| A | B |
|---|
| Cult of Bacchus | a mystery cult in worship of Dionysus and known for wild revelry particularly among women |
| Christianity | Eastern religion not well differentiated from Judaism by the Romans but spread rapidly among women and slaves. The religion was finally tolerated in 313 AD. |
| Epictetus | Freedman of Epaphroditus and famous stoic philosopher who said that opinions disturbed men more that facts of reality |
| Epicurus | Greek philosopher famed for advocating a life of pleasure |
| Cult of Isis | a mystery cult from the east in worship of the deity who brought rebirth to the Nile River delta each year. |
| Mithras | The ancient spirit of light of Mithraism, a Persian religion popular in the Roman Empire that exalted fraternity and loyalty, appealing to soldiers. |
| mithrea | Initiations and ceremonies took place in these cave-like and partially underground shrines found throughout the empire. |
| Mystery Religions | Eastern religions that offered hope of life after death and required initiation ceremonies known only to believers. |
| Seneca | A famous Roman Stoic philosopher. |
| sol invictus Mithras | The term used to address Mithras in Roman dedications. |
| Stoicism | philosophy extolling virtuous behavior over pleasure and favored the republic as the best form of government |
| Sulis/Minerva | goddess worshiped for her powers of healing connected with the sacred spring at Bath, England |
| Zeno | (333 BC - 264 BC), founder of the Stoic school of philosophy |
| feriae | Ceremonies and festivals associated with the gods and their temples |
| Matronalia (March) | a festival where husbands would give presents to their wives |
| Vestalia (June) | A festival in June, when asses that turned the millstones for grain were garlanded and hung with loaves of bread. |
| Saturnalia (December) | a festival in December celebrated with a carnival atmosphere of gift giving and parties. |
| Amphiteatrum Flavium | Started by Vespasian and finished by Titus in 80 AD, a permanent arena for the gladiatorial combats which could hold 50,000 people. It had animal cages and machinery which were originally hidden by a wooden floor covered with sand. |
| Circus Maximus | A race track which could hold 250,000 spectators, in Rome. |
| dolphins/eggs | Each time the lead chariot completed a lap, one egg/dolphin was lowered (there were seven total; they were made of marble or wood) |
| factiones | the various chariot teams were divided into these four groups |
| ludi | term for the various types of competitive sports or games |
| Ludi Romani | oldest games celebrated at Rome; their origin went back to the period of the kings |
| mappa | the napkin which was dropped to signal the start of a chariot race |
| meta | the turning point at the ends of the spina. This was the most challenging, dangerous and exciting portion of the track for chariot races. |
| munera | gladiatorial shows, originally part of the rites owed to the dead |
| naumachia | special group naval battles, held along the banks of the Tiber |
| porta Triumphalis | the gate huge victory parades entered Rome through |
| quadriga | the four-horse chariot raced in the ludi circenses |
| spina | the central platform in the Circus Maximus, upon which the seven huge eggs of wood or marble were hoisted to mark laps completed |
| triumphator | The honor of being the most important person at a procession. This person marched at the beginning of the parade, right after the riches of war were showcased. This was the highest achievable honor in the Republic and was reserved for only the Emperor during the Imperial Period. |
| venationes | Beast Hunts that took part during the Roman Gladiatorial events. Exotic animals such as elephants, lions, and leopards were thrown in the ring with gladiators who would try and fight them. These events were very popular with the public, and in fact Pompey used one of these shows to open his new theater in 55 B.C. |
| a libellis | Freedman who worked for the Emperor as a secretary. This man was in charge of petitions, and was often involved in politically motivated bribery and corruption. An example of a secretary a libellis from our book is Epaphroditus. |
| a rationibus | Freedman who worked for the Emperor as a secretary of accounts. A man who held this position would be working very closely with the Emperor in day-to-day business. |
| ab epistulis | Freedman who would work as a secretary of correspondence for the Emperor. Working very closely with the Emperor, this man would be in charge of any letters and/or writings to and from the Emperor. |
| Augustales | Six priests appointed in many Italian towns and some provincial ones to oversee the cult of Rome and worship the deified Emperor Augustus. |
| dis manibus | Means to the spirits of the departed- a freedman might put this on his master's tombstone in their honor. |
| lex Fufia Caninae (2 AD) | Law passed under Augustus to limit the number of Slaves a master could free in a given year. |
| liberti Augusti | A small but important group of freedmen who worked as personal assistants to the emperor. |
| liberti/libertae | Manumitted slaves who ceased to be the property of their masters. |
| manumission | the act of freeing a slave |
| ornamenta praetoria | the highest honor a freedman could attain and gave him equivalent status to a Roman praetor |
| Pallas | a freedman and Emperor Claudius' secretary "a rationibus" who attained the "ornamenta praetoria" |
| pilleus | this conical hat was the traditional symbol of freedom for the Romans |
