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Tabula pontificum

(239 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] From the 4th cent. BC at the latest (going back too far: Cic. De or. 2,52) to the period of P. Mucius [I 5] Scaevola (from 130 BC), the pontifex maximus published notes about current events - the type and length of which are contested - in front of the regia on a white-washed wooden plate ( album: Cic. De or. 2,52; tabula dealbata: Serv. Auct. Aen. 1,373): along with price increases (due to bad harvests) and solar or lunar eclipses (Cato Orig. fr. 77 P.; cf. Cic. Rep. 1,25) probably prodigies, vota, temple consecrations and other items of re…

Rogus

(215 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (Latin rogus, also, esp. poetic, the Greek loan-word pyra, e.g. Verg. Aen. 6,215; Ov. Fast. 2,534). At Rome, term for the funeral pyre for the burning of corpses. It was made of pieces of wood and small items piled up at a specially determined site ( ustrina) close to the place of interment. In shape it resembled a square altar (Serv. Aen. 6,177; therefore poetically referred to as ara: Ov. Tr. 3,13,21 et passim). Originally unadorned (the Tabulae duodecim forbade smoothing the logs with an axe, Cic. Leg. 2,59), the rogus was later made more elaborate according to the …

Silicernium

(186 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] Term for the Roman funeral banquet (< cena fu>nebris, Fest. p. 376 L.; convivium funebre, Non. P. 48,5 M.) which, like the Greek perídeipnon (identified in CGL II 183,58), was celebrated by the next of kin immediately after the interment of the deceased at the grave, according to "ancient custom" (Varro, Sat. Men. 303, cited in Non. P. 48,6-9 M.). The idea behind it (shared by many peoples: [1. 23 f.]) was probably that the deceased took part in the meal (Donat. in Ter. Ad. 587: cena quae infertur dis manibus; implicitly in Tert. Apol. 13,7). The etymology of the w…

Sisenna

(445 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] I. Life L. Cornelius S., from a senatorial family probably of Etruscan origin, born no later than 118 BC, performed military service in the Social Wars (probably under Cornelius [I 90] Sulla). It is unclear whether in the 80s he was in Rome (as [2] believes) or in the East with Sulla [3. 215]. Praetor in 78 [7. 22] and after that probably governor of Sicily (Cic. Verr. 2,2,110: MRR 2, 90); in 70 BC, he was involved in the defence of Verres (Cic. Verr. 2,4,43); as legate of Cn. Pompe…

Quaestor

(1,368 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(plur. quaestores, from quaerere, ‘to ask’, ‘examine’; the etymological meaning is not related to the official responsibility as a treasury official, cf. mastroí ). Lowest stage of the cursus honorum . [German version] I. Quaestores parricidii Q. parricidii (mentioned in the Twelve Tables/ tabulae duodecim : Pomponius Dig. 1,2,2,23) were concerned with the investigation of capital offences in early Rome (Paul. Fest., s. v. parricidi q., p. 247 L.) and were almost certainly not a permanent institution of criminal prosecution by the state but probably acted as …

Pollinctor

(201 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (originally also pollictor: Plaut. Poen. 63; Varro Sat. Men. 222,2) is what in the classical Roman period a slave (Dig. 14,3,5,8) or free employee of an undertaker ( L ibitinarii ) was called; he prepared corpses for the wake and burial (Non. 157,21: “pollinctores sunt qui mortuos curant”; similarly, but with erroneous etymology: Fulg. p. 112 Helm) by washing them (Serv. Aen. 9,485), embalming them with substances that prevented decay (esp. salt, cedar oil, myrrh: [1. 484, esp. note 7]), and…

Perideipnon

(205 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (περίδειπνον; perídeipnon) was the name given in Greece (until the 4th cent. BC at the latest: Dem. Or. 18,288; Men. Aspis 233 Sandbach; Men. Fr. 309) to the funeral banquet which was probably originally celebrated at the graveside (wrongly dismissed in [1. 175]), but from as early as the Archaic Period had usually taken place in the home of the next-of-kin of the deceased (Dem. Or. 18,288). As at other banquets, the garland (Wreath, garland) (Cic. Leg. 2,63) was worn at the perideipnon, which took place immediately after the burial ( ekphorá ) (cf. e…

