Chapter XVIII: Part II: The Middle Ages and the Reformation. A.D. 1381-1593 (17)

FERCŬLUM (from _fer-o_) is applied to any kind of tray or platform used for carrying anything. Thus it is used to signify the tray or frame on which several dishes were brought in at once at dinner; and hence _fercula_ came to mean the number of courses at dinner, and even the dishes themselves. The ferculum was also used for carrying the images of the gods in the procession of the circus, the ashes of the dead in a funeral, and the spoils in a triumph; in all which cases it appears to have been carried on the shoulders or in the hands of men.

FĔRĔTRUM. [FUNUS.]

FĒRĬAE, holidays, were, generally speaking, days or seasons during which free-born Romans suspended their political transactions and their law-suits, and during which slaves enjoyed a cessation from labour. All feriae were thus _dies nefasti_. The feriae included all days consecrated to any deity; consequently all days on which public festivals were celebrated were feriae or dies feriati. But some of them, such as the feria vindemialis, and the feriae aestivae, seem to have had no direct connection with the worship of the gods. The nundinae, however, during the time of the kings and the early period of the republic, were feriae only for the populus, and days of business for the plebeians, until, by the Hortensian law, they became fasti or days of business for both orders. All _feriae publicae_, _i.e._ those which were observed by the whole nation, were divided into _feriae stativae_, _feriae conceptivae_, and _feriae imperativae_. _Feriae stativae_ or _statae_ were those which were held regularly, and on certain days marked in the calendar. To these belonged some of the great festivals, such as the Agonalia, Carmentalia, Lupercalia, &c. _Feriae conceptivae_ or _conceptae_ were held every year, but not on certain or fixed days, the time being every year appointed by the magistrates or priests. Among these we may mention the feriae Latinae, feriae Sementivae, Paganalia, and Compitalia. _Feriae imperativae_ were those which were held on certain emergencies at the command of the consuls, praetors, or of a dictator. The manner in which all public feriae were kept bears great analogy to the observance of our Sunday. The people visited the temples of the gods, and offered up their prayers and sacrifices. The most serious and solemn seem to have been the feriae imperativae, but all the others were generally attended with rejoicings and feasting. All kinds of business, especially law-suits, were suspended during the public feriae, as they were considered to pollute the sacred season. The most important of the holidays designated by the name of feriae, are the _Feriae Latinae_, or simply _Latinae_ (the original name was _Latiar_), which were said to have been instituted by the last Tarquin in commemoration of the alliance between the Romans and Latins. This festival, however, was of much higher antiquity; it was a panegyris, or a festival, of the whole Latin nation, celebrated on the Alban mount; and all that the last Tarquin did was to convert the original Latin festival into a Roman one, and to make it the means of hallowing and cementing the alliance between the two nations. Before the union, the chief magistrate of the Latins had presided at the festival; but Tarquin now assumed this distinction, which subsequently, after the destruction of the Latin commonwealth, remained with the chief magistrates of Rome. The object of this panegyris on the Alban mount was the worship of Jupiter Latiaris, and, at least as long as the Latin republic existed, to deliberate and decide on matters of the confederacy, and to settle any disputes which might have arisen among its members. As the feriae Latinae belonged to the conceptivae, the time of their celebration greatly depended on the state of affairs at Rome, since the consuls were never allowed to take the field until they had held the Latinae. This festival was a great engine in the hands of the magistrates, who had to appoint the time of its celebration (_concipere_, _edicere_, or _indicere Latinas_); as it might often suit their purpose either to hold the festival at a particular time or to delay it, in order to prevent or delay such public proceedings as seemed injurious and pernicious, and to promote others to which they were favourably disposed. The festival lasted six days.

FESCENNINA, scil. _carmina_, one of the earliest kinds of Italian poetry, which consisted of rude and jocose verses, or rather dialogues of extempore verses, in which the merry country folks assailed and ridiculed one another. This amusement seems originally to have been peculiar to country people, but it was also introduced into the towns of Italy and at Rome, where we find it mentioned as one of those in which young people indulged at weddings.

FĒTĬĀLES or FĒCĬĀLES, a college of Roman priests, who acted as the guardians of the public faith. It was their province, when any dispute arose with a foreign state, to demand satisfaction, to determine the circumstances under which hostilities might be commenced, to perform the various religious rites attendant on the solemn declaration of war, and to preside at the formal ratification of peace. When an injury had been received from a foreign state, four fetiales were deputed to seek redress, who again elected one of their number to act as their representative. This individual was styled the _pater patratus populi Romani_. A fillet of white wool was bound round his head, together with a wreath of sacred herbs gathered within the inclosure of the Capitoline hill (_Verbenae_; _Sagmina_), whence he was sometimes named _Verbenarius_. Thus equipped, he proceeded to the confines of the offending tribe, where he halted, and addressed a prayer to Jupiter, calling the god to witness, with heavy imprecations, that his complaints were well founded and his demands reasonable. He then crossed the border, and the same form was repeated in nearly the same words to the first native of the soil whom he might chance to meet; again a third time to the sentinel or any citizen whom he encountered at the gate of the chief town; and a fourth time to the magistrates in the forum in presence of the people. If a satisfactory answer was not returned within thirty days, after publicly delivering a solemn denunciation of what might be expected to follow, he returned to Rome, and, accompanied by the rest of the fetiales, made a report of his mission to the senate. If the people, as well as the senate, decided for war, the pater patratus again set forth to the border of the hostile territory, and launched a spear tipped with iron, or charred at the extremity and smeared with blood (emblematic doubtless of fire and slaughter), across the boundary, pronouncing at the same time a solemn declaration of war. The demand for redress, and the proclamation of hostilities, were alike termed _clarigatio_. The whole system is said to have been borrowed from the Aequicolae or the Ardeates, and similar usages undoubtedly prevailed among the Latin states. The number of the fetiales cannot be ascertained with certainty, but they were probably twenty. They were originally selected from the most noble families, and their office lasted for life.

