Chapter XXX: Part II: The Middle Ages and the Reformation. A.D. 1381-1593 (29)

PȲTHĬA (πύθια), one of the four great national festivals of the Greeks. It was celebrated in the neighbourhood of Delphi, anciently called Pytho, in honour of Apollo, Artemis, and Leto. The place of this solemnity was the Crissaean plain, which for this purpose contained a hippodromus or race-course, a stadium of 1000 feet in length, and a theatre, in which the musical contests took place. The Pythian games were, according to most legends, instituted by Apollo himself. They were originally perhaps nothing more than a religious panegyris, occasioned by the oracle of Delphi, and the sacred games are said to have been at first only a musical contest, which consisted in singing a hymn to the honour of the Pythian god, with the accompaniment of the cithara. They must, on account of the celebrity of the Delphic oracle, have become a national festival for all the Greeks at a very early period, and gradually all the various contests were introduced which occur in the Olympic games. [OLYMPIA.] Down to Ol. 48. the Delphians had been the agonothetae at the Pythian games; but in the third year of this Olympiad, after the Crissaean war, the Amphictyons took the management under their care, and appointed certain persons, called _Epimeletae_ (ἐπιμεληταί), to conduct them. Some of the ancients date the institution of the Pythian games from this time. Previous to Ol. 48. the Pythian games had been an ἐνναετηρίς, that is, they had been celebrated at the end of every eighth year; but in Ol. 48. 3. they became, like the Olympia, a πενταετηρίς, _i.e._ they were held at the end of every fourth year; and a Pythiad, therefore, from the time that it was used as an aera, comprehended a space of four years, commencing with the third year of every Olympiad. They were in all probability held in the spring, and took place in the month of Bucatius, which corresponded to the Attic Munychion.

PȲTHĬI (πύθιοι), four persons appointed by the Spartan kings, two by each, as messengers to the temple of Delphi. Their office was highly honourable and important; they were always the messmates of the Spartan kings.

PYXIS, _dim._ PYXĬDŬLA (πύξις, dim. πυξίδιον), a casket; a jewel-box. The caskets in which the ladies of ancient times kept their jewels and other ornaments, were made of gold, silver, ivory, mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, &c. They were also much enriched with sculpture. The annexed woodcut represents a very plain jewel-box, out of which a dove is extracting a riband or fillet.

QUADRĀGĒSĬMA, the fortieth part of the imported goods, was the ordinary rate of the Portorium under the empire. [PORTORIUM.]

QUADRANS. [AS.]

QUADRANTAL, or AMPHŎRA QUADRANTAL, or AMPHŎRA only, was the principal Roman measure of capacity for fluids. A standard model of the _Amphora_ was kept with great care in the temple of Jupiter in the Capitol, and was called _amphora Capitolina_. It contained 5·77 imperial gallons, or a little more than 5¾ gallons, or than 5 gallons and 6 pints.

QUADRĪGA. [CURRUS.]

QUADRĪGĀTUS. [DENARIUS.]

QUADRŬPLĀTŌRES: public informers or accusers were so called, either because they received a fourth part of the criminal’s property, or because those who were convicted were condemned to pay fourfold (_quadrupli damnari_), as in cases of violation of the laws respecting gambling, usury, &c.

QUAESTIŌNES, QUAESTIŌNES PERPĔTUAE. [JUDEX: PRAETOR.]