Proconsul

(527 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(originally pro consule, 'instead of the consul(es) ': attested in inscriptions from ILS 5945, i.e. 135 BC, on; in literature, e.g., Cic. Phil. 10,26; Liv. 8,23,12; for linguistic use cf. [1]; Greek ἀνθύπατος/ anthýpatos) was a state official in Rome who in the sphere of his office outside the city exercised full consular authority ( imperium ), but was not authorized to consult the auspicia (see  augures ) (Cic. Div. 2,76). [German version] I. Republican Period When there were insufficient magistrates with imperium, the Senate and the people extended imperium beyond the regular per…

Funus publicum

(317 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(in the Imperial period also called funus censorium, Tac. Ann. 4,15,2 and passim) refers to a  burial whose costs and organization was covered by the state or the community, to honour the deceased. [German version] 1. Rome In early times, foreign delegates (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 43) as well as royalty imprisoned by Rome ( Syphax;  Perseus, cf. Val. Max. 5,1,1) were buried publice (‘at public expense’). The funus publicum (FP) which became typical of prominent citizens probably did not emerge until the late Republic (certain documentation exists for L.  Sulla…

Laudatio Turiae

(306 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] is the term (since [1]) given to the extensive remains (CIL VI 1527; VI 37053; AE 1951, 2) of a municipal Roman epitaph from the Augustan period (at the latest 9 BC: [2. 42]); it presents the text of the funerary oration for a woman of the Roman upper class who - because of similarities to Val. Max. 6,7,2 - was hypothetically identified with Turia, the wife of Q. Lucretius Vespillo (cos. in 19 BC). The eulogizer, who masters at least the basics of rhetoric [2. 124; 3], praises (c…

Annales maximi

(268 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] Synonymous with annalespontificum maximorum (Cic. Leg. 1,6). Annales maximi is what the Romans called a chronicle-like work of history, which is based on the records of the pontifex maximus (Paul. Fest. p. 113 L; Macrob. Sat. 3,2,17; Serv. Aen. 1,373; implicitly already in Cic. De or. 2,52). The content was apparently identical to that of the tabula apud pontificem maximum (Cato orig. fr. 77 HRR), which in addition to details about dearths and eclipses surely also contained reports about prodigies ( pace [3]), temple dedications, additions to the priestly coll…

Fenestella

(270 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] Roman historian of the early Imperial period. The exact dates of his life are uncertain: according to Jerome he died at the age of 70 in AD 19 (Chron. p. 172 Helm), according to Pliny only ‘late in the reign of Tiberius’ ( novissimo Tiberii Caesaris principatu; HN 33,146). F. wrote an annalistic history in more than 22 books (Fr. 21 Peter from book 22 [= HRR 2, 85f.] relates to 57 BC) that extended from the early Roman period to the late Republic and perhaps even included the Augustan period (Fr. 24 Peter [= HRR 2, 86]). The …

Prothesis

(231 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (πρόθεσις/ próthesis, first [1. 22B], 6th century BC; first in literature Pl. Leg. 947b 3; 959e 5). Term for the laying out of a corpse, which was an indispensable part of every burial in Greece from the earliest times. The dead person was laid on a klínē , usually covered by a pall (φᾶρος/ phâros), and was lamented and mourned both by family members and unrelated mourners. Prothesis scenes are described in the Homeric epics (esp. Hom. Il. 18,352-355; 24,719-776). Ritual gestures of grief are often depicted, particularly on Attic pottery (cf. [6…

Conclamatio

(176 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] An old element in Roman mortuary customs: when the eyes of the deceased were closed the attending relatives repeatedly called his name (Serv. Aen. 6,218; Luc. 2,23; Sen. Dial. 9,11,7; with the same meaning Ov. Tr. 3,3,43 clamor supremus ; Ps.-Quint. Decl. mai. 8,10 conclamata suprema). Since this word also describes the ordinary death lament (e.g., Tac. Ann. 3,2,2; Oratio imperatoris Hadriani in CIL 14, 3579, 19; Sen. Ep. 52,13 and passim), a lot of evidence cannot be clearly attributed. This custom, which was obviously no longer understood in the hi…