FĪBŬLA (περόνη, πόρπη), a brooch or buckle, consisting of a pin (_acus_), and of a curved portion furnished with a hook (κλείς).

FICTĬLE (κεράμος, κεράμιον, ὄστρακον, ὀστράκινον), earthenware, a vessel or other article made of baked clay. The instruments used in pottery (_ars figulina_) were the following:--1. The wheel (τροχός, _orbis_, _rota_, _rota figularis_). 2. Pieces of wood or bone, which the potter (κεραμεύς, _figulus_) held in his right hand, and applied occasionally to the surface of the clay during its revolution. 3. Moulds (_formae_, τύποι), used either to decorate with figures in relief vessels which had been thrown on the wheel, or to produce foliage, animals, or any other appearances, on Antefixa, on cornices of terra cotta, and imitative or ornamental pottery of all other kinds, in which the wheel was not adapted to give the first shape. 4. Gravers or scalpels, used by skilful modellers in giving to figures of all kinds a more perfect finish and a higher relief than could be produced by the use of moulds. The earth used for making pottery (κεράμικη γῆ), was commonly red, and often of so lively a colour as to resemble coral. Other pottery is brown or cream-coloured, and sometimes white. Some of the ancient earthenware is throughout its substance black, an effect produced by mixing the earth with comminuted asphaltum (_gagates_), or with some other bituminous or oleaginous substance. It appears also that asphaltum, with pitch and tar, both mineral and vegetable, was used to cover the surface like a varnish. The best pottery was manufactured at Athens, in the island of Samos, and in Etruria. A quarter of Athens was called Cerameicus, because it was inhabited by potters. Vessels, before being sent for the last time to the furnace, were sometimes immersed in that finely prepared mud, now technically called “slip,” by which the surface is both smoothed and glazed, and at the same time receives a fresh colour. Ruddle, or red ochre (μίλτος, _rubrica_), was principally employed for this purpose. To produce a further variety in the paintings upon vases the artists employed a few brightly coloured earths and metallic ores. [PICTURA.]

FĬDEICOMMISSUM may be defined to be a testamentary disposition, by which a person who gives a thing to another imposes on him the obligation of transferring it to a third person. The obligation was not created by words of legal binding force (_civilia verba_), but by words of request (_precativè_), such as _fideicommitto_, _peto_, _volo dari_, and the like; which were the operative words (_verba utilia_).

FĪDŪCĬA. If a man transferred his property to another, on condition that it should be restored to him, this contract was called Fiducia, and the person to whom the property was so transferred was said _fiduciam accipere_. The trustee was bound to discharge his trust by restoring the thing: if he did not, he was liable to an actio fiduciae or fiduciaria, which was an actio bonae fidei. If the trustee was condemned in the action, the consequence was infamia.

FISCUS, the imperial treasury. Under the republic the public treasury was called _Aerarium_. [AERARIUM.] On the establishment of the imperial power, there was a division of the provinces between the senate, as the representative of the old republic, and the Caesar or emperor; and there was consequently a division of the most important branches of public income and expenditure. The property of the senate retained the name of _Aerarium_, and that of the Caesar, as such, received the name of _Fiscus_. The private property of the Caesar (_res privata principis, ratio Caesaris_) was quite distinct from that of the fiscus. The word fiscus signified a wicker-basket, or pannier, in which the Romans were accustomed to keep and carry about large sums of money; and hence fiscus came to signify any person’s treasure or money chest. The importance of the imperial fiscus soon led to the practice of appropriating the name to that property which the Caesar claimed as Caesar, and the word fiscus, without any adjunct, was used in this sense. Ultimately the word came to signify generally the property of the state, the Caesar having concentrated in himself all the sovereign power, and thus the word fiscus finally had the same signification as aerarium in the republican period. Various officers, as Procuratores, Advocati, Patroni, and Praefecti, were employed in the administration of the fiscus.

FLĀBELLUM, _dim._ FLĀBELLŬLUM, (ῥιπίς), a fan. Fans were of elegant forms, of delicate colours, and sometimes of costly and splendid materials, such as peacock’s feathers; but they were stiff and of a fixed shape, and were held by female slaves (_flabelliferae_), by beautiful boys, or by eunuchs, whose duty it was to wave them so as to produce a cooling breeze. Besides separate feathers the ancient fan was sometimes made of linen, extended upon a light frame.

