1.
Augustus
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Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first Roman emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia and his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesars will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar, following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvate was eventually torn apart by the ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, in reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and it took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis, the resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of peace known as the Pax Romana. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, expanding into Germania, beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. Augustus died in AD14 at the age of 75 and he probably died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Augustus was known by many names throughout his life, At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, upon his adoption, he took Caesars name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. He quickly dropped Octavianus from his name, and his contemporaries referred to him as Caesar during this period, historians. In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference to him from 27 BC until his death in AD14. While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres from Rome and he was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his fathers victory at Thurii over a band of slaves. Due to the nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his fathers home village at Velletri to be raised. Octavius only mentions his fathers equestrian family briefly in his memoirs and his paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War
2.
King of Rome
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The King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for an average of 35 years, the kings after Romulus were not known to be dynasts and no reference is made to the hereditary principle until after the fifth king Tarquinius Priscus. Consequently, some have assumed that the Tarquins and their attempt to institute a hereditary monarchy over this conjectured earlier elective monarchy resulted in the formation of the republic, early Rome was not self-governing, and was ruled by the king. The king possessed absolute power over the people, the senate was a weak oligarchy, capable of exercising only minor administrative powers, so that Rome was ruled by its king who was in effect an absolute monarch. The senates main function was to out and administer the wishes of the king. Candidates for the throne could be chosen from any source, for example, one such candidate, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus was originally a citizen and migrant from a neighboring Etruscan city-state. The people of Rome, sitting as the Curiate Assembly, could either accept or reject the nominated candidate-king. The insignia of the king was twelve lictors wielding the fasces, a throne of a Curule chair, the purple Toga Picta, red shoes, only the king could wear a purple toga. The people knew the king as a mediator between them and the gods and thus viewed the king with religious awe and this made the king the head of the national religion and its chief executive. Having the power to control the Roman calendar, he conducted all religious ceremonies and appointed lower religious offices and it was Romulus who instituted the augurs and who was believed to have been the best augur of all. Likewise, King Numa Pompilius instituted the pontiffs and through them developed the foundations of the dogma of Rome. Beyond his religious authority, the king was invested with the military, executive. The imperium of the king was held for life and protected him from ever being brought to trial for his actions. As being the owner of imperium in Rome at the time. His executive power and his sole imperium allowed him to issue decrees with the force of law, also, the laws that kept citizens safe from the misuse of magistrates owning imperium did not exist during the times of the king. Another power of the king was the power to appoint or nominate all officials to offices. The king would appoint a tribunus celerum to serve as both the tribune of Ramnes tribe in Rome but also as the commander of the personal bodyguard
3.
Romulus
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Romulus was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Romes oldest legal, political, religious, Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, were the sons of Rhea Silvia, herself the daughter of Numitor, the former king of Alba Longa. Through them, the twins are descended from the Trojan hero Aeneas and Latinus, before the twins birth, Numitor had been usurped by his brother, Amulius. After seizing the throne, Amulius murdered Numitors son, and condemned Rhea to perpetual virginity by consecrating her a Vestal, Rhea, however, became pregnant, ostensibly by the god Mars. Amulius had her imprisoned, and upon the birth, ordered that they be thrown into the rain-swollen Tiber. Instead of carrying out the orders, his servants left the twins along the riverbank at the foot of Palatine Hill. In the traditional telling of the legend, a she-wolf happened upon the twins and she suckled and tended them by a cave until they were found by the herdsman Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia. The brothers grew to manhood among the shepherds and hill-folk, after becoming involved in a conflict between the followers of Amulius and those of their grandfather Numitor, they learned the truth of their origin. They overthrew and killed Amulius and restored Numitor to the throne, the princes set out to establish a city of their own. They returned to the hills overlooking the Tiber, the site where they had exposed as infants. They could not agree on which hill should house the new city, when an omen to resolve the controversy failed to provide a clear indication, the conflict escalated and Remus was killed by his brother or by his brothers follower. In a variant of the legend, the augurs favoured Romulus, when Remus derisively leapt over the walls to show how inadequate they were against invaders, he was struck down by Romulus. In another variant, Remus died during a melée along with Faustulus, the founding of the city by Romulus was commemorated annually on April 21, with the festival of the Parilia. His first act was to fortify the Palatine, in the course of which he made a sacrifice to the gods and he then laid out the citys boundaries with a furrow that he ploughed, performed another sacrifice, and with his followers set to work building the city itself. Romulus then sought the assent of the people to become their king, with Numitors help, he addressed them and received their approval. Romulus accepted the crown after he sacrificed and prayed to Jupiter, Romulus then divided the populace into three tribes, known as the Ramnes, Titienses, and Luceres, for taxation and military purposes. Each tribe was presided over by a known as a tribune. Romulus also allotted a portion of land to ward, for the benefit of the people
4.
Tullus Hostilius
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Tullus Hostilius was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius, unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king. Tullus Hostilius was the grandson of Hostus Hostilius, who had fought with Romulus, the principal feature of Tullus reign was his defeat of Alba Longa. After Alba Longa was beaten, Alba Longa became Romes vassal state, Tullus also fought successful wars against Fidenae and Veii and against the Sabines. According to Livy, Tullus paid little heed to religious observances during his reign, king Tullus became ill and was filled with superstition. He reviewed the commentaries of Numa Pompilius and attempted to carry out sacrifices recommended by Numa to Jupiter Elicius. However, Tullus did not undertake the ceremony correctly, and both he and his house were struck by lightning and reduced to ashes as a result of the anger of Jupiter. As with those of all the kings of Rome, the events ascribed to the reign of Tullus Hostilius are treated with skepticism by modern historians. Both are brought up among shepherds, carry on war against Fidenae and Veii, double the number of citizens, Hostilius was probably a historical figure, however, in the strict sense that a man bearing the name Tullus Hostilius likely reigned as king in Rome. The first event is the destruction of Alba Longa and it is beyond doubt that the Alban mountains were the site of a large settlement and that this settlement fell under Roman power during the regal period. But when and by whom Alba Longa was destroyed is uncertain and this would bring the construction of the Curia Hostilia well within the time of a possible reign by Tullus Hostilius and also explain the otherwise inexplicable name of the building. Operatic pastiches with the title Tullo Ostilio performed in Prague in 1727, consistent with contemporary conventions, the stories concentrate on concocted love stories involving members of the principal characters family. Tullus Hostilius was played by Robert Keith in the 1961 film Duel of Champions, Tullus is briefly mentioned in the Aeneid in the description of Aeneas shield. He is described as hauling away the remains of the liar Mettius through the brush and he is a character in Philip Jose Farmers novel Riverworld. After the Resurrection, he has teamed up with Hermann Göring to run a slave-state
5.
Roman mythology
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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
6.
Sabines
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The Sabines were an Italic tribe which lived in the central Apennines of ancient Italy, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The above names, English, Latin, and Greek, are all exonyms, the Sabines divided into two populations just after the founding of Rome, which is described by Roman legend. The division, however it came about, is not legendary, the population closer to Rome transplanted itself to the new city and united with the pre-existing citizenry, beginning a new heritage that descended from the Sabines but was also Latinized. The second population remained a mountain tribal state, coming finally to war against Rome for its independence along with all the other Italic tribes, after losing, it became assimilated into the Roman Republic. There is little record of the Sabine language, however, there are some glosses by ancient commentators, there are also personal names in use on Latin inscriptions from Sabine country, but these are given in Latin form. Robert Seymour Conway, in his Italic Dialects, gives approximately 100 words which vary from being well attested as Sabine to being possibly of Sabine origin, in addition to these he cites place names derived from the Sabine, sometimes giving attempts at reconstructions of the Sabine form. Based on all the evidence, the Linguist List tentatively classifies Sabine as a member of the Umbrian Group of Italic languages of Indo-European family, latin-speakers called the Sabines original territory, straddling the modern regions of Lazio, Umbria, and Abruzzo, Sabinium. To this day, it bears the ancient tribes name in the Italian form of Sabina, within the modern region of Lazio, Sabina constitutes a sub-region, situated north-east of Rome, around Rieti. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, many Roman historians regarded the origins of indigenous Romans to be Greek, the Sabines, specifically, were first mentioned in Dionysiuss account for having captured by surprise the city of Lista, which was regarded as the mother-city of the Aborigines. Ancient historians were still debating the specific origins of the Sabines, zenodotus of Troezen claimed that the Sabines were originally Umbrians that changed their name after being driven from the Reatine territory by the Pelasgians. However, Porcius Cato argued that the Sabines were a populace named after Sabus, in another account mentioned in Dionysiuss work, a group of Lacedaemonians fled Sparta since they regarded the laws of Lycurgus as too severe. In Italy, they founded the Spartan colony of Foronia and some from that colony settled among the Sabines, according to the account, the Sabine habits of belligerence and frugality were known to have derived from the Spartans. Plutarch also states in the Life of Numa Pompilius, Sabines, legend says that the Romans abducted Sabine women to populate the newly built Rome. The resultant war ended only by the women throwing themselves and their children between the armies of their fathers and their husbands, the Rape of the Sabine Women became a common motif in art, the women ending the war is a less frequent but still reappearing motif. According to Livy, after the conflict, the Sabine and Roman states merged, three new centuries of Equites were introduced at Rome, including one named Tatienses, after the Sabine king. A variation of the story is recounted in the book of Jasher. Tradition suggests that the population of the early Roman kingdom was the result of a union of Sabines, some of the gentes of the Roman republic were proud of their Sabine heritage, such as the Claudia gens, assuming Sabinus as a cognomen or agnomen. Ancient peoples of Italy Hostus Hostilius Ovid, Fasti Ovid, Ars Amatoria Livy, Ab urbe condita Cicero, De Republica Plutarch, Parallel Lives Juvenal, Satires Donaldson, John William
7.
