plebeian, Plebs All Roman citizens who were not patricians were plebeians; that is, they belonged to the Plebs (the e is short, so that Plebs rhymes with webs, not glebes). At the beginning of the Republic no plebeian could be a priest, a magistrate, or even a senator. This situation lasted only a very short while; one by one the exclusively patrician institutions crumbled before the onslaught of the Plebs, who far outnumbered the patricians—and several times threatened to secede. By the late Republic there was very little if any advantage to being a patrician—except that everyone knew patrician was better.
Plebeian Assembly See the entry under Assemblies.
podex An impolite word for the posterior fundamental orifice: an arsehole rather than an anus.
Pollux The ever—forgotten Heavenly Twin. See Castor.
pomerium The sacred boundary enclosing the city of Rome. Marked by white stones called cippi, it was reputedly inaugurated by King Servius Tullius, and remained without change until Sulla’s dictatorship. The pomerium did not exactly follow the Servian Walls, one good reason why it is doubtful that the Servian Walls were built by King Servius Tullius—who would certainly have caused his walls to follow the same line as his pomerium. The whole of the ancient Palatine city of Romulus was enclosed within the pomerium, whereas the Aventine lay outside it. So too did the Capitol. Tradition held that the pomerium might be enlarged, but only by a man who significantly increased the size of Roman territory. In religious terms, Rome herself existed only inside the pomerium; all outside it was merely Roman territory.
pontifex Many Latin etymologists think that in very early times the pontifex was a maker of bridges (pans: bridge), and that the making of bridges was considered a mystical art putting the maker in close touch with the gods. Be that as it may, by the time the Republic came along the pontifex was a priest. Incorporated into a special college, he served as an adviser to Rome’s magistrates and comitia in all religious matters—and would inevitably himself become a magistrate. At first all pontifices had to be patrician, but a lex Ogulnia of 300 B.C. stipulated that half the College of Pontifices had to be plebeian. During periods when the pontifices (and augurs) were co-opted into the college by other members, new appointees tended to be well under senatorial age; the early twenties were common. Thus the appointment of Caesar at twenty-seven years of age was not at all unusual or remarkable.
Pontifex Maximus The head of Rome’s State-administered religion, and most senior of all priests. He seems to have been an invention of the infant Republic, a typically masterly Roman way of getting round an obstacle without demolishing it and ruffling feelings. In the time of the Kings of Rome, the Rex Sacrorum had been the chief priest, this being a title held by the King himself. Apparently considering it unwise to abolish the Rex Sacrorum, the anti—monarchical rulers of the new Republic of Rome simply created a new priest whose role and status were superior to the Rex Sacrorum. This new priest was given the title of Pontifex Maximus. To reinforce his statesmanlike position, it was laid down that he should be elected, not co-opted (the other priests were all co-opted). At first he was probably required to be a patrician, but soon could as easily be a plebeian. He supervised all the members of the various priestly colleges—and the Vestal Virgins. The State gave him its most imposing house as his residence, but in Republican times he shared this residence with the Vestal Virgins, apparently on a half-and-half basis. His official headquarters had the status of an inaugurated temple: the little old Regia in the Forum Romanum just outside his State house. popa He was a public servant attached to religious duties, and his only job appears to have been to wield the big stunning hammer; the cutting of the beast’s throat was the province of the cultarius (see that entry).
population of Rome A vexed question upon which much ink has been expended by modern scholars. I think there is a tendency to underestimate the number of people who actually dwelt inside Rome herself, few if any of the scholars admitting to a number as great as one million. The general consensus seems to be half a million. However, we do know the dimensions of the Republican city inside the Servian Walls: in width, one-plus kilometers, in length, two-plus kilometers. Then as now, Rome was a city of apartment dwellers, and that is a strong clue to the actual population. Of Roman citizens—that is, males on the census rolls—there were perhaps a quarter of a million; plus wives and children; and plus slaves. It was an absolutely penurious household which did not have at least one slave in service; the Head Count seem to have owned slaves too. Then there were the non—citizens, of whom Rome had hordes: Jews, Syrians, Greeks, Gauls, all sorts. With wives, children, and slaves. Rome teemed with people, its insulae were multitudinous. Non—citizens, wives, children and slaves must have pushed that quarter—million well above a million. Otherwise the insulae would have been half empty and the city smothered in parks. I think two million is closer to the mark.
