Chapter XIV: Part II: The Middle Ages and the Reformation. A.D. 1381-1593 (13)

DĬŎNȲSĬA (διονύσια), festivals celebrated in various parts of Greece in honour of Dionysus, and characterised by extravagant merriment and enthusiastic joy. Drunkenness, and the boisterous music of flutes, cymbals, and drums, were likewise common to all Dionysiac festivals. In the processions called θίασοι (from θείαζω), with which they were celebrated, women also took part in the disguise of Bacchae, Lenae, Thyades, Naiades, Nymphs, &c., adorned with garlands of ivy, and bearing the thyrsus in their hands, so that the whole train represented a population inspired, and actuated by the powerful presence of the god. The choruses sung on the occasion were called dithyrambs, and were hymns addressed to the god in the freest metres and with the boldest imagery, in which his exploits and achievements were extolled. [CHORUS.] The phallus, the symbol of the fertility of nature, was also carried in these processions. The indulgence in drinking was considered by the Greeks as a duty of gratitude which they owed to the giver of the vine; hence in some places it was thought a crime to remain sober at the Dionysia. The Attic festivals of Dionysus were four in number: the _Rural_ or _Lesser Dionysia_ (Διονύσια κατ’ ἀγρούς, or μικρά), the _Lenaea_ (Λήναια), the _Anthesteria_ (Ἀνθεστήρια), and the _City_ or _Great Dionysia_ (Διονύσια ἐν ἄστει, ἀστικά, or μεγάλα). The season of the year sacred to Dionysus was during the months nearest to the shortest day; and the Attic festivals were accordingly celebrated in Poseideon, Gamelion, Anthesterion, and Elaphebolion.--The _Rural_ or _Lesser Dionysia_, a vintage festival, were celebrated in the various demes of Attica in the month of Poseideon, and were under the superintendence of the several local magistrates, the demarchs. This was doubtless the most ancient of all, and was held with the highest degree of merriment and freedom; even slaves enjoyed full freedom during its celebration, and their boisterous shouts on the occasion were almost intolerable. It is here that we have to seek for the origin of comedy, in the jests and the scurrilous abuse with which the peasants assailed the bystanders from a waggon in which they rode about. The Dionysia in the Peiraeeus, as well as those of the other demes of Attica, belonged to the lesser Dionysia.--The second festival, the _Lenaea_ (from ληνός, the wine-press, from which also the month of Gamelion was called by the Ionians Lenaeon), was celebrated in the month of Gamelion; the place of its celebration was the ancient temple of Dionysus Limnaeus (from λίμνη, as the district was originally a swamp). This temple was called the Lenaeon. The Lenaea were celebrated with a procession and scenic contests in tragedy and comedy. The procession probably went to the Lenaeon, where a goat (τράγος, whence the chorus and tragedy which arose out of it were called τραγικὸς χορός, and τραγῳδία) was sacrificed, and a chorus standing around the altar sang the dithyrambic ode to the god. As the dithyramb was the element out of which, by the introduction of an actor, tragedy arose [CHORUS], it is natural that, in the scenic contests of this festival, tragedy should have preceded comedy. The poet who wished his play to be brought out at the Lenaea applied to the second archon, who had the superintendence of this festival, and who gave him a chorus if the piece was thought to deserve it.--The third festival, the _Anthesteria_, was celebrated on the 11th, 12th, and 13th days of the month of Anthesterion. The second archon likewise superintended the celebration of the Anthesteria, and distributed the prizes among the victors in the various games which were carried on during the season. The first day was called πιθοιγία: the second, χόες: and the third, χύτροι. The first day derived its name from the opening of the casks to taste the wine of the preceding year; the second from χοῦς, the cup, and seems to have been the day devoted to drinking. The third day had its name from χύτρος, a pot, as on this day persons offered pots with flowers, seeds, or cooked vegetables, as a sacrifice to Dionysus and Hermes Chthonius. It is uncertain whether dramas were performed at the Anthesteria; but it is supposed that comedies were represented, and that tragedies which were to be brought out at the great Dionysia were perhaps rehearsed at the Anthesteria. The mysteries connected with the celebration of the Anthesteria were held at night.--The fourth festival, the _City_ or _Great Dionysia_, was celebrated about the 12th of the month of Elaphebolion; but we do not know whether they lasted more than one day or not. The order in which the solemnities took place was as follows:--the great public procession, the chorus of boys, the _comus_ [CHORUS], comedy, and, lastly, tragedy. Of the dramas which were performed at the great Dionysia, the tragedies at least were generally new pieces; repetitions do not, however, seem to have been excluded from any Dionysiac festival. The first archon had the superintendence, and gave the chorus to the dramatic poet who wished to bring out his piece at this festival. The prize awarded to the dramatist for the best play consisted of a crown, and his name was proclaimed in the theatre of Dionysus. As the great Dionysia were celebrated at the beginning of spring, when the navigation was re-opened, Athens was not only visited by numbers of country people, but also by strangers from other parts of Greece, and the various amusements and exhibitions on this occasion were not unlike those of a modern fair.--The worship of Dionysus, whom the Romans called Bacchus, or rather the Bacchic mysteries and orgies (_Bacchanalia_), are said to have been introduced from southern Italy into Etruria, and from thence to Rome, where for a time they were carried on in secret, and, during the latter period of their existence, at night. The initiated, according to Livy, not only indulged in feasting and drinking at their meetings, but when their minds were heated with wine they indulged in the coarsest excesses and the most unnatural vices. The time of initiation lasted ten days; on the tenth, the person who was to be initiated took a solemn meal, underwent a purification by water, and was led into the sanctuary (_Bacchanal_). At first only women were initiated, and the orgies were celebrated every year during three days. But Pacula Annia, a Campanian matron, pretending to act under the direct influence of Bacchus, changed the whole method of celebration: she admitted men to the initiation, and transferred the solemnisation, which had hitherto taken place during the daytime, to the night. Instead of three days in the year, she ordered that the Bacchanalia should be held during five days in every month. It was from that time that these orgies were carried on with frightful licentiousness and excesses of every kind. The evil at length became so alarming, that, in B.C. 186, the consuls, by the command of the senate, instituted an investigation into the nature and object of these new rites. The result was that numerous persons were arrested, and some put to death; and that a decree of the senate was issued, commanding that no Bacchanalia should be held either in Rome or Italy; that if any one should think such ceremonies necessary, or if he could not neglect them without scruples or making atonements, he should apply to the praetor urbanus, who might then consult the senate. If the permission should be granted to him in an assembly of the senate, consisting of not less than one hundred members, he might solemnise the Bacchic sacra; but no more than five persons were to be present at the celebration; there should be no common fund, and no master of the sacra or priest. A brazen table containing this important document was discovered near Bari, in southern Italy, in the year 1640, and is at present in the imperial Museum of Vienna. While the _Bacchanalia_ were thus suppressed, another more simple and innocent festival of Bacchus, the _Liberalia_ (from _Liber_, or _Liber Pater_, a name of Bacchus), continued to be celebrated at Rome every year on the 16th of March. Priests and aged priestesses, adorned with garlands of ivy, carried through the city wine, honey, cakes, and sweetmeats, together with an altar with a handle (_ansata ara_), in the middle of which there was a small fire-pan (_foculus_), in which from time to time sacrifices were burnt. On this day Roman youths who had attained their sixteenth year received the _toga virilis_.

