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 Maxi
mus 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.
voting Roman voting was timocratic, in that the power of a man’s vote was powerfully influenced by economic status, and in that voting was indirect. Whether an individual was voting in the Centuries or the tribes, his own personal vote could influence only the collective verdict of the Century or tribe in which he polled. Juridical voting was different. A juror’s vote did have a direct bearing on the outcome of a trial, as the jury’s verdict was reached by a majority, not, as now, complete unanimity. To be a juror, however, a man had to be at least a tribunus aerarius.
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE TO ROMAN MASCULINE NAMES
To some extent, the pronunciation of classical Latin is still debated, but there are definite conventions among scholars. Liturgical Latin and medieval Latin are pronounced somewhat differently than classical Latin. None of which need worry the reader unduly. The aim of this little section is simply to offer guidelines for those readers without Latin.
One convention adhered to in pronouncing classical Latin is to sound the consonantal v like our English w: thus, the word veritas is properly pronounced weritas. But the rule is not hard and fast, even among scholars, so in the interests of reader comfort, I shall proceed to ignore it.
The diphthong ae should not be pronounced as in “say,” but rather as in “eye”; this convention I have adhered to.
We have several more consonants in English than the Latin language did. The one which concerns the reader most is j. It has been customary in the English language for centuries to spell those Latin words commencing in consonantal i with a j. Thus, Julius should really be lulius, and pronounced Yoo-lee-uss, not Joo-lee-uss. However, I have elected to go with English j.
The Latin g has only one sound, which I shall call guh, as in “gain”—”get”—”give”—”gone”—”gun.” The other g sound in English, which I shall call juh, as in “ginger,” is never used in pronouncing Latin.
Rather than adopt one of the current lexicographic systems of pronunciation, I have elected to use a phonetic system of my own, rhyming the Latin with some ordinary English word pronounced identically on both sides of the Atlantic as well as in the Antipodes—where possible!
And, last but by no means least, none of it really matters save to the purist. The most important thing is that the reader discover and enjoy the world of Republican Rome. Do not feel uncomfortable with the names. Latin is a major root of the English language, and that is a major help in itself. (Note: in some cases I have given the standard English pronunciation first, and put the more correct pronunciation in parentheses, in the lists below.)
The Praenomen (the First Name)
Appius
Ah-pee-uss (ah as in “pa,” “ma”—uss as in “puss”)
Aulus
Ow-luss (ow as in “cow”)
Gaius
Gye-uss (gye as in “eye”)
Gnaeus
Nye-uss (nye as in “eye”)
Lucius
Loo-shuss (more correctly, Loo-kee-uss)
Mamercus
Mah-mer-kuss (mah as in “pa”—mer as in “her”)
Manius
Mah-nee-uss (mah as in “pa”)
Marcus
Mar-kuss
Publius
Pub-lee-uss (pub has the same u sound as “put”)
Quintus
Kwin-tuss (kwin as in “twin”)
Servius
Ser-vee-uss (ser as in “her”)
Sextus
Sex-tuss (sex as in “sex”)
Spurius
Spoo-ree-uss (spoo as in “too”)
Tiberius
Tye-beer-ee-uss (more correctly, Tee-bear-ee-uss)
Titus
Tye-tuss (more correctly, Tee-tuss)
The Nomen (the Family or Gentilicial Name, Indicating the Gens)
Aelius
Eye-lee-uss (eye as in “eye”—uss as in “puss”)
Aemilius
Eye-mil-ee-uss (mil as in “will”)
Annius
An-nee-uss (an as in “tan”)
Antistius
Ahn-tist-ee-uss (ahn as in “gone”—list as in “fist”)
Antonius
An-toh-nee-uss (an as in “tan”—toh as in “so”)
Appuleius
Ah-poo-lay-ee-uss (poo as in “too”—lay as in “say”)
Aquillius
Ah-kwill-ee-uss (kwill as in “will”)
Atilius
Ah-tee-lee-uss
Aurelius
Or-ree-lee-uss (more correctly, Ow-ray-lee-uss)
Baebius
Bye-bee-uss (bye as in “eye”)
Billienus
Bill-ee-ay-nuss (bill as in “will”—ay as in “say”)
Caecilius
Kye-kill-ee-uss (kye as in “eye”—kill as in “will”)
Caelius
Kye-lee-uss
Calpurnius
Kahl-purr-nee-uss (kahl as in “doll”)
Cassius
Kass-ee-uss (kass as in “lass”)
Claudius
Klaw-dee-uss (klaw as in “paw”)—the English way; Klow-dee-uss (klow as in “cow”)—the correct Latin way
Clodius
Kloh-dee-uss (kloh as in “so”)’
Coelius
Koy-lee-uss (koy as in “boy”)
Cornelius
Kor-nee-lee-uss (strictly, Kor-nay-lee-uss)
Curtius
Koor-tee-uss (koor as in “poor”)
Decius
Deck-ee-uss (deck as in “peck”)
Decumius
Deck-oo-mee-uss (oo as in “too”)
Didius
Did-ee-uss (did as in “bid”)
Domitius
Dom-it-ee-uss (dom as in “torn”—it as in “fit”)
Equitius
Ay-kwit-ee-uss (ay as in “say”—kwit as in “fit”)
Fabius
Fay-bee-uss (strictly, Fab-ee-uss, fab as in “cab”)
Fabricius
Fab-rick-ee-uss (fab as in “cab”—rick as in “kick”)
Fannius
Fan-nee-uss (fan as in “tan”)
Flavius
Flay-vee-uss (strictly, Flah-vee-uss)
Fraucus
Frow-kuss (frow as in “cow”)
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