Suebi A Germanic people who inhabited the wilder and more forested regions of Germania from south of the Rhenus's (Rhine's) confluence with the Mosella (Moselle) to the Vosegus (Vosges), the Jura and the approaches to the lands of the Helvetii (Switzerland). The name means wanderers.
Suessionum The main oppidum of the Belgic Suessiones. Modern Soissons.
Sugambri A Germanic people who inhabited the lands adjacent to the Rhenus (Rhine) from its confluence with the Luppia almost to its confluence with the Mosella (Moselle). They were numerous and had broken the soil to farm.
Sui iuris The term which indicated that a person of either sex was not under the authority of a paterfamilias figure. Such people were their own masters; they had complete control of their lives.
Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, whose remarkable career is detailed in the first three books in this series: The First Man in Rome, The Crass Crown, and Fortune's Favorites. Superstes Means survivor.
talent This was the load a man could carry. Bullion and very large amounts of money were expressed in talents, but the term was not confined to precious metals and money. In modern mensuration, the talent weighed between 50 and 55 pounds (25 kilograms). A talent of gold weighed the same as a talent of silver, but was far more valuable, of course.
Tamesa River The river Thames.
Taprobane Modern Ceylon, Sri Lanka.
Taranis The Druidic God of thunder and lightning. His elemental nature was fire.
Tarnis River The river Tarn.
Tarpeian Rock Its precise location is still hotly debated, but we do know that it was quite visible from the lower Forum Romanum, as people being thrown off it could be seen from the rostra. Presumably it was an overhang at the top of the Capitoline cliffs, but since the drop was not much more than 80 feet (24.5 meters), the Tarpeian Rock must have been located directly over some sort of jagged outcrop—we have no evidence that anyone ever survived the fall. It was the traditional way to execute Roman citizen traitors and murderers, who were either thrown from it or forced to jump. The tribunes of the plebs were particularly fond of threatening to throw obstructive senators from the Tarpeian Rock. I have located it on a line from the temple of Ops.
tata The Latin diminutive for "father," akin to our "daddy." I have, by the way, elected to use the almost universal "mama" as the diminutive for "mother," but the actual Latin was mamma.
Tellus The Roman earth Goddess, of Italian origin. After the navel stone of Magna Mater was imported from Pessinus in 205 B.C., worship of Tellus became neglected inside the city of Rome, though she never fell out of favor with Italians. Tellus had a big temple on the Carinae, in earlier days imposing; by the last century B.C. it was dilapidated. Quintus Cicero is said to have restored it.
Tergeste Modern Trieste.
Teutones See Cimbri.
Thessalonica Modern Thessaloniki.
toga praetexta The purple-bordered toga which was reserved for curule magistrates. Children of both sexes wore the toga praetexta until they were registered as adults at about the age of sixteen.
togate The proper term to indicate a man wearing a toga.
Tolosa Modern Toulouse.
torc A thick round necklace or collar, usually of gold. It did not quite form a full circle, as it was interrupted by a gap about an inch (25mm) wide. This gap was worn to the front; the ends of the torc on either side of the gap were always larger and more ornamented, forming knobs or animal heads or other objects. The torc was the mark of a Gaul, either Celtic or Belgic, though some Germans wore it also. Miniature versions of the torc, made of gold or silver, were awarded as military decorations for valor in the Roman army. They were worn on the shoulders of the shirt or cuirass.
Treves Modern Trier in Germany.
