Brill’s New Pauly

Get access Subject: Classical Studies
Edited by: Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider (Antiquity) and Manfred Landfester (Classical Tradition).
English translation edited by Christine F. Salazar (Antiquity) and Francis G. Gentry (Classical Tradition)

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Brill´s New Pauly is the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, published by Verlag J.B. Metzler since 1996. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. The section on Antiquity of Brill´s New Pauly are devoted to Greco-Roman antiquity and cover more than two thousand years of history, ranging from the second millennium BC to early medieval Europe. Special emphasis is given to the interaction between Greco-Roman culture on the one hand, and Semitic, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavonic culture, and ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on the other hand. The section on the Classical Tradition is uniquely concerned with the long and influential aftermath of antiquity and the process of continuous reinterpretation and revaluation of the ancient heritage, including the history of classical scholarship. Brill´s New Pauly presents the current state of traditional and new areas of research and brings together specialist knowledge from leading scholars from all over the world. Many entries are elucidated with maps and illustrations and the English edition will include updated bibliographic references.

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S.

(125 words)

Author(s): Eder, Walter (Berlin)
[German version] Abbreviation of the Roman forenames Sextus and Spurius (also Sp.). S stands also for senatus in the formula SPQR, as S.S. for the Senate's resolution ( S[enatus] S[ententia]) and as S.C. on coins that were minted on behalf of the Senate ( [ex] S[enatus] C[onsulto]; s enatus consultum ). Very often to be found on inscriptions instead of the possessive pronouns of the 3rd person suus, sua, suum (in all the oblique cases), such as S(ua)P(ecunia)P(osuit) ('built with one's own money'). On coins, frequently used within imperial propaganda for s alus ('health'), s ecuritas

Saalburg

(7 words)

see Limes; Hadrian's Wall

Saalburg

(461 words)

Author(s): Wiegels, Rainer (Osnabrück)
[German version] Roman limes fort (Limes [III], with map) north of modern Bad Homburg, on a pass over the Taunus. The small redoubts A and B, generally associated with fortification measures undertaken under the emperor Domitian (AD 81-96) after the war with the Chatti (Chatti), have been hitherto successively regarded as the oldest installations [1; 2; 3; 4]. Redoubt A, with its entrance to the south, may possibly date from the reign of Vespasian (AD 69-79) as a marching or construction camp for sh…

Sabacon

(191 words)

Author(s): Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin)
[German version] (Σαβάκων/ Sabákōn). First king of the 25th (Nubian) dynasty, Egyptian Šbk­, brother and successor of Pi(anch)i (Pije). In the traditional chronology, his minimally 15-year reign is estimated at c. 716/5 to 702/1 BC. However, since a recently published Assyrian inscription indicates that his successor Sebichus was already king in 706 [1], S. must have ascended the throne in 720 at the latest. In the 2nd year of his reign, S. conquered Egypt and according to Manetho [1] had his adversary Bokchoris burnt ali…

Sabanum

(90 words)

Author(s): Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg)
[German version] A Roman coarse linen cloth, used to dry off and rub down the body after bathing (Apul. Met. 1,23, cf. Mart. 12,70) or to wrap around the body, in order to raise a sweat after a steam bath; a sabanum was also used to squeeze out honeycombs and to envelop food during the cooking process (Apicius 6,215; 239). Late Antiquity understood a sabanum to be a linen garment decorated with gold and precious stones (Ven. Fort. Vita S. Radegundis 9) or a coat. Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg)

Sabarcae

(97 words)

Author(s): Schwarz, Franz Ferdinand (Graz)
[German version] A people celebrated as fierce warriors (cf. Curt. 9,8,4; Diod. Sic. 17,102,2: Σαμβασταί/ Sambastaí) with a democratic government [2. 110; 3. 158; 4. 103, 176 ff.] and praised in Sanskrit and Pāli literature (Sanskrit Ambaṣṣa). They were settled south of the Malli at the confluence of the Acesines [2] and the Indus and were subjugated by Perdiccas [4] (Arr. Anab. 6,15,1: Ἀβαστανοί/ Abastanoí) in 325 BC. Schwarz, Franz Ferdinand (Graz) Bibliography 1 Berve, vol. 1, 271 2 A. S. Altekar, State and Government in Ancient India, 1958 3 R. C. Majumdar, Ancient India, 1…

