Marcus Agrippa: Right-hand Man of Caesar Augustus (57 page)

Libertas
– Roman virtue of independence, freedom of speech.

Libertus
– A slave freed by legal process.

Liburna
– ‘Liburnian’, type of ship, usually with two rows of oarsmen.

Lictor
– Bodyguard of a senior magistrate: a consul had 12, a
praetor
6, a propraetor 5 and an aedile 2 (
lictores
pl.).

Lituus
– Crooked staff used by an
augur
when interpreting bird flight.

Lorica hamata
– Body armour made of chain or ring mail.

Lorica squamata
– Body armour made of scales attached to a backing of cloth or leather.

Lorica segmentata
– Body armour made of articulated metal plates (a non-Roman term coined in the sixteenth century).

Ludi
– Roman blood games, held for religious observance and increasingly used to further political ends.

Lustrum
– Period of five years.

Medicus
– ‘Medic’, doctor.

Miles
– Common soldier,
miles gregarius
(
milites
pl.).

Moderatio
– ‘Moderation’, Roman virtue of restraint from excess.

Modius
– Measure of grain equivalent to a third of an
amphora
.

Mos maiorum
– ‘The ways of the elders’, traditional values and forms of worship.

Munera
– Roman blood games held for political and entertainment purposes.

Municipium
– Chartered provincial Roman city.

Navis longa
– ‘Long ship’, name of a bireme or trireme.

Nobiles
– The old families forming Rome’s aristocracy having a member who had served as consul.

Novus homo
– ‘New man’, a man born of non-Roman aristocracy.

Officium
– ‘Service’, the staff – office – responsible for record keeping.

Oppidum
– Town or defensible settlement often on a hill.

Optmates
– Conservative bloc of the Roman senators seeking to preserve the
status quo
.

Ovatio
– Lower form of triumph awarded to a victorious commander who was permitted to ride on a horse through the streets of Rome.

Palatinus
– Hill in Rome, location of homes for the Roman élite.

Paterfamilias
– Legal master of the household.

Pietas
– Roman virtue of respect for the natural order of things.

Pilum
– Roman javelin used by legionaries (
pila
pl.).

Pompa
– Procession in a religious rite or funeral.

Pompa triumphalis
– Full triumph in which the triumphator rode in a chariot followed by floats displaying the captive and spoils of war.

Pontifex Maximus
– ‘Chief bridge builder’ (from pont, Etruscan for ‘road’
*
), chief priest.

Populares
– Progressive bloc of Roman senators seeking to change the status quo.

Praefectus
– ‘Prefect’, senior officer or magistrate.

Praefectus Castrorum
– ‘Camp Prefect’, third in command of a legio.

Praefectus Equitum
– ‘Prefect of Horse’, senior officer in command of a turma.

Praefectus Praetorio
– Commander of the Cohors Praetoria.

Praepositus
– ‘Overseer’, special envoy or governor general.

Praetor
– Senior magistrate responsible for administering law, the ludi and feriae.

Praetor Urbanus
– Chief praetor in charge of administration of law in Rome.

Praetorium
– ‘Praetor’s building’, house of the senior officer of a legio.

Primus Pilus
– ‘First javelin’, the most senior centurio of a legio.

Princeps
– ‘The First One’, the title adopted by Augustus to describe his leadership position.

Princeps Praetorii
– Officer in charge of the army unit’s officium.

Principalis
– Non-commissioned officer of a centuria, e.g. cornicen, signifer (
principales
pl.).

Principia
– ‘Front line’, headquarters building in a Roman fort.

Proconsul
– ‘Former consul’, governor of a senatorial province.

Propraetor
– ‘Former praetor’, governor of an imperial province.

Quaestor
– Junior magistrate in charge of law courts and public financial accounting.

Rostra
– Tribunal, speaker’s platform in
Forum Romanum
.

Rostrum
– Bronze beak or ram of a warship covering the stem bulb/bulbous bow.

Res Publica
– ‘Public Things’, the commonwealth of the Roman state.

Sacerdos
– Priest (
sacerdotes
pl.).

Saeculum
– A period estimated to be the lifetime of a man, approximately 100 years.

Salutatio
– Morning visit by clients to the patron.

Scutum
– Roman shield (
scuta
pl.).

Semis
– Roman coin worth half one
as
.

Senatus Consultum
– Decree of the Senate.

Sestertius
– Brass coin, equal in value to one-quarter
denarius
(
sestertii
pl.).

Signifer
– Standard bearer carrying the centurial
signum
.

Signum
– Unit standard (
signa
pl.).

Socius
– Ally, associate, partner (
socii
pl.)

Spolia opima
– Prized spoils taken from an enemy after armed combat.

Suovetaurilia
– Relgious rite involving the sacrifice of a pig, sheep and bull.

Toga praetexta
– White toga with a broad purple stripe along the curved edge.

Toga pura
– ‘Manly gown’, the all-white toga worn by Roman adult men.

Toga virilis
– ‘Manly gown’, the all-white toga worn by Roman adult men.

Tresvir
– ‘Three Man’, a member of a board comprised of three magistrates responsible for a state function, e.g.
tresviri monetales
who were responsible for managing the coin supply.

Tribunus
– Tribune:
tribunus plebis
, a representative of the people elected annually;
tribunus laticlavius
, the second in command of a
legio
was accompanied by five junior
tribuni angusticlavii
.

Triumphator
– The military commander awarded an
ovatio
or
pompa triumphalis
.

Triumvir, IIIvir
– Member of a commission of three political leaders (
triumviri
pl.).

Tropaeum
– ‘Trophy’ made of captured weapons (
tropaea
pl.).

Tumulus
– Cenotaph shaped like a raised circular dome (
tumuli
pl.).

Turris
– Wooden tower on warship for mounting a
catalpulta
.

Vexillum
– Flag standard.

Via Praetoria
– Cross road in a Roman camp leading to
principia
.

Via Principalis
– Main street of a Roman camp.

Via Sacra
– ‘Sacred Way’, the main road running through the
Forum Romanum
.

Virtus
– ‘Manliness’, Roman virtue of courage.

*
Surmised – not known with certainty.