The Road to Rome (63 page)

haruspex (pl. haruspices): a soothsayer. A man trained to divine in many ways, from the inspection of animal entrails to the shapes of clouds and the way birds fly. As the perceived source of blood, and therefore life itself, the liver was particularly valued for its divinatory possibilities. In
addition, many natural phenomena – thunder, lightning, wind – could be used to interpret the present, past and future. The bronze liver mentioned in the book really exists; it was found in a field at Piacenza, Italy, in 1877.

hora prima
: Roman time was divided into two periods, that of daylight (twelve hours) and of night time (eight watches). The first hour of the day,
hora prima
, started at sunrise. Great inaccuracies were present in the Romans’ methods of measuring time. The main instrument used was a sundial, which meant that the latitude of the location defined day length. Thus the time in Rome was quite different to Sicily, far to the south. In addition, varying day length throughout the year meant that daylight hours in the winter were shorter than in the summer. We must therefore assume that time was more elastic in ancient times. The Romans also devised the clepsydra, or water clock. By using a transparent water vessel with a regular intake, it was possible to mark the level of water for each daylight hour, and then to use it at night or during fog.

Imperator: a Latin word which meant ‘commander’ in Republican times. Later it came to be one of the emperor’s titles, and of course gave rise to the English word.

insula
(pl.
insulae
): high-rise (three-, four- or even five-storey) blocks of flats in which most Roman citizens lived. As early as 218
BC
, Livy recorded the tale of an ox that escaped from the market and scaled the stairs of an
insula
before hurling itself to its death from the third floor. The ground level of each
insula
often comprised a
taberna
, or shop, which opened right on to the street via a large arched doorway. The shopkeeper and his family lived and slept in the room above. Built on top of this was floor after floor of
cenaculae
, the plebeians’ flats. Cramped, poorly lit, heated only by braziers, and often dangerously constructed, the
cenaculae
had no running water or sanitation. Access to the flats was made via staircases built on the outside of the building.

intervallum
: the wide, flat area inside the walls of a Roman camp or fort. As well as serving to protect the barrack buildings from enemy missiles, it could when necessary allow the massing of troops before battle.

Juno: sister and wife of Jupiter, she was the goddess of marriage and women.

Jupiter: often referred to as
Optimus Maximus
– ‘Greatest and Best’. Most
powerful of the Roman gods, he was responsible for weather, especially storms. Jupiter was the brother as well as the husband of Juno.

lanista
(pl.
lanistae
): a gladiator trainer, often the owner of a
ludus
, a gladiator school.

latifundium
(pl.
latifundia
): a large estate, usually owned by Roman nobility, and which utilised large numbers of slaves as labour.
Latifundia
date back to the second century
BC
, when vast areas of land were confiscated from Italian peoples defeated by Rome, such as the Samnites.

legate: the officer in command of a legion, and a man of senatorial rank. In the late Roman Republic, legates were still appointed by generals such as Caesar from the ranks of their family, friends and political allies.

licium
: linen loincloth worn by nobles. It is likely that all classes wore a variant of this; unlike the Greeks, the Romans did not believe in unnecessary public nudity.

lictor
(pl.
lictores
): a magistrates’ enforcer. Only strongly built citizens could apply for this job.
Lictores
were essentially the bodyguards for the consuls, praetors and other senior Roman magistrates. Such officials were accompanied at all times in public by set numbers of
lictores
(the number depended on their rank). Each
lictor
carried a
fasces
, the symbol of justice: a bundle of rods enclosing an axe. Other duties included the arresting and punishment of wrongdoers.

ludus
(pl.
ludi
): a gladiator school.

manica
(pl.
manicae
): an arm guard used by gladiators. It was usually made of layered materials such as durable linen and leather, or metal.

mantar
: a Turkish word meaning ‘mould’. I have taken advantage of its exotic sound to use it as a word for the penicillin powder that Tarquinius uses on Benignus.

manumissio
: during the Republic, the act of freeing a slave was actually quite complex. It was usually done in one of three ways: by claim to the praetor, during the sacrifices of the five yearly
lustrum
, or by a testamentary clause in a will. A slave could not be freed until at least the age of thirty and continued to owe formal duties to their former master after manumission. During the Empire, the process was made much more simple. It became possible to verbally grant manumission at a feast, using the guests as witnesses.