DĬŎSCŪRĬA (διοσκούρια), festivals celebrated in various parts of Greece in honour of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux). Their worship was very generally adopted in Greece, especially in the Doric and Achaean states; but little is known of the manner in which their festivals were celebrated. At Athens the festival was called Anaceia.

DĬŌTA, a vessel having two ears (ὦτα) or handles, used for holding wine. It appears to have been much the same as the amphora. [AMPHORA.]

DIPHTHĔRA (διφθέρα), a kind of cloak made of the skins of animals, and worn by herdsmen and country people. It had a covering for the head (ἐπικράνον), in which respect it would correspond to the Roman _cucullus_.

DIPLŌMA, a writ or public document, which conferred upon a person any right or privilege. During the republic, it was granted by the consuls and senate; and under the empire, by the emperor and the magistrates whom he authorised to do so. It consisted of two leaves, whence it derived its name.

DIPTỸCHA (δίπτυχα), two writing tablets, which could be folded together. They were commonly made of wood and covered over with wax.

DĬRĬBĬTŌRES. [COMITIA.]

DISCUS (δίσκος), a circular plate of stone, or metal, made for throwing to a distance as an exercise of strength and dexterity. It was one of the principal gymnastic exercises of the ancients, being included in the _Pentathlum_.

DISPENSĀTOR. [CALCULATOR.]

DITHỸRAMBUS. [CHORUS.]

DĪVERSŌRĬUM. [CAUPONA.]