QUAESTOR (ταμίας), a name given to two distinct classes of Roman officers. It is derived from _quaero_, and Varro gives a definition which embraces the principal functions of both classes of officers: _Quaestores a quaerendo, qui conquirerent publicas pecunias et maleficia_. The one class, therefore, had to do with the collecting and keeping of the public revenues, and the others were a kind of public accusers. The former bore the name of _Quaestores Classici_, the latter of _Quaestores Parricidii_.--The _Quaestores Parricidii_ were public accusers, two in number, who conducted the accusation of persons guilty of murder or any other capital offence, and carried the sentence into execution. In the early period of the republic the quaestores parricidii appear to have become a standing office, which, like others, was held only for one year. They were appointed by the populus or the curies on the presentation of the consuls. When these quaestores discovered that a capital offence had been committed, they had to bring the charge before the comitia for trial. When the sentence had been pronounced by the people, the quaestores parricidii executed it; thus they threw Spurius Cassius from the Tarpeian rock. They were mentioned in the laws of the Twelve Tables, and after the time of the decemvirate they still continued to be appointed, though probably no longer by the curies, but either in the comitia centuriata or tribute, which they therefore must have had the right of assembling in cases of emergency. From the year B.C. 366 they are no longer mentioned in Roman history, as their functions were gradually transferred to the triumviri capitales. [TRIUMVIRI CAPITALES.]--The _Quaestores Classici_, usually called _Quaestores_ simply, were officers entrusted with the care of the public money. They were elected by the centuries, and the office is said to have been first instituted by Valerius Publicola. They were at first only two in number, and of course taken only from the patricians. As the senate had the supreme administration of the finances, the quaestors were in some measure only its agents or paymasters, for they could not dispose of any part of the public money without being directed by the senate. Their duties consequently consisted in making the necessary payments from the aerarium, and receiving the public revenues. Of both they had to keep correct accounts in their _tabulae publicae_. Demands which any one might have on the aerarium, and outstanding debts, were likewise registered by them. Fines to be paid to the public treasury were registered and exacted by them. Another branch of their duties, which, however, was likewise connected with the treasury, was to provide the proper accommodation for foreign ambassadors, and such persons as were connected with the republic by ties of public hospitality.--In B.C. 421 the number of quaestors was doubled, and the tribunes tried to effect, by an amendment of the law, that a part (probably two) of the quaestores should be plebeians. This attempt was indeed frustrated, but the interrex L. Papirius effected a compromise, that the election should not be restricted to either order. After this law was carried, eleven years passed without any plebeian being elected to the office: at last, in B.C. 409, three of the four quaestors were plebeians. A person who had held the office of quaestor had undoubtedly, as in later times, the right to take his seat in the senate, unless he was excluded as unworthy by the next censors. And this was probably the reason why the patricians so resolutely opposed the admission of plebeians to this office. Henceforth the consuls, whenever they took the field against an enemy, were accompanied by one quaestor each, who at first had only to superintend the sale of the booty, the produce of which was either divided among the legion, or was transferred to the aerarium. Subsequently, however, we find that these quaestors also kept the funds of the army, which they had received from the treasury at Rome, and gave the soldiers their pay; they were in fact the paymasters of the army. The two other quaestors, who remained at Rome, continued to discharge the same duties as before, and were distinguished from those who accompanied the consuls by the epithet _urbani_. In B.C. 265, after the Romans had made themselves masters of Italy, and when, in consequence, the administration of the treasury and the raising of the revenues became more laborious and important, the number of quaestors was again doubled to eight; and it is probable that henceforth their number continued to be increased in proportion as the empire became extended. One of the eight quaestors was appointed by lot to the _Quaestura Ostiensis_, a most laborious and important post, as he had to provide Rome with corn. Besides the quaestor Ostiensis, who resided at Ostia, three other quaestors were distributed in Italy, to raise those parts of the revenue which were not farmed by the publicani, and to control the latter. One of them resided at Cales, and the two others probably in towns on the Upper Sea. The two remaining quaestors were sent to Sicily.--Sulla, in his dictatorship, raised the number of quaestors to twenty, that he might have a large number of candidates for the senate, and J. Caesar even to forty. In the year B.C. 49 no quaestors were elected, and Caesar transferred the keeping of the aerarium to the aediles. From this time forward the treasury was sometimes entrusted to the praetors, sometimes to the praetorii, and sometimes again to quaestors. [AERARIUM.] Quaestors, however, both in the city and in the provinces, occur down to the latest period of the empire. The proconsul or praetor, who had the administration of a province, was attended by a quaestor. This quaestor had undoubtedly to perform the same functions as those who accompanied the armies into the field; they were in fact the same officers, with the exception that the former were stationary in their province during the time of their office, and had consequently rights and duties which those who accompanied the armies could not have. In the provinces the quaestors had the same jurisdiction as the curule aediles at Rome. The relation existing between a praetor or proconsul of a province and his quaestor was, according to ancient custom, regarded as resembling that between a father and his son. When a quaestor died in his province, the praetors had the right of appointing a _proquaestor_ in his stead; and when the praetor was absent, the quaestor supplied his place, and was then attended by lictors. In what manner the provinces were assigned to the quaestors after their election at Rome, is not mentioned, though it was probably by lot, as in the case of the quaestor Ostiensis.

QUAESTŌRĬUM. [CASTRA.]

QUĀLUS. [CALATHUS.]

QUARTĀRĬUS. [SEXTARIUS.]

QUĂSILLĀRĬAE. [CALATHUS.]

QUĂSILLUM. [CALATHUS.]

QUĂTŬORVĬRI JŪRI DĪCUNDO. [COLONIA.]

QUĂTŬORVĬRI VĬĀRUM CŪRANDĀRUM, four officers who had the superintendence of the roads (_viae_), were first appointed after the war with Pyrrhus, when so many public roads were made by the Romans.

QUĪNĀRĬUS. [DENARIUS.]

QUINCUNX. [AS.]

QUINDĔCIMVĬRI. [DECIMVIRI.]

QUINQUATRUS or QUINQUATRĬA, a festival sacred to Minerva, which was celebrated on the 19th of March. Ovid says that it was celebrated for five days, that on the first day no blood was shed, but that on the last four there were contests of gladiators. It would appear, however, that only the first day was the festival properly so called, and that the last four were merely an addition made perhaps in the time of Caesar, to gratify the people, who became so passionately fond of gladiatorial combats. On the fifth day of the festival, according to Ovid, the trumpets used in sacred rites were purified; but this seems to have been originally a separate festival called _Tubilustrium_, which was celebrated, as we know from the ancient calendars, on the 23rd of March, and would of course, when the Quinquatrus was extended to five days, fall on the last day of that festival. There was also another festival of this name, called _Quinquatrus Minusculae_ or _Quinquatrus Minores_, celebrated on the Ides of June, on which the tibicines went through the city in procession to the temple of Minerva.

QUINQUENNĀLĬA, were games instituted by Nero, A.D. 60, in imitation of the Greek festivals, and celebrated like the Greek πενταετηρίδες, at the end of every four years: they consisted of musical, gymnastic, and equestrian contests.

QUINQUENNĀLIS. [COLONIA, p. 101, _a_.]

QUINQUĔRĒMIS. [NAVIS.]

QUINQUERTĬUM. [PENTATHLON.]

QUINQUĔVĬRI, or five commissioners, were frequently appointed under the republic as extraordinary magistrates to carry any measure into effect.

QUINTĀNA. [CASTRA.]

QUĬRĪNĀLĬA, a festival sacred to Quirinus, which was celebrated on the 17th of February, on which day Romulus (Quirinus) was said to have been carried up to heaven. This festival was also called _Stultorum feriae_, respecting the meaning of which see FORNACALIA.

QUĬRĪTĬUM JUS. [JUS.]

RAMNES. [PATRICII.]

RĂPĪNA. [FURTUM.]

RĔCŬPĔRĀTŌRES. [JUDEX.]

RĔDEMPTOR, the general name for a contractor, who undertook the building and repairing of public works, private houses, &c., and in fact of any kind of work. The farmers of the public taxes were also called _Redemptores_.