Mars: the god of war. All spoils of war were consecrated to him, and no
Roman commander would go on campaign without having visited the temple of Mars to ask for the god’s protection and blessing.

Minerva: the goddess of war and also of wisdom.

Mithraeum (pl. mithraea): the underground temples built by devotees of Mithras. Examples can be found from Rome (there is one in the basement of a church just five minutes’ walk from the Coliseum) to Hadrian’s Wall (Carrawburgh, among others).

Mithras: originally a Persian god, he was born on the winter solstice, in a cave. He wore a Phrygian blunt-peaked hat and was associated with the sun, hence the name
Sol Invictus
: ‘Unconquered Sun’. With the help of various creatures, he sacrificed a bull, which gave rise to life on earth: a creation myth. The sharing of wine and bread as well as the shaking of hands were possibly initially Mithraic rituals. Unfortunately we know little about the religion, except that there were various levels of devotion, with rites of passage being required between them. A mosaic in a mithraeum at Ostia reveals fascinating snippets about the seven levels of initiate. With its tenets of courage, strength and endurance, Mithraicism was very popular among the Roman military, especially during the Empire. Latterly the secretive religion came into conflict with Christianity, and it was being actively suppressed by the fourth century ad.

modius
(pl.
modii
): an official Roman dry measure of approximately 8.6 l (just over 15 pts). To prevent malpractice, all weights and measures (wet and dry) were standardised.

murmillo
(pl.
murmillones
): one of the most familiar types of gladiator. The bronze, crested helmet was very distinctive, with a broad brim, a bulging face-plate and grillwork eyeholes. The crest was often fitted with groups of feathers, and may also have been fashioned in a fish shape. The
murmillo
wore a
manica
on the right arm and a greave on the left leg; like the legionary, he carried a heavy rectangular shield and was armed with a
gladius
. His only garments were the
subligaria
, an intricately folded linen undercloth, and the
balteus
, a wide, protective belt. In Republican times, the most common opponent for the
murmillo
was the
secutor
, although later on this became the
retiarius
.

noxii
(sing.
noxius
): were criminals convicted of the worst offences, prisoners of war, slaves, traitors or deserters. Their punishment was to be
condemned to execution in the arena by the most extreme of methods. These included crucifixion, being pitted against wild beasts, or burned to death. To our modern sensibilities, these methods seem monstrous, but in the Romans’ minds, the punishment had to fit the crime.

optio
(pl.
optiones
): the officer who ranked immediately below a centurion; the second-in-command of a century.

Orcus: the god of the underworld. Also known as Pluto or Hades, he was believed to be Jupiter’s brother, and was greatly feared.

pali
(sing.
palus
): 1.82-m (6-ft) wooden posts buried in the ground. Trainee gladiators and legionaries were taught swordsmanship by aiming blows at them.

papaverum
: the drug morphine. Made from the flowers of the opium plant, its use has been documented from at least 1000
BC
. Roman doctors used it to allow them to perform prolonged operations on patients.

peltast: a light infantryman of Greek and Anatolian origin. Apart from a shield, they fought unarmoured and, depending on their nationality, carried
rhomphaiai
or javelins and sometimes spears or knives. Their primary use was as skirmishers.

phalera
(pl.
phalerae
): a sculpted disc-like decoration for bravery which was worn on a chest harness, over a Roman soldier’s armour.
Phalerae
were commonly made of bronze, but could be made of more precious metals as well. Torques, arm rings and bracelets were also awarded.

pilum
(pl.
pila
): the Roman javelin. It consisted of a wooden shaft approximately 1.2 m (4 ft) long, joined to a thin iron shank approximately 0.6 m (2 ft) long, and was topped by a small pyramidal point. The javelin was heavy and, when launched, all of its weight was concentrated behind the head, giving it tremendous penetrative force. It could strike through a shield to injure the man carrying it, or lodge in the shield, making it impossible for the man to continue using it. The range of the
pilum
was about 30 m (100 ft), although the effective range was probably about half this distance.