Tanusius Geminus

(126 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (the cognomen only in Suet. Iul. 9,2). Roman historian of the Late Republic of whose life nothing is known. It is also unclear whether his work, which (because of Plut. Caesar 22,3) was not finished until after 55 BC and contained accounts hostile to Caesar (especially fr. 1 P. = HRR 2, p. 50: on the 'conspiracy' of 66 BC), was an account of contemporary events only [1. 327] or whether it was organised as an annalistic comprehensive history (as in [2. 265]; annales in Sen. Ep. 93,11). According to Seneca, the work was voluminous and 'ponderous' ( ponderosi); he may have been…

Libitinarii

(196 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] was the name the Romans gave to undertakers because of their seat in the sacred grove of Libitina ( qui libitinam faciunt, ILS 6085,94). On behalf of the affected families (or the state: Sen. Dial. 9,11,10), they organized the burials and supplied the necessary implements as well as the personnel (partly slaves: Ulp. Dig. 14,3,5,8), e.g. pollinctores , bearers, musicians (cf. Petron. Sat. 78,6), specialists for burning the corpses ( ustores). The funeral practices in the Roman cities of Italy were apparently similarly organized (ILS 6726 attests a bu…

Laudatio funebris

(1,002 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] A. General According to Roman linguistic usage, laudatio funebris (LF; Quint. Inst. 3,7,2; Gell. NA 13,20,17; mostly just laudatio: Cic. Mil. 33; Liv. 27,27,13; Tac. Ann. 13,3,1; explanatory laudatio pro rostris: Tac. Ann. 3,76,2 et passim) means the eulogy for the deceased, held in connection with the burial ( funus). At upper class funerals, the funeral procession stopped (probably from the end of the 4th cent. BC) at the forum, where a son or other close relative gave the speech from the rostrum ( pro rostris: Sen. Dial. 6,15,3; Tac. Ann. 3,5,1 et passim), which along …

Praerogativa centuria

(218 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (also briefly praerogativa: e.g. Cic. Ad Q. Fr. 2,14,4; Cic. Phil. 2,82; Liv. 24,7,12) was the name in Rome of the centuria , determined by lot from the centuries of the first wealth class, which probably since the reform of the comitia centuriata (between 241 and 218 BC) had advance voting in elections (uncertain whether this also applied to legislative decisions). Since the result of the PCwas announced immediately (Liv. 24,7,12; Cic. Phil. 2,82), it had a considerable impact on further voting. This effect had probably been intended when creating the PC, to avoid a sp…

Funus imaginarium

(194 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] Funus imaginarium (FI) was the name given in Rome (ILS 7212 II 4-5, dated AD 136; SHA Pert. 15,1) to a special type of  burial: since the dead body was usually visible on the bier during the funeral procession, a replacement body made of  wax ( imago or effigies) was used when the body was not available, for instance in cases of death at sea or after cremation at war or in foreign countries. Tac. Ann. 3,5,2 correctly regards this custom as one of the ‘customs of old time’ ( veterum instituta; taken for granted already in the Lex XII tab. 10,5: [1. 80]).The FI received s…

Ancestors

(85 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] As ancestors one identifies with a slightly antiquated expression, admittedly obligatory in particular word combinations (ancestor cult; ancestor portraits), the ancestors ( maiores), insomuch as these receive cultic honours within the family ( Parentalia;  Dead, cult of the, mostly until the second or third generation) and in aristocratic houses otherwise honouring memory ( Imagines). The term is unsuitable for the ancestors of a whole people, whose behaviour and institutions the descendants often used as models (  mos maiorum ). See also   maiores. Kierdorf,…

Nenia

(330 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] A. Lament In addition to other kinds of song (magic songs: Hor. Epod. 17,29; Ov. Ars am. 2,102; childrens' verses: Hor. Epist. 1,1,63; general songs: Hor. Carm. 3,28,16), in Rome nenia is a technical term for a dirge sung to the flute in praise of a dead person in their funeral procession (Fest. 154/5 L.; Quint. Inst. 8,2,8; cf. Cic. Leg. 2,62). The origin and derivation of the presumably onomatopoeic (cf.   [1. 386]) word has not been explained: a Greek origin (owing to Cic. Leg. 2,62) is accepted by  [2], rejected by [3. 221]. According to Varro (De vita populi Romani …