Saba, Sabaei

(1,058 words)

Author(s): Müller, Walter W. (Marburg/Lahn)
[German version] The Sabaei (Σαβαῖοι / Sabaîoi; Lat. Sabaei) were a people in the ancient land and kingdom that is known from the local inscriptions as sb (Saba) and is situated in the area of modern Yemen in the south-west of the Arabian peninsula. S. is already attested in Assyrian sources, for instance in the annals of Tiglath-Pileser III, to whom the Sabaajja paid homage with gifts in about 730 BC, in the annals of Sargon II, where in 715 the Sabaean Itamra is mentioned as bringing tribute, and in an inscription of Sennacherib, according to which i…

Sabatinus Lacus

(168 words)

Author(s): Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence)
[German version] Lake in southern Etruria near Caere (Frontin. Aq. 71; Columella 7,16; Sil. Pun. 8,492: Sabatia stagna; Str. 5,2,9: λίμνη Σαβάτα/ límnē Sabáta), modern Lago di Bracciano. The eponymous city (Geogr. Rav. 4,36: Sabbatis) is probably identical to modern Bracciano and was a station on the road running north of the SL from Forum [IV 1] Clodii (modern San Liberato) via Aquae Apollinares Novae (modern Vicarello; thermae, Roman sanctuary) to Baccanae (modern Baccano; Tab. Peut. 5,3). The tribus Sabatina (Fest. 464 f.) was named after the SL, while the tribus Arnensis [1. 274]…

Sabazius

(1,057 words)

Author(s): Takacs, Sarolta A. (Cambridge, MA)
[German version] (Σαβάζιος/ Sabázios, Latin Sabazius). The variations Σαυάζιος ( Sauázios), Σαοουάζιος ( Saoouázios) and Σαάζιος ( Saázios) found in Phrygia and Thracia point to an original form Sawazis (or Savazis), while Σαββαθικός/ Sabbathikós may indicate confusion with the Hebrew šabbat or ṣebāōt [1. 1585-1587]. The theonym Sabas is found in a Phrygian graffito [2]. S. is first documented in literature in the 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC (Aristoph. Av. 875 f.; Aristoph. Lys. 388-390; Aristot. Vesp. 8-10). Later literature (Clem. Al. Protrepti…

Sabbath

(537 words)

Author(s): Ego, Beate (Osnabrück)
[German version] (Hebrew šabbat; Greek σάββατον/ sábbaton; Lat. sabbata). Seventh day of the Jewish week and day of rest observed weekly; its origin is unclear (cf. suggestions of a connection with the Akkadian šapattu, the day of the full moon). It is likely that it developed in ancient Israel as an expression of Yahweh's prerogative, based on the commandment to let the land lie unplowed during the seventh year (Ex 23:10 f.). The Sabbath was explained in two ways in the Biblical tradition. In the version contained in the Deute…

Sabbatha

(144 words)

Author(s): Brentjes, Burchard (Berlin) | Dietrich, Albert (Göttingen)
[German version] (Σαββαθά/ Sabbathá: Peripl. m. r. 27; Σάββαθα/ Sábbatha: Ptol. 8,14,22; Sabota: Plin. HN 6,155 and 12,52; corruption Χαβάτανον/ Chabátanon and variant: Str. 16,4,2; inscription Šabwat; already in the Arabic geographers in the form Šabwa: Hamdānī, Ǧazīra Müller 87; 98; Yāqūt, Muǧam Wüstenfeld 3,257). Maepha was the southern, S. the northern capital of Ḥaḍramaut in southern Arabia. Important for trade in incense, S. was the seat of Īlazz II. Yaliṭ (= Ἐλέαζος/ Eléazos, Peripl. m. r. 27) c. AD 29. S. was probably destroyed c. 200 by Yadail Bayyin of Ḥaḍramaut,…