RĔDĬMĪCULUM (καθετήρ), a fillet attached to the _calautica_, _diadema_, _mitra_, or other head-dress at the occiput, and passed over the shoulders, so as to hang on each side over the breast. _Redimicula_ were properly female ornaments.

RĒGĬFŬGĬUM or FŬGĀLIA, the king’s flight, a festival which was held by the Romans every year on the 24th of February, and, according to some ancient writers, in commemoration of the flight of king Tarquinius Superbus from Rome. The day is marked in the Fasti as nefastus. In some ancient calendars the 24th of May is likewise called Regifugium. It is doubtful whether either of these days had anything to do with the flight of king Tarquinius: they may have derived their name from the symbolical flight of the Rex Sacrorum from the comitium; for this king-priest was generally not allowed to appear in the comitium, which was destined for the transaction of political matters in which he could not take part. But on certain days in the year, and certainly on the two days mentioned above, he had to go to the comitium for the purpose of offering certain sacrifices, and immediately after he had performed his functions there, he hastily fled from it; and this symbolical flight was called Regifugium.

RĔLĒGĀTĬO. [EXSILIUM.]

RĔMANCĬPĀTIO. [EMANCIPATIO.]

RĔMULCUM (ῥυμουλκηῖν τὰς ναῦς), a rope for towing a ship, and likewise a tow-barge.

RĔMŪRĬA. [LEMURIA.]

RĒMUS. [NAVIS.]

RĔPĔTUNDAE, or PĔCŪNĬAE RĔPĔTUNDAE, was the term used to designate such sums of money as the socii of the Roman state or individuals claimed to recover from magistratus, judices, or publici curatores, which they had improperly taken or received in the Provinciae, or in the Urbs Roma, either in the discharge of their jurisdictio, or in their capacity of judices, or in respect of any other public function. Sometimes the word Repetundae was used to express the illegal act for which compensation was sought, as in the phrase _repetundarum insimulari, damnari_; and Pecuniae meant not only money, but anything that had value. The first lex on the subject was the Calpurnia, which was proposed and carried by the tribunus plebis L. Calpurnius Piso (B.C. 149). By this lex a praetor was appointed for trying persons charged with this crime. It seems that the penalties of the Lex Calpurnia were merely pecuniary, and at least did not comprise exsilium. Various leges de repetundis were passed after the Lex Calpurnia, and the penalties were continually made heavier. The Lex Junia was passed probably about B.C. 126, on the proposal of M. Junius Pennus, tribunus plebis. The Lex Servilia Glaucia was proposed and carried by C. Servilius Glaucia, praetor, in the sixth consulship of Marius, B.C. 100. This lex applied to any magistratus who had improperly taken or received money from any private person; but a magistratus could not be accused during the term of office. The lex enacted that the praetor peregrinus should annually appoint 450 judices for the trial of this offence: the judices were not to be senators. The penalties of the lex were pecuniary and exsilium; the law allowed a comperendinatio. [JUDEX.] Before the Lex Servilia, the pecuniary penalty was simply restitution of what had been wrongfully taken; this lex seems to have raised the penalty to double the amount of what had been wrongfully taken; and subsequently it was made quadruple. Exsilium was only the punishment in case a man did not abide his trial, but withdrew from Rome. The lex gave the civitas to any person on whose complaint a person was convicted of repetundae. The Lex Acilia, which seems to be of uncertain date, was proposed and carried by M’. Acilius Glabrio, a tribune of the plebs, and enacted that there should be neither ampliatio nor comperendinatio. The Lex Cornelia was passed in the dictatorship of Sulla, and continued in force to the time of C. Julius Caesar. It extended the penalties of repetundae to other illegal acts committed in the provinces, and to judices who received bribes, to those to whose hands the money came, and to those who did not give into the aerarium their proconsular accounts (_proconsulares rationes_). The praetor who presided over this quaestio chose the judges by lot from the senators, whence it appears that the Servilia Lex was repealed by this lex, at least so far as related to the constitution of the court. This lex also allowed ampliatio and comperendinatio. The penalties were pecuniary (_litis aestimatio_) and the _aquae et ignis interdictio_. Under this lex were tried L. Dolabella, Cn. Piso, C. Verres, C. Macer, M. Fonteius, and L. Flaccus, the two last of whom were defended by Cicero. In the Verrine Orations Cicero complains of the comperendinatio or double hearing of the cause, which the Lex Cornelia allowed, and refers to the practice under the Lex Acilia, according to which the case for the prosecution, the defence, and the evidence were only heard once, and so the matter was decided. The last lex de repetundis was the Lex Julia, passed in the first consulship of C. Julius Caesar, B.C. 59. This lex repealed the penalty of exsilium, but in addition to the litis aestimatio, it enacted that persons convicted under this lex should lose their rank, and be disqualified from being witnesses, judices, or senators. The lex had been passed when Cicero made his oration against Piso, B.C. 55. A. Gabinius was convicted under this lex. Under the empire the offence was punishable with exile.

RĔPŌTĬA. [MATRIMONIUM.]

RĔPŬDĬUM. [DIVORTIUM.]

RĒTĬĀRĬI. [GLADIATORES.]

RĒTĬCŬLUM. [COMA.]