porta A city or town gate. Rome’s gates were all equipped with mighty oak doors and portcullises.
portico The word I have chosen to indicate a large covered porch forming an entrance to a building or temple.
porticus Not a porch, but a whole building incorporating some sort of large central courtyard. The actual building was usually longer than wide, and constructed on a colonnade principle. The Porticus Margaritaria in the upper Forum Romanum was a squarer version of the porticus, and housed Rome’s most expensive shops. The Porticus Aemilia in the Port of Rome was a very long building which housed firms and agents dealing with shipping, import and export.
praefectus fabrum One of the most important men in a Roman army, technically the praefectus fabrum was not even a part of it; he was a civilian appointed to the post by the general. The praefectus fabrum was responsible for equipping and supplying the army in all respects, from its animals and their fodder to its men and their food. Because he let out contracts to businessmen and manufacturers for equipment and supplies, he was a very powerful figure—and unless he was a man of superior integrity, in a perfect position to enrich himself. The evidence of Caesar’s praefectus fabrum, the Gadetanian banker Lucius Cornelius Balbus, indicates just how important and powerful these suppliers of armies were.
praenomen A Roman man’s first name. There were very few praenomina (plural) in use, perhaps twenty, and half of them were not common, or else were confined to the men of one particular gens, as with Mamercus, confined to the Aemilii Lepidi, and Appius, confined to the patrician Claudii. Each gens or clan favored certain praenomina only, perhaps two or three out of the twenty. A modern scholar can often tell from a man’s praenomen whether he was a genuine member of the gens: the Julii, for instance, favored Sextus, Gaius and Lucius only, with the result that a man called Marcus Julius is highly suspect. The Licinii favored Publius, Marcus and Lucius; the Pompeii favored Gnaeus, Sextus and Quintus; the Cornelii favored Publius, Lucius and Gnaeus; the Servilii of the patrician gens favored Quintus and Gnaeus. One of the great puzzles for modern scholars concerns that Lucius Claudius who was Rex Sacrorum during the late Republic; Lucius was not a patrician Claudian praenomen, yet the Rex Sacrorum was certainly a patrician Claudius. I have postulated that there was a certain branch of the Claudii bearing the praenomen Lucius which always traditionally provided Rome with her Rex Sacrorum. The whole subject of praenomina has me in stitches whenever I watch one of those Hollywood Roman epics; they always get it wrong!
praetor This magistracy ranked second in the hierarchy of Roman magistrates. At the very beginning of the Republic, the two highest magistrates of all were known as praetors. By the end of the fourth century B.C., however, the term consul had come into being for the highest magistrates, and praetors were relegated to second—best. One praetor was the sole representative of this position for many decades thereafter; he was obviously the praetor urbanus, as his duties were confined to the city of Rome, thus freeing up the two consuls for duties as war leaders outside the city. In 242 B.C. a second praetor, the praetor peregrinus, was created to cope with matters relating to foreign nation
als and Italy rather than Rome. As Rome acquired her overseas provinces more praetors were created to govern them, going out to do so in their year of office rather than afterward as propraetors. By the last century of the Republic there were six praetors elected in most years, eight in others, depending upon the State’s needs. Sulla brought the number of praetors up to eight during his dictatorship, and limited duty during their year in actual office to his law courts.
praetor peregrinus I have chosen to translate this as the foreign praetor because he dealt with non-citizens. By the time of Sulla his duties were confined to litigation and the dispensation of legal decisions; he traveled all over Italy as well as hearing cases involving non—citizens within Rome herself.
praetor urbanus The urban praetor, whose duties by the late Republic were almost all to do with litigation. Sulla further refined this by confining the urban praetor to civil rather than criminal suits. His imperium did not extend beyond the fifth milestone from Rome, and he was not allowed to leave Rome for longer than ten days at a time. If both the consuls were absent from Rome, he was Rome’s senior magistrate, therefore empowered to summon the Senate, make decisions about execution of government policies, even organize the defenses of the city under threat of attack.