Sabbatius

(32 words)

Author(s): Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich)
[German version] (Σαββάτιος/ Sabbátios). Father of the emperor Iustinianus [1] I, Illyrian, mentioned only in passing in Procop. Arc. 12,18 and Theophanes p. 183,9 de Boor. PLRE 2, 966. Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich)

Sabe

(119 words)

Author(s): Toral-Niehoff, Isabel (Freiburg)
[German version] [1] City in Arabia Felix (Σάβη/ Sábē: Ptol. 8,22,15). Unlocated city in the interior of  Arabia Felix. Toral-Niehoff, Isabel (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Capital of Mapharitis in Arabia (Σάβη βασίλειον/ Sábē basíleion: Ptol. 6,7,42; Σάυη/ Sáuē: Peripl. m. r. 22; Save: Plin. HN 6,104; Šawwā, Šawwām: CIS 4,240,7; 314,14). Capital of  Mapharitis, in the hinterland of Muza, to the south of Taizz. At the time of the Periplous maris Erythraei it was the residence of a prince Χόλαιβος/ Chólaibos. Toral-Niehoff, Isabel (Freiburg) Bibliography L. Casson (ed.), Periplu…

Sabelli

(64 words)

Author(s): Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) | Sauer, Vera (Stuttgart)
[German version] S. is not, as Strabo's source ( cf.  Str. 5,4,12) implies, a diminutive of Sabini , but is derived from the same root as Samnites , and from the time of Varro onwards is a term for them. For the modern linguistic use of S., see Oscan-Umbrian. Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) Sauer, Vera (Stuttgart) Bibliography E. T. Salmon, Samnium and the Samnites, 1967.

Sabellic

(5 words)

see Italy, languages

Sabellius, Sabellianism

(208 words)

Author(s): May, Gerhard (Mainz)
[German version] After having spent a number of years in Rome, the Christian theologian S. (perhaps originally from Libya) was excommunicated by bishop Callistus (217-222) because of his teachings on the nature of God. Little is known about the rest of his life. S. was a leading Modalist (Modalism). Like Noetus before him, he equated God the Father with God the Son in order to maintain monotheism (Monarchianism). It was probably only later on that the designation of God as Son-Father ( hyiopátōr) and the thesis that God acted in the history of salvation successively in the 'm…

Sabina

(303 words)

Author(s): Temporini - Gräfin Vitzthum, Hildegard (Tübingen)
[German version] Vibia S., born c. AD 85, daughter of Salonia Matidia [1] and L. Vibius Sabinus, sister of (Mindia) Matidia [2]. As granddaughter of the sister (Diva Augusta Marciana) of Traianus [1], married to P. Aelius Hadrianus [II], the grandson of Trajan's aunt, from c. 100 for dynastic reasons. Conferment of the title of Augusta at the latest by 128 (imperial coinage RIC II 386-390, 475-479), perhaps even in 119 (as in [3] and then [2]). She accompanied Hadrian on his journeys; we have certain evidence for a visit to the Colossus of…

Sabini

(1,539 words)

Author(s): Vanotti, Gabriella (Novara)
(Σαβῖνοι/ Sabînoi). [German version] I. Origin Central Italian people of the Oscan-Umbrian language branch. Most ancient authors derived the name S. from a divine ancestor, Sabus/Sabinus ( Safinús in a South Picenian inscription, probably 5th cent. BC; Cato fr. 50; Gellius HRR fr. 10; Hyginus HRR fr. 9; Sil. Pun. 8,420-423). According to Varro ( apud Fest. 464; cf. Plin. HN. 3,108), S. was derived from σέβεσθαι/ sébesthai, ‘to worship’, because of their alleged piety. The current prevailing opinion is that S. is derived from the stem of the reflexive pronoun * se expanded by bh to * s-bh (> * S…