FLAGRUM, _dim._ FLĂGELLUM (μάστιξ), a whip, a scourge, to the handle of which was fixed a lash made of cords (_funibus_), or thongs of leather (_loris_), especially thongs made from the ox’s hide (_bubulis exuviis_). The _flagellum_ properly so called was a dreadful instrument, and is thus put in opposition to the _scutica_, which was a simple whip. (Hor. _Sat._ i. 3. 119.) Cicero in like manner contrasts the severe _flagella_ with the _virgae_. The flagellum was chiefly used in the punishment of slaves. It was knotted with bones or heavy indented circles of bronze or terminated by hooks, in which case it was aptly denominated a _scorpion_. We likewise find that some gladiators fought with the flagella, as in the coin here introduced.

FLĀMEN, the name for any Roman priest who was devoted to the service of one particular god, and who received a distinguishing epithet from the deity to whom he ministered. The most dignified were those attached to Dijovis, Mars, and Quirinus, the _Flamen Dialis_, _Flamen Martialis_, and _Flamen Quirinalis_. They are said to have been established by Numa. The number was eventually increased to fifteen: the three original flamens were always chosen from among the patricians, and styled _Majores_; the rest from the plebeians, with the epithet _Minores_. Among the minores, we read of the _Flamen Floralis_, the _Flamen Carmentalis_, &c. The flamens were elected originally at the Comitia Curiata, but it is conjectured that subsequently to the passing of the _Lex Domitia_ (B.C. 104) they were chosen in the Comitia Tributa. After being nominated by the people, they were received (_capti_) and installed (_inaugurabantur_) by the pontifex maximus, to whose authority they were at all times subject. The office was understood to last for life; but a flamen might be compelled to resign (_flaminio abire_) for a breach of duty, or even on account of the occurrence of an ill-omened accident while discharging his functions. Their characteristic dress was the _apex_ [APEX], the _laena_ [LAENA], and a laurel wreath. The most distinguished of all the flamens was the _Dialis_; the lowest in rank the _Pomonalis_. The former enjoyed many peculiar honours. When a vacancy occurred, three persons of patrician descent, whose parents had been married according to the ceremonies of _confarreatio_, were nominated by the Comitia, one of whom was selected (_captus_), and consecrated (_inaugurabatur_) by the pontifex maximus. From that time forward he was emancipated from the control of his father, and became sui juris. He alone of all priests wore the _albogalerus_; he had a right to a _lictor_, to the _toga praetexta_, the _sella curulis_, and to a seat in the senate in virtue of his office. If one in bonds took refuge in his house, his chains were immediately struck off. To counterbalance these high honours, the dialis was subjected to a multitude of restrictions. It was unlawful for him to be out of the city for a single night; and he was forbidden to sleep out of his own bed for three nights consecutively. He might not mount upon horseback, nor even touch a horse, nor look upon an army marshalled without the pomoerium, and hence was seldom elected to the consulship. The object of the above rules was manifestly to make him literally _Jovi adsiduum sacerdotem_; to compel constant attention to the duties of the priesthood. _Flaminica_ was the name given to the wife of the dialis. He was required to wed a virgin according to the ceremonies of _confarreatio_, which regulation also applied to the two other flamines majores; and he could not marry a second time. Hence, since her assistance was essential in the performance of certain ordinances, a divorce was not permitted, and if she died, the dialis was obliged to resign. The municipal towns also had their flamens. Thus the celebrated affray between Milo and Clodius took place while the former was on his way to Lanuvium, of which he was then dictator, to declare the election of a flamen (_ad flaminem prodendum_).

FLAMMEUM. [MATRIMONIUM.]

FLŌRĀLĬA, or Florales Ludi, a festival which was celebrated at Rome in honour of Flora or Chloris, during five days, beginning on the 28th of April and ending on the 2nd of May. It was said to have been instituted at Rome in 238 B.C., at the command of an oracle in the Sibylline books, for the purpose of obtaining from the goddess the protection of the blossoms. The celebration was, as usual, conducted by the aediles, and was carried on with excessive merriment, drinking, and lascivious games.

FŌCĀLĔ, a covering for the ears and neck, made of wool, and worn by infirm, and delicate persons.

FŎCUS, _dim._ FOCŬLUS (ἑστία, ἐσχάρα, ἐσχαρίς), a fire-place; a hearth; a brazier. The fire-place possessed a sacred character, and was dedicated among the Romans to the Lares of each family. Moveable hearths, or braziers, properly called _foculi_, were frequently used.

FOEDĔRĀTAE CĪVĬTĀTES, FOEDĔRĀTI, SŎCĬI. In the seventh century of Rome these names expressed those Italian states which were connected with Rome by a treaty (_foedus_). These names did not include Roman colonies or Latin colonies, or any place which had obtained the Roman civitas or citizenship. Among the _foederati_ were the _Latini_, who were the most nearly related to the Romans, and were designated by this distinctive name; the rest of the foederati were comprised under the collective name of _Socii_ or _Foederati_. They were independent states, yet under a general liability to furnish a contingent to the Roman army. Thus they contributed to increase the power of Rome, but they had not the privileges of Roman citizens. The discontent among the foederati, and their claims to be admitted to the privileges of Roman citizens, led to the Social War. The Julia Lex (B.C. 90) gave the civitas to the Socii and Latini; and a lex of the following year contained, among other provisions, one for the admission to the Roman civitas of those peregrini who were entered on the lists of the citizens of federate states, and who complied with the provisions of the lex. [CIVITAS.]