DĪVĪNĀTĬO (μαντική), a power in man which foresees future things by means of those signs which the gods throw in his way. Among the Greeks the _manteis_ (μάντεις), or seers, who announced the future, were supposed to be under the direct influence of the gods, chiefly that of Apollo. In many families of seers the inspired knowledge of the future was considered to be hereditary, and to be transmitted from father to son. To these families belonged the Iamids, who from Olympia spread over a considerable part of Greece; the Branchidae, near Miletus; the Eumolpids, at Athens and Eleusis; the Telliads, the Acarnanian seers, and others. Along with the seers we may also mention the Bacides and the Sibyllae. Both existed from a very remote time, and were distinct from the manteis so far as they pretended to derive their knowledge of the future from sacred books (χρησμοί) which they consulted, and which were in some places, as at Athens and Rome, kept by the government or some especial officers, in the acropolis and in the most revered sanctuary. The Bacides are said to have been descended from one or more prophetic nymphs of the name of Bacis. The Sibyllae were prophetic women, probably of Asiatic origin, whose peculiar custom seems to have been to wander with their sacred books from place to place. The Sibylla, whose books gained so great an importance at Rome, is reported to have been the Erythraean: the books which she was said to have sold to one of the Tarquins were carefully concealed from the public, and only accessible to the duumvirs. Besides these more respectable prophets and prophetesses, there were numbers of diviners of an inferior order (χρησμολόγοι), who made it their business to explain all sorts of signs, and to tell fortunes. They were, however, more particularly popular with the lower orders, who are everywhere most ready to believe what is most marvellous and least entitled to credit. No public undertaking of any consequence was ever entered upon by the Greeks and Romans without consulting the will of the gods, by observing the signs which they sent, especially those in the sacrifices offered for the purpose, and by which they were thought to indicate the success or the failure of the undertaking. For this kind of divination no divine inspiration was thought necessary, but merely experience and a certain knowledge acquired by routine; and although in some cases priests were appointed for the purpose of observing and explaining signs [AUGUR; HARUSPEX], yet on any sudden emergency, especially in private affairs, any one who met with something extraordinary, might act as his own interpreter. The principal signs by which the gods were thought to declare their will, were things connected with the offering of sacrifices, the flight and voice of birds, all kinds of natural phenomena, ordinary as well as extraordinary, and dreams.--The interpretation of signs of the first class (ἱερομαντεία or ἱεροσκοπία, _haruspicium_ or _ars haruspicina_) was, according to Aeschylus, the invention of Prometheus. It seems to have been most cultivated by the Etruscans, among whom it was raised into a complete science, and from whom it passed to the Romans. Sacrifices were either offered for the special purpose of consulting the gods, or in the ordinary way; but in both cases the signs were observed, and when they were propitious, the sacrifice was said καλλιερεῖν. The principal points that were generally observed were, 1. The manner in which the victim approached the altar. 2. The nature of the intestines with respect to their colour and smoothness; the liver and bile were of particular importance. 3. The nature of the flame which consumed the sacrifice. Especial care was also taken during a sacrifice, that no inauspicious or frivolous words were uttered by any of the bystanders: hence the admonitions of the priests, εὐφημεῖτε and εὐφημία, or σιγᾶτε, σιωπᾶτε, _favete linguis_, and others; for improper expressions were not only thought to pollute and profane the sacred act, but to be unlucky omens.--The art of interpreting signs of the second class was called οἰωνιστική, _augurium_, or _auspicium_. It was, like the former, common to Greeks and Romans, but never attained the same degree of importance in Greece as it did in Rome. [AUSPICIUM.] The Greeks, when observing the flight of birds, turned their face toward the north, and then a bird appearing to the right (east), especially an eagle, a heron, or a falcon, was a favourable sign; while birds appearing to the left (west) were considered as unlucky signs. Of greater importance than the appearance of animals, at least to the Greeks, were the phenomena in the heavens, particularly during any public transaction. Among the unlucky phenomena in the heavens (διοσημεῖα, _signa_, or _portenta_) were thunder and lightning, an eclipse of the sun or moon, earthquakes, rain of blood, stones, milk, &c. Any one of these signs was sufficient at Athens to break up the assembly of the people.--In common life, things apparently of no importance, when occurring at a critical moment, were thought by the ancients to be signs sent by the gods, from which conclusions might be drawn respecting the future. Among these common occurrences we may mention sneezing, twinkling of the eyes, tinkling of the ears, &c.--The art of interpreting dreams (ὀνειροπολία), which had probably been introduced into Europe from Asia, where it is still a universal practice, seems in the Homeric age to have been held in high esteem, for dreams were said to be sent by Zeus. In subsequent times, that class of diviners who occupied themselves with the interpretation of dreams, seems to have been very numerous and popular; but they never enjoyed any protection from the state, and were chiefly resorted to by private individuals.--The subject of oracles is treated in a separate article. [ORACULUM.]--The word _divinatio_ was used in a particular manner by the Romans as a law term. If in any case two or more accusers came forward against one and the same individual, it was, as the phrase ran, _decided by divination_, who should be the chief or real accuser, whom the others then joined as _subscriptores;_ _i.e._ by putting their names to the charge brought against the offender. This transaction, by which one of several accusers was selected to conduct the accusation, was called _divinatio_, as the question here was not about facts, but about something which was to be done, and which could not be found out by witnesses or written documents; so that the judices had, as it were, to divine the course which they had to take. Hence the oration of Cicero, in which he tries to show that he, and not Q. Caecilius Niger, ought to conduct the accusation against Verres, is called _Divinatio in Caecilium_.

DĪVĪSOR. [AMBITUS.]

DĪVORTĬUM (ἀπόλειψις, ἀπόπεμψις), divorce. (1) GREEK. The laws of Athens permitted either the husband or the wife to call for and effect a divorce. If it originated with the wife, she was said to leave her husband’s house (ἀπολείπειν); if otherwise, to be dismissed from it (ἀποπεμπέσθαι). After divorce, the wife resorted to her male relations, with whom she would have remained if she had never quitted her maiden state; and it then became their duty to receive or recover from her late husband all the property that she had brought to him in acknowledged dowry upon their marriage. If, upon this, both parties were satisfied, the divorce was final and complete: if otherwise, an action ἀπολείψεως, or ἀποπέμψεως, would be instituted, as the case might be, by the party opposed to the separation. A separation, however, whether it originated from the husband or the wife, was considered to reflect discredit on the latter.--(2) ROMAN. Divorce always existed in the Roman polity. As one essential part of a marriage was the consent and conjugal affection of the parties, it was considered that this affection was necessary to its continuance, and accordingly either party might declare his or her intention to dissolve the connection. No judicial decree, and no interference of any public authority, was requisite to dissolve a marriage. The first instance of divorce at Rome is said to have occurred about B.C. 234, when Sp. Carvilius Ruga put away his wife, on the ground of barrenness: it is added, that his conduct was generally condemned. Towards the latter part of the republic, and under the empire, divorces became very common. Pompey divorced his wife Mucia for alleged adultery; and Cicero divorced his wife Terentia, after living with her thirty years, and married a young woman. Cato the younger divorced his wife Marcia, that his friend Hortensius might marry her, and have children by her; for this is the true meaning of the story that he lent his wife to Hortensius. If a husband divorced his wife, the wife’s dowry, as a general rule, was restored; and the same was the case when the divorce took place by mutual consent. Corresponding to the forms of marriage by _confarreatio_ and _coemtio_, there were the forms of divorce by _diffarreatio_ and _remancipatio_. In course of time, less ceremony was used; but still some distinct notice or declaration of intention was necessary to constitute a divorce. The term _repudium_, it is said, properly applies to a marriage only contracted, and _divortium_ to an actual marriage; but sometimes divortium and repudium appear to be used indifferently. The phrases to express a divorce are, _nuntium remittere_, _divortium facere_; and the form of words might be as follows--_Tuas res tibi habeto, tuas res tibi agito_. The phrases used to express the renunciation of a marriage contract were, _renuntiare repudium_, _repudium remittere_, _dicere_, and _repudiare_; and the form of words might be, _Conditione tua non utor_.