Plutarch
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Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist, Plutarchs surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the town of Chaeronea, about 80 km east of Delphi. The name of Plutarchs father has not been preserved, but based on the common Greek custom of repeating a name in alternate generations, the name of Plutarchs grandfather was Lamprias, as he attested in Moralia and in his Life of Antony. His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are mentioned in his essays and dialogues. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarchs wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, interestingly, he hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation. The exact number of his sons is not certain, although two of them, Autobulus and the second Plutarch, are often mentioned. Plutarchs treatise De animae procreatione in Timaeo is dedicated to them, another person, Soklarus, is spoken of in terms which seem to imply that he was Plutarchs son, but this is nowhere definitely stated. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens under Ammonius from 66 to 67, at some point, Plutarch took Roman citizenship. He lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo. For many years Plutarch served as one of the two priests at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, twenty miles from his home. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire, yet he continued to reside where he was born, at his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Many of these dialogues were recorded and published, and the 78 essays, Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. He busied himself with all the matters of the town. The Suda, a medieval Greek encyclopedia, states that Emperor Trajan made Plutarch procurator of Illyria, however, most historians consider this unlikely, since Illyria was not a procuratorial province, and Plutarch probably did not speak Illyrian. Plutarch spent the last thirty years of his serving as a priest in Delphi. He thus connected part of his work with the sanctuary of Apollo, the processes of oracle-giving
8.
Titus Tatius
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According to the Roman foundation myth, Titus Tatius was the king of the Sabines from Cures and joint-ruler of Rome for several years. During the reign of Romulus, the first king of Rome, the two kingdoms were joined and the two kings ruled jointly until Tatius murder five years later. The joint kingdom was still called Rome and the citizens of the city were still called Romans, the Sabines were integrated into the existing tribes and curies. Tatius is not counted as one of the traditional Seven Kings of Rome and he had one daughter Tatia, who married Numa Pompilius, and one son, who was the ancestor of the noble family of Tatii. Dionysius of Halicarnassus reports that after a year of preparation, Rome, two days after the first, the second and final battle between them was fought in between the two Roman hills they were occupying. It was an epic contest, featuring multiple reversals wherein both armies had and then lost the upper hand, at the end of the day, the Sabines retreated to the citadel and the Romans didnt pursue them. Before combat could be resumed, the Sabine women, some in funerary attire, some carrying their children with them, after a ceasefire, the nations signed a treaty creating a single kingdom under the joint rule of both kings. They reigned together until the death of Tatius, the two kings oversaw an expansion of Rome and the building of several landmarks, as well as the conquest of Carmania. Their first disagreement came in the year of their reign. Dionysius relates that some of Tatius friends had victimized some Laurentii, after the ambassadors had left for home, a group of Sabines waylaid them as they slept. Some escaped and when word got back to Rome, Romulus promptly arrested and surrendered the men responsible--including a member of Tatius own family--over to a new group of ambassadors, Tatius followed the group out of the city and freed the accused men by force. Later, while both kings were participating in a sacrifice in Lavinium, he was killed in retribution, dionysius also tells the account of Licinius Macer, wherein Tatius was killed when he went alone to try and convince the victims in Lavinium to forgive the crimes committed. When they discovered he had not brought the men responsible with him, as the senate and Romulus had ordered, according to Mommsen, the story of his death, looks like an historical version of the abolition of blood-revenge. Tatius, who in some respects resembles Remus, is not a historical personage, the sodales fell into abeyance at the end of the republic, but were revived by Augustus and existed to the end of the 2nd century AD. Augustus himself and the emperor Claudius belonged to the college, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Titus Tatius
9.
Livy
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Livy and Augustuss wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood. Livy was born as Titus Livius in Patavium in northern Italy, there is a debate about the year of Titus Livius birth,64 BC or more likely 59 BC. At the time of his birth, his city of Patavium was the second wealthiest on the Italian peninsula. Patavium was a part of the province of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, in his works, Livy often expressed his deep affection and pride for Patavium, and the city was well known for its conservative values in morality and politics. Livy’s teen years were during the 40s BC, a time that coincided with the wars that were occurring throughout the Roman world. The governor of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, a man called Asinius Pollio, had tried to bring Patavium into the camp of Marcus Antonius, the wealthier citizens of Patavium refused to contribute money and arms to Asinius Pollio, and went into hiding. Therefore, Livy and the residents of Patavium did not end up supporting Marcus Antonius in his campaign for control over Rome. Later on, Asinius Pollio made a jibe at Livys patavinity and his jibe at Livy and his patavinity, however, may have been said because the city of Patavium had rejected Asinius Pollio, and he still harboured harsh feelings toward the city as a whole. Titus Livius probably went to Rome in the 30s BC, and it is likely that he spent an amount of time in the city after this. During his time in Rome, he was never a senator nor held any other governmental position and his elementary mistakes in military matters show that he was never a soldier. However, he was educated in philosophy and rhetoric and it seems that Livy had the financial resources and means to live an independent life. He devoted a part of his life to his writings. Livy was known to give recitations to small audiences, but he was not heard of to engage in declamation and he was familiar with the emperor Augustus, formerly Octavian, and the imperial family. Octavian was one of the three men fighting for the control of Rome during the Civil Wars in the 40s BC, Octavian gained power after defeating Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra, and was later given the honorary name of Augustus. Considering that Augustus came to be known as the greatest Roman emperor in the eyes of the Romans and it is said that Livy was the one who encouraged the future emperor Claudius, who was born in 10 BC, to explore the writing of history during his childhood. Livy himself was married and had at least one daughter and one son, Livy’s most famous work was his history of Rome. In it he explains the history of the city of Rome. Because he was writing under the emperor Augustus, Livy’s history emphasizes the great triumphs of Rome and he wrote his history with embellished accounts of Roman heroism in order to promote the new type of government implemented by Augustus when he became emperor
10.
Pythagoras
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Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and the putative founder of the movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written centuries after he lived. He was born on the island of Samos, and travelled, visiting Egypt and Greece, around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, in Magna Graecia, and there established some kind of school or guild. In 520 BC, he returned to Samos, Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religion in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a mathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues, some accounts mention that the philosophy associated with Pythagoras was related to mathematics and that numbers were important. It was said that he was the first man to himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom, and Pythagorean ideas exercised a marked influence on Plato. Burkert states that Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus are the most important accounts, Aristotle had written a separate work On the Pythagoreans, which is no longer extant. However, the Protrepticus possibly contains parts of On the Pythagoreans and his disciples Dicaearchus, Aristoxenus, and Heraclides Ponticus had written on the same subject. These writers, late as they are, were among the best sources from whom Porphyry and Iamblichus drew, while adding some legendary accounts. Herodotus, Isocrates, and other writers agree that Pythagoras was the son of Mnesarchus and born on the Greek island of Samos. His father is said to have been a gem-engraver or a wealthy merchant, a late source gives his mothers name as Pythais. As to the date of his birth, Aristoxenus stated that Pythagoras left Samos in the reign of Polycrates, at the age of 40, around 530 BC he arrived in the Greek colony of Croton in what was then Magna Graecia. There he founded his own school the members of which he engaged to a disciplined. He furthermore aquired some political influence, on Greeks and non-Greeks of the region, following a conflict with the neighbouring colony of Sybaris, internal discord drove most of the Pythagoreans out of Croton. Pythagoras left the city before the outbreak of civil unrest and moved to Metapontum, after his death, his house was transformed into a sanctuary of Demeter, out of veneration for the philosopher, by the local population. In ancient sources there was disagreement and inconsistency about the late life of Pythagoras. His tomb was shown at Metapontum in the time of Cicero, according to Walter Burkert, Most obvious is the contradiction between Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus, regarding the catastrophe that overwhelmed the Pythagorean society
11.
Pontifex Maximus
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The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, a distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian who, however, although the most influential office within Roman priesthood, the pontifex maximus was ranked the fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, behind the rex sacrorum and the flamines maiores. It is not included in the Popes official titles, but appears on buildings, monuments and coins of popes of Renaissance, according to the usual interpretation, the term pontifex literally means bridge-builder, maximus literally means greatest. However, it was understood in its symbolic sense as well. The last derivation is mentioned also by Varro, who rejected it, others have held that the word was originally pompifex. The word pons originally meant way and pontifex would thus mean maker of roads, another opinion is that the word is a corruption of a similar-sounding but etymologically unrelated Etruscan word for priest. Yet another hypothesis considers the word as a loan from the Sabine language, in which it would mean a member of a college of five, from Osco-Umbrian ponte, the pontifex would thence be a member of a sacrificial college known as pomperia. The term ἀρχιερεύς is used in the Septuagint text of the Old Testament, the Collegium Pontificum was the most important priesthood of ancient Rome. The foundation of this college and the office of Pontifex Maximus is attributed to the second king of Rome. Much of what is known about the Regal period in Roman history is semi-legendary or mythical, the Collegium presumably acted as advisers to the rex in religious matters. The collegium was headed by the pontifex maximus, and all the pontifices held their office for life, Numa is said to have founded Roman religion after dedicating an altar on the Aventine Hill to Jupiter Elicius and consulting the gods by means of augury. Numa wrote down and sealed these religious instructions, and gave them to the first Pontifex Maximus, in the Roman Republic, the Pontifex Maximus was the highest office in the state religion of ancient Rome and directed the College of Pontiffs. The rex sacrorum was explicitly deprived of military and political power, the official residence of the Pontifex Maximus was the Domus Publica which stood between the House of the Vestal Virgins and the Via Sacra, close to the Regia, in the Roman Forum. His religious duties were carried out from the Regia, unless the pontifex maximus was also a magistrate at the same time, he was not allowed to wear the toga praetexta, i. e. toga with the purple border. The Pontifex was not simply a priest and he had both political and religious authority. It is not clear which of the two came first or had the most importance, in practice, particularly during the late Republic, the office of Pontifex Maximus was generally held by a member of a politically prominent family. It was a position mainly for the great prestige it conferred on the holder, Julius Caesar became pontifex in 73 BC
12.