RĒTIS and RĒTE; _dim._ RĒTĬCŬLUM (δίκτυον), a net. Nets were made most commonly of flax or hemp, whence they are sometimes called _lina_ (λίνα). The meshes (_maculae_, βρόχοι, _dim._ βροχίδες) were great or small according to the purposes intended. By far the most important application of net-work was to the three kindred arts of fowling, hunting, and fishing. In fowling the use of nets was comparatively limited. In hunting it was usual to extend nets in a curved line of considerable length, so as in part to surround a space into which the beasts of chace, such as the hare, the boar, the deer, the lion, and the bear, were driven through the opening left on one side. This range of nets was flanked by cords, to which feathers dyed scarlet and of other bright colours were tied, so as to flare and flutter in the wind. The hunters then sallied forth with their dogs, dislodged the animals from their coverts, and by shouts and barking drove them first within the _formido_, as the apparatus of string and feathers was called, and then, as they were scared with this appearance, within the circuit of the nets. In the drawing below three servants with staves carry on their shoulders a large net, which is intended to be set up as already described. In the lower figure the net is set up. At each end of it stands a watchman holding a staff. Being intended to take such large quadrupeds as boars and deer (which are seen within it), the meshes are very wide (_retia rara_). The net is supported by three stakes (στάλικες, _ancones_, _vari_). To dispose the nets in this manner was called _retia ponere_, or _retia tendere_. Comparing it with the stature of the attendants, we perceive the net to be between five and six feet high. The upper border of the net consists of a strong rope, which was called σαρδών. Fishing-nets (ἁλιευτικὰ δίκτυα) were of different kinds. Of these the most common were the ἀμφίβληστρον, or casting-net (_funda_, _jaculum_, _retinaculum_) and the σαγήνη, _i.e._ the drag-net, or sean (_tragum_, _tragula_, _verriculum_).

RĔUS. [ACTOR.]

REX (βασιλεύς, ἄναξ), king.--(1) GREEK. In the heroic age, as depicted in the poems of Homer, the kingly form of government was universal. The authority of these kings and its limitations were derived not from any definite scheme, or written code, but from the force of traditionary usage, and the natural influence of the circumstances in which the kings were placed, surrounded as they were by a body of chiefs or nobles, whose power was but little inferior to that of the kings themselves. Even the title βασιλῆες is applied to them as well as to the king. The maintenance of regal authority doubtless depended greatly on the possession of personal superiority in bravery, military prowess, wisdom in council and eloquence in debate. When old age had blunted his powers and activity, a king ran a great chance of losing his influence. There was, however, an undefined notion of a sort of divine right connected with the kingly office, whence the epithet διοτρεφής, so commonly applied to kings in Homer. The characteristic emblem of the kingly office was the σκῆπτρον. [SCEPTRUM.] Our information respecting the Grecian kings in the more historical age is not ample or minute enough to enable us to draw out a detailed scheme of their functions. Respecting the kings of Sparta the reader is referred to the article EPHORI. As an illustration of the gradual limitation of the prerogatives of the king or chief magistrate, the reader may consult the article ARCHON. The title _Basileus_ was sometimes applied to an officer who discharged the priestly functions of the more ancient kings, as in Athens. [ARCHON.]--(2) ROMAN. Rome was originally governed by kings. All the ancient writers agree in representing the king as elected by the people for life, and as voluntarily entrusted by them with the supreme power in the state. No reference is made to the hereditary principle in the election of the first four kings; and it is not until the fifth king Tarquinius Priscus obtained the sovereignty, that anything is said about the children of the deceased king. Since the people had conferred the regal power, it returned to them upon the death of the king. But as a new king could not be immediately appointed, an Interrex forthwith stepped into his place. The necessity for an immediate successor to the king arose from the circumstance that he alone had had the power of taking the auspicia on behalf of the state; and as the auspicia devolved upon the people at his death, it was imperative upon them to create a magistrate, to whom they could delegate the auspicia, and who would thus possess the power of mediating between the gods and the state. Originally the people consisted only of the patres or patricii; and accordingly on the death of the king, we read _res ad patres redit_, or, what is nearly the same thing, _auspicia ad patres redeunt_. [AUGUR.] The interrex was elected by the whole body of the patricians, and he appointed (_prodebat_) his successor, as it was a rule that the first interrex could not hold the comitia for the election; but it frequently happened that the second interrex appointed a third, the third a fourth, and so on, till the election took place. The Interrex presided over the comitia curiata, which were assembled for the election of the king. The person whom the senate had selected was proposed by the interrex to the people in a regular _rogatio_, which the people could only accept or reject, for they had not the initiative and could not themselves propose any name. If the people voted in favour of the rogation, they were said _creare regem_, and their acceptance of him was called _jussus populi_. But the king did not immediately enter upon his office. Two other acts had still to take place before he was invested with the full regal authority and power. First, his _inauguratio_ had to be performed, as it was necessary to obtain the divine will respecting his appointment by means of the auspices, since he was the high priest of the people. This ceremony was performed by an augur, who conducted the newly-elected king to the _arx_, or citadel, and there placed him on a stone seat with his face turned to the south, while the people waited below in anxious suspense until the augur announced that the gods had sent the favourable tokens confirming the king in his priestly character. The inauguratio did not confer upon him the auspicia; for these he obtained by his election to the royalty, as the comitia were held _auspicato_. The second act which had to be performed was the conferring of the imperium upon the king. The curiae had only determined by their previous vote who was to be king, and had not by that act bestowed the necessary power upon him; they had, therefore, to grant him the imperium by a distinct vote. Accordingly the king himself proposed to the curiae a _lex curiata de imperio_, and the curiae by voting in favour of it gave him the imperium. Livy in his first book makes no mention of the _lex curiata de imperio_, but he uses the expressions _patres auctores fierent_, _patres auctores facti_; but these expressions are equivalent to the _lex curiata de imperio_ in the kingly period.--The king possessed the supreme power in the earliest times, and the senate and the comitia of the curiae were very slight checks upon its exercise. In the first place, the king alone possessed the right of taking the auspices on behalf of the state; and as no public business of any kind could be performed without the approbation of the gods expressed by the auspices, the king stood as mediator between the gods and the people, and in an early stage of society must necessarily have been regarded with religious awe. [AUGUR.] Secondly, the people surrendered to the king the supreme military and judicial authority by conferring the _imperium_ upon him. The king was not only the commander in war, but the supreme judge in peace. Seated on his throne in the comitium, he administered justice to all comers, and decided in all cases which were brought before him, civil as well as criminal. Again, all the magistrates in the kingly period appear to have been appointed by the king and not elected by the curiae. Further, the king was not dependent upon the people for his support; but a large portion of the ager publicus belonged to him, which was cultivated at the expense of the state on his behalf. He had also the absolute disposal of the booty taken in war and of the conquered lands. It must not, however, be supposed that the authority of the king was absolute. The senate and the assembly of the people must have formed some check upon his power. But these were not independent bodies possessing the right of meeting at certain times and discussing questions of state. They could only be called together when the king chose, and further could only determine upon matters which the king submitted to them. The only public matter in which the king could not dispense with the co-operation of the senate and the curiae was in declarations of war. There is no trace of the people having had anything to do with the conclusion of treaties of peace.--The insignia of the king were the fasces with the axes (_secures_), which twelve lictors carried before him as often as he appeared in public, the _trabea_, the _sella curulis_, and the _toga praetexta_ and _picta_. The _trabea_ appears to have been the most ancient official dress, and is assigned especially to Romulus: it was of Latin origin, and is therefore represented by Virgil as worn by the Latin kings. The _toga praetexta_ and _picta_ were borrowed, together with the _sella curulis_, from the Etruscans, and their introduction is variously ascribed to Tullus Hostilius or Tarquinius Priscus.