Sabiniani

(5 words)

see Law schools

Sabinianus

(321 words)

Author(s): Franke, Thomas (Bochum) | Portmann, Werner (Berlin) | Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich)
[German version] [1] Proclaimed emperor in AD 240 by the Carthaginians Was proclaimed emperor in AD 240 by the inhabitants of Carthage, but was shortly after defeated by the governor of Mauretania and delivered to Gordianus [3] III by his own followers (Zos. 1,17,1; SHA Gord. 23,4). Franke, Thomas (Bochum) Bibliography Kienast 1, 197. [German version] [2] see Vettius Sabinianus See Vettius Sabinianus. Portmann, Werner (Berlin) [German version] [3] Magister equitum per Orientem, 359-360 AD At a great age m agister equitum per Orientem in AD 359-360 under Constantius [2] II. Ac…

Sabinius Barbarus

(70 words)

Author(s): Eck, Werner (Cologne)
[German version] T. Sabinius Barbarus. Praetorian legate (of the legio III Augusta?) in Africa in AD 116/7 [1. 361 f.], cos. suff. in 118. Not to be identified with a Barbarus who is called ὑπατικός/ hypatikós (Latin consul) in IGR IV 494; cf. Syme, RP 3, 1303; PIR2 B 46. Eck, Werner (Cologne) Bibliography 1 W. Eck, Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139, in: Chiron 12, 1982, 281-362.

Sabinum

(239 words)

Author(s): Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence)
[German version] Country estate of the poet Horace (Horatius [7], cf. Hor. Carm. 2,18,14; Hor. Epist. 1,16), probably a gift from Maecenas [2] (Hor. Sat. 2,3,305 ff.). It was located in the territory of the Sabini on the stream Digentia (Hor. Epist. 1,18,104; present-day Licenza), a right tributary of the Anio, north of Varia (present-day Vicovaro) from where the estate obtained agrarian products (Hor. Carm. 1,20,1; 22,9; 2,18,14; 3,1,47; 4,22; Hor. Sat. 2,7,118), above the village of Mandela (Hor…

Sabinus

(1,149 words)

Author(s): Nutton, Vivian (London) | Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
[German version] A. Greek (Σαβῖνος; Sabînos) [German version] [1] Hippocratic physician and commentator on Hippocrates, 1st-2nd cent. AD Hippocratic physician and commentator on Hippocrates, who was active in the 1st to 2nd cent. AD. He was the teacher of Metrodorus [8] and Stratonicus, who in turn was the teacher of Galen; the latter regarded S. as a more careful and concise interpreter of Hippocrates [6] than his predecessors had been (CMG 5,10,2,1, p. 17, 329-330; 5,10,2,2, p. 510). S.' weakness lay mainly in …

Sabis

(253 words)

Author(s): Schön, Franz (Regensburg)
[German version] [1] River in northern Gaul River in northern Gaul (Caes. B Gall. 2,16,1; 2,18), where in 57 BC Caesar fought against the Nervii and their allies, the Atrebates [1] and Viromandui ( ibid. 2,16-27), on his way from Samarobriva. The river's identification and location are contested. Older scholarship identified the S. with the Sambra [1] (modern Sambre), suggesting that the battle took place 6 km outside of Maubeuge near Hautmont-Boussières [1; 2]. Recently these claims have been countered by topological, historica…

Saboraeans

(71 words)

Author(s): Ego, Beate (Osnabrück)
[German version] (from Hebrew śābar, 'consider', 'verify', 'reason' ). Term for those Jewish Talmud scholars of the 6th/7th cents. AD who carried out the final editing of the Babylonian Talmud (Rabbinical literature) and copiously amplified it with more extensive chapters. The Saboraeans followed the Tannaites (late 1st - early 3rd cents. AD) and the Amoraim (3rd-5th cents. AD). Ego, Beate (Osnabrück) Bibliography G. Stemberger, Einleitung in Talmud und Midrasch, 81992, 205-207.

