extensively when they began the Cosa excavations in 1948, the citadel was a fortified hill on which were built several temples, including the so-called capitolium of Cosa. In Lavinium, south of Rome, Castello Borghese is thought to be the site of the Roman-era arx constructed in the port city. The arx of Londinium was located in the northwest corner of the present-day City of London and it was constructed around 120 and dismantled around the time of Diocletian. Unless otherwise noted, general background and references to ancient sources from Samuel Ball Platner and Thomas Ashby, Arx, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, LacusCurtius edition
27.
Praetor
–
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities, the commander of an army, or, an elected magistratus, assigned various duties. The prefix prae is an indication that the title-holder was prior, in some way. Livy mentions that the Latini were led and governed in warfare by two of them and the Samnites by one, a dictator was called the praetor maximus. The use of the adjectives in a number of circumstances testify to a general sense. The leadership functions of any body at Rome might be termed praetorial. The praetoria potestas in Republican Rome was at first held by the consuls and these two officials, elected on a yearly basis, inherited the power of the king. Very likely, the king himself was the first praetor, Let there be two with the authority of the king, and let them be called praetors, judges and consuls from their going before, judging and consulting. Let them have the right of command of the military. This etymology of praetor became and remains the standard, cicero considers the word to contain the same elemental parts as the verb praeire. In exactly what way he goes before did not survive, livy explains that in the year 366 BC the praetura was created to relieve the consuls of their judicial duties. The praetor was, in an English sense, the chief justice, the consuls were his peers, he was elected by the same electorate and sworn in on the same day with the same oath. Until 337 BC the praetor was chosen only from the patricians, from then on, praetors appear frequently in Roman history, first as generals and judges, then as provincial governors. Beginning in the late Republic, a former Praetor could serve as a Propraetor, the elected praetor was a magistratus curulis, exercised imperium, and consequently was one of the magistrati majores. He had the right to sit in the sella curulis and wear the toga praetexta and he was attended by six lictors. A praetor was a magistrate with imperium within his own sphere, the potestas and imperium of the consuls and the praetors under the Republic should not be exaggerated. They did not use independent judgment in resolving matters of state, unlike todays executive branches, they were assigned high-level tasks directly by senatorial decree under the authority of the SPQR. Livy describes the assignments given to consuls or praetors in some detail. As magistrates, they had standing duties to perform, especone principle that limited what could be assigned to them was that their duties must not concern them with minima and they were by definition doers of maxima
28.
Cisalpine Gaul
–
Cisalpine Gaul, also called Gallia Citerior or Gallia Togata, was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Conquered by the Roman Republic in the 220s BC, it was a Roman province from c.81 BC until 42 BC, when it was merged into Roman Italy. Until that time, it was considered part of Gaul, precisely that part of Gaul on the side of the Alps. Gallia Cisalpina was further subdivided into Gallia Cispadana and Gallia Transpadana, i. e. its portions south and north of the Po River and they brought a new funerary practice—cremation—which supplanted inhumation. Livy has the Insubres, led by Bellovesus, arrive in northern Italy during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, Milan itself is presumably a Gaulish foundation of the early 6th century BC, its name having a Celtic etymology of in the middle of the plain. Polybius in the 2nd century BC wrote about co-existence of the Celts in northern Italy with Etruscan nations in the period before the Sack of Rome in 390 BC. Ligures lived in Northern Mediterranean Coast straddling South-east French and North-west Italian coasts, including parts of Tuscany, Elba island, Ligurian tribes were also present in Latium and in Samnium. According to Plutarch they called themselves Ambrones, which could indicate a relationship with the Ambrones of northern Europe, little is known of the Ligurian language. Only place-names and personal names remain and it appears to be an Indo-European branch with both Italic and particularly strong Celtic affinities. Because of the strong Celtic influences on their language and culture, modern linguists, like Xavier Delamarre argues that Ligurian was a Celtic language, similar to, but not the same as Gaulish. The Ligurian-Celtic question is discussed by Barruol. Ancient Ligurian is either listed as Celtic, or Para-Celtic, the Veneti were an Indo-European people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto. By the 4th century BC the Veneti had been so Celticized that Polybius wrote that the Veneti of the 2nd century BC were identical to the Gauls except for language. He further suggested that the identification of the Adriatic Veneti with the Paphlagonian Enetoi led by Antenor — which he attributes to Sophocles — was a due to the similarity of the names. The Roman army was routed in the battle of Allia, the defeat of the combined Samnite, Celtic and Etruscan alliance by the Romans in the Third Samnite War ending in 290 BC sounded the beginning of the end of the Celtic domination in mainland Europe. At the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC, a large Celtic army was trapped between two Roman forces and crushed, in the Second Punic War, the Boii and Insubres allied themselves with the Carthaginians, laying siege to Mutina. In response, Rome sent an expedition led by L. Manlius Vulso, vulsos army was ambushed twice, and the Senate sent Scipio with an additional force to provide support. These were the Roman forces encountered by Hannibal after his crossing of the Alps, the Romans were defeated in the Battle of the Ticinus, leading to all the Gauls except for the Cenomani to join the insurgency
29.