REX SACRĬFĬCŬLUS, REX SACRĬFĬCUS, or REX SACRORUM. When the civil and military powers of the king were transferred to two praetors or consuls, upon the establishment of the republican government at Rome, these magistrates were not invested with that part of the royal dignity by virtue of which the king had been the high priest of his nation and had conducted several of the sacra publica, but this priestly part of his office was transferred to a priest called Rex Sacrificulus or Rex Sacrorum. The first rex sacrorum was designated, at the command of the consuls, by the college of pontiffs, and inaugurated by the augurs. He was always elected and inaugurated in the comitia curiata under the presidency of the pontiffs, and as long as a rex sacrificulus was appointed at Rome, he was always a patrician, for as he had no influence upon the management of political affairs, the plebeians never coveted this dignity. Considering that this priest was the religious representative of the kings, he ranked indeed higher than all other priests, and even higher than the pontifex maximus, but in power and influence he was far inferior to him. He held his office for life, was not allowed to hold any civil or military dignity, and was at the same time exempted from all military and civil duties. His principal functions were: 1. To perform those sacra publica which had before been performed by the kings; and his wife, who bore the title of _regina sacrorum_, had also, like the queens of former days, to perform certain priestly functions. These sacra publica he or his wife had to perform on all the Calends, Ides, and the Nundines; he to Jupiter, and she to Juno in the regia. 2. On the days called regifugium he had to offer a sacrifice in the comitium. [REGIFUGIUM.] 3. When extraordinary portenta seemed to announce some general calamity, it was his duty to try to propitiate the anger of the gods. 4. On the nundines, when the people assembled in the city, the rex sacrorum announced (_edicebat_) to them the succession of the festivals for the month. This part of his functions, however, must have ceased after the time of Cn. Flavius. He lived in a domus publica on the via sacra, near the regia and the house of the vestal virgins.

RHĒDA or RĒDA, a travelling carriage with four wheels. Like the COVINUS and the ESSEDUM it was of Gallic origin, and may perhaps contain the same root as the German _reiten_ and our _ride_. It was the common carriage used by the Romans for travelling, and was frequently made large enough not only to contain many persons, but also baggage and utensils of various kinds. The word _Epirhedium_, which was formed by the Romans from the Greek preposition ἐπι and the Gallic _rheda_, is explained by the Scholiast on Juvenal as “Ornamentum rhedarum aut plaustrum.”

RHĒTRAE (ῥῆτραι), specially the name of the ordinances of Lycurgus. The word _Rhetra_ means a solemn compact, either originally emanating from, or subsequently sanctioned by the gods, who are always parties to such agreements. The Rhetra of Lycurgus emanated from the Delphian god: but the kings, senators, and people all bound themselves, both to each other and to the gods, to obey it.

RHYTON (ῥυτόν), a drinking-horn (κέρας). Its original form was probably the horn of the ox, but one end of it was afterwards ornamented with the heads of various animals and birds. The _rhyton_ had a small opening at the bottom, which the person who drank put into his mouth, and allowed the wine to run in: hence it derived its name.

RĪCA. [FLAMEN.]

RĪCĪNĬUM, an article of female dress, appears to have been a kind of mantle, with a sort of cowl attached to it, in order to cover the head. The _mavortium_, _mavorte_, or _mavors_ of later times was thought to be only another name for what had formerly been called ricinium.

RŌBĪGĀLĬA, a public festival in honour of the god Robigus, to preserve the fields from mildew, is said to have been instituted by Numa, and was celebrated April 25th. The sacrifices offered on this occasion consisted of the entrails of a dog and a sheep, accompanied with frankincense and wine: a prayer was presented by a flamen in the grove of the ancient deity, whom Ovid and Columella make a goddess. A god Robigus or a goddess Robigo is a mere invention from the name of this festival, for the Romans paid no divine honours to evil deities.

RŎGĀTĬO. [LEX, p. 225.]

RŎGĀTŌRES. [COMITIA, p. 107.]

RŎGUS. [FUNUS, p. 188, _b_.]

ROMPHEA. [HASTA.]

RŌRĀRĬI. [EXERCITUS, p. 165.]