Sabouroff Painter

(274 words)

Author(s): Oakley, John H. (Williamsburg, VA)
[German version] Attic red-figure vase painter, named after the former owner of one of his lébētes gamikoí ( lébēs [2]) in Berlin, SM (F 2404). The SP, a productive artist to whom well over 330 vases are ascribed, worked in various workshops. Early in his career (470-460 BC) and in a transitional period (460-455), he was primarily a bowl painter, connected to the workshops of the Brygus Painter, Duris [2] and the Penthesilea Painter. Through most of his middle period (455-440), he decorated red-figured Nolan amphorae, pelikes and lekythoi (Pottery, shapes and types of, figs. A5, …

Sabratha

(497 words)

Author(s): Huß, Werner (Bamberg) | Niemeyer, Hans Georg (Hamburg)
This item can be found on the following maps: Africa | | Coloniae | Africa | Colonization | Limes | Phoenicians, Poeni | Punic Wars (Neo-Punic Ṣbrt[]n). [German version] I. History One of the three Phoenician cities of African Tripolis, 65 km west of Tripoli, Libya (Ps.-Scyl. 110 and Str. 17,3,18: Ἀβρότονον/ Abrótonon (?); Steph. Byz. s. v. Ἀβρότονον (?); Plin. HN 5,25; 35: Sabrata; 27: Habrotonum; Sil. Pun. 3,256: S.; Ptol. 4,3,12: Σάβραθα/ Sábratha; Stadiasmus maris magni 99 f.: Σαράθρα/ Saráthra or Ἀλάθρα/ Aláthra; It. Ant. 61,3: Sabrata colonia; Solin. 27,8 and Tab. Peut. 7,2: Sabrat…

Sabrina

(60 words)

Author(s): Todd, Malcolm (Exeter)
[German version] River rising in Mid-Wales and flowing into the Bristol Channel (Tac. Ann. 12,31; Ptol. 2,3,3), modern Severn. Its valley played an important role in the period of the Roman conquest, with legionary bases at Glevum and Viroconium (modern Wroxeter). Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography A. L. F. Rivet, C. Smith, The Place-Names of Roman Britain, 1979, 450 f.

Sabucius

(73 words)

Author(s): Eck, Werner (Cologne)
[German version] C. S. Maior Caecilianus. Senator; after the praetorship, he took six praetorian offices, including the office of a praef. aerarii militaris, of a praetorian imperial governor of Gallia Belgica shortly after AD 180, and of a procos. of Achaia. C os. suff. in 186 (RMD 1, 69). His grandson, C. S. Maior Faustinus, also had senatorial rank (CIL VI 1510 = ILS 1123a). PIR S 34. Eck, Werner (Cologne)

Saburra

(69 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum)
[German version] ( Saborra). Military commander of Juba [1] of Numidia, in 49 BC he helped to bring about the defeat of Caesar's governor C. Scribonius Curio, but was himself defeated and killed in 46 by the Caesarean P. Sittius (Caes. B Civ. 2,38-42; Bell. Afr. 48,1; 93,3; 95,1; App. B Civ. 2,181-186; 4,232; Frontin. Str. 2,5,40). For reasons of metre, Lucan (4,722) wrote Sabbura. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum)

Sacadas

(194 words)

Author(s): Harmon, Roger (Basle)
[German version] (Σακάδας; Sakádas). Poet and famous aulos player from Argos. He participated in the second organisation ( katástasis) of music in Sparta (Plut. Mor. 1134bc) and won the Pythian agṓn (Pythia [2]) three times in a row from 586 BC in Delphi, when solo performances of the aulos were introduced there (Paus. 10,7,3-5; 6,14,10; cf. Musical instruments V.B.1.). His winning piece, which described Apollo's fight with the dragon in five parts, became known as the ‘Pythian nomos’ (Nomos [3]; ibid. 2,22,8; [1]). S. also wrote elegiac verses (Plut. Mor. 1134a), a nomos for choir in …

