forum The Roman meeting place, an open area surrounded by buildings, many of which were of a public nature. Forum Boarium The meat markets, situated at the starting—post end of the Circus Maximus, below the Germalus of the Palatine. The Great Altar of Hercules and several different temples to Hercules lay in the Forum Boarium, which was held to be peculiarly under his protection. Forum Holitorium The vegetable markets, situated on the bank of the Tiber athwart the Servian Walls between the river and the flank of the Capitoline Mount. There were three gates in the walls at the Forum Holitorium—the Porta Triumphalis (used only to permit the triumphal parade into the city), the Porta Carmentalis, and the Porta Flumentana. It is generally thought that the Servian Walls of the Forum Holitorium were crumbled away to nothing by the late Republic, but I do not believe this; the threat of the Germans alone caused many repairs to the Servian Walls.
Forum Romanum This long open space was the center of Roman public life, and was largely devoted, as were the buildings around it, to politics, the law, business, and religion. I do not believe that the free space of the Forum Romanum was choked with a permanent array of booths, stalls and barrows; the many descriptions of constant legal and political business in the lower half of the Forum would leave little room for such apparatus. There were two very large market areas on the Esquiline side of the Forum Romanum, just removed from the Forum itself by one barrier of buildings, and in these, no doubt, most freestanding stalls and booths were situated. Lower than the surrounding districts, the Forum was rather damp, cold, sunless—but very much alive in terms of public human activity.
freedman A manumitted slave. Though technically a free man (and, if his former master was a Roman citizen, himself a Roman citizen), the freedman remained in the patronage of his former master, who had first call on his time and services. He had little chance to exercise his vote in either of the two tribal Assemblies, as he was invariably placed into one of two vast urban tribes, Suburana or Esquilina. Some slaves of surpassing ability or ruthlessness, however, did amass great fortunes and power as freedmen, and could therefore be sure of a vote in the Centuriate Assembly; such freedmen usually managed to have themselves transferred into rural tribes as well, and thus exercised the complete franchise.
free man A man born free and never sold into outright slavery, though he could be sold as a nexus or debt slave. The latter was rare, however, inside Italy during the late Republic.
games In Latin, ludi. Games were a Roman institution and pastime which went back at least as far as the early Republic, and probably a lot further. At first they were celebrated only when a general triumphed, but in 336 B.C. the ludi Romani became an annual event, and were joined later by an ever—increasing number of other games throughout the year. All games tended to become longer in duration as well. At first games consisted mostly of chariot races, then gradually came to incorporate animal hunts, and plays performed in specially erected temporary theaters. Every set of games commenced on the first day with a solemn but spectacular religious procession through the Circus, after which came a chariot race or two, and then some boxing and wrestling, limited to this first day. The succeeding days were taken up with theatricals; comedy was more popular than tragedy, and eventually the freewheeling Atellan mimes and farces most popular of all. As the games drew to a close, chariot racing reigned supreme, with animal hunts to vary the program. Gladiatorial combats did not form a part of Republican games (they were put on by private individuals, usually in connection with a dead relative, in the Forum Romanum rather than in the Circus). Games were put on at the expense of the State, though men ambitious to make a name for themselves dug deeply into their private purses while serving as aediles to make “their” games more spectacular than the State—allocated funds permitted. Most of the big games were held in the Circus Maximus, some of the smaller ones in the Circus Flaminius. Free Roman citizen men and women were permitted to attend (there was no admission charge), with women segregated in the theater but not in the Circus; neither slaves nor freedmen were allowed admission, no doubt because even the Circus Maximus, which held 150,000 people, was not large enough to contain freedmen as well as free men.