DŎCĂNA (τὰ δόκανα, from δοκός, a beam) was an ancient symbolical representation of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux), at Sparta. It consisted of two upright beams with others laid across them transversely.

DŎCĬMĂSĬA (δοκιμασία). When any citizen of Athens was either appointed by lot, or chosen by suffrage, to hold a public office, he was obliged, before entering on its duties, to submit to a _docimasia_, or scrutiny into his previous life and conduct, in which any person could object to him as unfit. The _docimasia_, however, was not confined to persons appointed to public offices; for we read of the denouncement of a scrutiny against orators who spoke in the assembly while leading profligate lives, or after having committed flagitious crimes.

DODRANS. [AS.]

DŎLĀBRA, _dim._ DŎLĀBELLA (σμίλη, _dim_. σμιλίον), a chisel, a celt, was used for a variety of purposes in ancient as in modern times. _Celtes_ is an old Latin word for a chisel, probably derived from _coelo_, to engrave. Celts, or chisels, were frequently employed in making entrenchments and in destroying fortifications; and hence they are often found in ancient earth-works and encampments. They are for the most part of bronze, more rarely of hard stone. The sizes and forms which they present, are as various as the uses to which they were applied. The annexed woodcut is designed to show a few of the most remarkable varieties.

DŌLĬUM, a cylindrical vessel, somewhat resembling our tubs or casks, into which new wine was put to let it ferment.

DŎLO (δόλων). (1) A secret poniard or dagger contained in a case, used by the Italians. It was inserted in the handles of whips, and also in walking sticks, thus corresponding to our sword-stick.--(2) A small top-sail.

DŎMĬNĬUM signifies quiritarian ownership, or property in a thing; and _dominus_, or _dominus legitimus_, is the owner. The dominus has the power of dealing with a thing as he pleases, and differs from the bare _possessor_, who has only the right of possession, and has not the absolute ownership of the thing.

DŎMUS (οἶκος), a house.--(1) GREEK. A Greek house was always divided into two distinct portions, the _Andronitis_, or men’s apartments (ἀνδρωνῖτις), and the _Gynaeconitis_, or women’s apartments (γυναικωνῖτις). In the earliest times, as in the houses referred to by Homer, and in some houses at a later period, the women’s apartments were in the upper story (ὑπερῷον), but usually at a later time the gynaeconitis was on the same story with the andronitis, and behind it. The front of the house towards the street was not large, as the apartments extended rather in the direction of its depth than of its width. In towns the houses were often built side by side, with party-walls between. The exterior wall was plain, being composed generally of stone, brick, and timber, and often covered with stucco. There was no open space between the street and the house-door, like the Roman _vestibulum_. The πρόθυρα, which is sometimes mentioned, seems to be merely the space in front of the house, where there was generally an altar of Apollo Agyieus, or a rude obelisk emblematical of the god. Sometimes there was a laurel tree in the same position, and sometimes a head of the god Hermes. A few steps (ἀναβαθμοί) led up to the house-door, which generally bore some inscription, for the sake of a good omen, or as a charm. The door sometimes opened outwards; but this seems to have been an exception to the general rule, as is proved by the expressions used for opening, ἐνδοῦναι, and shutting it, ἐπισπάσασθαι and ἐφελκύσασθαι. The handles were called ἐπισπαστῆρες. The house-door was called αὔλειος or αὔλεια θύρα, because it led to the αὐλή. It gave admittance to a narrow passage (θυρωρεῖον, πυλών, θυρών), on one side of which, in a large house, were the stables, on the other the porter’s lodge. The duty of the porter (θυρωρός) was to admit visitors and to prevent anything improper from being carried into or out of the house. The porter was attended by a dog. Hence the phrase εὐλαβεῖσθαι τὴν κύνα, corresponding to the Latin _Cave canem_. From the θυρωρεῖον we pass into the peristyle or court (περιστύλιον, αὐλή) of the andronitis, which was a space open to the sky in the centre (ὕπαιθρον), and surrounded on all four sides by porticoes (στοαί), of which one, probably that nearest the entrance, was called προστόον. These porticoes were used for exercise, and sometimes for dining in. Here was commonly the altar on which sacrifices were offered to the household gods. In building the porticoes the object sought was to obtain as much sun in winter, and as much shade and air in summer as possible. Round the peristyle were arranged the chambers used by the men, such as banqueting rooms (οἶκοι, ἀνδρῶνες), which were large enough to contain several sets of couches (τρίκλινοι, ἑπτάκλινοι, τριακοντάκλινοι, and at the same time to allow abundant room for attendants, musicians, and performers of games; parlours or sitting rooms (ἐξέδραι), and smaller chambers and sleeping rooms (δωμάτια, κοιτῶνες, οἰκήματα); picture-galleries and libraries, and sometimes store-rooms; and in the arrangement of these apartments attention was paid to their aspect. The peristyle of the andronitis was connected with that of the gynaeconitis by a door called μέταυλος, μέσαυλος, or μεσαύλιος, which was in the middle of the portico of the peristyle opposite to the entrance. By means of this door all communication between the andronitis and gynaeconitis could be shut off.