Julius Caesar
–
Gaius Julius Caesar, known as Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, general, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed an alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate. Caesars victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Romes territory to the English Channel, Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province, Civil war resulted, and Caesars victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms and he centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed dictator in perpetuity, giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March 44 BC, a new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesars adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began, much of Caesars life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources, Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Caesar was born into a family, the gens Julia. The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by Caesarean section. The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations, that the first Caesar had a head of hair, that he had bright grey eyes. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favored this interpretation of his name, despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their political fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesars father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesars childhood, in 85 BC, Caesars father died suddenly, so Caesar was the head of the family at 16
30.
Livia
–
Livia Drusilla, also known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD14, was the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus throughout his reign, as well as his adviser. She was the mother of the emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the emperor Claudius, paternal great-grandmother of the emperor Caligula and she was deified by Claudius who acknowledged her title of Augusta. She was born on 30 January 59 or 58 BC as the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus by his wife Aufidia, the diminutive Drusilla often found in her name suggests that she was a second daughter. Marcus Livius Drusus Libo was her adopted brother and she was probably married in 43 BC. Her father married her to Tiberius Claudius Nero, her cousin of patrician status who was fighting him on the side of Julius Caesars assassins against Octavian. Her first child, the future Emperor Tiberius, was born in 42 BC, later, Livia, her husband Tiberius Nero and their two-year-old son, Tiberius, moved on to Greece. At this time, Livia already had a son, the future emperor Tiberius, legend said that Octavian fell immediately in love with her, despite the fact that he was still married to Scribonia. Octavian divorced Scribonia in 39 BC, on the day that she gave birth to his daughter Julia the Elder. Seemingly around that time, when Livia was six months pregnant, on 14 January, the child was born. Augustus and Livia married on 17 January, waiving the traditional waiting period, Tiberius Claudius Nero was present at the wedding, giving her in marriage just as a father would. The importance of the patrician Claudii to Octavians cause, and the survival of the Claudii Nerones are probably more rational explanations for the tempestuous union. Nevertheless, Livia and Augustus remained married for the next 51 years, after Mark Antonys suicide following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Octavian had removed all obstacles to his power and henceforth ruled as Emperor, from 27 BC on, under the honorary title Augustus. He and Livia formed the model for Roman households. Despite their wealth and power, Augustuss family continued to live modestly in their house on the Palatine Hill, Livia would set the pattern for the noble Roman matrona. She wore neither excessive jewelry nor pretentious costumes, she took care of the household and her husband, always faithful, in 35 BC Octavian gave Livia the unprecedented honour of ruling her own finances and dedicated a public statue to her. She had her own circle of clients and pushed many protégés into political offices, including the grandfathers of the later emperors Galba and Otho. With Augustus being the father of one daughter, Livia revealed herself to be an ambitious mother and soon started to push her own sons Tiberius. Drusus was a general and married Augustuss favourite niece, Antonia Minor
31.