Ancus Marcius
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Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome. He was the son of Marcius, who may be identified with Numa Marcius, according to Festus, Marcius had the surname of Ancus from his crooked arm. Upon the death of the king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex. Ancus Marcius was believed by the Romans to have been the namesake of the Marcii and he waged war successfully against the Latins, and a number of them were settled on the Aventine Hill. According to Livy the war was commenced by the Latins who anticipated Ancus would follow the pious pursuit of peace adopted by his grandfather, the Latins initially made an incursion on Roman lands. When a Roman embassy sought restitution for the damage, the Latins gave a contemptuous reply, Ancus accordingly declared war on the Latins. The declaration is notable since, according to Livy, it was the first time that the Romans had declared war by means of the rites of the fetials, Ancus Marcius marched from Rome with a newly levied army and took the Latin town of Politorium by storm. Its residents were removed to settle on the Aventine Hill in Rome as new citizens, following the Roman traditions from wars with the Sabines, when the other Latins subsequently occupied the empty town of Politorium, Ancus took the town again and demolished it. The Latin villages of Tellenae and Ficana were also sacked and demolished, the war then focused on the Latin town of Medullia. The town had a garrison and was well fortified. Several engagements took place outside the town and the Romans were eventually victorious, Ancus returned to Rome with much booty. More Latins were brought to Rome as citizens and were settled at the foot of the Aventine near the Palatine Hill, by the temple of Murcia. Ancus Marcius incorporated the Janiculum into the city, fortifying it with a wall and connecting it with the city by a bridge across the Tiber. On the land side of the city he constructed the Fossa Quiritium and he also built Romes first prison, the Mamertine prison. He expanded the temple of Jupiter Feretrius to reflect these territorial successes, according to a reconstruction of the Fasti Triumphales, Ancus Marcius celebrated at least one triumph, over the Sabines and Veientes. Ancus Marcius was succeeded by Lucius Tarquinius Priscus who would later be executed by the sons of Ancus Marcius, patrician Marcius Rex -family is descended from Ancus Marcius and remained prominent during the republic and empire. Attribution Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Ancus Marcius
13.
Pomponius
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The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, the first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC, the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC. The Pomponii claimed to be descended from Pompo, one of the sons of Numa Pompilius, several other gentes also claimed Numa as their ancestor. Pompo, asserted as the name of the ancestor of the Pompilii and it was the Oscan equivalent of Quintus, a very common name. Numas father is said to have been named Pompo Pompilius, Pomponius appears to be derived from an adjectival form of that name, and the equivalent of the Latin nomen Quinctilius. Thus, it is certain that some ancestor of the Pomponii was indeed named Pompo. An alternative explanation suggested during the nineteenth century, was that the name might be derived from an Etruscan root. In her History of Etruria, Mrs. Hamilton Gray supposed Pumpu to have been the name of Numas mother, adopted as a surname according to a common to the Etruscan. The Pomponii used a variety of praenomina. The principal names were Marcus, Lucius, and Titus, a few of the Pomponii bore the praenomina Quintus, Publius, and Sextus. The illustrious family of the Pomponii Mathones favored Manius, and there are instances of Gaius and Gnaeus. In the earliest times, the Pomponii were not distinguished by any surname, on coins we also find the cognomina Molo, Musa, and Rufus, but none of these occur in ancient writers. The other surnames found during the Republic, such as Atticus, were personal cognomina, numerous surnames appear in imperial times. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation, Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC. Lucius Pomponius Rufus, grandfather of the consular tribune of 399 BC. Lucius Pomponius L. f. Rufus, father of the consular tribune, Marcus Pomponius L. f. L. n. Rufus, consular tribune in 399 BC, Quintus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 395 BC, opposed a measure to establish a colony at Veii, for which reason he was accused and fined two years later. Manius Pomponius Matho, grandfather of the consul of 233 BC, Matho, father of the consul of 233 BC. Manius Pomponius M. f. M. n, Matho, consul in 233 BC. Marcus Pomponius M. f. M. n
14.
Pomponia (gens)
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The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, the first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC, the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC. The Pomponii claimed to be descended from Pompo, one of the sons of Numa Pompilius, several other gentes also claimed Numa as their ancestor. Pompo, asserted as the name of the ancestor of the Pompilii and it was the Oscan equivalent of Quintus, a very common name. Numas father is said to have been named Pompo Pompilius, Pomponius appears to be derived from an adjectival form of that name, and the equivalent of the Latin nomen Quinctilius. Thus, it is certain that some ancestor of the Pomponii was indeed named Pompo. An alternative explanation suggested during the nineteenth century, was that the name might be derived from an Etruscan root. In her History of Etruria, Mrs. Hamilton Gray supposed Pumpu to have been the name of Numas mother, adopted as a surname according to a common to the Etruscan. The Pomponii used a variety of praenomina. The principal names were Marcus, Lucius, and Titus, a few of the Pomponii bore the praenomina Quintus, Publius, and Sextus. The illustrious family of the Pomponii Mathones favored Manius, and there are instances of Gaius and Gnaeus. In the earliest times, the Pomponii were not distinguished by any surname, on coins we also find the cognomina Molo, Musa, and Rufus, but none of these occur in ancient writers. The other surnames found during the Republic, such as Atticus, were personal cognomina, numerous surnames appear in imperial times. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation, Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC. Lucius Pomponius Rufus, grandfather of the consular tribune of 399 BC. Lucius Pomponius L. f. Rufus, father of the consular tribune, Marcus Pomponius L. f. L. n. Rufus, consular tribune in 399 BC, Quintus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 395 BC, opposed a measure to establish a colony at Veii, for which reason he was accused and fined two years later. Manius Pomponius Matho, grandfather of the consul of 233 BC, Matho, father of the consul of 233 BC. Manius Pomponius M. f. M. n, Matho, consul in 233 BC. Marcus Pomponius M. f. M. n
15.
Aemilia (gens)
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The gens Aemilia, originally written Aimilia, was one of the most ancient patrician houses at Rome. The Aemilii were probably one of the gentes maiores, the most important of the patrician families and their name was associated with two major roads, an administrative region of Italy, and the Basilica Aemilia at Rome. Several stories were told of the foundation of the Aemilii, the most familiar was that their ancestor, Mamercus, was the son of Numa Pompilius, who was also claimed as an ancestor of the gentes Pompilia, Pomponia, Calpurnia, and Pinaria. A variation of this account stated that Mamercus was the son of Pythagoras, however, as Livy observed, this was not possible, as Pythagoras was not born until more than a century after Numas death, and was still living in the early days of the Republic. This Mamercus is said to have received the name of Aemilius because of the persuasiveness of his language, another possible derivation is from aemulus, a rival, or from the same root. According to a different legend, the Aemilii were descended from Aemylos, still another version relates that the gens was descended from Amulius, the wicked uncle of Romulus and Remus, who deposed his brother Numitor to become king of Alba Longa. Whether any of these accounts is true, the Aemilii were probably of Sabine origin, the praenomen Mamercus is derived from Mamers, a god worshipped by the Sabelli of central and southern Italy, and usually identified with Mars. Although usually included in lists of praenomina regularly used at Rome, and thus considered Latin, the Aemilii regularly used the praenomina Mamercus, Lucius, Manius, Marcus, and Quintus. The daughters of the Aemilii are known to have used the numerical praenomina Prima, Secunda, the oldest stirps of the Aemilii used Mamercus and its diminutive, Mamercinus as cognomina. This family flourished from the earliest period to the time of the Samnite Wars, several other major branches, including the Papi, Barbulae, Paulli, and Lepidi, date from this period, and may have been descended from the Mamercini. The Aemilii Paulli vanished with the death of Lucius Aemilius Paullus and his sons, though grown, were adopted into the families of the Fabii Maximi and the Cornelii Scipiones. The family of the Aemilii Lepidi came to prominence at the beginning of the third century BC, in the first century BC they revived several old names, including the praenomina Mamercus and Paullus, and the cognomina Paullus and Regillus. The Aemilii Scauri flourished from the beginning of the second century BC to the beginning of the first century AD, the cognomina Buca and Regillus apparently belonged to short-lived families. Other surnames are found in imperial times, for an explanation of this practice, see filiation. Mamercus, consul in 484,478, and 473 BC, Mamercus, consul in 470 and 467 BC. Gaius Aemilius Mamercus, dictator in 463 BC, according to Lydus, Mamercinus, dictator in 438,433, and 426 BC. Manius Aemilius Mam. f. M. n, Mamercinus, consul in 410 BC, and tribunus militum consulari potestate in 405,403, and 401. Mamercinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 394 and 391 BC. Lucius Aemilius Mam. f. M. n, Mamercinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 391,389,387,383,382,380, and 377 BC. Lucius Aemilius L. f
16.
Roman Senate
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The Roman Senate was a political institution in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, during the days of the kingdom, it was little more than an advisory council to the king. The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was following a coup détat led by Lucius Junius Brutus. During the early Republic, the Senate was politically weak, while the executive magistrates were quite powerful, since the transition from monarchy to constitutional rule was most likely gradual, it took several generations before the Senate was able to assert itself over the executive magistrates. By the middle Republic, the Senate had reached the apex of its republican power, the late Republic saw a decline in the Senates power, which began following the reforms of the tribunes Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. After the transition of the Republic into the Principate, the Senate lost much of its power as well as its prestige. Following the constitutional reforms of the Emperor Diocletian, the Senate became politically irrelevant, when the seat of government was transferred out of Rome, the Senate was reduced to a municipal body. This decline in status was reinforced when the emperor Constantine the Great created an additional senate in Constantinople, the Senate in Rome ultimately disappeared at some point after AD603, although the title senator was still used well into the Middle Ages as a largely meaningless honorific. However, the Eastern Senate survived in Constantinople, until the ancient institution finally vanished there c. 14th century, the senate was a political institution in the ancient Roman kingdom. The word senate derives from the Latin word senex, which means old man, the early Roman family was called a gens or clan, and each clan was an aggregation of families under a common living male patriarch, called a pater. When the early Roman gentes were aggregating to form a common community, over time, the patres came to recognize the need for a single leader, and so they elected a king, and vested in him their sovereign power. When the king died, that power naturally reverted to the patres. The senate is said to have created by Romes first king, Romulus. The descendants of those 100 men subsequently became the patrician class, Romes fifth king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, chose a further 100 senators. They were chosen from the leading families, and were accordingly called the patres minorum gentium. Romes seventh and final king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, executed many of the men in the senate. During the years of the monarchy, the senates most important function was to new kings. While the king was elected by the people, it was actually the senate who chose each new king
17.