Lygdamis

(293 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(Λύγδαμις; Lýgdamis). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Naxos, 6th cent. BC Aristocrat from Naxos, assisted Peisistratus after the second exile ( c. 546 BC) in regaining rule in Athens from Eretria (Hdt.1,61,4; [Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 15,2). In appreciation, the latter subjected Naxos and installed L. as tyrant there (cf. Hdt. 1,64,1f.; [Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 15,3), who in turn supported Polycrates in seizing power in Samos in the 530s (Polyaenus, Strat. 1,23,2). L. was overthrown by the Spartans (Plut. Mor. 859d), probably c. 524 in the expedition against Samos. Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) B…

Propraetor

(382 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (originally pro praetore, 'in place of a praetor ', e.g. ILLRP 342; SC in Cic. Fam. 8,8,8; Greek ἀντιστράτηγος/ antistrátēgos) was at Rome the term for an official with the responsibilities and competencies of a praetor without him formally being one. Originally, a magistrate was made propraetor either through extension ( prorogatio ) of a praetorian command (first evidence for this practice from 241 BC: InscrIt XIII 1, p. 76 f.; often from the 2nd Punic War) or by investing a citizen without office ( privatus ) with praetorian imperium (Liv. 23,34,…

Viginti(sex)viri

(339 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(liter. 'Twenty(-Six) Men') [German version] I. Annual magistrates Viginti(sex)viri at Rome was a general term covering six collegia of junior magistrates ( magistratus minores: Cic. Leg. 3,6) which had developed since the 3rd cent. BC (without differentiation Pomp. Dig. 1,2,29 f.) and which in the late Republic were filled by election under the chairmanship of the praetors (attested for IIIviri capitales: Fest. p. 468) in the tribal assemblies (Comitia) (Gell. NA 13,15,4): these were the tresviri [4] monetales (also IIIviri a.a.a.f.f.), tresviri [1] capitales , decemviri [2] s…

Prorogatio

(435 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] From the time of the 2nd Samnite War (327-304 BC), Rome countered the shortage of senior civil servants by formally extending the imperium of individual consuls or praetors for areas outside the city (sole exception: Frontin. Aq. 1,7), beyond the regular term in office by way of prorogatio, which included a restriction of time or of a material nature. Initially, the prorogatio was decided by the people's assembly acting on a proposal by the Senate (Liv. 8,23,12; 10,22,9 et passim), whereas later it was generally handled by the Senate alone as a matter of rou…

Annalists

(528 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] As annalists one designates particularly the authors of earlier Roman works of history, which as a rule begin their representation with early times (exception:  Claudius Quadrigarius) and continue until the present. They organized at least the more recent events strictly according to the chronology of the official years and maintained within those years a schematic organization [1]. Gellius (5,18,1 ff.) acknowledges two ancient suggestions for distinguishing annales and historia(e): 1. historiae treat contemporary, annales by contrast older history. T…

Imagines maiorum

(810 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] A. Term Although imago essentially means any image, frequently even portrait busts of various materials, imagines maiorum (often just imagines) primarily designates the wax images (thus also cerae: Ov. Am. 1,8,65; Juv. 8,19) of the  ancestors, which were kept in the  atrium of distinguished Roman homes. An interpretation of Cicero (Verr. 2,5,36 ius imaginis ad memoriam posteritatemque prodendae) with Mommsen [7. 442-4] that such images only existed for curule magistrates is not certain (critical [3. 108; 9. 32f.]). The custom was consid…

Proquaestor

(224 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (originally pro quaestore, 'in place of a quaestor '; Greek ἀντιταμίας/ antitamías) was the term for the promagistrate who took on administrative duties in place of the elected quaestor in Roman provinces of the late Republic: 1) If the quaestor died or resigned from office prematurely, the governor named a member of his staff (usually a legatus ) as proquaestor; C. Verres, e.g., was appointed by Cn. Cornelius [I 25] Dolabella in 80 BC (Cic. Verr. 2,1,41; 2,1,90). 2) Because of the shortage of quaestores they were not infrequently sent as proquaestores to a province aft…

Senatus

(2,467 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(the Roman Senate). [German version] I. Age of kings According to Roman tradition, the senatus existed as an advisory body for governing the state from the age of the kings onwards. Romulus [1] was said to have established a council of 100 members (Liv. 1,8,7; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 2,12,1; Fest. s.v. patres, p. 288; Ov. Fast. 3,127) which was later expanded to 300. The individual pieces of information about this are probably later constructions. It is plausible that a council of older men ( senatus is related to senex: [1.513 f.]; cf. the appellation patres, 'fathers') existed early on, c…