Fasti (poem)
–
The Fasti, sometimes translated as The Book of Days or On the Roman Calendar, is a six-book Latin poem written by the Roman poet Ovid and published in 8 AD. Ovid is believed to have left the Fasti incomplete when he was exiled to Tomis by the emperor Augustus in 8 AD. The poem is a significant, and in some unique, source of fact in studies of religion in ancient Rome. Frazer translated and annotated the work for the Loeb Classical Library series, the popularity and reputation of the Fasti has fluctuated more than that of any of Ovids other works. The poem was read in the 15th–18th centuries, and influenced a number of mythological paintings in the tradition of Western art. Literary critics have regarded the Fasti as an artistic failure. Only the six books which concern the first six months of the year are extant and it may be that Ovid never finished it, that the remaining half is simply lost, or that only six books were intended. Ovid apparently worked on the poem while he was in exile at Tomis, the Tristia, a collection of elegiac letters on the poets exile, mentions the Fasti, and that its completion had been interrupted by his banishment from Rome. Ovid also mentions that he had written the work. However, no ancient source even a fragment from the supposedly six missing books. The Fasti is dedicated to Germanicus, a member of the emperor Augustuss family. The earliest classical calendrical poem which might have inspired Ovid is the Works and Days of Hesiod, which includes mythological lore, astronomical observations, for the astronomical sections, Ovid was preceded by Aratus Phaenomena as well as lost poetry on constellations and probably Germanicus adaptation of Aratus. Ovid often mentions consulting these calendars, such as his reference at 1.11 to pictos fastos, the concept of putting these calendars into verse however, seems to be a uniquely Ovidian concept. Besides his use of calendars and astronomical poetry, Ovids multi-generic, digressive narrative and learned poem depends on the range of ancient poetry. The Fourth Book of Propertius, who claimed to be the Roman Callimachus, might also be a model since it deals with aetiologies of Roman customs. His etymologizing implies an interest in Roman antiquarianism, particularly the works of Varro on etymology and Roman religion. He similarly makes use of much Roman history writing, which must include lost historical poetry as well as the annal tradition (Ovid says in the prologue that one of his sources are ancient annals. In his longer narrative sections, Ovid makes use of tragedy, epic poetry, elegy, for some episodes, the sources Ovid used are untraceable
32.
Pompeii
–
Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples, in the Campania region of Italy, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m of volcanic ash. Researchers believe that the town was founded in the seventh or sixth century BC by the Osci or Oscans. It came under the domination of Rome in the 4th century BC, by the time of its destruction,160 years later, its population was estimated at 11,000 people, and the city had a complex water system, an amphitheatre, gymnasium, and a port. The eruption destroyed the city, killing its inhabitants and burying it under tons of ash, the site was lost for about 1,500 years until its initial rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later by Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre in 1748. The objects that lay beneath the city have been preserved for centuries because of the lack of air and these artefacts provide an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies and this allowed archaeologists to see the exact position the person was in when he or she died. Pompeii has been a tourist destination for over 250 years, today it has UNESCO World Heritage Site status and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors every year. Pompeii in Latin is a second declension plural, the ruins of Pompeii are located near the modern suburban town of Pompei. It stands on a formed by a lava flow to the north of the mouth of the Sarno River. Today it is some distance inland, but in ancient times was nearer to the coast, Pompeii is about 8 km away from Mount Vesuvius. It covered a total of 64 to 67 hectares and was home to approximately 11,000 to 11,500 people on the basis of household counts and it was a major city in the region of Campania. Three sheets of sediment have been found on top of the lava that lies below the city and, mixed in with the sediment, archaeologists have found bits of bone, pottery shards. Carbon dating has placed the oldest of these layers from the 8th–6th centuries BC, the other two strata are separated either by well-developed soil layers or Roman pavement, and were laid in the 4th century BC and 2nd century BC. It is theorized that the layers of the sediment were created by large landslides. The town was founded around the 7th-6th century BC by the Osci or Oscans and it had already been used as a safe port by Greek and Phoenician sailors. According to Strabo, Pompeii was also captured by the Etruscans, and in recent excavations have shown the presence of Etruscan inscriptions. Pompeii was captured for the first time by the Greek colony of Cumae, allied with Syracuse, in the 5th century BC, the Samnites conquered it, the new rulers imposed their architecture and enlarged the town
33.