α, House-door, αὔλειος θύρα: θυρ’, passage, θυρωρεῖον or θυρών: Α, peristyle, or αὐλή of the andronitis; ο, the halls and chambers of the andronitis; μ, μέταυλος or μέσαυλος θύρα: Γ, peristyle of the gynaeconitis; γ, chambers of the gynaeconitis; π, προστάς or παραστάς: θ, θάλαμος and ἀμφιθάλαμος: Ι, rooms for working in wool (ἱστῶνες); Κ, garden-door, κηταία θύρα.]

Accordingly Xenophon calls it θύρα βαλανωτός. Its name μέσαυλος is evidently derived from μέσος, and means the door _between_ the two αὐλαί or peristyles. This door gave admittance to the peristyle of the gynaeconitis, which differed from that of the andronitis in having porticoes round only three of its sides. On the fourth side were placed two antae [ANTAE], at a considerable distance from each other. A third of the distance between these antae was set off inwards, thus forming a chamber or vestibule, which was called προστάς, παραστάς, and πρόδρομος. On the right and left of this προστάς were two bed-chambers, the θάλαμος and ἀμφιθάλαμος, of which the former was the principal bed-chamber of the house, and here also seem to have been kept the vases, and other valuable articles of ornament. Beyond these rooms were large apartments (ἱστῶνες) used for working in wool. Round the peristyle were the eating-rooms, bed-chambers, store-rooms, and other apartments in common use. Besides the αὔλειος θύρα and the μέσαυλος θύρα, there was a third door (κηπαία θύρα) leading to the garden. The preceding is a conjectural plan of the ground-floor of a Greek house of the larger size. There was usually, though not always, an upper story (ὑπερῷον διῆρες), which seldom extended over the whole space occupied by the lower story. The principal use of the upper story was for the lodging of the slaves. The access to the upper floor seems to have been sometimes by stairs on the outside of the house, leading up from the street. Guests were also lodged in the upper story. But in some large houses there were rooms set apart for their reception (ξενῶνες) on the ground-floor. The roofs were generally flat, and it was customary to walk about upon them. In the interior of the house the place of doors was sometimes supplied by curtains (παραπετάσματα), which were either plain, or dyed, or embroidered. The principal openings for the admission of light and air were in the roofs of the peristyles; but it is incorrect to suppose that the houses had no windows (θυρίδες), or at least none overlooking the street. They were not at all uncommon. Artificial warmth was procured partly by means of fire-places. It is supposed that chimneys were altogether unknown, and that the smoke escaped through an opening in the roof (καπνοδόκη), but it is not easy to understand how this could be the case when there was an upper story. Little portable stoves (ἐσχάραι, ἐσχαρίδες) or chafing-dishes (ἀνθράκια) were frequently used. The houses of the wealthy in the country, at least in Attica, were much larger and more magnificent than those in the towns. The latter seem to have been generally small and plain, especially in earlier times, when the Greeks preferred expending the resources of art and wealth on their temples and public buildings; but the private houses became more magnificent as the public buildings began to be neglected. The decorations of the interior were very plain at the period to which our description refers. The floors were of stone. At a late period coloured stones were used. Mosaics are first mentioned under the kings of Pergamus. The walls, up to the 4th century B.C., seem to have been only whited. The first instance of painting them is that of Alcibiades. This innovation met with considerable opposition. We have also mention of painted ceilings at the same period. At a later period this mode of decoration became general.--(2) ROMAN. The houses of the Romans were poor and mean for many centuries after the foundation of the city. Till the war with Pyrrhus the houses were covered only with thatch or shingles, and were usually built of wood or unbaked bricks. It was not till the latter times of the republic, when wealth had been acquired by conquests in the East, that houses of any splendour began to be built; but it then became the fashion not only to build houses of an immense size, but also to adorn them with columns, paintings, statues, and costly works of art. Some idea may be formed of the size and magnificence of the houses of the Roman nobles during the later times of the republic by the price which they fetched. The consul Messalla bought the house of Autronius for 3700 sestertia (nearly 33,000_l._), and Cicero the house of Crassus, on the Palatine, for 3500 sestertia (nearly 31,000_l._). The house of Publius Clodius, whom Milo killed, cost 14,800 sestertia (about 131,000_l._); and the Tusculan villa of Scaurus was fitted up with such magnificence, that when it was burnt by his slaves, he lost 100,000 sestertia, upwards of 885,000_l._--Houses were originally only one story high; but as the value of ground increased in the city they were built several stories in height, and the highest floors were usually inhabited by the poor. Till the time of Nero, the streets in Rome were narrow and irregular, and bore traces of the haste and confusion with which the city was built after it had been burnt by the Gauls; but after the great fire in the time of that emperor, by which two-thirds of Rome was burnt to the ground, the city was built with great regularity. The streets were made straight and broad; the height of the houses was restricted, and a certain part of each was required to be built of Gabian or Alban stone, which was proof against fire. The principal parts of a Roman house were the, 1. _Vestibulum_, 2. _Ostium_, 3. _Atrium_ or _Cavum Aedium_, 4. _Alae_, 5. _Tablinum_, 6. _Fauces_, 7. _Peristylium_. The parts of a house which were considered of less importance, and of which the arrangement differed in different houses, were the, 1. _Cubicula_, 2. _Triclinia_, 3. _Oeci_, 4. _Exedrae_, 5. _Pinacotheca_, 6. _Bibliotheca_, 7. _Balineum_, 8. _Culina_, 9. _Coenacula_, 10. _Diaeta_, 11. _Solaria_. We shall speak of each in order.--1. VESTIBULUM did not properly form part of the house, but was a vacant space before the door, forming a court, which was surrounded on three sides by the house, and was open on the fourth to the street.--2. OSTIUM, which is also called _janua_ and _fores_, was the entrance to the house. The street-door admitted into a hall, to which the name of ostium was also given, and in which there was frequently a small room (_cella_) for the porter (_janitor_ or _ostiarius_), and also for a dog, which was usually kept in the hall to guard the house. Another door (_janua interior_) opposite the street-door led into the atrium.--3. ATRIUM or CAVUM AEDIUM, also written _Cavaedium_, are probably only different names of the same room.