Augur
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The augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. This was known as taking the auspices, the ceremony and function of the augur was central to any major undertaking in Roman society—public or private—including matters of war, commerce, and religion. Roman augurs were part of a college of priests who shared the duties and responsibilities of the position, at the foundation of the Republic in 510 BC, the patricians held sole claim to this office, by 300 BC, the office was open to plebeian occupation as well. Senior members of the collegium put forth nominations for any vacancies, in the Regal period tradition holds that there were three augurs at a time, by the time of Sulla, they had reached fifteen in number. Augury sought the divine will regarding any proposed course of action which might affect Romes pax, fortuna, political, military and civil actions were sanctioned by augury, historically performed by priests of the college of augurs and by haruspices on behalf of senior magistrates. The presiding magistrate at an augural rite thus held the “right of augury”, magistracies were therefore religious offices in their own right, and magistrates were directly responsible for the pax, fortuna and salus of Rome and everything that was Roman. The effectiveness of augury could only be judged retrospectively, the divinely ordained condition of peace was an outcome of successful augury and those whose actions had led to divine wrath could not have possessed a true right of augury. Of all the protagonists in the Civil War, only Octavian could have possessed it, lucan, writing during the Principate, described the recent Civil War as unnatural - a mirror to supernatural disturbances in the greater cosmos. His imagery is apt to the principles of augury and its broader interpretation by Stoic apologists of the Imperial cult. In the Stoic cosmology, pax deorum is the expression of natural order in human affairs, according to Cicero, the auctoritas of ius augurum included the right to adjourn and overturn the process of law, consular election could be - and was - rendered invalid by inaugural error. For Cicero, this made the augur the most powerful authority in the Republic, Cicero himself was co-opted into the college only late in his career. In the later Republic, augury came under the supervision of the college of pontifices, the office of pontifex maximus eventually became a de facto consular prerogative. In ancient Rome the auguria were considered to be in equilibrium with the sacra and were not the way by which the gods made their will known. The augures publici concerned themselves only with related to the state. The jus augurale was rigorously secret, therefore very little about the aspects of ceremonies. We have only the names of some auguria, e. g, the first one required the sacrifice of red dogs and took place before wheat grains were shelled but not before they had formed. Of the second we know only the name implies a ritual related to the harvest. Augurium and auspicium are terms used indifferently by the ancient, modern scholars have debated the issue at length but have failed to find a distinctive definition that may hold for all the known cases
18.
Jupiter (mythology)
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Jupiter, also Jove, is the god of sky and thunder and king of the gods in Ancient Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the deity of Roman state religion throughout the Republican and Imperial eras. In Roman mythology, he negotiates with Numa Pompilius, the king of Rome, to establish principles of Roman religion such as offering. Jupiter is usually thought to have originated as a sky god, the two emblems were often combined to represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt, frequently seen on Greek and Roman coins. As the sky-god, he was a witness to oaths. Many of his functions were focused on the Capitoline Hill, where the citadel was located and he was the chief deity of the early Capitoline Triad with Mars and Quirinus. In the later Capitoline Triad, he was the guardian of the state with Juno. His sacred tree was the oak, the Romans regarded Jupiter as the equivalent of the Greek Zeus, and in Latin literature and Roman art, the myths and iconography of Zeus are adapted under the name Iuppiter. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Jupiter was the brother of Neptune, each presided over one of the three realms of the universe, sky, the waters, and the underworld. The Italic Diespiter was also a sky god who manifested himself in the daylight, usually, Tinia is usually regarded as his Etruscan counterpart. The Romans believed that Jupiter granted them supremacy because they had honoured him more than any other people had, Jupiter was the fount of the auspices upon which the relationship of the city with the gods rested. He personified the divine authority of Romes highest offices, internal organization and his image in the Republican and Imperial Capitol bore regalia associated with Romes ancient kings and the highest consular and Imperial honours. The consuls swore their oath of office in Jupiters name, to thank him for his help, they offered him a white ox with gilded horns. A similar offering was made by generals, who surrendered the tokens of their victory at the feet of Jupiters statue in the Capitol. Some scholars have viewed the triumphator as embodying Jupiter in the triumphal procession, Jupiters association with kingship and sovereignty was reinterpreted as Romes form of government changed. Originally, Rome was ruled by kings, after the monarchy was abolished and the Republic established, religious prerogatives were transferred to the patres, nostalgia for the kingship was considered treasonous. Those suspected of harbouring monarchical ambitions were punished, regardless of their service to the state, in the 5th century BC, the triumphator Camillus was sent into exile after he drove a chariot with a team of four white horses —an honour reserved for Jupiter himself. His house on the Capitoline Hill was razed, and it was decreed that no patrician should ever be allowed to live there, during the Conflict of the Orders, Romes plebeians demanded the right to hold political and religious office
19.
Omen
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An omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. People in the ancient times believed that omens lie with a message from their gods. These omens include natural phenomena, for example an eclipse, abnormal births of animals and humans and they had specialists, the diviners, to interpret these omens. They would also use a method, for example, a clay model of a sheep liver. They would expect a binary answer, either yes or no answer and they did these to predict what would happen in the future and to take action to avoid disaster. Though the word omen is usually devoid of reference to the nature, hence being possibly either good or bad. The origin of the word is unknown, although it may be connected with the Latin word audire, the oldest source for this practice in the Ancient Near East came from Mesopotamia. This practice attested at the first half of the 2nd millennium B. C. and it was pursued by the Assyrian kings, Esarhaddon and his son. There were 3 methods to interpret omens, and they were hepatoscopy, lecanomancy, hepatoscopy is to observe irregularities and abnormalities on the appearance of the entrails of a sacrificial sheep and they were used most in royal services. Astrological omens were popular in Assyria, during the 7th century BC, diviners gained much influence by interpreting the omens and advising the king how to avoid the terrible fate during the reign of Esarhaddon. One of the things they would do in Assyria was to put a substitute king on the throne, and the true king would hide for a while. The substitute king was expected to take the consequences and when they believed the danger is over, they would execute the substitute king. The observations of omens were recorded into series, some of them dated back to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, and these were arranged as conditional statement later. Such practice was found in Israel as well, compared to Israel, they used the methods listed above except, hepatoscopy. According to the Bible, God did not answer King Saul through dreams, or Urim and Thummim, or prophets, thus, showed that they have a similar belief and practice with their prophets, and dreams, and similar tool as Urim and Thummim. An oionos was defined in antiquity as the vulture, especially a prophetic bird. By careful observation of the cries and the way or direction it flew. They also saw lightning or thunder as omens, sent from Zeus, even since Homeric times, the Greeks paid special attention to these signs, when they saw vultures from the left, another symbol of Zeus, they considered it a bad omen
20.
Celeres
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The Celeres were a personal armed guard of 300-500 men maintained by Romulus, the mythical founder of ancient Rome. The Celeres were associated with Celer, the lieutenant of Romulus responsible for Remus slaying in some stories, Livy mentions that they served in peacetime and in war, unlike the short terms of service in most ancient armies. It is unknown whether they were infantry or cavalry, Dionysius claims the former, while Livy, the latter seems more plausible given that celeres means literally the swift. Livy, Ab urbe condita 1.15 Harry Thurston Peck
21.
Egeria (mythology)
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Her name is used as an eponym for a female advisor or counselor. Egeria may predate Roman myth, she could have been of Italic origin in the sacred forest of Aricia in Latium, her immemorial site, at Aricia there was also a Manius Egerius, a male counterpart of Egeria. Described sometime as a nymph, she is usually regarded as a water nymph and somehow her cult also involved some link with childbirth. But most of all, Egeria gave wisdom and prophecy in return for libations of water or milk at her sacred groves and this quality has been made especially popular through the tale of her relationship with Numa Pompilius. According to mythology she counseled and guided the King Numa Pompilius in the establishment of the framework of laws. Numa is reputed to have written down the teachings of Egeria in sacred books that he had buried with him, when a chance accident brought them back to light some 500 years later, the Senate deemed them inappropriate for disclosure to the people, and ordered their destruction. What made them inappropriate was some matter of nature with political bearing that apparently has not been handed down by Valerius Antias. Dionysius of Halicarnassus hints that they were kept as a very close secret by the Pontifices. She is also gifted with oracular capabilities, in another episode she helps Numa in a battle of wits with Jupiter himself, whereby Numa sought to gain a protective ritual against lightning strokes and thunder. The precise level of her relationship to Numa has been described diversely, by Juvenals day that tradition was treated more critically. Juvenal called her Numas Amica in a sceptical phrase, Numa Pompilius died in 673 BC of old age. According to Ovids Metamorphoses, with Numas death Egeria melted into tears of sorrow, thus becoming a spring, a spring and a grove once sacred to Egeria stand close to a gate of Rome, the Porta Capena. Its waters were dedicated to the use of the Vestals. The primeval spring, one of dozens of springs flow into the river Almone, was made to feed large pools. Juvenal regretted an earlier phase of architectural elaboration, Nymph of the Spring, more honour’d hadst thou been, If, free from art, an edge of living green, Thy bubbling fount had circumscribed alone, And marble ne’er profaned the native stone. In Nathaniel Lees English Restoration tragedy Lucius Junius Brutus, Egeria appears in a vision to Brutus son Titus, in Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest, the priest Chasuble refers to Cecilys tutor Miss Prism as Egeria. In Smithsonian Nov 2016 Vol47, Number 7, John Adams writes to his son Charles, encyclopædia Britannica 1911, Egeria Roma Sotterranea, Il ninfeo di Egeria, Ruins of Egerias Nymphaeum Park of the Caffarella
22.