tribe Tribus. By the beginning of the Republic, tribus to a Roman was not an ethnic grouping of his people, but a political grouping of service only to the State. There were thirty-five tribes altogether; thirty-one of these were rural, only four were urban. The sixteen oldest tribes bore the names of the various original patrician clans, indicating that the citizens who belonged to these tribes were either members of the patrician families, or had once lived on land owned by these patrician families, or, after the Italian War of 91-88 b.c., had been put into these tribes by the censors. When Roman-owned territory in the Italian Peninsula began to expand during the early and middle Republic, tribes were added to accommodate the new Roman citizens within the Roman body politic. Full Roman citizen colonies also became the nuclei of fresh tribes. The four urban tribes were said to have been founded by King Servius Tullus, though they probably emerged somewhat later. The last tribe, the thirty-fifth, was created in 241 B.C. Every member of a tribe was entitled to register one vote in a tribal Assembly, but his vote counted only in helping to determine which way the tribe as a whole voted, for a tribe delivered just one vote, that of the majority of its members. This meant that in no tribal Assembly could the huge number of citizens enrolled in the four urban tribes sway the vote, as their four votes constituted only one-ninth of the full vote. Members of rural tribes were not disbarred from living in Rome, nor were their progeny made to register in an urban tribe. Most senators and knights of the First and Second Classes belonged to rural tribes. It was a mark of distinction to belong to a rural tribe.
tribune, military Those on the general's staff who were not elected tribunes of the soldiers but who ranked above cadets and below legates were called military tribunes. There were very many military tribunes in an army; they might but usually did not command legions, whereas they always acted as cavalry officers. They also did staff duties for the general.
tribune of the plebs This magistracy came into being early in the history of the Republic, when the Plebs was at complete loggerheads with the Patriciate. Elected by the tribal body of plebeians formed as the Plebeian Assembly, the tribunes of the plebs took an oath to defend the lives and property of members of the Plebs, and to rescue a member of the Plebs from the clutches of a patrician magistrate. By 450 b.c. there were ten tribunes of the plebs. A lex Atinia de tribunis plebis in senatum legendis in 149 b.c. provided that a man elected to the tribunate of the plebs automatically entered the Senate. Because they were not elected by the whole People (that is, by the patricians as well as the plebeians), they had no power under Rome's unwritten constitution and were not magistrates in the same way as tribunes of the soldiers, quaestors, curule aediles, praetors, consuls and censors; their magistracies were of the Plebs and their power in office rested in the oath the whole Plebs took to defend the sacrosanctity—the inviolability—of its elected tribunes. The power of the office also lay in the right of its magistrates to interpose a veto against almost any aspect of government: one single tribune of the plebs could veto the actions or laws of his nine fellow tribunes, or any—or all!—other magistrates, including consuls and censors; he could veto the holding of an election; he could veto the passing of any law; and he could veto decrees of the Senate, even those dealing with war and foreign affairs. Only a dictator (and perhaps an interrex) was not subject to the tribunician veto. Within his own Plebeian Assembly, the tribune of the plebs could even exercise the death penalty without trial if his right to proceed about his duties was denied him.
The tribune of the plebs had no imperium, and the authority vested in the office did not extend beyond the first milestone outside the city of Rome. Custom dictated that a man should serve only one term as a tribune of the plebs, but Gaius Gracchus put an end to that; even so, it was not usual for a man to stand more than once. The term of office was one year, and the tribunician year commenced on the tenth day of December. Headquarters were in the Basilica Porcia.
As the real power of the office was vested in negative action—the veto (it was called intercessio)—tribunician contribution to government tended to be more obstructive than constructive. The conservative elements in the Senate loathed the tribunes of the plebs—unless they owned them. A very few tribunes of the plebs were real soci
al engineers. Tiberius and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, Gaius Marius, Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, Publius Sulpicius Rufus, Aulus Gabinius, Titus Labienus, Publius Clodius, Publius Vatinius, Gaius Trebonius, Gaius Scribonius Curio and Marcus Antonius all defied the Senate; some of them died for it.
tribunus aerarius, tribuni aerarii These were men of knight's status whose 300,000-sestertius income made them junior to knights of the 400,000-sestertius census. See knights for further information.
trireme With the bireme, the commonest and most favored of all the ancient war galleys. By definition a trireme had three banks of oars, and with the advent of the trireme about 600 b.c. came the invention of the projecting box above the gunwale called an outrigger (later galleys, even biremes, were fitted with outriggers). In a trireme every oar was much the same length at about 15 feet (5 meters), this being relatively short. The average trireme was about 130 feet (40 meters) long, and the beam was no wider than 13 feet (4 meters) excluding the outrigger. The ratio was therefore about 10:1.