The Atrium or Cavum Aedium was a large apartment roofed over with the exception of an opening in the centre, called _compluvium_, towards which the roof sloped so as to throw the rain-water into a cistern in the floor, termed _impluvium_, which was frequently ornamented with statues, columns, and other works of art. The word _impluvium_, however, is also employed to denote the aperture in the roof. The atrium was the most important room in the house, and among the wealthy was usually fitted up with much splendour and magnificence. Originally it was the only sitting-room in the house; but in the houses of the wealthy it was distinct from the private apartments, and was used as a reception-room, where the patron received his clients, and the great and noble the numerous visitors who were accustomed to call every morning to pay their respects or solicit favours. But though the atrium was not used by the wealthy as a sitting-room for the family, it still continued to be employed for many purposes which it had originally served. Thus the nuptial couch was placed in the atrium opposite the door, and also the instruments and materials for spinning and weaving, which were formerly carried on by the women of the family in this room. Here also the images of their ancestors were placed, and the focus or fire-place, which possessed a sacred character, being dedicated to the Lares of each family.--4. ALAE, wings, were small apartments or recesses on the left and right sides of the atrium.--5. TABLINUM was in all probability a recess or room at the further end of the atrium opposite the door leading into the hall, and was regarded as part of the atrium. It contained the family records and archives. With the tablinum the Roman house appears to have originally ceased; and the sleeping-rooms were probably arranged on each side of the atrium. But when the atrium and its surrounding rooms were used for the reception of clients and other public visitors, it became necessary to increase the size of the house; and the following rooms were accordingly added:--6. FAUCES appear to have been passages, which passed from the atrium to the peristylium or interior of the house.--7. PERISTYLIUM was in its general form like the atrium, but it was one-third greater in breadth, measured transversely, than in length. It was a court open to the sky in the middle; the open part, which was surrounded by columns, was larger than the impluvium in the atrium, and was frequently decorated with flowers and shrubs.--The arrangement of the rooms, which are next to be noticed, varied according to the taste and circumstances of the owner. It is therefore impossible to assign to them any regular place in the house.--1. CUBICULA, bed-chambers, appear to have been usually small. There were separate cubicula for the day and night; the latter were also called _dormitoria_.--2. TRICLINIA are treated of in a separate article. [TRICLINIUM.]--3. OECI, from the Greek οἶκος, were spacious halls or saloons borrowed from the Greeks, and were frequently used as triclinia. They were to have the same proportions as triclinia, but were to be more spacious on account of having columns, which triclinia had not.--4. EXEDRAE were rooms for conversation and the other purposes of society.--5. PINACOTHECA, a picture-gallery.--6, 7. BIBLIOTHECA and BALINEUM are treated of in separate articles.--8. CULINA, the kitchen.

The food was originally cooked in the atrium: but the progress of refinement afterwards led to the use of another part of the house for this purpose. In the kitchen of Pansa’s house at Pompeii, a stove for stews and similar preparations was found, very much like the charcoal stoves used in the present day. Before it lie a knife, a strainer, and a kind of frying-pan with four spherical cavities, as if it were meant to cook eggs.--9. COENACULA, properly signified rooms to dine in; but after it became the fashion to dine in the upper part of the house, the whole of the rooms above the ground-floor were called _coenacula_.--10. DIAETA, an apartment used for dining in, and for the other purposes of life. It appears to have been smaller than the triclinium. _Diaeta_ is also the name given by Pliny to rooms containing three or four bed-chambers (_cubicula_). Pleasure-houses or summer-houses are also called _diaetae_.--11. SOLARIA, properly places for basking in the sun, were terraces on the tops of houses. The preceding cut represents the atrium of a house at Pompeii. In the centre is the impluvium, and the passage at the further end is the ostium or entrance hall.--The preceding account of the different rooms, and especially of the arrangement of the atrium, tablinum, peristyle, &c., is best illustrated by the houses which have been disinterred at Pompeii. The ground-plan of one is accordingly subjoined.