Muses
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The Muses are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts in Greek mythology. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs and they were later adopted by the Romans as a part of their pantheon. In current English usage, muse can refer in general to a person who inspires an artist, writer, the earliest known records of the Nine Muses are from Boeotia, the homeland of Hesiod. Some ancient authorities thought that the Nine Muses were of Thracian origin, there, a tradition persisted that the Muses had once been three in number. They were again called Melete or Practice, Mneme or Memory, three ancient Muses were also reported in Plutarchs Quaestiones Convivales. According to Pausanias in the second century AD, there were three original Muses, worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia, Aoidḗ, Melétē, and Mnḗmē. Together, these three form the picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice. In Delphi three Muses were worshiped as well, but with other names, Nḗtē, Mésē, and Hýpatē, alternatively they later were called Kēphisṓ, Apollōnís, and Borysthenís, which names characterize them as daughters of Apollo. In later tradition, a set of four Muses were recognized, Thelxinóē, Aoidḗ Archē, one of the people frequently associated with the Muses was Pierus. By some he was called the father of a total of seven Muses, called Neilṓ, Tritṓnē, Asōpṓ, Heptápora, Achelōís, Tipoplṓ, and Rhodía. According to Hesiods Theogony, they were daughters of Zeus, the second king of the gods. For Alcman and Mimnermus, they were even more primordial, springing from the deities, Uranus. Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and it was said that the winged horse Pegasus touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the muses were born. Athena later tamed the horse and presented him to the muses, classical writers set Apollo as their leader, Apollon Mousagetēs. In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and Marsyas and they also gathered the pieces of the dead body of Orpheus, son of Calliope, and buried them. In a later myth, Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest and they won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, Pausanias records a tradition of two generations of Muses, the first are the daughters of Uranus and Gaia, the second of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of Harmonia, some Greek writers give the names of the nine Muses as Kallichore, Helike, Eunike, Thelxinoë, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Eukelade, Dia, and Enope
23.
Valerius Antias
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Valerius Antias was an ancient Roman annalist whom Livy mentions as a source. The latest dateable event in the fragments is mention of the heirs of the orator, Lucius Licinius Crassus, of the seventy references to Antias in classical literature sixty-one mention him as an authority on Roman legendary history. Antias family were the Valerii Antiates, a branch of the Valeria gens residing at least from early times in the vicinity of Antium. He may have descended from Lucius Valerius Antias. Not much is known about the life of Valerius Antias and he was the most important of the so-called “younger annalists”. The nearly completely lost work of Antias – cited as annales or as historiae – began its account of the Roman history with the foundation of Rome and extended at least to the year 91 BC. The second book told about the legendary Roman king Numa Pompilius, therefore, the earlier times were reported much shorter than the contemporary history of the author. The work of Antias was not very reliable, Livy criticizes his exaggerated numbers of killed and captured enemies in the Roman wars. Sometimes he seems to have invented even battles, but sometimes he also delivered correct values, which fact can be concluded from a comparison with some values given by Polybius. Antias’ account of each year included the allocation of troops and provinces, important omen, battles, at the end of the description of each year he reported about plays, temple inaugurations, and other news, in particular about events in the city of Rome. Under the influence of Hellenistic historiography Antias related his stories very long-winded and filled with sensationalism to entertain his readers and he embroidered the mostly short accounts of older historians with dramatic details and also recounted legends and miracles. Antias gave an account about the discovery of the coffins with the books of king Numa, because he had the coffins uncovered by rain. The style of Antias was simple, but not archaic, and Marcus Cornelius Fronto judged his language, therefore, he was rarely cited literally by later grammarians. In one long-standing view of Antias influence on Livy, the latter relied mainly on the former in Books 1-10 of Ab Urbe Condita Libri, to elucidate this possible influence, A. A. Howard compared each of Antias fragments with the equivalent story in Livy and he deduced that there is no evidence of such influence in the first ten books. Of twenty fragments falling within the period Livy does not use any, either omitting the information, for example, in Fragment 1 Acca Larentia willed her property to Romulus. Fragment 3 mentions that 527 Sabine Women were kidnapped, Livy says the number is greater than 30, and so on. For the entire period covered by Livy,33 fragments of Antias come from Livy and he disagrees with six of these, criticizes eleven more, quotes Antias in disagreement on ten, and agrees with, but later disproves, two
24.
Flamen
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In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores, who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad, the remaining twelve were the flamines minores. Two of the minores cultivated deities whose names are now unknown, during the Imperial era, the cult of a deified emperor also had a flamen. The fifteen Republican flamens were part of the Pontifical College which administered state-sponsored religion, when the office of flamen was vacant, a pontifex could serve as a temporary replacement, although only the Pontifex Maximus is known to have substituted for the Flamen Dialis. The official costume of a flamen, of great antiquity, was a hat called an apex, the laena was a double-thick wool cloak with a fringed edge, and was worn over the flamens toga with a clasp holding it around his throat. The apex was a leather skull-cap with a chin-strap and a point of olive wood on its top, like a spindle, with a little fluff of wool at the base of the spindle. By the time of the reformation of Augustus, the origins and functions of many of the long-neglected gods resident in Rome was confusing even to the Romans themselves. The obscurity of some of the deities assigned a flamen suggests that the office dated back to Archaic Rome, many scholars assume that the flamines existed at least from the time of the early Roman kings, before the establishment of the Republic. The Romans themselves credited the foundation of the priesthood to Numa Pompilius, according to Livy, Numa created the offices of the three flamines maiores and assigned them each a fine robe of office and a curule chair. The flamines were circumscribed by many taboos, the origin of the word flamen is as obscure as are some of the assigned gods. Sophus Bugge suggested in 1879 that flamen is from an older *flădmen, both would be derived from a Proto-Indo-European word *bhlādmen. Indo-Europeanist Georges Dumézil attempted to link it to the Sanskrit word brahman, the three flamines maiores were required to be patricians, The Flamen Dialis oversaw the cult of Jupiter, the sky deity and ruler of the gods. The Flamen Martialis oversaw the cult of Mars, the god of war, the sacred spears of Mars were ritually shaken by the Flamen Martialis when the legions were preparing for war. The Flamen Quirinalis oversaw the cult of Quirinus, who presided over organized Roman social life and was related to the aspect of Mars. The Flamen Quirinalis led public rites on the sacred to Quirinus. A fourth flamen maior was dedicated to Julius Caesar as a divinity of the Roman state, thereafter, any deceased emperor could be made divus by vote of the senate and consent of his successor, and as a divus he would be served by a flamen. The flamens role in relation to living emperors is uncertain, no living emperor is known to have received official divine worship, a flamen could also be represented by a proflamen, or by a member without that title who could act as a substitute for the flamen. The twelve flamines minores could be plebeians, the flamines minores seem mostly connected to agriculture or local cults
25.
College of Pontiffs
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The College of Pontiffs was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the Pontifex Maximus and the pontifices, the Rex Sacrorum, the fifteen flamens. The College of Pontiffs was one of the four major priestly colleges, the others being of the augurs, the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, and the Epulones. The title pontifex comes from the Latin for bridge builder, an allusion to a very early role in placating the gods and spirits associated with the Tiber River. Also, Varro cites this position as meaning able to do, the pontifex maximus was the most important member of the college. Until 104 BC, the pontifex maximus held the power in appointing members to the other priesthoods in the college. The flamens were priests in charge of fifteen official cults of Roman religion, the three major flamens were the Flamen Dialis, the high priest of Jupiter, the Flamen Martialis, who cultivated Mars, and the Flamen Quirinalis, devoted to Quirinus. The deities cultivated by the flamines minores were Carmenta, Ceres, Falacer, Flora, Furrina, Palatua, Pomona, Portunes, Volcanus, Volturnus. The Vestal Virgins were the female members of the college. They were in charge of guarding Romes sacred hearth, keeping the flame burning inside the Temple of Vesta, around age 6 to 10, girls were chosen for this position and were obligated to perform the rites and obligations, including remaining chaste, for 30 years. Membership in the colleges of priests, including the College of Pontiffs, was usually an honor offered to members of politically powerful or wealthy families. Membership was for life, except for the Vestal Virgins whose term was 30 years, in the early Republic, only patricians could become priests. However, the Lex Ogulnia in 300 BC opened up college to plebeians, until the 3rd century BC, the college elected the pontifex maximus from their own number. The right of the college to elect their own pontifex maximus was returned and this changed again after Sulla, when in response to his reforms, the election of the pontifex maximus was once again placed in the hands of an assembly of seventeen of the twenty-five tribes. However, the college still controlled which candidates the assembly voted on, during the Empire, the office was publicly elected from the candidates of existing pontiffs, until the Emperors began to automatically assume the title, following Julius Caesar’s example. The pontifex maximus was a political position to hold and the candidates for office were often very active political members of the college. Many, such as Julius Caesar, went on to hold consulships during their time as pontifex maximus, one of their most important duties was their guardianship of the libri pontificales. Among these were the acta, indigitamenta, ritualia, commentarii, fasti and these items were under the sole possession of the college of pontiffs and only they were allowed to consult these items when necessary
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Salii