Lucumo

(260 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(Latinized form of the Etruscan lau χ ume and similar [1. 827]). [German version] A. Official title Lucumones were the kings (Serv. Aen. 2,278; 8,475) who, in archaic times, ruled over the twelve Etruscan populi and exercized the highest power as commanders, judges, and priests [4. 296-299]; one of them is said to have acted as chairman in the Etruscan league of towns. With the end of the kingship, the title probably designated the bearer of a high priestly office in the manner of the rex sacrorum [2. 64; 4. 297]; cf. [5. 145f.]. In Mantua, the heads of the twelve curiae are said to have been called L…

Praetor

(1,009 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
(older praitor, ILS 3141; the etymological explanation from qui praeiret exercitui 'he who walks before the army' in Varro, Ling. 5,87; cf. Cic. Leg. 3,8 is probably correct; Greek equivalent στρατηγός/ stratēgós). I. Rome [German version] A. Republican period At Rome, praetores were originally the eponymous senior officials (later consul : Liv. 3,55,12; Paul. Fest. s. v. praetoria porta, 249 L.). Contentions that there were already praetores in the monarchical period and that the supreme authority in the early Republic was triple (e.g. [2. 428]) have no secur…

Viatores

(280 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] in Rome served, primarily as assistants ( apparitores ), to all senatorial officials, the princeps and the holders of tribunicia potestas , but also to several collegia of viginti(sex)viri (ILS 1898; 1911; 1929) and many collegia of priests (ILS 1899; 1931; 4978; 4979; Collegium ). Their duties overlapped to some extent with those of the lictores, particularly for officials (e.g. tribunus [7] plebis ) with no assigned lictor . The viatores functioned as messengers, they called senators (Cic. Cato 56) and judges (Cic. Cluent. 74) to sessions, summone…

Ekphora

(199 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (ἐκφορά; ekphorá) From Aeschylus (Sept. 1024; clearly terminologically in Thuc. 2,34,3), ekphora denotes the funeral procession which takes the body from the place where it was laid out to cremation or burial. Detailed descriptions can be found first in Hom. Il. 23,131-139. As indicated by representations on late geometrical funeral receptacles [1. fig. 53-55], the ekphora was performed by wealthy families in the older Athens with great splendour (deathbed on a wagon, cf. clay model of the hearse from Attica [3. fig. 22]) and a large …

Mos maiorum

(621 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] (‘Custom of the fathers’, sometimes also mos patrius: Cic. Rep. 5,1; Cic. Cato 37; vetus mos: Cic. Rep. 5,1; Tac. Ann. 14,42,2; mos antiquus: Varro Sat. Men. fr. 303; Tac. Dial. 28,2; interpretational paraphrase e.g. Liv. 27,11,10: mos traditus a patribus) is the core concept of Roman traditionalism. As little in Rome was regulated by positive law, in all areas of life people in many respects followed custom ( mos; sometimes connected with disciplina, e.g. Cic. Flacc. 15; with consuetudo, e.g. Gell. 15,11,2; with institutum, Cic. Mur. 1; Cic. Dom. 56) and traditi…

Consolatio as a literary genre

(1,022 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] A. General  Mourning and consolation are basic elements of the human condition. Should anyone encounter misfortune from the death of a friend or family member, banishment, loss of health, of property or of freedom, then friends and relations try to alleviate sorrow or improve morale by offering comfort and encouragement. Therefore, consolatory scenes and motives occur already in older Greek poetry (e.g. Hom. Il. 5,381─402; Archil. fr. 13 W.; Eur. Alc. 416─419). What is specifically meant by consolatio as a literary genre, though, are writings of a philosop…

Scriba

(604 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
In Rome, scribae (plural) were professional literates with higher qualifications; they were thus not simple copiers ( librarii) but secretaries and accountants, in the early period even authors (Fest. p. 446). Scribae worked in both private and public spheres. [German version] I. Scribae in private households Slaves who assisted their masters in writing tasks were generally called (servi) librarii (Plin. HN 7,91; ILS 7398; 7401) or amanuenses (Suet. Nero 44,1; ILS 7395). The expression s. librarius is only rarely attested (CIL VI 8881). Secretaries entrusted with more …

Volumnia

(194 words)

