A Mixture of Madness, Book II of The Bow of Heaven (66 page)

Ornator
  Slave who adorned or dressed his master; f.
ornatrix
(who concentrated more on her hair.
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Otium
  The Roman concept of leisure, ideally occupied by pursuits of philosophy, art and music in a natural setting.
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Palla
  Cloak. Usually a rectangular piece of fabric worn for modesty over the stola and/or tunic.
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Palaestra
  A large central courtyard devoted to exercise and games, usually adjacent to a balnea or thermae, sometimes including a pool.
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Paludamentum
  The official cloak worn by a Roman commander in the field.
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Paterfamilias
  Head of the household:  the father.
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Peculium
Money or property acquired by slaves in the course of conducting business on behalf of their master. While technically any such gains belonged to the slave’s owner, the master might allow these sums to be considered the slave’s property, and might even allow these assets to be used to purchase the slave’s freedom.
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Patria potestas
In Roman family law, the male head of the family held absolute power over the lives of his wife and children, even their descendants, as long as he lived. It was even within his right to administer capital punishment, if he saw fit. Under the law, all possessions accrued by his offspring, or given as gifts by the father, were still the legal property of the father.
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Pelargós
Greek. A stork.
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Peplos
Long sleeveless tunic worn by Roman women.
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Peristyle
A spacious courtyard within a Roman home, open to the sky, framed by a covered colonnade. The picture here was taken by Carlo Brogi in 1896 of a reconstructed peristyle in Pompeii. 
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Phalera
  A sculpted disc worn on the breastplate made from bronze, silver or gold denoting valor or victory in battle
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Pilum
  Roman throwing spear; plural:  pila.
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Plebeians
  Free, non-citizens of Rome, also called plebs.
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Pomerium
  The spiritual limits of the city of Rome, marked by cippi, small pedestals used as boundary posts.
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Pontifex Maximus
  Supreme supervisor of all things religious, and of matters of worship both public and private. Guardian of the ancient customs. The Pontifex was not subject to any court of law or punishment. The pontifex maximus was elected for life.
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Populares
  Aristocrats, like the optimates, but favoring stronger representation of the people in the popular assemblies and tribunes of the plebs who wielded power to veto senate rulings.
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Praetor
Chief law officer and deputy to the consuls.
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Primus Pilus
The most senior, decorated and experienced centurion of a legion, given command of the double-strength first century of the first cohort, which would mean 160 legionaries at full strength.
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Pteruges
  Leather strips protruding from under the cuirass that offered some protection for the shoulders and thighs.
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Pugio
  Dagger.
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Quaestor
An officer in charge of military and civic treasury, as well as record-keeping.
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Quaestorium
In the late Republic, a Roman military camp’s supply tent, as well as the quarters of the quaestor. During the Empire, the quaestorium came to be used to store booty and high-ranking prisoners.
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Quintilis
  The seventh month of the pre-Julian Roman calendar, i.e. July.
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Quinquereme
  A large Roman warship with five rowers to a side on three levels.
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Raeda
  4-wheeled carriage, usually pulled by two, sometimes four horses.
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Rage of the Dog Star
  See malaria

Rostra
The large, raised platform in the
Comitium
where consuls and other magistrates spoke to the Roman people.
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Sagum
Military cloak.
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Salve
Good Day! Good Morning! Also used in bidding farewell, as was
vale
.
Ave
is a less formal usage and “would seem to be more a morning greeting or a simple expression of goodwill” (
http://catholicforum.fisheaters.com/index.php?topic=2667068.0;wap2
)
.
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Salutatio
A time-honored tradition of the patron-client relationship. At the start of each day, the patron would don his toga, open the doors to his home and give audience to all the men dependent on him for council, favors and money. In return, the clients might be asked to perform certain services, such as drumming up political support or gathering information.
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Scutum
Roman shield. During the late Republic, the shield had evolved into a convex rectangle of several plies of wood, approximately 4 feet tall by 2-1/2 feet wide. The center held an iron boss, used both offensively and defensively. This shield, or some variation of it, was at least as important a part of a legionary’s kit as his weapons (a foot soldier’s armor was far from invulnerable). It weighed anywhere from 12 to 22 pounds. Unless on parade or in battle, the shield was kept dry in a goatskin or leather bag.
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Serapeum
It is said that the Royal Library of Alexandria, the greatest collection of books in the known world, was accidentally destroyed by Julius Caesar during his war with Pompey. The surviving scrolls were moved the temple of Serapis, or the Serapeum.
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Sestercius
Brass
Roman coin
worth one quarter of a silver denarius; plural:  sesterces. 100 sesterces equaled 1 gold aureus.
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Sherwal
Baggy trousers tied at the ankles. The garment originated in Persia but is still worn today by Kurds and other peoples of the Levant and Middle East.
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Sixth
hour
The Roman sixth hour of the day was always noon; The sixth hour of the night was always midnight.
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Sol Invictus
Latin: another name for Mithra

Somnus
Roman god of sleep.
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Stoa
Greek. An open, columned, covered portico or walkway, sometimes storied.
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Stola
Long sleeveless tunic worn by women over other tunics; a symbol of marriage.
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Strigil
In the Roman baths, after oil has been applied, this curved metal tool was used to scrape dirt and sweat from the body.
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Subligaculum
Underwear worn by either men or women, usually a wrapped loin cloth.
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Tablinum
  Room usually between atrium and
peristyle
where guests were received and records kept.
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Tepidarium
  The warm bath where Romans soaked after the steam or hot bath, then cleaned themselves before venturing into the frigidarium, or cold pool. It did not always have a pool, but did keep its occupants warm with heated walls and flooring.
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Theater
of Pompeius
A derivative work of a 3D, Computer generated image of the Theatre of Pompey by the model maker, Lasha Tskhondia. The temple of Venus Victrix is at the lower left, the Portico is at the upper right. Below, an early 19
th
century lithograph by A. Schill depicting, from the left, the stage building, the stage itself (front curtain removed), the semi-circle of the orchestra, seating and the temple of Venus Victrix.
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Toga praetexta
The toga of the curule magistrate, off-white, with a 2- to 3-inch wide purple border along one side. Also worn by boys until the age of sixteen or seventeen, and by men engaged in sacred rites.
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Tonsor
Barber.
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Triclinium
The dining room in a Roman house, its name derived from the fact that three wide couches, each accommodating up to three diners, comprised the seating. A table in the center held food and the fourth side was left open for servants to move in and out of the dining area. A diagram and pictures may be found on my
blog
.
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Trierarch
Captain of a Trireme.
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Trigon
A ball game with three players who stood at the points of a triangle about 20 feet apart. The ball, small and hard, perhaps like our baseball, was thrown to one or the other players (feints were encouraged), and points were scored for left-hand catches, hitting the other player and batting the ball without actually catching it. Slaves were on hand to keep score and fetch lost balls.
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