Princeps Senatus The Leader of the House. He was appointed by the censors according to the rules of the mos maiorum: he had to be a patrician, the leader of his decury, an interrex more times than anyone else, of unimpeachable morals and integrity, and have the most auctoritas and dignitas. The title Princeps Senatus was not given for life, but was subject to review by each new pair of censors. Sulla stripped the Leader of the House of a considerable amount of his auctoritas, but he continued to be prestigious.
privatus Used within the pages of this book to describe a man who was a senator but not currently a magistrate.
proconsul One serving the State with the imperium of a consul but not in office as consul. Proconsular imperium was normally bestowed upon a man after he finished his year as consul and went to govern a province proconsule. A man’s tenure of a proconsulship was usually for one year only, but it was very commonly
prorogued (q.v.), sometimes for several years; Metellus Pius was proconsul in Further Spain from 79 to 71 B.C. Proconsular imperium was limited to the proconsul’s province or command, and was lost the moment he stepped across the pomerium into Rome.
Procrustes A mythological Greek gentleman of dubious tastes. In his stronghold somewhere in Attica (said to be on the road to the Isthmus of Corinth) he kept two beds, one too short for the average man, and one too long. Having lured the traveler into his lair, he overpowered his victim and then popped the poor fellow on whichever of the two beds fitted least. If the victim was too short for the long bed, Procrustes stretched him out until he did measure up; if the victim was too tall for the short bed, Procrustes lopped bits off his extremities until he did measure up. Theseus killed him by treating him as he had treated all his victims.
proletarii Those Roman citizens who were too poor to give the State anything by way of taxes, duties, or service. The only thing they could give the State was proles—children. See Head Count.
promagistrate One serving the State in a magisterial role without actually being a magistrate. The offices of quaestor, praetor and consul (the three magistracies of the formal cursus honorum) were the only three relevant.
propraetor One serving the State with the imperium of a praetor but not in office as a praetor. Propraetorian imperium was normally bestowed upon a man after he had finished his year as praetor and went to govern a province propraetore. Tenure of a propraetorship was usually for one year, but could be prorogued.
proquaestor One serving the State as a quaestor but not in office as a quaestor. The office did not carry imperium, but under normal circumstances a man elected to the quaestorship would, if asked for personally by a governor who ended in staying in his province for more than one year, remain in the province as proquaestor until his superior went home.
prorogue This meant to extend a man’s tenure of promagisterial office beyond its normal time span of one year. It affected proconsuls and propraetors, but also quaestors. I include the word in this glossary because I have discovered that modern English language dictionaries of small or even medium size neglect to give this meaning in treating the word “prorogue.”
province Originally this meant the sphere of duty of a magistrate or promagistrate holding imperium, and therefore applied as much to consuls and praetors in office inside Rome as it did to those abroad. Then the word came to mean the place where the imperium was exercised by its holder, and finally was applied to that place as simply meaning it was in the ownership (or province) of Rome.
pteryges The leather straps which depended from the waist to the knees as a kilt, and from the shoulders to the upper arms as sleeves; they were sometimes fringed at their ends, and ornamented with metallic bosses as well as tooling. The traditional mark of the senior officers and generals of the Roman army, they were not worn by the ranks.
publicani Tax—farmers, or contracted collectors of Rome’s public revenues. Such contracts were let by the censors about every five years, though it would seem that Sulla when dictator suspended this when he terminated the office of censor. No doubt he provided some other means of letting contracts.