Author(s): Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] [1] Wife of Marcius Coriolanus According to a much-related story about Marcius Coriolanus (in which V. plays only a subordinate role, however), when he and a Volsci army are outside Rome, the pleas of his wife V. and his mother Veturia cause him to refrain from attacking his home city (the story in e.g. Liv. 2,39,1-2,40,11; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 8,40-54; Val. Max. 5,2,1; 5,4,1; Plut. Coriolanus 33,1-36,6, but there, it is not his wife but his mother who bears the name V.). Müller, Christian (Bochum) [German version] [2] Pantomime actress, 1st cent. BC Freedwoman (and lover:…

Vennonius

(183 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn)
[German version] [1] Roman historian, 2nd cent. BC Roman historian of the late 2nd cent. BC (in Cic. Leg. 1,6 ordered after C. Fannius [I 1]); nothing is known of him as a person. His presumably annalistic work (Annalists) began with stories of the founding of Rome and the period of the kings (Origo gentis Romanae 20,1; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4,15,1), but its scope and end point are unknown. Cicero felt the need of it in 46 BC in his literary work in Tusculum (Cic. Att. 12,3,1). Fr. in HRR I2 142 and [1]. Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) Bibliography 1 M. Chassignet (ed.), L'annalistique romain…

Cato

(1,353 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
Roman cognomen perhaps of Etruscan origin [1. 310, 315, 418], in conjunction with catus (‘astute’, ‘crafty’ [2; 3. 250]. In Republican times widespread in the families of the Hostilii and Valerii, prominent among the Porcii, according to whose model C. is used now and again as a synonym for a conservative Roman; quite rarely also as gentilicium [1. 303].  Porcius Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [1] Porcius C., M. Cato the Elder, 234-149 BC (234-149 BC), ‘Cato the Elder’, ‘Censorius’, energetic politician and founder of Roman prose literature, is the b…

Senatus consultum

(910 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Klose, Dietrich (Munich)
[German version] [1] A formal resolution of the Roman Senate (SC; sometimes senatus sententia: ILS 18; 35a; 8208; informally also senatus decretum, e.g. Cic. Mil. 87; Cic. Sest. 32, or in archaic form senati decretum: Sall. Cat. 30,3 and passim). The formal resolution by which the Roman Senate pronounced advice or instructions at the request ( consulere) of magistrates; while not binding legally, it was in practice: in the Imperial Period, to some extent it even acquired force of law (Gai. Inst. 1,4; Pompon. Dig. 1,2,12; cf. [3. 432]). An SC that was…

Burial

(2,525 words)

Author(s): Hauser, Stefan R. (Berlin) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] A. General After a person's death the treatment and taking of his body to a particular place called grave ( Funerary architecture), mostly connected with death rituals. Burial customs varied depending on the society's religious concepts and particularly the concepts of  afterlife and the (social) status of the deceased or those organizing the burial. The main types of burial are inhumation or cremation (ash burial). There is also evidence of individual cases from the Neolithic Peri…

Gellius

(1,322 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Krasser, Helmut (Gießen)
Roman nomen gentile, which can almost certainly be traced back to the praenomen G. attested from the beginning of the 3rd cent. BC. There is evidence of the bearers of the name in the political life of Rome from the 2nd cent. BC. [German version] [1] Stepbrother of L. Marcius Philippus (Cos. 56 BC) Stepbrother of L. Marcius Philippus ( cos. 56 BC), otherwise unknown supporter of P. Clodius [I 4] from the equestrian class, defamed by Cicero as ‘the wet-nurse of all revolutionaries’ (Cic. Vatin. 4; Cic. Sest. 110-112). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [2] G., Cn. Rom. historia…

Coelius

(856 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Plebeian gentilicium, also Coilius, in surviving manuscripts often confused with Caelius (Schulze 155; ThlL, Onom. 2, 523-525). Bearers of this name are documented since the 2nd cent. BC, usually belonging to the Tribus Aemilia. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] C. Antipater, L. Historiographer, late 2nd cent. BC Possibly the brother of the senator C. Coelius C.f. [1; 2. 16], a highly educated scholar of law and rhetoric (Cic. Brut. 102; Dig. 1,2,2,40), considered the teacher and friend of L. Licinius Crassu…

Progenitors

(1,342 words)