Eumachia
–
Eumachia was the public priestess of the Imperial cult in Pompeii during the middle of the 1st century AD as well as the matron of the Concordia Augustus. The Concordia Augustus was an imperial cult initiated by Livia, widow of Augustus, dedicated to the Divus Augustus, the daughter of Lucius, she is reported to have obtained her great wealth in her own right as a very successful matron. Of inconsequential origin, she sought a higher status by marrying into one of the older families of Pompeii. Eumachia was also known as the matron of the fullers, an economically significant guild in Pompeii which consisted of dyers and clothing-makers. Eumachias importance in Roman history stems from how she is seen as a example of how a Roman woman of non-imperial descent can become involved in public affairs. She is also viewed as a model for the involvement of women in politics. Using her wealth and status, Eumachia funded the construction of a building next to the public forum in Pompeii. This is an example of the idea of euergetism, the phenomenon of voluntary gift-giving. The presumed use of building was to serve as the headquarters for the fullers’ guild. She dedicated this building, known as the Building of Eumachia, to Concordia Augusta, finally, she dedicated the building to her son, Marcus Numistrius Fronto. In response to her generosity, and symbolic of her power and social status and they inscribed into its foundation a dedication. The rough translation of this inscription is, to Eumachia, daughter of Lucius, public priestess of Pompeian Venus, see Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, EVMACHIAE L F SACERD PVBL FVLLONES, ”
34.
Discordianism
–
According to its primary historian Discordianism was founded as a parody religion. Many outside observers still regard Discordianism as a parody religion although some of its adherents utilize it as a legitimate religion, the Principia Discordia, if read literally, encourage the worship of Eris, a. k. a. Discordia, the Goddess of chaos, or archetypes and or ideals associated with her, the Principia Discordia holds three core principles, the Aneristic Principle, the Eristic Principle and the notion that both are mere illusions. It is only by rejecting these principals that you can truly perceive reality, the foundational document of Discordianism is the Principia Discordia, fourth edition, written by Malaclypse the Younger, an alias of Greg Hill. In discordian mythology, Aneris is described as the sister of Eris a. k. a, whereas Eris/Discordia is the Goddess of Disorder and Being, Aneris/Harmonia is the Goddess of Order and Non-Being. DOGMA III – HISTORY32, COSMOGONY in Principia Discordia, states, In the beginning there was VOID, the sterile Aneris becomes jealous of Eris, and starts making existent things non-existent. This explains why life begins, and later ends in death, and to this day, things appear and disappear in this very manner. Both order and disorder are man made concepts and are divisions of PURE CHAOS. The concepts represented by The Hand of Eris are of importance to Discordians. A particular form of The Hand has been proposed for use as the astronomical and astrological symbol for the dwarf planet Eris, the Original Snub is the Discordian name for the events preceding the Judgement of Paris, although more focus is put on the actions of Eris. Zeus believes that Eris is a troublemaker, so he does not invite her to Peleus, having been snubbed, Eris creates a golden apple with the word kallisti inscribed in it. This, the Apple of Discord, is a symbol in Discordianism for its inclusion in the Holy Chao. This interpretation would see Eris as innocent and her causing of chaos as a by-product of the wedding guests reaction upon seeing her at the wedding. The Principia Discordia holds three core principles, the Aneristic Principle, the Eristic Principle and the notion that both are mere illusions, the following excerpt summarizes these principles, The Aneristic Principle is that of apparent order, the Eristic Principle is that of apparent disorder. Both order and disorder are man made concepts and are divisions of pure chaos. With our concept-making apparatus called the brain we look at reality through the ideas-about-reality which our cultures give us, the ideas-about-reality are mistakenly labeled reality and unenlightened people are forever perplexed by the fact that other people, especially other cultures, see reality differently. It is only the ideas-about-reality which differ, real True reality is a level deeper than is the level of concept. We look at the world through windows on which have been drawn grids, a culture is a group of people with rather similar grids
35.