FOENUS. [FENUS.]

FOLLIS--(1) An inflated ball of leather, which boys and old men among the Romans threw from one to another as a gentle exercise of the body.--(2) A leather purse or bag.--(3) A pair of bellows, consisting of two inflated skins, and having valves adjusted to the natural apertures at one part for admitting the air, and a pipe inserted into another part for its emission.

FONS (κρήνη), a spring of water, and also an artificial fountain, made either by covering and decorating a spring with buildings and sculpture, or by making a jet or stream of water, supplied by an elevated cistern, play into an artificial basin. Such fountains served the double purpose of use and ornament. They were covered to keep them pure and cool, and the covering was frequently in the form of a monopteral temple: there were also statues, the subjects of which were suggested by the circumstance that every fountain was sacred to some divinity, or they were taken from the whole range of mythological legends. A very large proportion of the immense supply of water brought to Rome by the aqueducts was devoted to the public fountains, which were divided into two classes; namely, _lacus_, ponds or reservoirs, and _salientes_, jets of water, besides which many of the castella were so constructed as to be also fountains. There were also many small private fountains in the houses and villas of the wealthy.

FŎRES. [DOMUS.]

FORNĀCĀLĬA, a festival in honour of Fornax, the goddess of furnaces, in order that the corn might be properly baked. This ancient festival is said to have been instituted by Numa. The time for its celebration was proclaimed every year by the curio maximus, who announced in tablets, which were placed in the forum, the different part which each curia had to take in the celebration of the festival. Those persons who did not know to what curia they belonged performed the sacred rites on the _Quirinalia_, called from this circumstance the _Stultorum feriae_, which fell on the last day of the Fornacalia.

FORNIX, in its primary sense, is synonymous with ARCUS, but more commonly implies an arched vault, constituting both roof and ceiling to the apartment which it encloses.

FŎRUM. [See CLASSICAL DICT.]

FRĂMĔA. [HASTA.]

FRĀTRES ARVĀLES. [ARVALES FRATRES.]

FRĒNUM (χαλινός), a bridle. That Bellerophon might be enabled to perform the exploits required of him by the king of Lycia, he was presented by Athena with a bridle as the means of subduing the winged horse Pegasus, who submitted to receive it whilst he was slaking his thirst at the fountain Peirene. Such was the Grecian account of the invention of the bridle, and in reference to it Athena was worshipped at Corinth, under the titles Ἵππια and Χαλινῖτις. The bit (_orea_, δῆγμα, στόμιον), was commonly made of several pieces, and flexible, so as not to hurt the horse’s mouth; although there was likewise a bit which was armed with protuberances resembling wolves’ teeth, and therefore called _lupatum_.

FRĪGĬDĀRĬUM. [BALNEUM.]

FRĬTILLUS (φιμός), a dice-box of a cylindrical form, and therefore called also _turricula_, or _pyrgus_, and formed with parallel indentations (_gradus_) on the inside, so as to make a rattling noise when the dice were shaken in it.