Sacae

(338 words)

Author(s): Brentjes, Burchard (Berlin)
[German version] (Σάκαι/ Sákai, Σάκκαι/ Sákkai: different variants of the name, e.g., in Aristoph. Av. 31; Xen. Cyr. 8,3,25-32; 8,3,35-50; Hdt. 7,64; Sacae: Plin. HN 6,50, among others). Derived from the Persian name for the nomads of central Asia, possibly called after the tribal group's name for itself. For Str. 11,8,2, “most of the Scythians” east of the Caspian Sea are S. According to the ancient Persian inscriptions, there were several leagues, the Sakā haumavargā (= Σκύθαι Ἀμύργιοι/ Skýthai Amýrgioi, approximately ‘haoma-drinking S.’) and the Sakā tigraḫaudā (Σκύθαι Ὀρθοκορ…

Sacaraucae

(212 words)

Author(s): Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel)
[German version] (Σακαραῦκαι/ Sakaraûkai; on the name [2. 68]). A people originally living on the borders of Transoxiana, regarded by Str. 11,8,2 ( cf. Just. Epit. prol. 41), together with the Asii, Pasiani and Tochari, among the conquerors of Bactria (in the 2nd cent. BC). After Parthian kings had already been forced at the end of the 2nd cent. BC into conflict with nomadic peoples on the eastern border of the empire, in 78/77 BC the S. even succeeded in placing Sanatruces [1] on the Parthian throne, an Arsacid acce…

Sacastane

(149 words)

Author(s): Brentjes, Burchard (Berlin) | Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques (Liege)
[German version] (Σακαστανή/ Sakastanḗ: Isidorus of Charax, Stathmoí Parthikoí 18 = GGM 1,253). The land on the middle course of the Etymander (Helmand), between Arachosia and Drangiana, occupied since the 2nd cent. BC by Sacae, also called Paraetacene by Isidorus of Charax. When the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares conquered the Indian land of the Saces, it appears that he also occupied Arachosia and Sacastane. Ardašīr (Ardashir [1] I), the first Sassanid king (224-241), conquered the land of Sacast…

Saccarius

(206 words)

Author(s): Konen, Heinrich (Regensburg)
[German version] The Latin word saccarius describes both the sack-makers and traders in sacks as well as the dockworkers who were responsible for the loading and unloading of cargo ships in the ports (Dig. 18,1,40,3); besides saccarii, the terms baiuli and geruli are also commonly found in the literary tradition (in Greek σακκοφόροι/ sakkophóroi and φορτηγοί/ phortēgoí ('porter')). In various towns the saccarii set up collegia ( C ollegium [1]) or corpora (ILS 7292); the phalangarii or falancarii, who had specialised in transporting amphorae and barrels, were probably cl…

Saccharon

(239 words)

Author(s): Gutsfeld, Andreas (Münster)
[German version] (σάκχαρον/ sákcharon, Lat. sacc[ h] aron). Sugar obtained from the pith of sugarcane, a plant not native to the Mediterranean region. The Greeks first came to know of sugarcane and its sweet juice with the Indian campaign of Alexander [II 4] (Str. 15,1,20; Theophr. Hist. pl. 3,15,5). Sugar does not appear to have reached the Mediterranean region in crystalline form before the beginning of the 1st cent. AD, when direct sea trade from Egypt to India got under way (Peripl. maris Erythraei 14 Casson). In any case, the word saccharon entered the sources (Plin. HN 12,32) a…

Sacellarius

(61 words)

Author(s): Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich)
[German version] (σακελλάριος/ sakellários). From the 5th cent. AD, a chamberlain at the Roman-Byzantine imperial court (Court D), from the 8th-12th cents. the senior custodian of the state finances (last reference 1196), from 1094 sometimes called mégas logariastḗs . Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich) Bibliography P. Schreiner, s.v. Finanzwesen, -verwaltung (A. I.f.), LMA 4, 456  P. Magdalino, s.v. Sacellarius, ODB 3, 1828 f.