Gaul, Gauls A Roman rarely if ever referred to a Celt as a Celt; he was known as a Gaul. Those parts of the world wherein Gauls lived were known as some kind of Gaul, even when the land was in Anatolia (Galatia). Before Caesar’s conquests, Gaul-across-the-Alps—that is, Gaul west of the Italian Alps—was roughly divided into two parts: Gallia Comata or Long-haired Gaul, neither Hellenized nor Romanized, and a coastal strip with a bulging extension up the valley of the river Rhodanus which was known as The Province, and both Hellenized as well as Romanized. The name Narbonese Gaul (which I have used in this book) did not become official until the principate of Augustus, though Gaul around the port of Narbo was probably always known as that. The proper name for Gaul-across-the-Alps was Transalpine Gaul. That Gaul more properly known as Cisalpine Gaul because it lay on the Italian side of the Alps I have elected to call Italian Gaul. It too was divided into two parts by the Padus River (the modern Po); I have called them Italian Gaul—across—the—Padus and Italian Gaul—this—side—of—the—Padus. There is also no doubt that the Gauls were racially closely akin to the Romans, for their languages were of similar kind, as were many of their technologies. What enriched the Roman at the ultimate expense of the Gaul was his centuries—long exposure to other Mediterranean cultures.
gens A man’s clan or extended family. It was indicated by his nomen, such as Cornelius or Julius, but was feminine in gender, hence they were the gens Cornelia and the gens Julia.
gig A two—wheeled vehicle drawn by either two or four animals, more usually mules than horses. Within the limitations of ancient vehicles—springs and shock absorbers did not exist—the gig was very lightly and flexibly built, and was the vehicle of choice for a Roman in a hurry because it was easy for a team to draw, therefore speedy. However, it was open to the elements. In Latin it was a cisia. The carpentum was a heavier version of the gig, having a closed coach body.
gladiator There is considerable wordage within the pages of this book about gladiators, so I will not enlarge upon them here. Suffice it to say that during Republican times there were only two kinds of gladiator, the Thracian and the Gaul, and that gladiatorial combat was not usually “to the death.” The thumbs—up, thumbs—down brutality of the Empire crowds did not exist, perhaps because the State did not own or keep gladiators under the Republic, and few of them were slaves; they were owned by private investors, and cost a great deal of money to acquire, train and maintain. Too much money to want them dead or maimed in the ring. Almost all gladiators during the Republic were Romans, usually deserters or mutineers from the legions. It was very much a voluntary occupation.
governor A very useful English term to describe the pro—magistrate—proconsul or propraetor—sent to direct, command and manage one of Rome’s provinces. His term was set at one year, but very often it was prorogued, sometimes (as in the case of Metellus Pius in Further Spain) for many years.
Gracchi The Brothers Gracchi, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and his younger brother, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus. They were the sons of Cornelia (daughter of Scipio Africanus and Aemilia Paulla) and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (consul in 177 and 163 B.C., censor in 169 B.C.), and the consulship, high military command and the censorship were thus their birthright. Neither man advanced beyond the tribunate of the plebs, due to a peculiar combination of high ideals, iconoclastic thinking, and a tremendous sense of duty to Rome. Tiberius Gracchus, a tribune of the plebs in 133 B.C., set out to right the wrongs he saw in the way the Roman State was administering its ager publicus; his aim was to give it to the civilian poor of Rome, thus encouraging them by dowering them with land to breed sons and work hard. When the end of the year saw his work still undone, Tiberius Gracchus flouted custom by attempting to run for the tribunate of the plebs a second time. He was clubbed to death on the Capitol. Gaius Gracchus, ten years Tiberius�
�s junior, was elected a tribune of the plebs in 123 B.C. More able than his brother, he had also profited from his mistakes, and bade fair to alter the whole direction of the ultra-conservative Rome of his time. His reforms were much wider than Tiberius’s, and embraced not only the ager publicus, but also cheap grain for the populace (a measure aimed not only at the poor, for he adopted no means test), regulation of service in the army, the founding of Roman citizen colonies abroad, public works throughout Italy, removal of the courts from the Senate, a new system to farm the taxes of Asia Province, and an enhancement of citizen status for Latins and Italians. When his year as a tribune of the plebs finished, Gaius Gracchus emulated his brother and ran for a second term. Instead of being killed for his presumption, he got in. At the end of his second term he determined to run yet again, but was defeated in the elections. Helpless to intervene, he had to see all his laws and reforms begin to topple. Prevented from availing himself of peaceful means, Gaius Gracchus resorted to violence. Many of his partisans were killed when the Senate passed its first—ever “ultimate decree,” but Gaius Gracchus himself chose to commit suicide before he could be apprehended.