FRŪMENTĀRĬAE LEGES. The supply of corn at Rome was considered one of the duties of the government. The superintendence of the corn-market belonged in ordinary times to the aediles, but when great scarcity prevailed, an extraordinary officer was appointed for the purpose under the title of _Praefectus Annonae_. Even in early times it had been usual for the state on certain occasions, and for wealthy individuals, to make occasional donations of corn to the people (_donatio_, _largitio_, _divisio_; subsequently called _frumentatio_). But such donations were only casual; and it was not till B.C. 123, that the first legal provision was made for supplying the poor at Rome with corn at a price much below its market value. In that year C. Sempronius Gracchus brought forward the first _Lex Frumentaria_, by which each citizen was entitled to receive every month a certain quantity of wheat (_triticum_) at the price of 6⅓ asses for the modius, which was equal to 1 gallon and nearly 8 pints English. This was only a trifle more than half the market price. Each person probably received five modii monthly, as in later times. About B.C. 91, the tribune M. Octavius brought forward the _Lex Octavia_, which modified the law of Gracchus to some extent, so that the public treasury did not suffer so much. Sulla went still further, and by his _Lex Cornelia_, B.C. 82, did away altogether with these distributions of corn; but in B.C. 73, the Lex Sempronia was renewed by the _Lex Terentia Cassia_, which enacted that each Roman citizen should receive 5 modii a month at the price of 6⅓ asses for each modius. The Leges Frumentariae had _sold_ corn to the people; but by the _Lex Clodia_ of the tribune Clodius, B.C. 58, the corn was distributed without any payment; the abolition of the payment cost the state a fifth part of its revenues. When Caesar became master of the Roman world, he resolved to remedy the evils attending the system, so far as he was able. He did not venture to abolish altogether these distributions of corn, but he did the next best thing in his power, which was reducing the number of the recipients. During the civil wars numbers of persons, who had no claim to the Roman franchise, had settled at Rome in order to obtain a share in the distributions. Caesar excluded from this privilege every person who could not prove that he was a Roman citizen; and thus the 320,000 persons, who had previously received the corn, were at once reduced to 150,000. The useful regulations of Caesar fell into neglect after his death; and in B.C. 5, the number of recipients had amounted to 320,000. But in B.C. 2, Augustus reduced the number of recipients to 200,000, and renewed many of Caesar’s regulations. The chief of them seem to have been: 1. That every citizen should receive monthly a certain quantity of corn (probably 5 modii) on the payment of a certain small sum. Occasionally, in seasons of scarcity, or in order to confer a particular favour, Augustus made these distributions quite gratuitous; they then became _congiaria_. [CONGIARIUM.] 2. That those who were completely indigent should receive the corn gratuitously, and should be furnished for the purpose with _tesserae nummariae_ or _frumentariae_, which entitled them to the corn without payment. The system which had been established by Augustus, was followed by his successors; but as it was always one of the first maxims of the state policy of the Roman emperors to prevent any disturbance in the capital, they frequently lowered the price of the public corn, and also distributed it gratuitously as a _congiarium_. Hence, the cry of the populace _panem et circenses_. In course of time, the sale of the corn by the state seems to have ceased altogether, and the distribution became altogether gratuitous. Every corn-receiver was therefore now provided with a _tessera_, and this tessera, when once granted to him, became his property. Hence it came to pass, that he was not only allowed to keep the tessera for life, but even to dispose of it by sale, and bequeath it by will. Every citizen was competent to hold a tessera, with the exception of senators. Further, as the corn had been originally distributed to the people according to the thirty-five tribes into which they were divided, the corn-receivers in each tribe formed a kind of corporation, which came eventually to be looked upon as the tribe, when the tribes had lost all political significance. Hence, the purchase of a tessera became equivalent to the purchase of a place in a tribe; and, accordingly, we find in the Digest the expressions _emere tribum_ and _emere tesseram_ used as synonymous. Another change was also introduced at a later period, which rendered the bounty still more acceptable to the people. Instead of distributing the corn every month, wheaten bread, called _annona civica_, was given to the people. It is uncertain at what time this change was introduced, but it seems to have been the custom before the reign of Aurelian (A.D. 270-275).

FRŪMENTĀRĬI, officers under the Roman empire, who acted as spies in the provinces, and reported to the emperors anything which they considered of importance. They appear to have been called _Frumentarii_ because it was their duty to collect information in the same way as it was the duty of other officers, called by the same name, to collect corn.

FŪCUS (φῦκος), the paint which the Greek and Roman ladies employed in painting their cheeks, eye-brows, and other parts of their faces. The practice of painting the face was very general among the Greek ladies, and probably came into fashion in consequence of their sedentary mode of life, which robbed their complexions of their natural freshness, and induced them to have recourse to artificial means for restoring the red and white of nature. The eye-brows and eye-lids were stained black with στίμμι or στίμμις, a sulphuret of antimony, which is still employed by the Turkish ladies for the same purpose. The eye-brows were likewise stained with ἄσβολος, a preparation of soot. Among the Romans the art of painting the complexion was carried to a still greater extent than among the Greeks, and even Ovid did not disdain to write a poem on the subject, which he calls (_de Art. Am._ iii. 206) “parvus, sed cura grande, libellus, opus;” though the genuineness of the fragment of the _Medicamina faciei_, ascribed to this poet, is doubtful. The Roman ladies even went so far as to paint with blue the veins on the temples. The ridiculous use of patches (_splenia_), which were common among the English ladies in the reign of Queen Anne and the first Georges, was not unknown to the Roman ladies. The more effeminate of the male sex at Rome, and likewise in Greece, also employed paint.

FŬGA LĀTA. [EXSILIUM.]

FŬGA LĪBĔRA. [EXSILIUM.]

FŬGĬTĪVUS. [SERVUS.]

FULLO (κναφεύς, γναφεύς), also called NACCA, a fuller, a washer or scourer of cloth and linen. The fullones not only received the cloth as it came from the loom in order to scour and smooth it, but also washed and cleansed garments which had been already worn. The clothes were first washed, which was done in tubs or vats, where they were trodden upon and stamped by the feet of the fullones, whence Seneca speaks of _saltus fullonicus_. The ancients were not acquainted with soap, but they used in its stead different kinds of alkali, by which the dirt was more easily separated from the clothes. Of these, by far the most common was the urine of men and animals, which was mixed with the water in which the clothes were washed. When the clothes were dry, the wool was brushed and carded to raise the nap, sometimes with the skin of a hedgehog, and sometimes with some plants of the thistle kind. The clothes were then hung on a vessel of basket-work (_viminea cavea_), under which sulphur was placed in order to whiten the cloth. A fine white earth, called Cimolian by Pliny, was often rubbed into the cloth to increase its whiteness. The establishment or workshop of the fullers was called _Fullonica_, _Fullonicum_, or _Fullonimn_. The Greeks were also accustomed to send their garments to fullers to be washed and scoured. The word πλύνειν denoted the washing of linen, and κναφεύειν or γναφεύειν the washing of woollen clothes.