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In ancient Roman religion, the Saliī were the leaping priests of Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve patrician youths, dressed as warriors, an embroidered tunic, a breastplate, a short red cloak, a sword. They were charged with the twelve bronze shields called ancīlia, which, like the Mycenaean shield, each year in March the Salii made a procession round the city, dancing and singing the Carmen Saliare. Ovid, who relates the story of Numa and the heavenly ancīle in his Fasti, found the hymn, during the Principate, by decree of the Senate, Augustus name was inserted into the song. They ended the day by banqueting, saliaris cena became proverbial for a sumptuous feast. King Tullus Hostilius is said to have established another collegium of Salii in fulfilment of a vow which he made in the war with Fidenae. These Salii were also twelve in number, chosen from the patricians and they were called the Saliī collīnī, Agonales, or Agonenses. It is unclear whether the aim of the ritual was to protect Romes army. In addition to the myth of the ancile, several explanations are offered in Greek. An origin among the Etruscans is attributed to a founding by Morrius, georges Dumézil interpreted the rituals of the Salii as marking the opening and the closing of the yearly war season. The opening would coincide with the day of the Agonium Martiale on March 19, the first date was also referred to as ancilia movere, to move the ancilia, and the second as ancilia condere, to store the ancilia. Dumezil views the two groups of Salii — one representing Mars and the other Quirinus — as a dialectic relationship showing the interdependency of the military and economic functions in Roman society. Classical philologist Georg Wissowa maintained that the ritual of the Salii is a war dance or a sword dance, with their costumes clearly indicating their military origin. On the Ides of March, a man named as Mamurius Veturius was beaten with long white sticks in the sacrum Mamurii. Mamurius was the blacksmith who forged eleven replicas of the original divine shield that had dropped from the sky. According to Usener and Ludwig Preller Mars would be a god of war, Mars is himself a dancer, and the head of the Salian dancers, patrician young men whose parents were both living. Wissowa compares the Salii with the youth who dance the Lusus Troiae. The ritual dance of the Salii would thus be a coalescence of a initiation into adulthood, other 19th-century scholars have compared the rituals of the Salii with the Vedic myths of Indra and the Maruts
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Fetial
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A fetial was a type of priest in Ancient Rome. They formed a collegium devoted to Jupiter as the patron of good faith, the duties of the fetials included advising the senate on foreign affairs and international treaties, making formal proclamations of peace and of war, and confirming treaties. They also carried out the functions of traveling heralds or ambassadors, the first mention of the fetials by Livy occurs in the context of the war between Alba Longa and Rome, during which the Roman king Tullus Hostilius appointed M. Valerius as a fetial and Sp. Fusius as pater patratus, for the purpose of binding Rome, according to Livy, the ritual by which the fetials were to declare war, the ritual of rerum repetitio, was introduced to Rome by Ancus Marcius, borrowing on the traditions of the Aequicolae. However he had described the ritual actions of the fetials when recording the wars of Tullus Hostilius. Thus some scholars think the mentions of the Aequi may be a due to a folk etymology connecting Aequi to aequus. On the other ancient sources support the tradition that the priesthood was created under the influence of Aequian king Ferter Resus. The ritual of rerum repetitio, a request of restitution or reparations, if the demands are not met, the pater patratus declares war within 33 days and returns to Rome to await the resolution of the Roman king and senate. Once they have resolved to go to war, a returns to the enemy frontier carrying a javelin with a steel or burnt tip. He declares war on the enemy, and throws the javelin into their territory, the fetial is connected to matters of law and not directly to war, hence in his formulae he never invokes Mars, but Jupiter, Juno and Quirinius. The religious relevance of the collegium or sodalitas lay in ensuring that Rome enjoyed the protection of gods in its relationships with foreign states and this collegium was probably common to other Latin cities as Livy makes reference to the fetials of Alba. According to some scholars, the name derives from the noun root *feti- and it is allied to the basic religious concept of fas, both being rooted in IE *dhs, originally meaning to set, setting. This root has given the verb facere, to do, make by a semantic shift, both fetial and fas preserve the original sense of foundation here, as in Vedic dhaman, dhatu in its religious sense. The implications of this etymology would hint to the fact that outside their own ager Romans felt the need for a religious, a need was felt to go beyond the sphere of human law or right. While juridical justification was acknowledged as necessary Romans wanted to ensure the approval of what founds right and makes it possible and we know the ceremonies and formulae of two circumstances, conclusion of a treaty and request of reparations and declaration of war. Oaths were made by Jupiter Lapis, the flintstone was believed to be a seat of Jupiters because if struck it emitted sparks, thus being analogous to lightning. The ceremony has two known variants, when Rome asked for reparations for an offense or damage, the fetials were sent as ambassadors to the foreign country concerned. The fetials were an institution of the Latins and of other Italic people
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Dionysius of Halicarnassus
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Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Atticistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime, Dionysius opinion of the necessity of a promotion of paideia within education, from true knowledge of Classical sources, endured for centuries in a form integral to the identity of the Greek elite. At some time he moved to Rome after the termination of the civil wars, during this period, he gave lessons in rhetoric, and enjoyed the society of many distinguished men. The date of his death is unknown, in the 19th century, it was commonly supposed that he was the ancestor of Aelius Dionysius of Halicarnassus. His great work, entitled Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία, embraced the history of Rome from the period to the beginning of the First Punic War. The first three books of Appian, Plutarchs Life of Camillus and Life of Coriolanus also embody much of Dionysius, according to him, history is philosophy teaching by examples, and this idea he has carried out from the point of view of a Greek rhetorician. But he carefully consulted the best authorities, and his work, the last two treatises are supplemented by letters to Gn. Latin orators and rhetoricians adopted Dionysius method of imitatio and discarded Aristotles mimesis, Dionysius is one of the primary sources for the accounts of the Roman foundation myth and the myth of Romulus and Remus. He was heavily relied upon for the publications of Livy. He writes extensively on the myth, sometimes attributing direct quotes to its figures, the myth spans the first 2 volumes of his Roman Antiquities, beginning with Book I chapter 73 and concluding in Book II chapter 56. Dionysius claims that the twins were born to a vestal named Ilia Silvia and her family descends from Aeneas of Troy and the daughter of King Latinus of the Original Latin tribes. Proca, her grandfather had willed the throne to his son Numitor but he was deposed by her uncle. For fear of the threat that Numitors heirs might pose, the king had Ilias brother, the truth about the crime was known by some, including Numitor, who feigned ignorance. Amulius then appointed Ilia to the Vestal priestesshood, where her vow of chastity would prevent her from producing any further male rivals, despite this, she became pregnant a few years later, claiming to have been raped. The different accounts of the conception are laid out. The sources variously relate that it was a suitor, Amulius himself, the latter is supposed to have comforted Ilia by making her grieve, and telling her that she would bear twins whose bravery and triumphs would be unmatched. Ilia hid her pregnancy with claims of illness so as to avoid her vestal duties, Amulius suspected her and employed physicians and his wife to monitor her for signs of being with child. When he did discover the truth, she was placed under armed guard, after being informed of the delivery of the twins, Amulius suspected that she had in fact given birth to triplets
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Faunus
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In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the horned god of the forest, plains and fields, when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as the di indigetes. According to the epic poet Virgil, he was a king of the Latins who came with his people from Arcadia. His shade was consulted as a god of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles in the grove of Tibur, around the well Albunea. Marcus Terentius Varro asserted that the responses were given in Saturnian verse. Faunus revealed the future in dreams and voices that were communicated to those who came to sleep in his precincts, W. Warde Fowler suggested that Faunus is identical with Favonius, one of the Roman wind gods. Faunus is the Latin outcome of a PIE *dhau-no- meaning the strangler, a. Pasqualini agrees on the presence of a Daunian connection in the towns of Latium claiming a Diomedean descent. Moreover, it would seem there is a sizable presence of Daunians in Latium. Festus 106 L records a king Lucerus who helped Romulus against Titus Tatius, moreover, Oscan epithet Leucesius and Lucetius should be interpreted as related to the Luceres. He also lists the Leucaria mother of Romos, Jupiter Lucetius, toponyms Leucasia /Leucaria near Paestum, daunos according to Walde Hoffmann is from IE root *dhau to strangle, meaning the strangler, epithet of the wolf, cfr. In fable Faunus appears as an old king of Latium, grandson of Saturnus, son of Picus, after his death he is raised to the position of a tutelary deity of the land, for his many services to agriculture and cattle-breeding. A goddess of like attributes, called Fauna and Fatua, was associated in his worship and she was regarded as his daughter, wife, or sister. The female deity Bona Dea was often equated with Fauna, as Pan was accompanied by the Paniskoi, or little Pans, so the existence of many Fauni was assumed besides the chief Faunus. Fauns are place-spirits of untamed woodland, educated, Hellenizing Romans connected their fauns with the Greek satyrs, who were wild and orgiastic drunken followers of Dionysus, with a distinct origin. Faunus was naturally equated with the god Pan, who was a god of shepherds who was said to reside in Arcadia. Pan had always been depicted with horns and as many depictions of Faunus also began to display this trait. However, the two deities were considered separate by many, for instance, the epic poet Virgil, in his Aeneid. A euhemeristic account made Faunus a Latin king, son of Picus and Canens
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Prophecy
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Prophecy is not limited to any one culture. It is a property to all known ancient societies around the world. Many systems and rules about prophecy have been proposed over several millennia, the related meaning thing spoken or written by a prophet dates from c. 1300, while the verb to prophesy is recorded by 1377, the former closely relates to the definition by Al-Fârâbî who developed the theory of prophecy in Islam. According to Western esotericist Rosemary Guiley, clairvoyance has been used as an adjunct to divination, prophecy, Modern research in prophecy is a pseudoscience. In general, a diviners foretelling or a prophetic prediction of the future does not adhere to the scientific method, from a skeptical point of view, there is a Latin maxim, prophecy written after the fact vaticinium ex eventu. The Jewish Torah already deals with the topic of the false prophet, the Haedong Kosung-jon records that King Beopheung of Silla had desired to promulgate Buddhism as the state religion. However, officials in his court opposed him, in the fourteenth year of his reign, Beopheungs Grand Secretary, Ichadon, devised a strategy to overcome court opposition. Ichadon schemed with the king, convincing him to make a proclamation granting Buddhism official state sanction using the royal seal, Ichadon told the king to deny having made such a proclamation when the opposing officials received it and demanded an explanation. Instead, Ichadon would confess and accept the punishment of execution, Ichadon prophesied to the king that at his execution a wonderful miracle would convince the opposing court faction of Buddhisms power. Ichadons scheme went as planned, and the officials took the bait. The omen was accepted by the court officials as a manifestation of heavens approval. In ancient Chinese, prophetic texts are known as Chen, the most famous Chinese prophecy is the Tui bei tu The New Testament refers to prophecy as one of the spiritual gifts given by the indwelling Holy Spirit. From this, many Christians believe that the gift of prophecy is the ability to receive. The purpose of the message may be to edify, exhort and comfort the members of the Church, in this context, not all prophecies contain predictions about the future. The Apostle Paul teaches in First Corinthians that prophecy is for the benefit of the whole Church, a recognized form of Christian prophecy is the prophetic drama which Frederick Dillistone describes as a metaphorical conjunction between present situations and future events. The gift of prophecy was acknowledged in the Church after the death of the apostles, in his Dialogue with Trypho, Justin Martyr argued that prophets were no longer among Israel but were in the Church. The Shepherd of Hermas, written around the mid-2nd century - John A. T. Robinson dates it before 85 AD, irenaeus confirms the existence of such spiritual gifts in his Against Heresies