Like most of the other houses at Pompeii, it had no vestibulum according to the meaning given above. 1. The _ostium_ or entrance-hall, which is six feet wide and nearly thirty long. Near the street-door there is a figure of a large fierce dog worked in mosaic on the pavement, and beneath it is written _Cave Canem_. The two large rooms on each side of the vestibule appear from the large openings in front of them to have been shops; they communicate with the entrance-hall, and were therefore probably occupied by the master of the house. 2. The _atrium_, which is about twenty-eight feet in length and twenty in breadth; its _impluvium_ is near the centre of the room, and its floor is paved with white tesserae, spotted with black. 3. Chambers for the use of the family, or intended for the reception of guests, who were entitled to claim hospitality. 4. A small room with a staircase leading up to the upper rooms. 5. _Alae._ 6. The _tablinum_. 7. The _fauces_. 8. Peristyle, with Doric columns and garden in the centre. The large room on the right of the peristyle is the triclinium; beside it is the kitchen; and the smaller apartments are cubicula and other rooms for the use of the family.--Having given a general description of the rooms of a Roman house, it remains to speak of the (1) floors, (2) walls, (3) ceilings, (4) windows, and (5) the mode of warming the rooms. For the doors, see JANUA.--(1.) The floor (_solum_) of a room was seldom boarded: it was generally covered with stone or marble, or mosaics. The common floors were paved with pieces of bricks, tiles, stones, &c., forming a kind of composition called _ruderatic_. Sometimes pieces of marble were imbedded in a composition ground, and these probably gave the idea of mosaics. As these floors were beaten down (_pavita_) with rammers (_fistucae_), the word _pavimentum_ became the general name for a floor. Mosaics, called by Pliny _lithostrota_ (λιθόστρωτα), though this word has a more extensive meaning, first came into use in Sulla’s time, who made one in the temple of Fortune at Praeneste. Mosaic work was afterwards called _Musivum opus_, and was most extensively employed.--(2.) The inner walls (_parietes_) of private rooms were frequently lined with slabs of marble, but were more usually covered by paintings, which in the time of Augustus were made upon the walls themselves. This practice was so common that we find even the small houses in Pompeii have paintings upon their walls.--(3.) The ceilings seem originally to have been left uncovered, the beams which supported the roof or the upper story being visible. Afterwards planks were placed across these beams at certain intervals, leaving hollow spaces, called _lacunaria_ or _laquearia_, which were frequently covered with gold and ivory, and sometimes with paintings. There was an arched ceiling in common use, called CAMARA.--(4.) The Roman houses had few windows (_fenestrae_). The principal apartments, the atrium, peristyle, &c., were lighted from above, and the cubicula and other small rooms generally derived their light from them, and not from windows looking into the street. The rooms only on the upper story seem to have been usually lighted by windows. The windows appear originally to have been merely openings in the wall, closed by means of shutters, which frequently had two leaves (_bifores fenestrae_). Windows were also sometimes covered by a kind of lattice or trellis work (_clathri_), and sometimes by net-work, to prevent serpents and other noxious reptiles from getting in. Afterwards, however, windows were made of a transparent stone, called _lapis specularis_ (mica); such windows were called _specularia_. Windows made of glass (_vitrum_) are first mentioned by Lactantius, who lived in the fourth century of the Christian era; but the discoveries at Pompeii prove that glass was used for windows under the early emperors.--(5.) The rooms were heated in winter in different ways; but the Romans had no stoves like ours. The cubicula, triclinia, and other rooms, which were intended for winter use, were built in that part of the house upon which the sun shone most; and in the mild climate of Italy this frequently enabled them to dispense with any artificial mode of warming the rooms. Rooms exposed to the sun in this way were sometimes called _heliocamini_. The rooms were sometimes heated by hot air, which was introduced by means of pipes from a furnace below, but more frequently by portable furnaces or braziers (_foculi_), in which coal or charcoal was burnt. The _caminus_ was also a kind of stove, in which wood appears to have been usually burnt, and probably only differed from the _foculus_ in being larger and fixed to one place. The rooms usually had no chimneys for carrying off the smoke, which escaped through the windows, doors, and openings in the roof; still chimneys do not appear to have been entirely unknown to the ancients, as some are said to have been found in the ruins of ancient buildings.

DŌNĀRĬA (ἀναθήματα or ἀνακείμενα), presents made to the gods, either by individuals or communities. Sometimes they are also called _dona_ or δῶρα. The belief that the gods were pleased with costly presents was as natural to the ancients as the belief that they could be influenced in their conduct towards men by the offering of sacrifices; and, indeed, both sprang from the same feeling. Presents were mostly given as tokens of gratitude for some favour which a god had bestowed on man; as, for instance, by persons who had recovered from illness or escaped from shipwreck; but some are also mentioned, which were intended to induce the deity to grant some especial favour. Almost all presents were dedicated in temples, to which in some places an especial building was added, in which these treasures were preserved. Such buildings were called θησαυροί(treasuries); and in the most frequented temples of Greece many states had their separate treasuries. The act of dedication was called ἀνατιθέναι, _donare_, _dedicare_, or _sacrare_.