FŪNAMBŬLUS (καλοβάτης σχοινοβάτης), a rope-dancer. The art of dancing on the tight-rope was carried to as great perfection among the Romans as it is with us. The performers placed themselves in an endless variety of graceful and sportive attitudes, and represented the characters of bacchanals, satyrs, and other imaginary beings. One of the most difficult exploits was running down the rope at the conclusion of the performance. It was a strange attempt of Germanicus and of the emperor Galba to exhibit elephants walking on the rope.

FUNDA (σφενδόνη), a sling. Slingers are not mentioned in the Iliad; but the light troops of the Greek and Roman armies consisted in great part of slingers (_funditores_, σφενδονήται). The most celebrated slingers were the inhabitants of the Balearic islands. Besides stones, plummets, called _glandes_ (μολυβδίδες), of a form between acorns and almonds, were cast in moulds to be thrown with slings. The manner in which the sling was wielded may be seen in the annexed figure of a soldier with a provision of stones in the sinus of his pallium, and with his arm extended in order to whirl the sling about his head.

FUNDĬTŌRES. [FUNDA.]

FŪNUS, a funeral.--(1) GREEK. The Greeks attached great importance to the burial of the dead. They believed that souls could not enter the Elysian fields till their bodies had been buried; and so strong was this feeling among the Greeks, that it was considered a religious duty to throw earth upon a dead body, which a person might happen to find unburied; and among the Athenians, those children who were released from all other obligations to unworthy parents, were nevertheless bound to bury them by one of Solon’s laws. The neglect of burying one’s relatives is frequently mentioned by the orators as a grave charge against the moral character of a man; in fact, the burial of the body by the relations of the dead was considered one of the most sacred duties by the universal law of the Greeks. Sophocles represents Antigone as disregarding all consequences in order to bury the dead body of her brother Polyneices, which Creon, the king of Thebes, had commanded to be left unburied. The common expressions for the funeral rites, τὰ δίκαια, νόμιμα or νομιζόμενα, προσήκοντα, show that the dead had, as it were, a legal and moral claim to burial. After a person was dead, it was the custom first to place in his mouth an obolus, called _danace_ (δανάκη), with which he might pay the ferryman in Hades. The body was then washed and anointed with perfumed oil, the head was crowned with the flowers which happened to be in season, and the body dressed in as handsome a robe as the family could afford. These duties were not performed by hired persons, like the _pollinctores_ among the Romans, but by the women of the family, upon whom the care of the corpse always devolved. The corpse was then laid out (πρόθεσις, προτίθεσθαι) on a bed, which appears to have been of the ordinary kind, with a pillow for supporting the head and back. By the side of the bed there were placed painted earthen vessels, called λήκυθοι, which were also buried with the corpse. Great numbers of these painted vases have been found in modern times; and they have been of great use in explaining many matters connected with antiquity. A honey-cake, called μελιττοῦτα, which appears to have been intended for Cerberus, was also placed by the side of the corpse. Before the door a vessel of water was placed, called ὄστρακον, ἀρδάλιον or ἀρδάνιον, in order that persons who had been in the house might purify themselves by sprinkling water on their persons. The relatives stood around the bed, the women uttering great lamentations, rending their garments, and tearing their hair. On the day after the πρόθεσις, or the third day after death, the corpse was carried out (ἐκφορά, ἐκκομιδή) for burial, early in the morning and before sunrise. A burial soon after death was supposed to be pleasing to the dead. In some places it appears to have been usual to bury the dead on the day following death. The men walked before the corpse, and the women behind. The funeral procession was preceded or followed by hired mourners (θρηνῳδοί), who appear to have been usually Carian women, playing mournful tunes on the flute. The body was either buried or burnt. The word θάπτειν is used in connection with either mode; it is applied to the collection of the ashes after burning, and accordingly we find the words καίειν and θάπτειν used together. The proper expression for interment in the earth is κατορύττειν. In Homer the bodies of the dead are burnt; but interment was also used in very ancient times. Cicero says that the dead were buried at Athens in the time of Cecrops; and we also read of the bones of Orestes being found in a coffin at Tegea. The dead were commonly buried among the Spartans and the Sicyonians, and the prevalence of this practice is proved by the great number of skeletons found in coffins in modern times, which have evidently not been exposed to the action of fire. Both burning and burying appear to have been always used to a greater or less extent at different periods; till the spread of Christianity at length put an end to the former practice. The dead bodies were usually burnt on piles of wood, called _pyres_ (πυραί). The body was placed on the top; and in the heroic times it was customary to burn with the corpse animals and even captives or slaves. Oils and perfumes were also thrown into the flames. When the pyre was burnt down, the remains of the fire were quenched with wine, and the relatives and friends collected the bones. The bones were then washed with wine and oil, and placed in urns, which were sometimes made of gold. The corpses which were not burnt were buried in coffins, which were called by various names, as σοροί, πύελοι, ληνοί, λάρνακες, δροῖται, though some of these names are also applied to the urns in which the bones were collected. They were made of various materials, but were usually of baked clay or earthenware. The following woodcut contains two of the most ancient kind; the figure in the middle is the section of one. The dead were usually buried outside the town, as it was thought that their presence in the city brought pollution to the living. At Athens none were allowed to be buried within the city; but Lycurgus, in order to remove all superstition respecting the presence of the dead, allowed of burial in Sparta. Persons who possessed lands in Attica were frequently buried in them, and we therefore read of tombs in the fields. Tombs, however, were most frequently built by the side of roads, and near the gates of the city. At Athens, the most common place of burial was outside of the Itonian gate, near the road leading to the Peiraeeus, which gate was for that reason called the burial gate. Those who had fallen in battle were buried at the public expense in the outer Cerameicus, on the road leading to the Academia. Tombs were called θῆκαι, τάφοι, μνήματα, μνημεῖα, σήματα. Many of these were only mounds of earth or stones (χώματα, κολῶναι τύμβοι). Others were built of stone, and frequently ornamented with great taste. Some Greek tombs were built under ground, and called _hypogea_ (ὑπόγαια or ὑπόγεια). They correspond to the Roman _conditoria_. The monuments erected over the graves of persons were usually of four kinds: 1. στῆλαι, pillars or upright stone tablets; 2. κίονες, columns; 3. ναΐδια or ἡρῷα, small buildings in the form of temples; and 4. τράπεζαι, flat square stones, called by Cicero _mensae_. The term στῆλαι is sometimes applied to all kinds of funeral monuments, but properly designates upright stone tablets, which were usually terminated with an oval heading, called ἐπίθημα. The epithema was frequently ornamented with a kind of arabesque work, as in the preceding specimen. The κίονες, or columns, were of various forms, as is shown by the two specimens in the annexed cut.