Public Horse See Horse, Public.
public servants The more research I do, the more I come to see that Rome had many public servants. However, the Senate and Assemblies—that is, government—traditionally abominated public servants, and many of Rome’s public transactions were conducted by firms and/or individuals in the private business sector. This privatization was an ongoing thing throughout the Republic, and was usually effected through the censors, praetors, aediles and quaestors. Contracts were let, a price for the particular service was agreed to. All this notwithstanding, of public servants there were many—clerks, scribes, secretaries, accountants, general factotums, religious attendants, public slaves, electoral officers, comitial officers, lictors—not to mention the legions. Cavalry might be considered to be “on hire.” Pay and conditions were probably not good, but aside from the public slaves all public servants seem to have been Roman citizens. The bulk of clerical employees were apparently Greek freedmen.
Pulex A flea.
Punic Pertaining to Carthage and the Carthaginians. It derives from the original homeland of the Carthaginians—Phoenicia.
Pusillus Absolutely infinitesimal in size.
Pythagorean Pertaining to the philosophical system originated by Pythagoras. In Rome of the late Republic he had a reputation as a bit of a ratbag—that is, eccentric enough to be considered slightly potty. He taught that the soul was doomed to transmigrate from one kind of organism to another (even plants) for all eternity unless when imprisoned within a man that man espoused a way of life designed to free the soul: he preached rules of silence, chastity, contemplation, vegetarianism, etc. Women were as welcome to participate in the way of life as men. The Neopythagorean cult practiced in Rome had departed from true Pythagoreanism, but the preoccupation with numbers and a way of life was still strong. Unfortunately among the foods Pythagoreans advocated consuming in large quantities were beans; the result was a great deal of methane in the air around a Pythagorean. He or she was therefore very often the butt of unsympathetic wits. A medical friend of mine maintains that excessive amounts of fava beans can promote excessive bleeding in childbirth.
quaestio A court of law or judicial investigatory panel.
quaestor The lowest rung on the senatorial cursus honorum. It was always an elected office, but until Sulla laid down during his dictatorship that in future the quaestorship would be the only way a man could enter the Senate, it was not necessary for a man to be quaestor in order to be a senator. Sulla increased the number of quaestors from perhaps twelve to twenty, and laid down that a man could not be quaestor until he was thirty years of age. The chief duties of a quaestor were fiscal. He might be (cho
sen by the lots) seconded to Treasury duty within Rome, or to collecting customs, port dues and rents elsewhere in Italy, or serve as the manager of a provincial governor’s moneys. A man going to govern a province could ask for a quaestor by name. The quaestor’s year in office began on the fifth day of December.
Quinctilis Originally the fifth month when the Roman New Year had begun in March, it retained the name after January New Year made it the seventh month. We know it, of course, as July; so did the Romans—after the death of the great Julius.
quinquereme A very common and popular form of ancient war galley: also known as the “five.” Like the bireme and the trireme (q.v.), it was much longer than it was broad in the beam, and was designed for no other purpose than to conduct war at sea. It used to be thought that the quinquereme had five banks of oars, but it is now almost universally agreed that no galley ever had more than three banks of oars, and more commonly perhaps had only two banks. The “five” was most likely called a “five” because it had five men on each oar, or else if it had two banks of oars put three men on the upper oars and two men on the lower. If there were five men on an oar, only the man on the tip or end of the oar had to be highly skilled; he guided the oar and did the really hard work, while the other four provided little beyond muscle—power. However, five men on an oar meant that at the commencement of the sweep the rowers had to stand, falling back onto the seat as they pulled. A “five” wherein the rowers could remain seated would have needed three banks of oars as in the trireme, two men on each of the two upper banks, and one man on the lowest bank. It seems that all three kinds of quinqueremes were used, each community or nation having its preference. For the rest, the quinquereme was decked, the upper oars lay within an outrigger, and a mast and sail were part of the design, though usually left ashore if battle was expected. The oarsmen numbered about 270, the sailors perhaps 30, and if the admiral believed in boarding rather than or as well as ramming, some 120 marines could be carried along with fighting towers and catapults. Like its smaller sister galleys, the “five” was rowed by professional oarsmen, never slaves.
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