Author(s): Renger, Johannes (Berlin) | von Lieven, Alexandra (Berlin) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne)
[German version] I. Ancient Near East Knowledge of one's own progenitors in the ancient Near East legitimized one's status and material and immaterial rights in the individual and societal spheres. Such knowledge was based on patriarchal relationships of kinship. Evidence for this comes, for example, from lineage lists (Genealogies; OT: Gn 5; 11:10-32; 22:20-24; 25:1-9; Judges 4:18-22: progenitors of David [1]; 1 Sam 9:1-2: progenitors of Saul; Mt 1:1-17: progenitors of Jesus), the Assyrian Kings' Lis…

Turia

(217 words)

Author(s): Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Ferrer Maestro, Juan José (Castellón)
[German version] [1] Wife of Q. Lucretius [II 5] Vespillo, 1st cent. BC Wife of the senator Q. Lucretius [II 5] Vespillo, saved her husband by concealing him from the proscriptions of 43 BC (Val. Max. 6,7,2; App. B Civ. 4,189-192). Her long-standing traditional identification with the deceased addressed in an epigraphically preserved funerary oration from Rome (known as the Laudatio Turiae ) is uncertain but not ruled out (cf. [1. 10 f.], sceptical: [2. 1-8]). T. would then have died no later than 9 BC after 41 years of marriage. Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) Bibliography 1 A. E. Gor…

Fannius

(762 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Plebeian nomen (Schulze 266; 424), attested historically from the beginning of the 2nd cent. BC. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] F.M. f., C. Rom. senator and historian, partaker in the storming of Carthage Roman senator and historian (in Cic. Brut. 99 falsely differentiated from a relative). F. distinguished himself in 146 BC with Ti. Gracchus at the storming of Carthage (Plut. Gracchi 4,6), fought in 141 as tribunus militum in Spain (App. Ib. 287), was the son-in-law of C.  Laelius and heard  Panaetius (Cic. Brut. 100f.). In…

Lot, election by

(2,381 words)

Author(s): Rhodes, Peter J. (Durham) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Nollé, Johannes (Munich) | Heimgartner, Martin (Halle)
(Greek κλῆρος/ klêros , Lat. sors). I. Political [German version] A. Greece The lot was used especially in democracies, but not only in such, as a means to distribute office among those who were equally eligible, rather than appointing the best candidate under the circumstances. For Athens, the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia states that Solon introduced the selection of the archons by lot from a short list of pre-selected candidates ([Aristot.] Ath. pol. 8,1; but differing: Aristot. Pol. 2,1273b 35-1274a 3; 1274a 16-17; 3,1281b 25-34). In the…

Salvius

(1,168 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Common given name of Oscan or Umbrian origin not used by the Roman upper class (abbreviated in inscriptions as Sa. or Sal.), later appears as a nomen gentile; also a slave name. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican Era [German version] [I 1] Slave leader (Slave leader) see Tryphon [2]. Bartels, Jens (Bonn) [German version] [I 2] Centurion named only by Plutarch as one of Pompeius' murderers Centurion named only in Plut. Pompeius 78,1 and 79,4 as one of Pompey's murderers. Bartels, Jens (Bonn) [German version] [I 3] Freedman and probable agent of Caesar Freedman probably active as …

Lollius

(1,733 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Name of a Roman plebeian family. Bearers of the name, recorded from the 3rd cent. BC, not of urban Roman origin, emerged as business people from the 2nd cent. (ILLRP 723b; 747; 1025) and received Roman citizenship perhaps only after the Social War [3]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] L., L. Proscribed in 82 BC Read his name on one of Sulla's lists of proscribed persons in 82 BC and was thereupon immediately killed on leaving the Forum (Oros. 5,21,4f.). Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) [German version] [I 2] L., L. Pompey's legate against the pirates in 67 BC Pompey'…

Acilius

(1,410 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Gentilicium of a plebeian gens, verifiable from the 3rd cent. BC. The most important branches are the Aviolae (imperial era), Balbi and especially the Glabriones, who are documented from the 3rd cent. BC to the end of the 5th cent. AD [1]. In Rome there was a compitum Acilium, on which the first Greek doctor in Rome was settled in 219 (Plin. HN 29,12 [2. 98]), on the Pincio the horti Aciliorum, in the imperial era the most famous gardens of Rome [2. 195 f.; 3. 488 ff.]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican era [German version] [I 1] Soldier in Caesar's tenth legion Brave soldier in Ca…
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