| Pliny & Zosimus | a wealthy Roman citizen who took care of his slave who was sick with tuberculosis and thus demonstrating that some master slave relationships were kind and affectionate |
| salutatio | the morning meeting between the patron and client. The patron would give the client a sportula at this time. |
| servi Caesaris | slaves that became part of a very small but important group of freedmen that worked as personal assistants to the emperor. |
| sportula | a gift of money given to the client from the patron. In exchange, the client would perform various duties for the patron. |
| Epaphroditus | a freedman and member of the Augusti liberti and served as a secretary "a libellis" under Nero |
| Trimalchio | the vulgar and ostentatious millionaire in Petronius’ novel satyricon. He was a great example of a wealthy freedman. |
| Vettii Fratres | Examples of successful freedmen; these brothers set up their own business in Pompeii; the brothers grew quite rich in the process. |
| amanuenses | Secretaries used by wealthy Romans. |
| cerae | Wax tablets on which literary works were written. |
| charta | A page of papyrus. Expensive and was only used for important correspondence |
| Cicero | A prominent Roman writer. 900 of his writings have survived. He was also an accomplished orator and writer. |
| cura ut valeas | a formal phrase often used to conclude a letter |
| epistulae commendticiae | a letter of introduction to influential people (aka some hobo gets props with some upper class dude because he carried a different upper class dude's letter to him) |
| librarius | a slave employed in written correspondence from dictation or copying also called a notarius or a servus ab epistulis |
| negotium | the business of life as opposed to "leisure" |
| notarius | a slave employed in written correspondence from dictation or copying also called a librarius or a servus ab epistulis |
| otium | "leisure" which was often spent reading, studying and writing letters of correspondence |
| Pliny the Younger | first C. AD Roman famed for his letters written with the intent to publish |
| SAL | an abbreviation which stands for ‘salutem’ This is the greeting that an author of a letter would make to a recipient. |
| SD | an abbreviation which stands for ‘salutem dicit.’ This is the greeting that an author of a letter would make to a recipient. |
| servus ab epistulis | a slave employed in writing correspondence from dictation or copying |
| SPD | an abbreviation which stands for ‘salutem plurimam dicit.’ This is the greeting that an author of a letter would make to a recipient. |
| studia | learning and studying. Inclination for reading and writing was widespread among cultivated Romans. |
| SVBE | a typical abbreviation which stands for ‘si vales, bene est.’ It was often used at the end of a letter of correspondence. Other such abbreviations include ‘vale’ and ‘cura ut valeas’ |
| volumen | a scroll comprising of the texts of a book. It was made from a number or chartae glued together and was unrolled as it was read. |
| auditorium | one possible location for a recitation. It was especially rented for this purpose. These halls were fairly spacious and could hold many spectators. |
| Juvenal | sarcastically included recitationes about the dangers and disadvantages of life in Rome, along with fires and falling buildings |
| Martial | mocked recitationes after he was an established poet because by then his quality was so assured that he was indifferent to how successful a recitatio was |
| Pliny the Younger | attached great importance to public readings, he wrote about his disgust towards people who mocked them |
| recitatio | the public reading of a writer's work often took place at a special occasion know as this |
| recitator | this writer or a slaver reading the writer's work would give a speak from a raised platform at one end of a hall |
| Seneca | He wrote that when an author asked, “shall I read more?” People often responded “yes please do.” While most in their minds were praying for the reader in the rectatio to be struck dumb. |
| Agricola | His letter of idea for attack upon Ireland in the Latin stories were matters which the Emperors consilium would talk upon for example. Ideas of conquest and stuff were very much issues of discussion from the consul. |
| amici principis | People who took part in the government of the empire also known as the Emperor's consilium. |
| censor | The highest ranking magistrate, these ex-consuls kept the senatorial census based on wealth requirements |
| consilium | a "council" made up of people whom the emperor invited to advise him on any particular occasion; there was no fixed membership |
| consul | the highest position in the cursus honorum, presided at meetings of the senate and supervised general government business, only two at a time |
| cursus honorum | a "series of honors or ladder of promotion," the usual progression of a member of the senatorial class [some exceptions] through different official positions in Roman government |
| aedile | an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals |
| dictator | In times of chaos the leader would be given the title of dictator, which gave him unlimited power for a period of six months. |
| fasces | The bundle of sticks with an axe in the middle which was the symbol of power and jurisdiction and/or strength through unity |
| imperium | In ancient Rome imperium could be used as a term indicating a characteristic of people, the measure of formal power they had. |
| lictor | these officials carried the fasces and accompanied the consul as a symbol of his imperium |
| plebian aedile | An appointed official who was responsible for the upkeep of public buildings, baths, sewers, and roads. |