The inscriptions upon these funeral monuments usually contain the name of the deceased person, and that of the demus to which he belonged, as well as frequently some account of his life. The following example of an ἡρῷον will give a general idea of monuments of this kind.--Orations in praise of the dead were sometimes pronounced; but Solon ordained that such orations should be confined to persons who were honoured with a public funeral. In the heroic ages games were celebrated at the funeral of a great man, as in the case of Patroclus; but this practice does not seem to have been usual in the historical times.--All persons who had been engaged in funerals were considered polluted, and could not enter the temples of the gods till they had been purified. After the funeral was over, the relatives partook of a feast, which was called περίδειπνον or νεκρόδειπνον. This feast was always given at the house of the nearest relative of the deceased.

Thus the relatives of those who had fallen at the battle of Chaeroneia partook of the περίδειπνον at the house of Demosthenes, as if he were the nearest relative to them all. On the second day after the funeral a sacrifice to the dead was offered, called τρίτα; but the principal sacrifice to the dead was on the ninth day, called ἔννατα or ἔνατα. The mourning for the dead appears to have lasted till the thirtieth day after the funeral, on which day sacrifices were again offered. At Sparta the time of mourning was limited to eleven days. During the time of mourning it was considered indecorous for the relatives of the deceased to appear in public; they were accustomed to wear a black dress, and in ancient times they cut off their hair as a sign of grief.--The tombs were preserved by the family to which they belonged with the greatest care, and were regarded as among the strongest ties which attached a man to his native land. In the Docimasia of the Athenian archons it was always a subject of inquiry whether they had kept in proper repair the tombs of their ancestors. On certain days the tombs were crowned with flowers, and offerings were made to the dead, consisting of garlands of flowers and various other things. The act of offering these presents was called ἐναγίζειν, and the offerings themselves ἐναγίσματα, or more commonly χοαί. The γενέσια mentioned by Herodotus appear to have consisted in offerings of the same kind, which were presented on the anniversary of the birth-day of the deceased. The νεκύσια were probably offerings on the anniversary of the day of the death; though, according to some writers, the νεκύσια were the same as the γενέσια. Certain criminals, who were put to death by the state, were also deprived of the rights of burial, which was considered as an additional punishment. There were certain places, both at Athens and Sparta, where the dead bodies of such criminals were cast. A person who had committed suicide was not deprived of burial, but the hand with which he had killed himself was cut off and buried by itself.--(2) ROMAN. When a Roman was at the point of death, his nearest relation present endeavoured to catch the last breath with his mouth. The ring was taken off the finger of the dying person; and as soon as he was dead his eyes and mouth were closed by the nearest relation, who called upon the deceased by name, exclaiming _have_ or _vale_. The corpse was then washed, and anointed with oil and perfumes, by slaves, called _pollinctores_, who belonged to the _libitinarii_, or undertakers. The libitinarii appear to have been so called because they dwelt near the temple of Venus Libitina, where all things requisite for funerals were sold. Hence we find the expressions _vitare Libitinam_ and _evadere Libitinam_ used in the sense of escaping death. At this temple an account (_ratio, ephemeris_) was kept of those who died, and a small sum was paid for the registration of their names. A small coin was then placed in the mouth of the corpse, in order to pay the ferryman in Hades, and the body was laid out on a couch in the vestibule of the house, with its feet towards the door, and dressed in the best robe which the deceased had worn when alive. Ordinary citizens were dressed in a white toga, and magistrates in their official robes. If the deceased had received a crown while alive as a reward for his bravery, it was now placed on his head; and the couch on which he was laid was sometimes covered with leaves and flowers. A branch of cypress was also usually placed at the door of the house, if he was a person of consequence. Funerals were usually called _funera justa_ or _exsequiae_; the latter term was generally applied to the funeral procession (_pompa funebris_). There were two kinds of funerals, public and private; of which the former was called _funus publicum_ or _indictivum_, because the people were invited to it by a herald; the latter _funus tacitum_, _translatitium_, or _plebeium_. A person appears to have usually left a certain sum of money in his will to pay the expenses of his funeral; but if he did not do so, nor appoint any one to bury him, this duty devolved upon the persons to whom the property was left, and if he died without a will, upon his relations, according to their order of succession to the property. The expenses of the funeral were in such cases decided by an arbiter, according to the property and rank of the deceased, whence _arbitria_ is used to signify the funeral expenses.