The glossary attached to The Grass Crown contains a much fuller article on the Gracchi.
guild An organized body of professionals, tradesmen, or slaves. One of the purposes behind the organization of guilds lay in protective measures to ensure the members received every advantage in business or trade practices, another to ensure the members were cared for properly in their places of work, and one interesting one, to ensure that the members had sufficient means at their deaths for decent burial.
Head Count The capite censi or proletarii: the lowly of Rome. Called the Head Count because at a census all the censors did was to “count heads.” Too poor to belong to a Class, the urban Head Count usually belonged to an urban tribe, and therefore owned no worthwhile votes. This rendered them politically useless beyond ensuring that they were fed and entertained enough not to riot. Rural Head Count, though usually owning a valuable tribal vote, rarely could afford to come to Rome at election time. Head Count were neither politically aware nor interested in the way Rome was governed, nor were they particularly oppressed in an Industrial Revolution context. I have sedulously avoided the terms “the masses” or “the proletariat” because of post-Marxist preconceptions not applicable to the ancient lowly. In fact, they seem to have been busy, happy, rather impudent and not at all servile people who had an excellent idea of their own worth and scant respect for the Roman great. However, they had their public heroes; chief among them seems to have been Gaius Marius—until the advent of Caesar, whom they adored. This in turn might suggest that they were not proof against military might and the concept of Rome as The Greatest.
Hellenic, Hellenized Terms relating to the spread of Greek culture and customs after the time of Alexander the Great. It involved life—style, architecture, dress, industry, government, commercial practices and the Greek language.
hemiolia A very swift, light bireme of small size, much favored by pirates in the days before they organized themselves into fleets and embarked upon mass raiding of shipping and maritime communities. The hemiolia was not decked, and carried a mast and sail aft, thus reducing the number of oars in the upper bank to the forward section of the ship.
herm A stone pedestal designed to accommodate a bust or small sculpture. It was chiefly distinguished by possessing male genitals on its front side, usually erect.
horse, Nesaean The largest kind of horse known to the ancients. How large it was is debatable, but it seems to have been at least as large as the mediaeval beast which carried an armored knight, as the Kings of Armenia and the Parthians both relied on Nesaeans to carry their cataphracts (cavalry clad in chain mail from head to foot, as were the horses). Its natural home was to the south and west of the Caspian Sea, in Media, but by the time of the late Republic there were some Nesaean horses in most parts of the ancient world.
Horse, October On the Ides of October (this was about the time the old campaigning season finished), the best war—horses of that year were picked out and harnessed in pairs to chariots. They then raced on the sward of the Campus Martius, rather than in one of the Circuses. The right—hand horse of the winning team was sacrificed to Mars on a specially erected altar adjacent to the course of the race. The animal was killed with a spear, after which its head was severed and piled over with little cakes, while its tail and genitalia were rushed to the Regia in the Forum Romanum, and the blood dripped onto the altar inside the Regia. Once the ceremonies over the horse’s cake—heaped head were concluded, it was thrown at two competing crowds of people, one comprising residents of the Subura, the other residents of the Via Sacra. The purpose was to have the two crowds fight for possession of the head. If the Via Sacra won, the head was nailed to the outside wall of the Regia; if the Subura won, the head was nailed to the outside wall of the Tunis Mamilia (the most conspicuous building in the Subura). What was the reason behind all this is not known; the Romans of the late Republic may well not have known themselves, save that it was in some way connected with the close of the campaigning season. We are not told whether the war—horses were Public Horses or not, but we might be pardoned for presuming they were Public Horses.