DŌNĀTĪVUM. [CONGIARIUM.]

DORMĪTŌRĬA. [DOMUS.]

DOS (φερνή, προΐξ), dowry. (1) GREEK. In the Homeric times it was customary for the husband to purchase his wife from her relations, by gifts called ἕδνα or ἔεδνα. But at Athens, during the historical period, the contrary was the case; for every woman had to bring her husband some dowry, and so universal was the practice, that one of the chief distinctions between a wife and a παλλακή, or concubine, consisted in the former having a portion, whereas the latter had not; hence, persons who married wives without portions appear to have given them or their guardians an acknowledgment in writing by which the receipt of a portion was admitted. Moreover, poor heiresses were either married or portioned by their next of kin, according to a law, which fixed the amount of portion to be given at five minae by a Pentacosiomedimnus, three by a Horseman, and one and a half by a Zeugites. The husband had to give to the relatives or guardians of the wife security (ἀποτίμημα) for the dowry, which was not considered the property of the husband himself, but rather of his wife and children. The portion was returned to the wife in case of a divorce.--(2) ROMAN. The _dos_ among the Romans was every thing which on the occasion of a woman’s marriage was transferred by her, or by another person, to the husband. All the property of the wife which was not made dos continued to be her own, and was comprised under the name of _parapherna_. The dos upon its delivery became the husband’s property, and continued to be his so long as the marriage relation existed. In the case of divorce, the woman, or her relations, could bring an action for the restitution of the dos; and, accordingly, a woman whose dos was large (_dotata uxor_) had some influence over her husband, inasmuch as she had the power of divorcing herself, and thus of depriving him of the enjoyment of her property.

DRACHMA (δραχμή), the principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek states were the Attic and Aeginetan. The average value of the Attic drachma was 9¾_d._ of our money. It contained six obols (ὀβολοί); and the Athenians had separate silver coins, from four drachmae to a quarter of an obol. There were also silver pieces of two drachmae and four drachmae. (See tables.) The tetradrachm in later times was called _stater_. The latter word also signifies a gold coin, equal in value to twenty drachmae [STATER]. The obolos, in later times, was of bronze: but in the best times of Athens we only read of silver obols. The χαλκοῦς was a copper coin, and the eighth part of an obol. The Attic standard prevailed most in the maritime and commercial states. It was the standard of Philip’s gold, and was introduced by Alexander for silver also.--The Aeginetan standard appears to have been the prevalent one in early times: we are told that money was first coined at Aegina by order of Pheidon at Argos. In later times the Aeginetan standard was used in almost all the states of the Peloponnesus, except Corinth. The average value of the Aeginetan drachma was 1_s._ 1¾_d._ in our money; and the values of the different coins of this standard are as follows:--

| Shill. | Pence. | Farth.
½ Obol | - | 1 | 0·583
Obol | - | 2 | 1·166
Diobolus | - | 4 | 2·33
Triobolus | - | 6 | 2·5
Drachma | 1 | 1 | 3
Didrachm | 2 | 3 | 2

As the Romans reckoned in sesterces, so the Greeks generally reckoned by drachmae; and when a sum is mentioned in the Attic writers, without any specification of the unit, drachmae are usually meant.

DRĂCO. [SIGNA MILITARIA.]

DŬCĒNĀRĬI.--(1) The name given to the Roman procuratores, who received a salary of 200 sestertia. The procuratores first received a salary in the time of Augustus.--(2) A class or decuria of judices, first established by Augustus. They were so called because their property, as valued in the census, amounted only to 200 sestertia. They appear to have tried cases of small importance.

DŬCENTĒSĬMA. [CENTESIMA.]

DŬŎDĔCIM SCRIPTA. [LATRUNCULI.]

DŬŎDĔCIM TĂBŬLĀRUM LEX. [LEX.]

DUPLĀRĬI or DUPLĬCĀRĬI, were soldiers who received on account of their good conduct double allowance (_duplicia cibaria_), and perhaps in some cases double pay likewise.

DŬPONDĬUS. [AS.]

DUSSIS. [AS.]

DUUMVĬRI, or the two men, the name of various magistrates and functionaries at Rome, and in the coloniae and municipia. (1) DUUMVIRI JURI DICUNDO were the highest magistrates in the municipal towns. [COLONIA.]--(2) DUUMVIRI NAVALES, extraordinary magistrates, who were created, whenever occasion required, for the purpose of equipping and repairing the fleet. They appear to have been originally appointed by the consuls and dictators, but were first elected by the people, B.C. 311.--(3) DUUMVIRI PERDUELLIONIS. [PERDUELLIO.]--(4) DUUMVIRI QUINQUENNALES, were the censors in the municipal towns, and must not be confounded with the _duumviri juri dicundo_. [COLONIA.]--(5) DUUMVIRI SACRORUM originally had the charge of the Sibylline books. Their duties were afterwards discharged by the _decemviri sacris faciundis_. [DECEMVIRI.]--(6) DUUMVIRI were also appointed for the purpose of building or dedicating a temple.