ROSTRA, or The Beaks, was the name applied to the stage (_suggestus_) in the Forum, from which the orators addressed the people. This stage was originally called _templum_, because it was consecrated by the augurs, but obtained its name of _Rostra_ at the conclusion of the great Latin war, when it was adorned with the beaks (_rostra_) of the ships of the Antiates. The Greeks also mutilated galleys in the same way for the purpose of trophies: this was called by them ἀκρωτηριάζειν. [ACROTERIUM.] The rostra lay between the Comitium or place of meeting for the curies, and the Forum or place of meeting for the tribes, so that the speaker might turn either to the one or the other; but down to the time of C. Gracchus, even the tribunes in speaking used to front the Comitium; he first turned his back to it and spoke with his face towards the forum. The rostra was a circular building, raised on arches, with a stand or platform on the top, bordered by a parapet, the access to it being by two flights of steps, one on each side. It fronted towards the comitium, and the rostra were affixed to the front of it, just under the arches. Its form has been in all the main points preserved in the ambones or circular pulpits of the most ancient churches, which also had two flights of steps leading up to them, one on the east side, by which the preacher ascended, and another on the west side, for his descent. The speaker was thus enabled to walk to and fro, while addressing his audience. The suggestus or rostra was transferred by Julius Caesar to a corner of the Forum, but the spot where the ancient rostra had stood still continued to be called _Rostra Vetera_, while the other was called _Rostra Nova_ or _Rostra Julia_. Both the rostra contained statues of illustrious men.

ROSTRUM. [NAVIS.]

RŎTA. [CURRUS.]

RŬDĬĀRĬI. [GLADIATORES.]

RŬDIS. [GLADIATORES.]

SACCUS (σάκκος) signified in general any kind of sack or bag made of hair, cloth, or other materials. We have only to notice here its meaning as--(1) A head-dress. [COMA.]--(2) A sieve for straining wine. [COLUM.]--(3) A purse for holding money. Hence the phrase in Plautus _ire ad saccum_, “to go a begging.”

SĂCELLUM is a diminutive of _sacer_, and signifies a small place consecrated to a god, containing an altar, and sometimes also a statue of the god to whom it was dedicated, but it was without a roof. It was therefore a sacred inclosure surrounded by a fence or wall, and thus answered to the Greek περίβολος.

SĂCERDOS, SĂCERDŌTĬUM. As all the different kinds of priests are treated of separately in this work, it is only necessary here to make some general remarks. In comparison with the civil magistrates, all priests at Rome were regarded as _homines privati_, though all of them, as priests, were sacerdotes publici, in as far as their office (_sacerdotium_) was connected with any worship recognised by the state. The appellation of _sacerdos publicus_ was, however, given principally to the chief pontiff and the flamen dialis, who were at the same time the only priests who were members of the senate by virtue of their office. All priestly offices or sacerdotia were held for life, without responsibility to any civil magistrate. A priest was generally allowed to hold any other civil or military office besides his priestly dignity; some priests, however, formed an exception, for the duumviri, the rex sacrorum, and the flamen dialis were not allowed to hold any state office, and were also exempt from service in the armies. Their priestly character was, generally speaking, inseparable from their person as long as they lived: hence the augurs and fratres arvales retained their character even when sent into exile, or when they were taken prisoners. It also occurs that one and the same person held two or three priestly offices at a time. Thus we find the three dignities of pontifex maximus, augur, and decemvir sacrorum united in one individual. Bodily defects incapacitated a person at Rome, as among all ancient nations, from holding any priestly office. All priests were originally patricians, but from the year B.C. 367 the plebeians also began to take part in the sacerdotia [PLEBES]; and those priestly offices which down to the latest times remained in the hands of the patricians alone, such as that of the rex sacrorum, the flamines, salii, and others, had no influence upon the affairs of the state. As regards the appointment of priests, the ancients unanimously state, that at first they were appointed by the kings, but after the sacerdotia were once instituted, each college of priests--for nearly all priests constituted certain corporations called collegia--had the right of filling up, by cooptatio, the vacancies which occurred. [PONTIFEX.] Other priests, on the contrary, such as the vestal virgins and the flamines, were appointed (_capiebantur_) by the pontifex maximus, a rule which appears to have been observed down to the latest times; others again, such as the duumviri sacrorum, were elected by the people, or by the curiae, as the curiones. But in whatever manner they were appointed, all priests after their appointment required to be inaugurated by the pontiffs and the augurs, or by the latter alone. Those priests who formed colleges had originally, as we have already observed, the right of cooptatio; but in the course of time they were deprived of this right, or at least the cooptatio was reduced to a mere form, by several leges, called leges de sacerdotiis, such as the Lex Domitia, Cornelia, and Julia; their nature is described in the article PONTIFEX, and what is there said in regard to the appointment of pontiffs applies equally to all the other colleges. All priests had some external distinction, as the apex, tutulus, or galerus, the toga praetexta, as well as honorary seats in the theatres, circuses, and amphitheatres. Most of the priestly colleges possessed landed property, and some priests had also a regular annual salary (_stipendium_), which was paid to them from the public treasury. This is expressly stated in regard to the vestal virgins, the augurs, and the curiones, and may therefore be supposed to have been the case with other priests also. The pontifex maximus, the rex sacrorum, and the vestal virgins had moreover a domus publica as their place of residence.

SACRA. This word, in its widest sense, expresses what we call divine worship. In ancient times, the state, as well as all its subdivisions, had their own peculiar forms of worship, whence at Rome we find sacra of the whole Roman people, of the curies, gentes, families, and even of private individuals. All these sacra, however, were divided into two great classes, the public and private sacra (_sacra publica et privata_), that is, they were performed either on behalf of the whole nation, and at the expense of the state, or on behalf of individuals, families, or gentes, which had also to defray their expenses. This division is ascribed to Numa. All sacra, publica as well as privata, were superintended and regulated by the pontiffs.

SACRĀMENTUM, the military oath, which was administered in the following manner:--Each tribunus militum assembled his legion, and picked out one of the men, to whom he put the oath, that he would obey the commands of his generals, and execute them punctually. The other men then came forward, one after another, and repeated the same oath, saying that they would do like the first.