Horse, Public A horse which belonged to the State—to the Senate and People of Rome. Going all the way back to the Kings of Rome, it had been governmental policy to provide the eighteen hundred knights of the eighteen most senior Centuries with a horse to ride into battle—bearing in mind the fact that the Centuriate Assembly had originally been a military gathering, and the senior Centuries cavalrymen. The right of these senior knights to a Public Horse was highly regarded and defended.
hubris The Greek word for overweening pride in self.
hypocausis In English, hypocaust. A form of central heating having a floor raised on piles and heated from a furnace (the early ones were wood—fired) below. The hypocaust began to heat domestic dwellings about the time of Gaius Marius, and was also used to heat the water in baths, both public and domestic.
ichor The fluid which coursed through the veins of the gods; a kind of divine blood.
Ides The third of the three named days of the month which represented the fixed points of the month. Dates were reckoned backward from each of these points—Kalends, Nones, Ides. The Ides occurred on the fifteenth day of the long months (March, May, July and October), and on the thirteenth day of the other months. The Ides were sacred to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and were marked by the sacrifice of a sheep on the Arx of the Capitol by the flamen Dialis.
Ilium The Latin name for Homer’s city of Troy.
Illyricum The wild and mountainous lands bordering the Adriatic Sea on its eastern side. The native peoples belonged to an Indo—European race called Illyrians, were tribalized, and detested first Greek and then Roman coastal incursions. Republican Rome bothered little about Illyricum unless boilingtribes began to threaten eastern Italian Gaul, when the Senate would send an army to chasten them.
imago, imagines An imago was a beautifully tinted mask made of refined beeswax, outfitted with a wig, and startlingly lifelike (anyone who has visited a waxworks museum will understand how lifelike wax images can be made, and there is no reason to think a Roman imago was very much inferior to a Victorian wax face). When a Roman nobleman reached a certain level of public distinction, he acquired the ius imaginis, which was the right to have a wax image made of himself. Some modern authorities say the ius imaginis was bestowed upon a man once he attained curule office, which would mean aedile. Others plump for praetor, still others for consul. I plump for consul, also the Grass or Civic Crown, a major flaminate, and Pontifex Maximus. All the imagines belonging to a family were kept in painstakingly wrought miniature temples in the atrium of the house, and were regularly sacrificed to. When a prominent man or woman of a family owning the ius imaginis died, the wax masks were brought out and worn by actors selected because they bore a physical resemblance in height and bui
ld to the men the masks represented. Women of course were not entitled to the ius imaginis—even Cornelia the Mother of the Gracchi.
imperator Literally, the commander-in-chief or general of a Roman army. However, the term (first attested to in the career of Lucius Aemilius Paullus) gradually came to be given only to a general who won a great victory; his troops had to have hailed him imperator on the field before he qualified for a triumph. Imperator is the root of the word “emperor.”
imperium Imperium was the degree of authority vested in a curule magistrate or promagistrate. It meant that a man owned the authority of his office, and could not be gainsaid provided he was acting within the limits of his particular level of imperium and within the laws governing his conduct. Imperium was conferred by a lex curiata, and lasted for one year only. Extensions for prorogued governors had to be ratified by the Senate and/or People. Lictors shouldering fasces indicated a man’s imperium; the more lictors, the higher the imperium.
in absentia In the context used in these books, a candidacy for office approved of by Senate (and People, if necessary) and an election conducted in the absence of the candidate himself. He may have been waiting on the Campus Martius because imperium prevented his crossing the pomerium, as with Pompey and Crassus in 70 B.C., or he may have been on military service in a province, as with Gaius Memmius when elected quaestor.
in loco parentis Still used today, though in a somewhat watered-down sense. To a Republican Roman, in loco parentis (literally, in the place of a parent) meant a person assumed the full entitlements of a parent as well as the inherent responsibilities.
insula An island. Because it was surrounded on all sides by streets, lanes or alleyways, an apartment building was known as an insula. Roman insulae were very tall (up to one hundred feet—thirty meters—in height) and most were large enough to incorporate an internal light well; many were so large they contained multiple light wells. The insulae to be seen today at Ostia are not a real indication of the height insulae attained within Rome; we know that Augustus tried fruitlessly to limit the height of Roman city insulae to one hundred feet.
Masters of Rome Boxset: First Man in Rome, the Grass Crown, Fortune's Favourites, Caesar's Women, Caesar Page 355