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Ancile
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In ancient Rome, the ancilia were twelve sacred shields kept in the Temple of Mars. According to legend, one divine shield fell from heaven during the reign of Numa Pompilius and he ordered eleven copies made to confuse would-be thieves, since the original shield was regarded as one of the pignora imperii, sacred guarantors that perpetuated Rome as a sovereign entity. The ancilia were in the keeping of the Salii, a body of twelve priests instituted for that purpose by Numa, the Salii wielded them ritually in a procession throughout March. Ancient sources give varying etymologies for the word ancile, some derive it from the Greek ankylos, crooked. Plutarch thinks the word may be derived from the Greek ankōn, elbow, varro derives it ab ancisu, as being cut or arched on the two sides, like the bucklers of the Thracians called peltae. When the original ancile fell, a voice was heard which declared that Rome should be mistress of the world while the shield was preserved, the Ancile was, as it were, the palladium of Rome. Numa, by the advice, as it is said, of the nymph Egeria, ordered eleven others, perfectly like the first, to be made. This was so that if anyone should attempt to steal it, as Ulysses did the Palladium, Mars palladium This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chambers, Ephraim, ed. article name needed. Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, james and John Knapton, et al
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Temple of Janus (Roman Forum)
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In ancient Rome, the main Temple of Janus stood in the Roman Forum near the Argiletum. It had doors on both ends, and inside was a statue of Janus, the god of boundaries. The Temple doors were closed in times of peace and opened in times of war, according to Livy 1.19 the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, decided to distract the early, warlike Romans from their violent ways by instilling in them awe and reverence. His projects included promoting religion, certain priesthoods, and the building of temples as a distraction with the effect of imbuing spirituality. The Temple of Janus was Numas most famous temple project, during Numas reign, the Gates of the Temple of Janus were closed and Rome remained at peace. The next king, Tullus Hostilius, opened the Gates of Janus when he went to war with Alba Longa, the Gates of Janus remained open for the next 400 years until after the First Punic War when T. Manlius Torquatus closed the Gates of Janus in 235 BC. This closure lasted about eight years, War with the Gauls in Northern Italy forced the Gates of Janus to reopen. They did not close again until 29 BC, following the deaths of Antony, from Cassius Dio 51.20 and 53.27 we are able to date the first two closures to 29 and 25 BC respectively. The exact date of the third closure remains a scholarly debate, the only ancient author to date the third closure was Orosius, who associates the event with the birth of Christ, c.1 BC. However, modern scholars almost universally reject Orosius because Roman armies were campaigning in Germany and/or the Far East elsewhere by 2 BC. Inez Scott Ryberg and Gaius Stern date the third closure to 13 BC based on the joint return of Augustus and Agrippa to Rome after pacifying the provinces. Sir Ronald Syme dated the closure to 7 BC, to coincide with the triumph of Tiberius and his second consulship, later emperors also closed the Gates of Janus to great fanfare. The most famous closures occurred under Nero and Vespasian, Nero minted a large series of coins with the Ara Pacis on the reverse to commemorate this event. Other emperors certainly closed and reopened the Gates of Janus, but references in later, the Roman poet Virgil also includes in the Aeneid the opening of the Gates of Janus to start war between the Trojans and the Latins. Pax Romana Temple of Janus Numa Pompilius Augustus, Res Gestae 13, Temple of Janus Closing of the temple Plutarchs Life of Numa
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Terminus (god)
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In Roman religion, Terminus was the god who protected boundary markers, his name was the Latin word for such a marker. Sacrifices were performed to each boundary stone, and landowners celebrated a festival called the Terminalia in Terminus honor each year on February 23. Ancient writers believed that the worship of Terminus had been introduced to Rome during the reign of the first king Romulus or his successor Numa. The name of the god Terminus was the Latin word for a boundary stone, on February 23 annually, a festival called the Terminalia was celebrated in Terminus honor, involving practices which can be regarded as a reflection or yearly renewal of this foundational ritual. Neighboring families would garland their respective sides of the marker and make offerings to Terminus at an altar—Ovid identifies these, again, as crops, honeycombs, the marker itself would be drenched in the blood of a sacrificed lamb or pig. There followed a communal feast and hymns in praise of Terminus and these rites were practised by private landowners, but there were also related public ceremonies. Also, a stone or altar of Terminus was located in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Romes Capitoline Hill, because of a belief that this stone had to be exposed to the sky, there was a small hole in the ceiling directly above it. There is some evidence that Terminus associations could extend from property boundaries to limits more generally, diocletians decision in 303 AD to initiate his persecution of Christians on February 23 has been seen as an attempt at enlisting Terminus to put a limit to the progress of Christianity. Those authors who gave the credit to Numa explained his motivation as the prevention of violent disputes over property, plutarch further states that, in keeping with Terminuss character as a guarantor of peace, his earliest worship did not involve blood sacrifices. The stone in the Capitoline Temple was believed to have been among the altars located on the Capitoline Hill before the Temple was built under Tarquinius Priscus or Tarquinius Superbus. The stone was therefore included within the Capitoline Temple, and its immovability was regarded as an omen for the permanence of the citys boundaries. Terminus, with his lack of mythology and his association with a physical object. This view of Terminus retains some recent adherents, but other scholars have argued from Indo-European parallels that the gods of Roman religion must have preceded the citys foundation. Georges Dumézil regarded Jupiter, Juventas and Terminus as the Roman form of a triad, comparing the Roman deities respectively to the Vedic Mitra, Aryaman. In this view the sovereign god was associated with two deities, one concerned with the entry of men into society and the other with the fair division of their goods. Terminus, I segni di confine nella religione romana, woodard, Roger D. Indo-European Sacred Space. Reviewed by Marco V. García-Quintela, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.02.36, the dictionary definition of Terminus at Wiktionary Britannica Online Encyclopædia Roman Mythology Index, Terminus Myths about the Roman God Terminus
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Vegoia
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Vegoia is also known as Vecu, Vecui, Vecuvia, Vegoe or else Begoe or even Bigois as it sometimes appears. The actual Etruscan religious system remains mostly obscure, the Etruscan language is poorly understood, due to the lack of many bilingual documents comparable to the Rosetta stone. Therefore, the ancient Etruscan documents that would reflect their own proper conceptions do not yield much and those books are known from Latin authors under a classification pertaining to their content according to their mythological author. The revelations of the prophetess Vegoia are designated as the Libri Vegoici, the figure of Vegoia is almost entirely blurred in the mists of the past. Vegoia is mostly known from the traditions of the Etruscan city of Chiusi and she is also indicated as having revealed the laws relative to hydraulic works, thus having a special relationship to tamed water. Such an imposing system of revealing and sacred texts would be expected to have left some imprint on the neighboring italic peoples, indeed, there is ample evidence of the Etruscan culture having heavily permeated their less-advanced Latin and Sabine neighbours communities. This is for instance reflected in the Etruscan alphabet, itself derived from the Greek one, also, the principles and architecture rules of their decimal numerals system are likewise at the origin of the Roman one, actually a simplified version. Plus the symbols of power, or the structure of the calendar in Rome. Likewise, one may suspect that the legend of Egeria, the nymph that inspired Numa Pompilius the establishment of the framework of laws and rituals of Rome. Numa is reputed to have written down the teachings of Egeria in sacred books that he made bury with him. When some chance accident brought them back to light some 400 years later, they were deemed by the Senate inappropriate for disclosure to the people and destroyed by their order. What made them inappropriate was certainly of political nature but apparently has not been handed down by Valerius Antias and they were the same that interpreted for him the abstruse omens of gods, and also associated to beneficial water, would have some link with the figure of Vegoia
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Vestal Virgin
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In ancient Rome, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and they cultivated the sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. Livy, Plutarch, and Aulus Gellius attribute the creation of the Vestals as a state-supported priestesshood to king Numa Pompilius, according to Livy, Numa introduced the Vestals and assigned them salaries from the public treasury. Livy also says that the priestesshood of Vesta had its origins at Alba Longa, the 2nd century antiquarian Aulus Gellius writes that the first Vestal taken from her parents was led away in hand by Numa. Plutarch attributes the founding of the Temple of Vesta to Numa, ambrose alludes to a seventh in late antiquity. Numa also appointed the pontifex maximus to watch over the Vestals, the first Vestals, according to Varro, were named Gegania, Veneneia, Canuleia, and Tarpeia. In myth, Tarpeia, daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, was portrayed as traitorous, the Vestals became a powerful and influential force in the Roman state. When Sulla included the young Julius Caesar in his proscriptions, the Vestals interceded on Caesars behalf, augustus included the Vestals in all major dedications and ceremonies. They were held in awe, and attributed certain magical powers and this gift was preserved inviolate till the time of the degenerate moneychangers, who diverted the maintenance of sacred chastity into a fund for the payment of base porters. A public famine ensued on this act, and a bad harvest disappointed the hopes of all the provinces and it was sacrilege which rendered the year barren, for it was necessary that all should lose that which they had denied to religion. The College of the Vestals was disbanded and the fire extinguished in 394. Zosimus records how the Christian noblewoman Serena, niece of Theodosius, entered the temple and took from the statue of the goddess a necklace and placed it on her own neck. An old woman appeared, the last of the Vestals, who proceeded to rebuke Serena, according to Zosimus, Serena was then subject to dreadful dreams predicting her own untimely death. The chief Vestal oversaw the efforts of the Vestals, and was present in the College of Pontiffs, the Vestalis Maxima Occia presided over the Vestals for 57 years, according to Tacitus. The last known chief vestal was Coelia Concordia, who stepped down in 394 with the disbanding of the College of the Vestals, the Vestalium Maxima was the most important of Romes high priestesses. The Flaminica Dialis and the regina sacrorum each held unique responsibility for religious rites. According to Plutarch, there were only two Vestal Virgins when Numa began the College of the Vestals and this number later increased to four, and then to six. It has been suggested by some authorities that a seventh was added later, the Vestals were committed to the priestesshood before puberty and sworn to celibacy for a period of 30 years
