SPQR VII: The Tribune's Curse

by John Maddox Roberts

  Compluvium An opening in the roof of a Roman house through which rain fell to be gathered in a basin called the impluvium. Eventually, it became a courtyard with a pool.

  Conscript Fathers A form of address used when speaking to the Senate. Cicero used it almost exclusively.

  Curule A curule office conferred magisterial dignity. Those holding it were priviledged to sit in a curule chair—a folding camp chair that became a symbol of Roman officials sitting in judgment.

  Curia The meetinghouse of the Senate, located in the Forum, also applied to a meeting place in general. Hence Curia Hostilia, Curia Pompey, and Curia Julia. By tradition they were prominently located with position to the sky to observe omens.

  Cursus Honorem “Course of Honor”: The ladder of office ascended by Romans in public life. The Cursus officer were quaestor, praetor, and consul. Technically, the office of aedile was not part of the Cursus Honorem, but by the late Republic it was futile to stand for praetor without having served as aedile. The other public offices not on the cursus were Censor and Dictator.

  EquestrianEques (pl.equites ) literally meant “horseman.” In the early days of the military muster soldiers supplied all their own equipment. Every five years the Censors made a property assessment of all citizens and each man served according to his ability to pay for arms, equipment, rations, etc. Those above a certain minimum assessment became equites because they could afford to supply and feed their own horses and were assigned to the cavalry. By the late Republic, it was purely a property class. Almost all senators were equites by property assessment, but the dictator Sulla made senators a separate class. After his day, the equites were the wealthy merchants, moneylenders, and tax farmers of Rome. Collectively, they were an enormously powerful group, equal to the senators in all except prestige and control of foreign policy.

  Families and Names Roman citizens usually had three names. The given name (praenomen) was individual, but there were only about eighteen of them: Marcus, Lucius, etc. Certain praenomens were used only in a single family: Appius was used only by the Claudians, Mamercus only by the Aemilians, and so forth. Only males had praenomens. Daughters were given the feminine form of the father’s name: Aemilia for Aemilius, Julia for Julius, Valeria for Valerius, etc.

  Next came the nomen. This was the name of the clan (gens). All members of a gens traced their descent from a common ancestor, whose name they bore: Julius, Furius, Licinius, Junius, Tullius, to name a few. Patrician names always ended in ius. Plebeian names often had different endings.

  Stirps A subfamily of a gens. The cognomen gave the name of the stirps, i.e., Caius Julius Caesar. Caius of the stirps; Caesar of gens Julia.

  Then came the name of the family branch (cognomen). This name was frequently anatomical: Naso (nose), Ahenobarbus (bronzebeard), Sulla (splotchy), Niger (dark), Rufus (red), Caesar (curly), and many others. Some families did not use cognomens. Mark Antony was just Marcus Antonius, no cognomen.

  Other names were honorifics conferred by the Senate for outstanding service or virtue: Germanicus (conqueror of the Germans), Africanus (conqueror of the Africans), Pius (extraordinary filial piety).

  Freed slaves became citizens and took the family name of their master. Thus the vast majority of Romans named, for instance, Cornelius would not be patricians of that name, but the descendants of that family’s freed slaves. There was no stigma attached to slave ancestry.

  Adoption was frequent among noble families. An adopted son took the name of his adoptive father and added the genetive form of his former nomen. Thus when Caius Julius Caesar adopted his great-nephew Caius Octavius, the latter became Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus.

  All these names were used for formal purposes such as official documents and monuments. In practice, nearly every Roman went by a nickname, usually descriptive and rarely complimentary. Usually it was the Latin equivalent of Gimpy, Humpy, Lefty, Squint-eye, Big Ears, Baldy, or something of the sort. Romans were merciless when it came to physical peculiarities.

  Fasces A bundle of rods bound around with an ax projecting from the middle. They symbolized a Roman magistrate’s power of corporal and capital punishment and were carried by the lictors who accompanied the curule magistrates, the Flamen Dialis, and the proconsuls and propraetors who governed provinces.