Eris (mythology)
–
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. Her name is the equivalent of Latin Discordia, which means discord, Eris Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona, the dwarf planet Eris is named after the goddess, as is the religion Discordianism. She then hurled down bitterness equally between both sides as she walked through the onslaught making mens pain heavier and she also has a son whom she named Strife. Enyo is mentioned in Book 5, and Zeus sends Strife to rouse the Achaeans in Book 11, the most famous tale of Eris recounts her initiating the Trojan War by causing the Judgement of Paris. The hapless Paris, Prince of Troy, was appointed to select the fairest by Zeus, the goddesses stripped naked to try to win Paris decision, and also attempted to bribe him. Hera offered political power, Athena promised infinite wisdom, and Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta. While Greek culture placed an emphasis on prowess and power, Paris chose to award the apple to Aphrodite, thereby dooming his city. In Nonnus Dionysiaca,2.356, when Typhon prepares to battle with Zeus, Eris was Typhons escort in the melée, another story of Eris includes Hera, and the love of Polytekhnos and Aedon. They claimed to each other more than Hera and Zeus were in love. This angered Hera, so she sent Eris to rack discord upon them, Polytekhnos was finishing off a chariot board, and Aedon a web she had been weaving. Eris said to them, Whosoever finishes thine task last shall have to present the other with a female servant, but Polytekhnos was not happy by his defeat, so he came to Khelidon, Aedons sister, and raped her. He then disguised her as a slave, presenting her to Aedon, when Aedon discovered this was indeed her sister, she chopped up Polytekhnos son and fed him to Polytekhnos. The gods were not pleased, so turned them all into birds. The Discordian version of Eris is considerably lighter in comparison to the rather malevolent Graeco-Roman original and she told him that She had always liked the Old Greeks, but that they cannot be trusted with historic matters. They were, She added, victims of indigestion, you know, the story of Eris being snubbed and indirectly starting the Trojan War is recorded in the Principia, and is referred to as the Original Snub. The Principia Discordia states that her parents may be as described in Greek legend and she is the Goddess of Disorder and Being, whereas her sister Aneris is the goddess of Order and Non-Being. The concept of Eris as developed by the Principia Discordia is used and expanded upon in the fiction work The Illuminatus
36.
Asteroid
–
Asteroids are minor planets, especially those of the inner Solar System. The larger ones have also been called planetoids and these terms have historically been applied to any astronomical object orbiting the Sun that did not show the disc of a planet and was not observed to have the characteristics of an active comet. As minor planets in the outer Solar System were discovered and found to have volatile-based surfaces that resemble those of comets, in this article, the term asteroid refers to the minor planets of the inner Solar System including those co-orbital with Jupiter. There are millions of asteroids, many thought to be the remnants of planetesimals. The large majority of known asteroids orbit in the belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, or are co-orbital with Jupiter. However, other orbital families exist with significant populations, including the near-Earth objects, individual asteroids are classified by their characteristic spectra, with the majority falling into three main groups, C-type, M-type, and S-type. These were named after and are identified with carbon-rich, metallic. The size of asteroids varies greatly, some reaching as much as 1000 km across, asteroids are differentiated from comets and meteoroids. In the case of comets, the difference is one of composition, while asteroids are composed of mineral and rock, comets are composed of dust. In addition, asteroids formed closer to the sun, preventing the development of the aforementioned cometary ice, the difference between asteroids and meteoroids is mainly one of size, meteoroids have a diameter of less than one meter, whereas asteroids have a diameter of greater than one meter. Finally, meteoroids can be composed of either cometary or asteroidal materials, only one asteroid,4 Vesta, which has a relatively reflective surface, is normally visible to the naked eye, and this only in very dark skies when it is favorably positioned. Rarely, small asteroids passing close to Earth may be visible to the eye for a short time. As of March 2016, the Minor Planet Center had data on more than 1.3 million objects in the inner and outer Solar System, the United Nations declared June 30 as International Asteroid Day to educate the public about asteroids. The date of International Asteroid Day commemorates the anniversary of the Tunguska asteroid impact over Siberia, the first asteroid to be discovered, Ceres, was found in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, and was originally considered to be a new planet. In the early half of the nineteenth century, the terms asteroid. Asteroid discovery methods have improved over the past two centuries. This task required that hand-drawn sky charts be prepared for all stars in the band down to an agreed-upon limit of faintness. On subsequent nights, the sky would be charted again and any moving object would, hopefully, the expected motion of the missing planet was about 30 seconds of arc per hour, readily discernible by observers
37.