--The following description of the mode in which a funeral was conducted only applies strictly to the funerals of the great; the same pomp and ceremony could not of course be observed in the case of persons in ordinary circumstances. All funerals in ancient times were performed at night, but afterwards the poor only were buried at night, because they could not afford to have any funeral procession. The corpse was usually carried out of the house (_efferebatur_) on the eighth day after the death. The order of the funeral procession was regulated by a person called _designator_ or _dominus funeris_, who was attended by lictors dressed in black. It was headed by musicians of various kinds (_cornicines, siticines_), who played mournful strains, and next came mourning women, called _praeficae_, who were hired to lament and sing the funeral song (_naenia_ or _lessus_) in praise of the deceased. These were sometimes followed by players and buffoons (_scurrae, histriones_), of whom one, called _archimimus_, represented the character of the deceased, and imitated his words and actions. Then came the slaves whom the deceased had liberated, wearing the cap of liberty (_pileati_); the number of whom was occasionally very great, since a master sometimes liberated all his slaves, in his will, in order to add to the pomp of his funeral. Before the corpse the images of the deceased and of his ancestors were carried, and also the crowns or military rewards which he had gained. The corpse was carried on a couch (_lectica_), to which the name of _feretrum_ or _capulum_ was usually given; but the bodies of poor citizens and of slaves were carried on a common kind of bier or coffin, called _sandapila_. The _sandapila_ was carried by bearers, called _vespae_ or _vespillones_, because they carried out the corpses in the evening (_vespertino tempore_). The couches on which the corpses of the rich were carried were sometimes made of ivory, and covered with gold and purple. They were often carried on the shoulders of the nearest relations of the deceased, and sometimes on those of his freedmen. Julius Caesar was carried by the magistrates, and Augustus by the senators. The relations of the deceased walked behind the corpse in mourning; his sons with their heads veiled, and his daughters with their heads bare and their hair dishevelled, contrary to the ordinary practice of both. They often uttered loud lamentations, and the women beat their breasts and tore their cheeks, though this was forbidden by the Twelve Tables. If the deceased was of illustrious rank, the funeral procession went through the forum, and stopped before the _rostra_, where a funeral oration (_laudatio_) in praise of the deceased was delivered. This practice was of great antiquity among the Romans, and is said by some writers to have been first introduced by Publicola, who pronounced a funeral oration in honour of his colleague Brutus. Women also were honoured by funeral orations. From the Forum the corpse was carried to the place of burning or burial, which, according to a law of the Twelve Tables, was obliged to be outside the city. The Romans in the most ancient times buried their dead, though they also early adopted, to some extent, the custom of burning, which is mentioned in the Twelve Tables. Burning, however, does not appear to have become general till the later times of the republic. Marius was buried, and Sulla was the first of the Cornelian gens whose body was burned. Under the empire burning was almost universally practised, but was gradually discontinued as Christianity spread, so that it had fallen into disuse in the fourth century. Persons struck by lightning were not burnt, but buried on the spot, which was called _Bidental_, and was considered sacred. [BIDENTAL.] Children also, who had not cut their teeth, were not burnt, but buried in a place called _Suggrundarium_. Those who were buried were placed in a coffin (_arca_ or _loculus_), which was frequently made of stone, and sometimes of the Assian stone, which came from Assos in Troas, and which consumed all the body, with the exception of the teeth, in 40 days, whence it was called _sarcophagus_. This name was in course of time applied to any kind of coffin or tomb. The corpse was burnt on a pile of wood (_pyra_ or _rogus_). This pile was built in the form of an altar, with four equal sides, whence we find it called _ara sepulcri_ and _funeris ara_. The sides of the pile were, according to the Twelve Tables, to be left rough and unpolished, but were frequently covered with dark leaves. Cypress trees were sometimes placed before the pile. On the top of the pile the corpse was placed, with the couch on which it had been carried, and the nearest relation then set fire to the pile with his face turned away. When the flames began to rise, various perfumes were thrown into the fire, though this practice was forbidden by the Twelve Tables; cups of oil, ornaments, clothes, dishes of food, and other things, which were supposed to be agreeable to the deceased, were also thrown upon the flames. The place where a person was burnt was called _bustum_, if he was afterwards buried on the same spot, and _ustrina_ or _ustrinum_ if he was buried at a different place. Sometimes animals were slaughtered at the pile, and in ancient times captives and slaves, since the manes were supposed to be fond of blood; but afterwards gladiators, called bustuarii, were hired to fight round the burning pile. When the pile was burnt down, the embers were soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes of the deceased were gathered by the nearest relatives, who sprinkled them with perfumes, and placed them in a vessel called _urna_, which was made of various materials, according to the circumstances of individuals.