  Fetiales A priestly college whose most important duties concerned treaties and war. The Fetiales declared war at a special ceremony, at which one of their number cast a spear into enemy territory. In later years, when enemies were too far away, a piece of ground near their temple was designated enemy territory and the spear was cast into it.

  First Citizen In Latin:Princeps. Originally the most prestigious senator, permitted to speak first on all important issues and set the order of debate. Augustus, the first emperor, usurped the title in perpetuity. Decius detests him so much that he will not use either his name (by the time of the writing it was Caius Julius Caesar) or the honorific Augustus, voted by the toadying Senate. Instead he will refer to him only as the First Citizen. Princeps is the origin of the modern word “prince.”

  Floralia A springtime festival in honor of the goddess Flora, in which her protection was invoked on behalf of fruit blossoms. It involved a number of unusual practices. Upper-class women and prostitutes sounded trumpets at one point, and actresses performed nude on stage.

  Forum An open meeting and market area. The premier forum was the Forum Romanum, located on the low ground surrounded by the Capitoline, Palatine, and Caelian Hills. It was surrounded by the most important temples and public buildings. Roman citizens spent much of their day there. The courts met outdoors in the Forum when the weather was good. When it was paved and devoted solely to public business, the Forum Romanum’s market functions were transferred to the Forum Boarium, the Cattle Market near the Circus Maximus. Small shops and stalls remained along the northern and southern peripheries, however.

  Freedman A manumitted slave. Formal emancipation conferred full rights of citizenship except for the right to hold office. Informal emancipation conferred freedom without voting rights. In the second or at least third generation, a freedman’s descendants became full citizens.

  Friendly Ones “Eumenides.” These were the Furies. They were so frightening that it was deemed the worst of luck to pronounce their true name: Erinyes, “Terrible Ones,” because speaking their name could attract their attention. Several euphemisms were employed, of which Friendly Ones was the most common. The names are Greek, but the Romans used Greek terms in religion the way we use Latin.

  Haruspex (pl. Haruspices) A member of a college of Etruscan professionals who examined the entrails of sacrificial animals for omens.

  Imperium The ancient power of kings to summon and lead armies, to order and forbid and to inflict corporal and capital punishment. Under the Republic, the imperium was divided among the consuls and praetors, but they were subject to appeal and intervention by the tribunes in their civil decisions and were answerable for their acts after leaving office. Only a Dictator had unlimited imperium.

  Impluvium See compluvium.

  Insula Literally, “island.” A detached house or block of flats let out to poor families.

  Iudex An investigating official appointed by a praetor.

  Janitor A slave-doorkeeper, so called for Janus, god of gateways.

  Legion They formed the fighting force of the Roman army. Through its soldiers, the Empire was able to control vast stretches of territory and people. They were known for their discipline, training, ability, and military process.

  Lictor Bodyguards, usually freedmen, who accompanied magistrates and the Flamen Dialis, bearing the fasces. They summoned assemblies, attended public sacrifices, and carried out sentences of punishment.

  Ludus (pl. ludi). The official public games, races, theatricals, etc. Also training schools for gladiators, although the gladiatorial exhibitions were not ludi.

  Maiestas A type of treason, defined as an offence against the majesty of the Roman people. An extre
mely loose category of crime, maiestas was a favorite charge to bring against one’s political enemies.

  Matronalia A festival celebrated by Roman matrons in honor of Juno.

  Munera Special Games, not part of the official calendar, at which gladiators were exhibited. They were originally funeral Games and were always dedicated to the dead.

  Mundus An opening into the underworld. there were serveral located around the Mediterranean. They were used for rituals in volving the chthonic deities and to convey messages to the dead.

  Municipia Towns originally with varying degrees of Roman citizenship. A citizen from a municipium was qualified to hold any public office. An example is Cicero, who was not from Rome but from the municipium of Arpinum.