JSTOR
–
JSTOR is a digital library founded in 1995. Originally containing digitized back issues of journals, it now also includes books and primary sources. It provides full-text searches of almost 2,000 journals, more than 8,000 institutions in more than 160 countries have access to JSTOR, most access is by subscription, but some older public domain content is freely available to anyone. William G. Bowen, president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988, JSTOR originally was conceived as a solution to one of the problems faced by libraries, especially research and university libraries, due to the increasing number of academic journals in existence. Most libraries found it prohibitively expensive in terms of cost and space to maintain a collection of journals. By digitizing many journal titles, JSTOR allowed libraries to outsource the storage of journals with the confidence that they would remain available long-term, online access and full-text search ability improved access dramatically. Bowen initially considered using CD-ROMs for distribution, JSTOR was initiated in 1995 at seven different library sites, and originally encompassed ten economics and history journals. JSTOR access improved based on feedback from its sites. Special software was put in place to make pictures and graphs clear, with the success of this limited project, Bowen and Kevin Guthrie, then-president of JSTOR, wanted to expand the number of participating journals. They met with representatives of the Royal Society of London and an agreement was made to digitize the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society dating from its beginning in 1665, the work of adding these volumes to JSTOR was completed by December 2000. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded JSTOR initially, until January 2009 JSTOR operated as an independent, self-sustaining nonprofit organization with offices in New York City and in Ann Arbor, Michigan. JSTOR content is provided by more than 900 publishers, the database contains more than 1,900 journal titles, in more than 50 disciplines. Each object is identified by an integer value, starting at 1. In addition to the site, the JSTOR labs group operates an open service that allows access to the contents of the archives for the purposes of corpus analysis at its Data for Research service. This site offers a facility with graphical indication of the article coverage. Users may create focused sets of articles and then request a dataset containing word and n-gram frequencies and they are notified when the dataset is ready and may download it in either XML or CSV formats. The service does not offer full-text, although academics may request that from JSTOR, JSTOR Plant Science is available in addition to the main site. The materials on JSTOR Plant Science are contributed through the Global Plants Initiative and are only to JSTOR
38.
Wayback Machine
–
The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
39.