Sacellum

(117 words)

Author(s): Siebert, Anne Viola (Hannover)
[German version] (“small sanctuary”). Diminutive form of the Latin sacrum. Distinct from it was the sacrarium, the storage room for the sacred gear ( sacra supellex), which did not necessarily have to be consecrated (Consecratio). Sacellum could describe public Roman cult sites consisting of an open altar with an enclosure (Trebatius in Gell. NA 7,12,5; cf. Fest. 422 L.), as well as private sanctuaries. It had the form of a chapel, with the divine image standing in a niche ( aedicula ) in front of which the offering was made (cf. Paul. Fest. 319 L.). In everyday speech, sacellum also referred…

Sacer

(219 words)

Author(s): Rives, James B. (Toronto)
[German version] That which is withdrawn from everyday use and is given over to the gods (cf. sacrare, 'to make sacer': sacrifice [I A]). In the earliest Latin sources, the adjective sacer is used in connection with sacrificial animals (Plaut. Men. 290) and objects dedicated to a deity (CIL I2 47; 365; 396; 580). In archaic Roman law, a person guilty of certain crimes could be declared sacer. The person concerned was excluded from human society and could be killed without punishment (CIL I2 2; cf. Fest. 424 L.). Although over the course of time Roman jurists insisted that only…

Sacerdos

(465 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Rives, James B. (Toronto)
[German version] [1] Name Rare Roman cognomen (‘priest’), in the Republican period attested for the Licinii (Licinius [I 41]), in the Imperial period for Marius Plotius [II 5] Claudius S. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) Bibliography Kajanto, Cognomina, 319. [German version] [2] Priest (plur. sacerdotes). The second part of the Latin word is derived from the Indo-European *dhe- (cf. Greek tithénai, Lat. facere, English do): a sacerdos was thus 'someone who performed sacra '. Sacerdotes became the umbrella term for all religious functionaries, but its meaning as a tech…

Sacra

(286 words)

Author(s): Rives, James B. (Toronto)
[German version] The customary Latin term for all kind of religious rituals (Macrob. Sat. 1,16,8). Its usage in old priestly titles is a sign of its antiquity ( e.g. rex sacrorum ). Roman scholars made a distinction between sacra publica and sacra privata (Fest. 284 L.). The former were listed in the local calendar and were divided into two main types: The first group were rituals which were carried out by magistrates and priests at public expense for the populus, but which did not require the public’s participation, the second group comprised festivals, such as the Fornac…

Sacramentarium

(402 words)

Author(s): Klöckener, Martin (Fribourg)
[German version] The terms sacramentarium and sacramentorum liber etc. refer to a type of Christian liturgical book that developed in Late Antiquity, made up of libelli (individual sheets or booklets) and containing prayers recited by the bishop or priests, especially during the celebration of the Eucharist. Sometimes it also contains other liturgical texts intended for certain feasts, periods and occasions. The oldest preserved codices date from the 2nd half of the 6th cent. The most important types of sacramentary in …

Sacramentum

(1,721 words)

Author(s): Eder, Walter (Berlin) | Mali, Franz (Fribourg)
[German version] I. General remarks In contrast to ius iurandum , which in Latin generally refers to the oath itself and the act of swearing an oath, the sacramentum ('oath') has to do with the obligations an individual assumes vis-à-vis the god who is invoked (usually Iuppiter (I. B) in his function as Dius Fidius or 'all gods'). The sacramentum threatens that one may become sacer , in thrall to a god and consequently outlawed, by taking an oath affirming a false statement or failing to keep a promise made under oath (assertive or promissory oath) [1. 76-84]. Eder, Walter (Berlin) …

Sacred wars

(585 words)