Priapus: the god of gardens and fields, a symbol of fertility. Often pictured with a huge erect penis.

primus pilus
: the senior centurion of the whole legion, and possibly – probably – the senior centurion of the first cohort. A position of immense importance, it would have been held by a veteran soldier, typically in
his forties or fifties. On retiring, the
primus pilus
was entitled to admission to the equestrian class.

principia
: the headquarters of a legion, to be found on the Via Praetoria. This was the beating heart of the legion in a marching camp or fort; it was where all the administration was carried out and where the unit’s standards, in particular the
Aquila
, or eagle, were kept. Its massive entrance opened on to a colonnaded and paved courtyard which was bordered on each side by offices. Behind this was a huge forehall with a high roof, which contained statues, the shrine for the standards, a vault for the legion’s pay and possibly more offices. It is likely that parades took place here, and that senior officers addressed their men in the hall.

pugio
: a dagger. Some Roman soldiers carried these, an extra weapon. They were probably as useful in daily life (for eating and preparing food, etc.) as when on campaign.

retiarius
(pl.
retiarii
): the fisherman, or net and trident fighter, named after the
rete
, or net. Also an easily recognisable class of gladiator, the
retiarius
merely wore a
subligaria
. His only protection consisted of the
galerus
, a metal shoulder-guard, which was attached to the top edge of a
manica
on his left arm. His weapons were the weighted net, a trident and a dagger. With less equipment to weigh him down, the
retiarius
was far more mobile than many other gladiators and, lacking a helmet, was also instantly recognisable. This may have accounted for the low status of this class of fighter.

rhomphaia
(pl.
rhomphaiai
): essentially a polearm. This fearsome weapon had a straight or slightly curved single cutting edge attached to a pole which was considerably longer than the blade. While primarily used by the Thracians, a variant called the
falx
was also used by the Dacians. The design of both gave tremendous cutting force. After encountering the
falx
in Dacia, the Romans’ response was to make the only known documented change to their armour in response to an enemy’s weapon, that of strengthening their helmets with reinforcing bars.

rudis
: the wooden
gladius
which symbolised the freedom that could be granted to a gladiator who pleased a sponsor sufficiently, or who had earned enough victories in the arena to qualify for it. Not all gladiators were condemned to die in combat: far from it. Prisoners of war and criminals usually were, but slaves who had committed a crime were
granted the
rudis
if they survived for three years as a gladiator. After a further two years, they could be set free.

scutum
(pl.
scuta
): an elongated oval Roman army shield, about 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and 0.75 m (2 ft 6 in) wide. It was made from two layers of wood, the pieces laid at right angles to each other; it was then covered with linen or canvas, and leather. The
scutum
was heavy, weighing between 6 and 10 kg (13–22 lb). A large metal boss decorated its centre, with the horizontal grip placed behind this. Decorative designs were often painted on the front, and a leather cover was used to protect the shield when not in use, e.g. while marching.

secutor
(pl.
secutores
): the pursuer, or hunter class of gladiator. Also called the
contraretiarius
, the
secutor
fought the fisherman, the
retiarius
. Virtually the only difference between the
secutor
and the
murmillo
was the smooth-surfaced helmet, which was without a brim and had a small, plain crest, probably to make it more difficult for the
retiarius
’ net to catch and hold. Unlike other gladiators’ helmets, the
secutor
’s had small eyeholes, making it very difficult to see. This was possibly to reduce the chances of the heavily armoured fighter quickly overcoming the
retiarius
.