SACRĀRĬUM was any place in which sacred things were deposited and kept, whether this place was a part of a temple or of a private house.

SACRIFĬCĬUM (ἱερεῖον), a sacrifice. Sacrifices or offerings formed the chief part of the worship of the ancients. They were partly signs of gratitude, partly a means of propitiating the gods, and partly also intended to induce the deity to bestow some favour upon the sacrificer, or upon those on whose behalf the sacrifice was offered. Sacrifices in a wider sense would also embrace the DONARIA; in a narrower sense sacrificia were things offered to the gods, which merely afforded momentary gratification, and which were burnt upon their altars, or were believed to be consumed by the gods. All sacrifices may be divided into bloody sacrifices and unbloody sacrifices.--_Bloody sacrifices._ In the early times of Greece we find mention of human sacrifices, but with a few exceptions these had ceased in the historical ages. Owing to the influence of civilisation, in many cases animals were substituted for human beings; in others, a few drops of human blood were thought sufficient to propitiate the gods. The custom of sacrificing human life to the gods arose from the belief that the nobler the sacrifice and the dearer to its possessor, the more pleasing it would be to the gods. Hence the frequent instances in Grecian story of persons sacrificing their own children, or of persons devoting themselves to the gods of the lower world. That the Romans also believed human sacrifices to be pleasing to the gods, might be inferred from the story of Curtius and from the self-sacrifice of the Decii. The symbolic sacrifice of human figures made of rushes at the Lemuralia [LEMURALIA] also shows that in the early history of Italy human sacrifices were not uncommon. For another proof of this practice, see VER SACRUM. A second kind of bloody sacrifices were those of animals of various kinds, according to the nature and character of the divinity. The sacrifices of animals were the most common among the Greeks and Romans. The victim was called ἱερεῖον, and in Latin _hostia_ or _victima_. In the early times it appears to have been the general custom to burn the whole victim (ὁλοκαυτεῖν) upon the altars of the gods, and the same was in some cases also observed in later times. But as early as the time of Homer it was the almost general practice to burn only the legs (μηροί, μηρία, μῆρα) enclosed in fat, and certain parts of the intestines, while the remaining parts of the victim were consumed by men at a festive meal. The gods delighted chiefly in the smoke arising from the burning victims, and the greater the number of victims, the more pleasing was the sacrifice. Hence it was not uncommon to offer a sacrifice of one hundred bulls (ἑκατόμβη) at once, though it must not be supposed that a hecatomb always signifies a sacrifice of a hundred bulls, for the name was used in a general way to designate any great sacrifice. Such great sacrifices were not less pleasing to men than to the gods, for in regard to the former they were in reality a donation of meat. Hence at Athens the partiality for such sacrifices rose to the highest degree. The animals which were sacrificed were mostly of the domestic kind, as bulls, cows, sheep, rams, lambs, goats, pigs, dogs, and horses; and each god had his favourite animals which he liked best as sacrifices. The head of the victim, before it was killed, was in most cases strewed with roasted barley meal (οὐλόχυτα or οὐλοχύται) mixed with salt (_mola salsa_). The persons who offered the sacrifice wore generally garlands round their heads, and sometimes also carried them in their hands, and before they touched anything belonging to the sacrifice they washed their hands in water. The victim itself was likewise adorned with garlands, and its horns were sometimes gilt. Before the animal was killed, a bunch of hair was cut from its forehead, and thrown into the fire as primitiae (κατάρχεσθαι). In the heroic ages the princes, as the high priests of their people, killed the victim; in later times this was done by the priests themselves. When the sacrifice was to be offered to the Olympic gods, the head of the animal was drawn heavenward; when to the gods of the lower world, to heroes, or to the dead, it was drawn downwards. While the flesh was burning upon the altar, wine and incense were thrown upon it, and prayers and music accompanied the solemnity. The most common animal sacrifices at Rome were the _suovetaurilia_ or _solitaurilia_, consisting of a pig, a sheep, and an ox. They were performed in all cases of a lustration, and the victims were carried around the thing to be lustrated, whether it was a city, a people, or a piece of land. [LUSTRATIO.] The Greek _trittya_ (τριττύα), which likewise consisted of an ox, a sheep, and a pig, was the same sacrifice as the Roman suovetaurilia. The customs observed before and during the sacrifice of an animal were on the whole the same as those observed in Greece. But the victim was in most cases not killed by the priests who conducted the sacrifice, but by a person called _popa_, who struck the animal with a hammer before the knife was used. The better parts of the intestines (_exta_) were strewed with barley meal, wine, and incense, and were burnt upon the altar. Those parts of the animal which were burnt were called _prosecta_, _prosiciae_, or _ablegmina_. When a sacrifice was offered to gods of rivers, or of the sea, these parts were not burnt, but thrown into the water. Respecting the use which the ancients made of sacrifices to learn the will of the gods, see HARUSPEX and DIVINATIO.--_Unbloody sacrifices._ Among these we may first mention the libations (_libationes_, λοιβαί or σπονδαί). Bloody sacrifices were usually accompanied by libations, as wine was poured upon them. The wine was usually poured out in three separate streams. Libations always accompanied a sacrifice which was offered in concluding a treaty with a foreign nation, and that here they formed a prominent part of the solemnity, is clear from the fact that the treaty itself was called σπονδαί. But libations were also made independent of any other sacrifice, as in solemn prayers, and on many other occasions of public and private life, as before drinking at meals, and the like. Libations usually consisted of unmixed wine (ἔνσπονδος, _merum_), but sometimes also of milk, honey, and other fluids, either pure or diluted with water. The libations offered to the Furies were always without wine. Incense was likewise an offering which usually accompanied bloody sacrifices, but it was also burned as an offering for itself. A third class of unbloody sacrifices consisted of fruit and cakes. The former were mostly offered to the gods as primitiae or tithes of the harvest, and as a sign of gratitude. They were sometimes offered in their natural state, sometimes also adorned or prepared in various ways. Cakes were peculiar to the worship of certain deities, as to that of Apollo. They were either simple cakes of flour, sometimes also of wax, or they were made in the shape of some animal, and were then offered as symbolical sacrifices in the place of real animals, either because they could not easily be procured, or were too expensive for the sacrificer.