  Offices A tribune was a representative of the plebeians with power to introduce laws and to veto actions of the Senate. Only plebeians could hold the office, which carried no imperium. Military tribunes were elected from among the young men of senatorial or equestrian rank to be assistants to generals. Usually it was the first step of a man’s political career.

  A Roman embarked on a political career had to rise through a regular chain of offices. The lowest elective office was quaestor: bookkeeper and paymaster for the Treasury, the Grain Office, and the provincial governors. These men did the scut work of the Empire.

  Next were the aediles. They were more or less city managers who saw to the upkeep of public buildings, streets, sewers, markets, and the like. There were two types: the plebeian aediles, and the curule aediles. The curule aediles could sit in judgment on civil cases involving markets and currency, while the plebeian aediles could only levy fines. Otherwise, their duties were the same. They also put on the public Games. The government allowance for these things was laughably small, so they had to pay for them out of their own pockets. It was a horrendously expensive office but it gained the holder popularity like no other, especially if his Games were spectacular. Only a popular aedile could hope for election to higher office.

  Third was praetor, an office with real power. Praetors were judges, but they could command armies and after a year in office they could go out to govern provinces, where real wealth could be won, earned, or stolen. In the late Republic there were eight praetors. Senior was the praetor urbanus, who heard civil cases between citizens of Rome. The praetor peregrinus heard cases involving foreigners. The others presided over criminal courts. After leaving office, the ex-praetors became propraetors and went to govern propraetorian provinces with full imperium.

  The highest office was consul, supreme office of power during the Roman Republic. Two were elected each year. For four years they fulfilled the political role of royal authority, bringing all other magistrates into the service of the people and the City of Rome. The office carried full imperium. On the expiration of his year in office, the ex-consul was usually assigned a district outside Rome to rule as proconsul. As proconsul, he had the same insignia and the same number of lictors. His power was absolute within his province. The most important commands always went to proconsuls.

  Censors were elected every five years. It was the capstone to a political career, but it did not carry imperium and there was no foreign command afterward. Censors conducted the Census, purged the Senate of unworthy members, and doled out the public contracts. They could forbid certain religious practices or luxuries deemed bad for public morals or generally “un-Roman.” There were two Censors, and each could overrule the other. They were usually elected from among the ex-consuls, and the Censorship was regarded as the capstone of a political career.

  Under the Sullan Constitution, the quaestorship was the minimum requirement for membership in the Senate. The majority of senators had held that office and never held another. Membership in the Senate was for life unless expelled by the Censors.

  No Roman official could be prosecuted while in office, but he could be after he stepped down. Malfeasance in office was one of the most common court charges.

  The most extraordinary office was Dictator. In times of emergency, the Senate could instruct the consuls to appoint a Dictator, who could wield absolute power for six months. Unlike all other officials, a Dictator was unaccountable: He could not be prosecuted for his acts in office. The last true Dictator was appointed in the third century B.C. The dictatorships of Sulla and Julius Caesar were unconstitutional.

  Patrician The noble class of Rome.

  Perduellio A serious crime against the state. The difference between perduellio and maiestas is not always clear.

  Plebeian All citizens not of patrician status; the lower classes, also called “plebs.”

  Pomerium The ancient boundary of Rome, marked out by Romulus with his plow. Though by the late Republic Rome had spread far beyond this boundary, it was retained and nothing could be built upon it. The dead could not be buried within the pomerium, not could citizens bear arms within it.

  Pontifical College The pontifexes were a college of priests not of a specific god (see Priesthoods) but whose task was to advise the Senate on matters of religion. The chief of the college was the Pontifex Maximus, who ruled on all matters of religious practice and had charge of the calendar. Julius Caesar was elected Pontifex Maximus and Augustus made it an office held permanently by the emperors. The title is currently held by the Pope.

  Popular Assemblies There were three: the Centuriate Assembly (comitia centuriata) and the two tribal assemblies: comitia tributa and consilium plebis, q.v.

  Populares The party of the common people.