Author(s): Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum)
[German version] (ἱεροὶ πόλεμοι/ hieroì pólemoi). As a concept hieròs pólemos is first encountered in the late 5th cent. BC and according to Aristophanes (Av. 554ff., particularly 556 with schol. = Philochorus FGrH 328 F 34 b) means 'war against divinity', whereas Thucydides (1,112,5; with the addition of καλούμενος/ kaloúmenos, 'so-called') uses it to describe the Spartans' intervention in Delphi in 448 on the pretext of protecting the sanctuary of Apollo [1. 1-14]. Accordingly there was no idea of a religious campaign for a deity [2. 67-87].…

Sacrifice

(10,943 words)

Author(s): Bendlin, Andreas (Erfurt) | Renger, Johannes (Berlin) | Quack, Joachim (Berlin) | Haas, Volkert (Berlin) | Podella, Thomas (Lübeck) | Et al.
I. Religious studies [German version] A. General Sacrifice is one of the central concepts in describing ritual religion in ancient and modern cultures. In European Modernity, the term sacrifice (directly or indirectly influenced by Christian theology of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ to redeem mankind) also has an intimation towards individual self-giving ('sacrifice of self'). The range of nuances in the modern meaning stretches to include discourses that have lost their religious motif and hav…

Sacrificial calendar

(5 words)

see Feriale

Sacrilegium

(283 words)

Author(s): Linderski, Jerzy (Chapel Hill, NC)
[German version] In Roman law, temple robbery or, more specifically, unlawful removal ( furtum) of (movable): (a) objects ( res) that were sacrae ( sacer ) from a place that was sacer ( aedes, templum: Quint. Inst. 7,3,10), perhaps even from private ownership (Cic. Inv. 1,11); and (b) private property, such as money, that had been deposited in a temple (thus Cic. Leg. 2,22 and 41). However, the latter was controversial: Septimius Severus and Caracalla ruled that such a crime be classified only as furtum (Dig. 48,13,6). The theft of sacra privata was not among the deeds constituting th…

Sacriportus

(84 words)

Author(s): Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence)
[German version] Town in Latium (Luc. 2,134; App. B Civ. 1,87: Ἱερὸς λιμήν/ Hieròs Limḗn) on the upper reaches of the Tolerus (present-day Sacco) on the via Labicana between Praeneste and Signia, possibly near Piombinara. Here, Cornelius [I 90] Sulla crushed the army of Marius [I 2] in the spring of 82 BC (Plut. Sulla 28,4; App. B Civ. 1,87; Liv. Per. 87; Vell. Pat. 2,26; Luc. 2,134). Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence) Bibliography Nissen 2, 651  G. Tomassetti, La Campagna Romana, vol. 3, 1910, 459 (repr. 1976).

Sacrosanctus

(301 words)

Author(s): Eder, Walter (Berlin)
[German version] According to Festus (318, s. v. s.) s. described objects or persons who were protected by oath ( Sacramentum ) in such a way that by harming them the culprit came under the threat of the death penalty. As examples Festus gives the tribune of the plebs ( Tribunus plebis ) and, incorrectly, also the plebeian aediles. From their inception (in 494 BC; Struggle of the orders), the people's tribunes were protected by the lex sacrata (Liv. 2,33,1 and 3;  Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 6,89,2-4; Cic. Rep. 2,58), i.e. by an oath of the plebs to have every injury to a tribu…

Sacrum Imperium

(2,738 words)

Author(s): Kunst, Christiane (Potsdam)
Kunst, Christiane (Potsdam) [German version] A. Imperial Designation (CT) The imperial designation Sacrum Imperium (S.I.) was first officially used by the Hohenstaufen chancellery of Emperor Frederick I in Italy in March 1157 (MGH legum sectio IV, vol. 1, constitutiones et acta publica imperatorum et regum 1, ed. L. Weiland, Hannover 1893, p. 224, l. 19 = Constitutio Friderici I 161) on the occasion of the call for a campaign against Milan, without displacing the titles imperium or imperium Romanum. The new designation "retained loose but consistent currency in the Hohens…
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