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Alba Longa
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Alba Longa was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy,19 kilometres southeast of Rome, in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, had come from the dynasty of Alba Longa, which in Virgils Aeneid had been the bloodline of Aeneas. Livy said of Alba Longa that it was founded by Ascanius to relieve crowding at Lavinium and he placed it at the foot of the Alban Mount and said that it took its name from being extended along a ridge. Dionysius of Halicarnassus repeated the story, but added that Ascanius, following a given to his father. Noting that alba means white he translated the name into Greek as long white town, Dionysius placed the town between the Alban Mount and the Alban Lake, thus beginning a long controversy about its location. Since the 16th century, the site has been at times identified as that of the Convent of St. Paul at Palazzola near Albano, Coste Caselle near Marino. The last named of these places in fact occupies the site of Domitians villa which, archaeological data show the existence of a string of villages in the Iron Age, each with its own necropolis, along the south-western shore of Lake Albano. In the later period the territory of Alba was settled once again with many residential villas. According to Roman legend, after the fall of Troy in 1184 BC, Aeneas led a group of surviving Trojans through the Mediterranean to Sicily, Carthage, upon landing in Italy he was welcomed by Latinus, king of the early Latins. Soon, Aeneas married king Latinus daughter, Lavinia, and would found the city Lavinium in her name, Latinus later fell in war making Aeneas king and his son, Ascanius, his successor. A few years later Aeneas was killed in battle like Latinus, Ascanius reportedly built Alba Longa at the slope of Mount Alba with six hundred families as a colony of Lavinium. The city was founded thirty years after Lavinium and his descendants would rule the Latins for another five hundred years. Alba Longa was the city of the roughly thirty cities that made up the Latin League. The leagues conferences were held by the Ferentine spring, in the part of the valley between Albano and Marino, Italy. The sacrifices of the league were offered on the Alban mountain from which all the country of Latium might be seen, after the rise of its colony, Rome, Alba Longa appeared as Romes rival and was destroyed in the mid-seventh century BC by Rome. The colonies of Alba Longa were distinct from the Alban townships which must have consisted of Albani plebs, among the Alban colonies some become part of the plebs, others become Latin cities. The others were ceded to the Latins to maintain a consistent thirty townships, accordingly, the Latin kingdom of Latinus, and the Rutulian kingdom of Turnus must have had thirty cities each with Laurentum as the Latin capital prior to the arrival of Aeneas
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Roman calendar
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The Roman calendar is the calendar used by the Roman kingdom and republic. The original calendar consisted of 10 months beginning in spring with March and these months ran for 38 nundinal cycles, each forming a kind of eight day week ended by religious rituals and a public market. The winter period was used to create January and February. The legendary early kings Romulus and Numa were traditionally credited with establishing this early fixed calendar, in particular, the kalends, nones, and ides seem to have derived from the first sighting of the crescent moon, the first-quarter moon, and the full moon respectively. The system ran well short of the year, and it needed constant intercalation to keep religious festivals. For superstitious reasons, such intercalation occurred within the month of February even after it was no longer considered the last month. Having won his war with Pompey, Caesar used his position as Romes chief pontiff to enact a calendar reform in 46 BC, in order to bring the calendar back to its proper place, Augustus was obliged to suspend intercalation for a few decades. The original Roman calendar is believed to have been a lunar calendar whose months began from the first signs of a new crescent moon. Because a lunar cycle is about 29½ days long, such months would have varied between 29 and 30 days, Romes 8-day week, the nundinal cycle, was shared with the Etruscans, who used it as the schedule of royal audiences. It was presumably a feature of the calendar and was credited in Roman legend variously to Romulus and Servius Tullius. The Romans themselves described their first organized year as one with ten fixed months, such a decimal division fit general Roman practice. The four 31-day months were called full and the others hollow and its 304 days made up exactly 38 nundinal cycles. Later Roman writers credited this calendar to Romulus, their legendary first king and culture hero, although this was common with other practices and traditions whose origin had been lost to them. Rüpke also finds the coincidence of the length of the supposed Romulan year with the length of the first ten months of the Julian calendar to be suspicious, other traditions existed alongside this one, however. Plutarchs Parallel Lives recounts that Romuluss calendar had been solar but adhered to the principle that the year should last for 360 days. Months were employed secondarily and haphazardly, with some counted as 20 days, the attested calendar of the Roman Republic was quite different. It followed Greek calendars in assuming a lunar cycle of 29½ days and a year of 12½ synodic months. The additional two months of the year were January and February, the month was sometimes known as Mercedonius
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Laconia
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Laconia, also known as Lacedaemonia, is a region in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The word laconic is derived from the name of the region by analogy—to speak in a concise way, as the Spartans were reputed by the Athenians to do. Laconia is bordered by Messenia to the west and Arcadia to the north and is surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea to the east and by the Laconian Gulf and it encompasses Cape Malea and Cape Tainaron and a large part of the Mani Peninsula. The islands of Kythira and Antikythera lie to the south, the island, Elafonisos, situated between the Laconian mainland and Kythira, is part of Laconia. The Evrotas is the longest river in the prefecture, the valley of the Evrotas is predominantly an agricultural region that contains many citrus groves, olive groves, and pasture lands. It is the location of the largest orange production in the Peloponnese, lakonia, a brand of orange juice, is based in Amykles. The main mountain ranges are the Taygetus in the west and the Parnon in the northeast, Taygetus, known as Pentadaktylos throughout the Middle Ages, is west of Sparta and the Evrotas valley. It is the highest mountain in Laconia and the Peloponnese and is covered with pine trees. Two roads join the Messenia and Laconia prefectures, one is a mountain pass through Taygetus. The stalactite cave, Dirou, a major tourist attraction, is located south of Areopolis in the southwest of Laconia, Laconia has a Mediterranean climate with warm winters and hot summers. Snow is rare on the coast throughout the winter but is common in the mountains. In ancient Greece, this was the region of the Spartan state. For much of antiquity the Spartan sphere of influence expanded to Messenia. Significant archaeological recovery exists at the Vaphio-tomb site in Laconia, found here is advanced Bronze Age art as well as evidence of cultural associations with the contemporaneous Minoan culture on Crete. Laconia was at war with the Kingdom of Macedonia and saw several battles, at the end of the Mycenaean period, from the early-2nd century BC until 395 AD, it was a part of the Roman Empire. In the medieval period, Laconia formed part of the Byzantine Empire, following the Fourth Crusade, it was gradually conquered by the Frankish Principality of Achaea. In the 1260s, however, the Byzantines recovered Mystras and other fortresses in the region and managed to evict the Franks from Laconia, by the mid-14th century, this evolved into the Despotate of Morea, held by the last Greek ruling dynasty, the Palaiologoi. With the fall of the Despotate to the Ottomans in 1460, with the exception of a 30-year interval of Venetian rule, Laconia remained under Ottoman control until the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence of 1821
39.
Lacedaemonians
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Laconia, also known as Lacedaemonia, is a region in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The word laconic is derived from the name of the region by analogy—to speak in a concise way, as the Spartans were reputed by the Athenians to do. Laconia is bordered by Messenia to the west and Arcadia to the north and is surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea to the east and by the Laconian Gulf and it encompasses Cape Malea and Cape Tainaron and a large part of the Mani Peninsula. The islands of Kythira and Antikythera lie to the south, the island, Elafonisos, situated between the Laconian mainland and Kythira, is part of Laconia. The Evrotas is the longest river in the prefecture, the valley of the Evrotas is predominantly an agricultural region that contains many citrus groves, olive groves, and pasture lands. It is the location of the largest orange production in the Peloponnese, lakonia, a brand of orange juice, is based in Amykles. The main mountain ranges are the Taygetus in the west and the Parnon in the northeast, Taygetus, known as Pentadaktylos throughout the Middle Ages, is west of Sparta and the Evrotas valley. It is the highest mountain in Laconia and the Peloponnese and is covered with pine trees. Two roads join the Messenia and Laconia prefectures, one is a mountain pass through Taygetus. The stalactite cave, Dirou, a major tourist attraction, is located south of Areopolis in the southwest of Laconia, Laconia has a Mediterranean climate with warm winters and hot summers. Snow is rare on the coast throughout the winter but is common in the mountains. In ancient Greece, this was the region of the Spartan state. For much of antiquity the Spartan sphere of influence expanded to Messenia. Significant archaeological recovery exists at the Vaphio-tomb site in Laconia, found here is advanced Bronze Age art as well as evidence of cultural associations with the contemporaneous Minoan culture on Crete. Laconia was at war with the Kingdom of Macedonia and saw several battles, at the end of the Mycenaean period, from the early-2nd century BC until 395 AD, it was a part of the Roman Empire. In the medieval period, Laconia formed part of the Byzantine Empire, following the Fourth Crusade, it was gradually conquered by the Frankish Principality of Achaea. In the 1260s, however, the Byzantines recovered Mystras and other fortresses in the region and managed to evict the Franks from Laconia, by the mid-14th century, this evolved into the Despotate of Morea, held by the last Greek ruling dynasty, the Palaiologoi. With the fall of the Despotate to the Ottomans in 1460, with the exception of a 30-year interval of Venetian rule, Laconia remained under Ottoman control until the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence of 1821
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