| Pliny the Younger | An expert in financial matters; he served in many offices, including augur, tribunus militum and legatus Augusti. |
| praetor | An official responsible for running the Roman law courts. The praetorship also made the individual eligible for certain abroad positions. |
| proconsul | An appointed official who governed over the "senatorial provinces". This individual usually served for one year. Appointed by the senate. |
| propraetor | An individual who, after serving as a praetor, was sent to govern a province with praetorial authority. |
| qaestor | This position involved the management of sums of public money and was usually (not always) held in Rome. It lasted one year and was important because it qualified a man for entry into the senate. |
| S.P.Q.R. | Senatores Populosque Romani. This is the motto of Rome, meaning Senators and People of Rome, describing the governing of Rome. It appears on coins, at the end of documents made public by inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and was emblazoned on the standards of the Roman legions. |
| sententia | opinion, after the people concerned had stated their case in an appeal, the emperor would ask for the sententia of each member of the consilium, and then retire to think about what they had said, and then announce his decision. |
| suo anno | 'in one's year,' to gain a position in suo anno meant at the earliest age. |
| tribunus militum | after a year of being a vigintivir, each young man would travel abroad on military service as an officer in a legion. |
| tribunus plebis | These six junior officials served in each legion. One of the six was of the senatorial class |
| veto | this was granted to the tribunes of the plebs to ensure that no legislation detrimental to the people could be passed |
| virginti vir | 20 junior officials who served in a clerical and municipal capacity at Rome |
| bulla | the charm given by the father to his children upon their birth and worn until the child passed into adulthood |
| cena nuptialis | the wedding feast |
| confarreatio | a traditional marriage ceremony common among the patricians and featuring a special cake made of the 'far' grain |
| cum manu | a marriage in which the woman passed completely into the control of the husband |
| deductio | a ceremonial portion of the wedding where the bride is stripped from her mother and processed to the house of her new husband |
| dos | a dowry given by the brides family to the family of the husband |
| far | a grain used to make the traditional wedding cake for the Romans |
| flammeum | The flame-colored bridal veil |
| haruspex | a special class of priests usually of Etruscans decent who divined the favor of the goad by inspecting the entrails of sacrificed animals |
| iunctio dextrarum | Symbolic joining of the hands in Marriage |
| lares/lararium | the gods of the household worshiped in a special shrine in the atrium of the Roman house |
| matrona univirae | Women who only had only been married to one man. They also were the ones who undressed the bride after Marriage Ceremony. |
| paterfamilias | the head of a Roman household who held absolute authority over the family and presided over weddings |
| sex crines | the six braids woven with woolen ribbons and parted with a ceremonial spear point and worn by brides on their wedding day |
| sine manu | a marriage where the woman remained a possession of her own paterfamilias |
| sponsalia | the engagement ceremony where the two family would agree to the wedding contract and celebrate |
| tunica recta | the straight tunic worn by the bride at a wedding |
| ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia | a traditional vow taken at a wedding and symbolic of the bond between husband and wife |
| Ars Armatoria | a book of poems written by Ovid as an instruction manual for taking up lovers at Rome |
| bibliopolae | the booksellers, whose slaves would make copies for sale to the public |
| Carmen et error | "a poem and a mistake," the famous combination that got Ovid exiled from Rome for indiscretions of word and deed |
| clientes | often the ex-slaves, these men were beholden to the patrons for service and received help with personal aspirations like becoming a literary figure at Rome |
| dignitas | Prestige and honor. An author, unlike other clients, could offer his patron a chance of gaining prestige and honor (dignitas). |
| librarii | Educated slaves that hand copied books to be distributed among friends of the authors or the friends of the authors patron. Others made copies for sale to the public. |
| Maecenas | Augustus's friend, who helped and encouraged the poets Vergil and Horace, before the Emperor himself helped them. |
| Metamorphoses | A poem written by Ovid. It is an immense collection of myths, legends, and folk-tales which begins with the creation of the world and ends in Ovid's own day. |
| Ovid | Wrote the Metamorphoses. He was sent into exile by Agustus because he had been involved in a scandal in the emperor's family and his witty light humored guide on the conduct of love affairs, Ars Amatoria, greatly displeased Domitian. |
| patronus | he would often help his clients, at times to become literary figures at Rome |
| Quintilian | the famed author of "The Education of an Orator," and the tutor of Pliny the Younger |
| rhetor | the teacher of oratory who presided over the third stage of education |
| The Education of an Orator | a famous book on rhetoric and public speaking by Quintilian |
| Vergil | the famed Augustan poet of the "Aeneid," "Georgics," and "Ecologues." |