SACRĬLĔGĬUM, the crime of stealing things consecrated to the gods, or things deposited in a consecrated place. A Lex Julia appears to have placed the crime of sacrilegium on an equality with peculatus. [PECULATUS.]

SAECŬLUM was, according to the calculation of the Etruscans, which was adopted by the Romans, a space of time containing 110 lunar years. The return of each saeculum at Rome was announced by the pontiffs, who also made the necessary intercalations in such a manner, that at the commencement of a new saeculum the beginning of the ten months’ year, of the twelve months’ year, and of the solar year coincided. But in these arrangements the greatest caprice and irregularity appear to have prevailed at Rome, as may be seen from the unequal intervals at which the ludi saeculares were celebrated. [LUDI SAECULARES.] This also accounts for the various ways in which a saeculum was defined by the ancients; some believed that it contained thirty, and others that it contained a hundred years: the latter opinion appears to have been the most common in later times, so that saeculum answered to our century.

SĂGITTĀRĬI. [ARCUS.]

SAGMĬNA, were the same as the _verbenae_, namely, herbs torn up by their roots from within the inclosure of the Capitoline, which were always carried by the Fetiales or ambassadors, when they went to a foreign people to demand restitution for wrongs committed against the Romans, or to make a treaty. [FETIALES.] They served to mark the sacred character of the ambassadors, and answered the same purpose as the Greek κηρύκεια.

SĂGUM, the cloak worn by the Roman soldiers and inferior officers, in contradistinction to the paludamentum of the general and superior officers. [PALUDAMENTUM.] It is used in opposition to the toga or garb of peace, and we accordingly find, that when there was a war in Italy, all citizens put on the sagum even in the city, with the exception of those of consular rank (_saga sumere_, _ad saga ire_, _in sagis esse_). The sagum was open in the front, and usually fastened across the shoulders by a clasp: it resembled in form the paludamentum (see cut, p. 281). The cloak worn by the general and superior officers is sometimes called _sagum_, but the diminutive _sagulum_ is more commonly used in such cases. The cloak worn by the northern nations of Europe is also called sagum. The German sagum is mentioned by Tacitus: that worn by the Gauls seems to have been a species of plaid (_versicolor sagum_).

SĂLĂMINĬA. [PARALUS.]

SĂLĬI, priests of Mars Gradivus, said to have been instituted by Numa. They were twelve in number, chosen from the patricians even in the latest times, and formed an ecclesiastical corporation. They had the care of the twelve Ancilia, which were kept in the temple of Mars on the Palatine hill, whence these priests were sometimes called Salii Palatini, to distinguish them from the other Salii mentioned below. The distinguishing dress of the Salii was an embroidered tunic bound with a brazen belt, the trabea, and the apex, also worn by the Flamines. [APEX.] Each had a sword by his side, and in his right hand a spear or staff. The festival of Mars was celebrated by the Salii on the 1st of March and for several successive days; on which occasion they were accustomed to go through the city in their official dress, carrying the ancilia in their left hands or suspended from their shoulders, and at the same time singing and dancing, whence comes their name. The songs or hymns which they sang on this occasion were called _Asamenta, ssamenta_, or _Axamenta_, and were chiefly in praise of Mamurius Veturius, generally said to be the armourer, who made eleven ancilia like the one that was sent from heaven (ancile), though some modern writers suppose it to be merely another name of Mars. The praises of the gods were also celebrated in the songs of the Salii. In later times these songs were scarcely understood even by the priests themselves. At the conclusion of the festival the Salii were accustomed to partake of a splendid entertainment in the temple of Mars, which was proverbial for its excellence. The members of the collegium were elected by co-optation. We read of the dignities of praesul, vates, and magister in the collegium. The shape of the ancile is exhibited in the annexed cut, which illustrates the accounts of the ancient writers that its form was oval, but with the two sides receding inwards with an even curvature, and so as to make it broader at the ends than in the middle. The persons engaged in carrying these ancilia on their shoulders, suspended from a pole, are probably servants of the Salii. At the top of the cut is represented one of the rods with which the Salii were accustomed to beat the shield in their dance, as already described.

Tullus Hostilius established another collegium of Salii, in fulfilment of a vow which he made in a war with the Sabines. These Salii were also twelve in number, chosen from the patricians, and appear to have been dedicated to the service of Quirinus. They were called the Salii Collini, Agonales or Agonenses. It is supposed that the oldest and most illustrious college, the Palatine Salii, were chosen originally from the oldest tribe, the Ramnes, and the one instituted by Tullus Hostilius, or the Quirinalian, from the Tities alone: a third college for the Luceres was never established.

SĂLĪNAE (ἁλαὶ, ἁλοπήγιον), a salt-work. Throughout the Roman empire the salt-works were commonly public property, and were let by the government to the highest bidder. The first salt-works are said to have been established by Ancus Marcius at Ostia. The publicani who farmed these works appear to have sold this most necessary of all commodities at a very high price, whence the censors M. Livius and C. Claudius (B.C. 204) fixed the price at which those who took the lease of them were obliged to sell the salt to the people. At Rome the medius was, according to this regulation, sold for a sextans, while in other parts of Italy the price was higher and varied. The salt-works in Italy and in the provinces were very numerous.