Only one rower manned an oar. The rower in the lowest bank the Greeks called a thalamite; he worked his oar through a port so close to the waterline that it was fitted with a leather cuff to keep the sea out. There were about 27 thalamites per side, giving a total of 54 thalamite
oars. The rower in the middle bank was called a zygite; he worked his oar through a port just below the gunwale. Zygites equaled thalamites in number. The outrigger rower was called a thranite; he sat above and outboard of the zygite on a special bench within the outrigger housing. His oar projected from a gap in the bottom of the outrigger about 2 feet (600mm) beyond the ship's side. Because the outrigger could maintain its projection width when the hull narrowed fore and aft, there were 31 thranite rowers per side. A trireme was therefore powered by about 170 oars; the thranites in the outriggers had to work the hardest due to the fact that their oars hit the water at a sharper angle than the oars of zygites and thalamites.
With the trireme there had arrived a vessel absolutely suited for ramming. Rams now became two-pronged, bigger, heavier, and better armored. By 100 b.c. the genuine ship of the line in a war fleet was the trireme, as it combined speed, power, and splendid maneuverability. Most triremes were decked and could carry a complement of up to 50 marines. Mainly built from fir or some other lightweight pine, the trireme was light enough to be dragged out of the water at night; it could also be portaged on rollers for quite long distances. Because these light and porous ships became quickly waterlogged, they were routinely hauled out of the water each night.
If a ship of the line was well looked after, its seafaring life lasted a minimum of twenty years. A city or community (Rhodes, for instance) maintaining a standing navy always provided shipsheds for out-of-the-water storage of the fleet. It is the dimensions of these shipsheds as investigated by archaeologists which have confirmed that, no matter how many the oars or oarsmen, a war galley never grew to be much larger than 195 feet (60 meters) in length and 20 feet (6 meters) in the beam.
trophy This was a piece of captured enemy gear of sufficiently imposing appearance or repute to impress the civilian populace of the victorious side. If he won a significant battle or series of battles, it was the custom for a Roman general to set up trophies (usually suits of armor or standards). He might choose to do so on the actual battlefield as a memorial, or (as Pompey did) at the crest of a mountain pass, or inside a temple he vowed and built in Rome (the preferred alternative).
Tuatha The Druidic pantheon of Gods.
tumultus In the context used in this book, a state of civil war.
tunic The ubiquitous article of clothing for all the Mediterranean peoples of the ancient world, including the Greeks and Romans. A Roman tunic tended to be rather loose and shapeless, made without darts (the Greeks put in darts to give their tunics a waisted look); it covered the body from the shoulders and upper arms to the knees. Sleeves were probably set in (the ancients knew how to cut cloth, sew, and make clothing comfortable) and could be long. The Roman tunic was usually belted with a cord or with buckled leather, and was worn 3 inches (75mm) longer at the front of the knees than at the back. Upper-class Roman men were probably togate if outside the doors of their own homes, but there is little doubt that men of the lower classes wore their togas only on special occasions, such as the games, elections or a census. If the weather was wet and/or cold, some sort of sagum or cloak was preferred to a toga. The customary fabric for a tunic was wool and the customary color an oatmeal, but there is little doubt that a man could wear whatever color he wanted (other than purple, always the target of sumptuary laws); the ancients dyed beautifully and in many colors.
Ubii A German people who were in contact with the Rhenus (Rhine) River around its confluence with the Mosella (Moselle) and spread inland for a very considerable distance. They were famous cavalrymen.
Uxellodunum The main oppidum of the Cardurci. It is thought to be modern Puy d'Issolu. vale Goodbye, farewell.
Valentia Modern Valence.
Varus River Now the Var River.
Vellaunodunum An oppidum belonging to the Senones. Modern Trigueres.