  Princeps: First Citizen An especially distinguished senator chosen by the Censors. His name was the first called on the roll of the Senate and he was first to speak on any issue. Later the title was usurped by Augustus and is the origin of the word “prince.”

  Priesthoods In Rome, the priesthoods were offices of state. There were two major classes: pontifexes and flamines. Pontifexes were members of the highest priestly college of Rome. They had superintendence over all sacred observances, state and private, and over the calendar. Head of their college was the Pontifex Maximus, a title held to this day by the Pope. The flamines were the high priests of the state gods: the flamen martialis for Mars, the flamen quirinalis for the deified Romulus, and, highest of all, the Flamen Dialis, high priest of Jupiter. The Flamen Dialis celebrated the Ides of each month and could not take part in politics, although he could attend meetings of the Senate, attended by a single lictor. Each had charge of the daily sacrifices, wore distinctive headgear, and were surrounded by many ritual taboos.

  Another very ancient priesthood was the rex sacrorum, “King of Sacrifices.” This priest had to be a patrician and had to observe even more taboos than the Flamen Dialis. This position was so onerous that it became difficult to find a patrician willing to take it.

  Technically, pontifexes and flamines did not take part in public business except to solemnize oaths and treaties, give the god’s stamp of approval to declarations of war, etc. But since they were all senators anyway, the ban had little meaning. Julius Caesar was pontifex maximus while he was out conquering Gaul, even though the pontifex maximus wasn’t supposed to look upon human blood.

  Rostra (sing. rostrum) A monument in the Forum commemorating the sea battle of Antium in 338 B.C., decorated with the rams,rostra, of enemy ships. Its base was used as an orator’s platform.

  Sacerdotes A term for priests and priestesses.

  Senate Rome’s chief deliberative body. It consisted of three hundred to six hundred men, all of whom had won elective office at least once. It was a leading element in the emergence of the Republic, but later suffered degradation at the hands of Sulla.

  Sibylline Books These mysterious books of prophecies were brought to Rome in legendary times and were kept by a college of priests called, in pedantic Roman fashion, the quinquidecemviri (the Fifteen Men). In times of extraordinary calamity the Senate could order a consultation of the Sibylline Books. The language was obscure and subject to eccentric interpretation. The prophecies were usually interpre
ted to mean that the gods wanted a foreign deity brought to Rome. Thus Rome built a temple to Ceres, a goddess of Asia Minor, and others. When the deity was Greek, the rites remained in the Greek rather than the Roman fashion.

  Soothsayers The Roman government used two types: First were the augurs. These were actual officials who belonged to a college and it was a great honor for a Roman to be adopted into the College of Augurs. They interpreted omens involving heavenly signs: lightning and thunder, the flight and other behavior of birds, etc. There were strict guidelines for this, and personal inspiration was not involved. An augur could call a halt to all public business while he watched for omens. The augur wore a special, striped robe called a toga trabaea and carried a crook-topped staff called a lituus, which survives to this day as a part of the Roman Catholic bishop’s regalia.

  The second type was the haruspex (pl. haruspices ). These were not officials but professional soothsayers and most were Etruscans. They took omens by examining the livers and other organs of sacrificial animals. Highly educated Romans considered them fraudulent, but the plebs insisted on taking the haruspices (the term also referred to the omens themselves) before embarking on any important public project.

  Official Roman soothsayers did not predict the future, a practice that was, in fact, forbidden by law. Omens were taken to determine the will of the gods at that time. They had to be taken repeatedly because the gods could always change their minds.

  SPQR Senatus Populusque Romanus. The Senate and people of Rome. The formula embodying the sovereignty of Rome. It was used on official correspondence, documents, and public works.

  Tarpeian Rock A cliff beneath the Capitol from which traitors were hurled. It was named for the Roman maiden Tarpeia who, according to legend, betrayed the Capitol to the Sabines.

  Temple of Saturn The state Treasury was located in a crypt beneath this temple. It was also the repository for military standards.