Roman mythology
–
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Romes legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. Roman mythology may also refer to the study of these representations. The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as historical, even when these have miraculous or supernatural elements, the stories are often concerned with politics and morality, and how an individuals personal integrity relates to his or her responsibility to the community or Roman state. When the stories illuminate Roman religious practices, they are concerned with ritual, augury. Romes early myths and legends also have a relationship with Etruscan religion. In particular, the versions of Greek myths in Ovids Metamorphoses, written during the reign of Augustus, because ritual played the central role in Roman religion that myth did for the Greeks, it is sometimes doubted that the Romans had much of a native mythology. This perception is a product of Romanticism and the scholarship of the 19th century. From the Renaissance to the 18th century, however, Roman myths were an inspiration particularly for European painting, the Roman tradition is rich in historical myths, or legends, concerning the foundation and rise of the city. These narratives focus on human actors, with only occasional intervention from deities, in Romes earliest period, history and myth have a mutual and complementary relationship. As T. P. Wiseman notes, The Roman stories still matter, as they mattered to Dante in 1300 and Shakespeare in 1600, what does it take to be a free citizen. Can a superpower still be a republic, how does well-meaning authority turn into murderous tyranny. Major sources for Roman myth include the Aeneid of Vergil and the first few books of Livys history as well as Dionysius s Roman Antiquities. Other important sources are the Fasti of Ovid, a six-book poem structured by the Roman religious calendar, scenes from Roman myth also appear in Roman wall painting, coins, and sculpture, particularly reliefs. The Aeneid and Livys early history are the best extant sources for Romes founding myths, material from Greek heroic legend was grafted onto this native stock at an early date. By extension, the Trojans were adopted as the ancestors of the Roman people. Rape of the Sabine women, explaining the importance of the Sabines in the formation of Roman culture, numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king of Rome who consorted with the nymph Egeria and established many of Romes legal and religious institutions. Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, whose mysterious origins were freely mythologized. The Tarpeian Rock, and why it was used for the execution of traitors, lucretia, whose self-sacrifice prompted the overthrow of the early Roman monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic
40.
Apollo
–
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros, Apollo has been recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. As the patron of Delphi, Apollo was an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague. Amongst the gods custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over colonists, as the leader of the Muses and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became an attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans, Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd century CE. The name Apollo—unlike the related older name Paean—is generally not found in the Linear B texts, the etymology of the name is uncertain. The spelling Ἀπόλλων had almost superseded all other forms by the beginning of the common era and it probably is a cognate to the Doric month Apellaios, and the offerings apellaia at the initiation of the young men during the family-festival apellai. According to some scholars the words are derived from the Doric word apella, apella is the name of the popular assembly in Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia. R. S. P. Beekes rejected the connection of the theonym with the noun apellai, several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. Thus, the Greeks most often associated Apollos name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι, in the ancient Macedonian language πέλλα means stone, and some toponyms may be derived from this word, Πέλλα and Πελλήνη. The role of Apollo as god of plague is evident in the invocation of Apollo Smintheus by Chryses, the Hittite testimony reflects an early form *Apeljōn, which may also be surmised from comparison of Cypriot Ἀπείλων with Doric Ἀπέλλων. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo The One of Entrapment, Apollos chief epithet was Phoebus, literally bright. It was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans for Apollos role as the god of light, like other Greek deities, he had a number of others applied to him, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a number of appellations in Greek myth. Aegletes, from αἴγλη, light of the sun Helius, literally sun Lyceus light, the meaning of the epithet Lyceus later became associated with Apollos mother Leto, who was the patron goddess of Lycia and who was identified with the wolf
41.
Bellona (goddess)
–