Venus Erucina That aspect of Venus which ruled the act of love, particularly in its freest and least moral sense. On the feast of Venus Erucina prostitutes offered to her, as she was the protector of prostitutes. The temple of Venus Erucina outside the Colline Gate of Rome received a great deal of money in gifts from grateful prostitutes.
Venus Libitina That aspect of Venus (who was the Goddess of the life force) which ruled the extinction of the life force. A chthonic (underworld) deity of great importance in Rome, she owned a temple sited beyond the Servian Walls, more or less at the central point of Rome's vast necropolis (cemetery) on the Campus Esquilinus. Its exact location is not known. The temple precinct was large and had a grove of trees, presumably cypresses, as they were associated with death. In this precinct Rome's undertakers and funeral directors had their headquarters, operating, it would seem likely, from stalls or booths. The temple itself contained a register of Roman citizen deaths and was rich thanks to the accumulation of the coins which had to be paid to register a death. Should Rome for whatever reason cease to have consuls in office, the fasces of the consuls were deposited on special couches within the temple; the axes which were inserted into the fasces only outside Rome were also kept in Venus Libitina. I imagine that Rome's burial clubs (societies which formed to ensure that each member could be buried with rites and dignity at the expense of the club's funds), of which there were many, were in some way connected with Venus Libitina.
vergobret A magistrate of the Gauls. Two vergobrets were elected by a tribe to serve as leaders for one year. The office was more popular among the Celtic than the Belgic tribes, though the Treveri, very Belgic, elected vergobrets.
verpa A choice Latin obscenity used more in verbal abuse than as a sign of contempt. It referred to the penis—apparently in the erect state only, when the foreskin is drawn back—and had a homosexual connotation.
Vesontio The chief oppidum of the Sequani. Modern Besancon.
Vestal Virgins Vesta was a very old and numinous Roman Goddess having no mythology and no image. She was the hearth, the center of family life—and Roman society was cemented in the family. Her official public cult was personally supervised by the Pontifex Maximus, but she was so important that she had her own pontifices, the six Vestal Virgins.
The Vestal Virgin was inducted at from six to eight years of age, took vows of complete chastity, and served for thirty years. After the thirty years were done, she was released from her vows and sent back into the general community still of an age to bear children. Few retired Vestals ever did marry; it was thought unlucky to do so.
The chastity of the Vestal Virgins was Rome's public luck: a chaste College of Vestals was favored by Fortuna. When a Vestal was accused of unchastity she was formally brought to trial in a specially convened court; her alleged lover or lovers were tried in a separate court. If convicted, she was cast
into an underground chamber dug for the purpose and left there to die, sealed away from all contact with humanity. If her lover was convicted, he faced flogging and crucifixion upon an unlucky tree.
Despite the horrors attached to unchastity, the Vestals did not lead a completely sequestered life. Provided the Chief Vestal knew and consented—and perhaps the Pontifex Maximus on some occasions—a Vestal could even attend a private dinner party. The College of Vestals stood on equal terms with the male priestly colleges and attended all religious banquets.
During Republican times the Vestal Virgins shared the Domus Publica with the Pontifex Maximus, though quite removed from him and his family. The House of Vesta was near the Domus Publica, and was small, round, and very old. It was not an inaugurated temple. A fire burned permanently inside the House of Vesta to symbolize the hearth; it was tended by the Vestals, and could not be allowed to go out for any reason. Vienne Modern
Vienne. Its Latin name was actually Vienna, but contemporary scholars have given it its French spelling because of confusion with modern Vienna, capital of Austria.
Vigemna River The Vienne River.
villa The country or rural residence of a wealthy Roman.
vir militaris, viri militates The vir militaris was what might be called a career soldier. His whole life revolved around the army, and he continued to serve in the army (as a military tribune) after his obligatory number of years or campaigns had finished. If he wanted to command a legion he had to enter the Senate, and if he wanted to command an army he had to attain election as praetor.
Virodunum An oppidum belonging to a sept of the Treveri known as the Mediomatrices. Modern Verdun.
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