Bellona was an Ancient Roman goddess of war. Her main attribute is the helmet worn on her head, she often holds a sword, spear or shield. Her iconography was further extended by painters and sculptors following the Renaissance, originally named Duellona in the Italic languages, Bellona was an ancient Sabine goddess of war, identified with Nerio, the consort of the war god Mars, and later with her Greek equivalent Enyo. Her first temple in Rome was dedicated in 296 BCE, where her festival was celebrated on June 3 and her priests were known as Bellonarii and used to wound their own arms or legs as a blood sacrifice to her. These rites took place on the 24 March, called the day of blood after the ceremony, in consequence of this practice, which approximated to the rites dedicated to Cybele in Asia Minor, both Enyo and Bellona became identified with her Cappadocian aspect, Ma. The Roman Campus Martius area in which Bellona’s temple was sited had extraterritorial status, ambassadors from foreign states, who were not allowed to enter the city proper, stayed in this complex. The area around the temple of Bellona was considered to symbolize foreign soil, and it was here too that Roman Senate meetings relating to foreign war were conducted. Beside the temple was the war column, which represented the boundary of Rome, in the military cult of Bellona, she was associated with Virtus, the personification of valour. She then travelled outside Rome with the legions and her temples have been recorded in France, Germany, Britain. In poetry the name Bellona is often used simply as a synonym for war, there she is represented as carrying a spear and a flaming torch or waving a blood-stained sword and riding in a chariot. While she does not figure as a character in Shakespeares plays, in Henry IV, Part I, Hotspur describes her as the fire-eyed maid of smoky war. In The Two Noble Kinsmen, set in pre-Roman Athens, the sister of Hippolyta will solicit her divine aid for Theseus against Thebes. At the start of the named after him, Macbeth is introduced as a violent and brave warrior when the Thane of Ross calls him Bellonas bridegroom, that is to say. She also does not appear as a character in Paradise Lost by John Milton, however, the narrator describes Satans ears as not less pealed with noises loud and ruinous than when Bellona storms with all her battering engines. In more modern times, Adam Lindsay Gordon dedicated an energetic Swinburnean evocation of the goddess who leads men astray in his poem Bellona. She also figures in Edgell Rickword’s World War I poem The Traveller, there the poet describes himself as marching toward the front line in the company of Art, the god Pan and the works of Walter Pater. Meeting Bellona as they approach the fighting, one by one the pleasurable companions are forced to flee before the violence of war, Bellona appears in the prologue of Rameaus opera, Les Indes Galantes, in which the call of love ultimately triumphs over that of war. However, she retains her harsh aspect in Prometheus Absolved by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca, in this cantata celebrating the birth of the Archduchess Isabella in 1762, the gods sit in judgement on Prometheus, some arguing for clemency, while Bellona and others demand rigour
42.
Bona Dea
–
Bona Dea was a divinity in ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in women, healing, according to Roman literary sources, she was brought from Magna Graecia at some time during the early or middle Republic, and was given her own state cult on the Aventine Hill. Her rites allowed women the use of wine and blood-sacrifice. Men were barred from her mysteries and the possession of her true name, most often, she was identified as the wife, sister or daughter of the god Faunus, thus an equivalent or aspect of the nature-goddess Fauna, who could prophesy the fates of women. The goddess had two annual festivals, one was held at her Aventine temple, the other was hosted by the wife of Romes senior annual magistrate, for an invited group of elite matrons and female attendants. The rites remained a subject of curiosity and speculation, both religious and prurient. Bona Deas cults in the city of Rome were led by the Vestal Virgins, surviving statuary shows her as a sedate Roman matron with a cornucopia and a snake. Personal dedications to her are attested among all classes, especially plebeians, freedmen and women, approximately one third of her dedications are from men, some of whom may have been lawfully involved in her cult. Bona Dea is both a title and a respectful pseudonym, the goddess true or cult name is unknown. Her other, less common pseudonyms include Feminea Dea, Laudandae. Deae. and she is a goddess of no definable type, with several origins and a range of different characteristics and functions. Based on what little they knew of her rites and attributes, Roman historians speculated her true name, festus describes her as identical with a womens goddess named Damia, which Georges Dumézil sees as an ancient misreading of Greek Demeter. In the late Imperial era, the neoplatonist author Macrobius identifies her as a universal earth-goddess, the Christian author Lactantius, claiming the late Republican polymath Varro as his source, describes her as Faunus wife and sister, named Fenta Fauna, or Fenta Fatua. The known features of Bona Deas cults recall those of earth and fertility goddesses of the Graeco-Roman world. They included nocturnal rites conducted by predominantly or exclusively female initiates and female priestesses, music, dance and wine, during the Roman Republican era, two such cults to Bona Dea were held at different times and locations in the city of Rome. One was held on May 1 at Bona Deas Aventine temple, the festival and temples foundation year is uncertain – Ovid credits it to Claudia Quinta. The rites are inferred as some form of mystery, concealed from the gaze and, according to most later Roman literary sources. In the Republican era, Bona Deas Aventine festivals were probably distinctly plebeian affairs, open to all classes of women and perhaps, in limited fashion. By the Late Republic era, Bona Deas May festival and Aventine temple could have fallen into official disuse, the goddess also had a Winter festival, thoroughly documented but attested on only two occasions
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Concordia (goddess)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 834.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "
