Roman Antiquities, And Ancient Mythology - free ebook by Charles K. (Charles Knapp) Dillaway

ROMAN ANTIQUITIES, AND ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY; FOR CLASSICAL SCHOOLS.

BY CHARLES K. DILLAWAY, PRINCIPAL OF THE PUBLIC LATIN SCHOOL IN BOSTON. SECOND EDITION. BOSTON: LINCOLN, EDMANDS &amp; CO. 1833. [Transcribers' Note: A detailed listing of changes and anomalies is at the end of this file.]...

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PREFACE.

The editor has endeavored in the following pages to give some account of the customs and institutions of the Romans and of ancient Mythology in a form adapted to the use of classical schools. In making the compilation he has freely drawn from all creditable sources of information within his reach, but chiefly from the following: Sketches of the institutions and domestic customs of the Romans, published in London a few years since; from the works of Adams, Kennett, Lanktree, Montfaucon, Middleton

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MYTHOLOGY.

Ancient Italy was separated, on the north, by the Alps, from Germany. It was bounded, on the east and north-east, by the Adriatic Sea, or Mare Superum ; on the south-west, by a part of the Mediterranean, called the Tuscan Sea, or Mare Inferum ; and on the south, by the Fretum Siculum , called at present the strait of Messina. The south of Italy, called Græcia Magna , was peopled by a colony from Greece. The middle of Italy contained several states or confederacies, under the denominations of Etr

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Foundation of Rome and Division of its Inhabitants.

Rome was built on seven hills, viz. the Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Esquiline, Viminal, Cælian, and Aventine; hence it was poetically styled “ Urbs Septicollis ,”—the seven-hilled city. The greatest number of inhabitants in Rome was four millions; but its average population was not more than two millions. The people were divided into three tribes, and each tribe into ten curiæ. The number of tribes was afterwards increased to thirty-five. The people were at first only separated into two rank

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The Senate.

The Senate was instituted by Romulus, to be the perpetual council of the republic, and at first consisted only of one hundred, chosen from the Patricians. They were called Patres, either on account of their age or the paternal care they had of the state. After the Sabines were taken into the city, another one hundred was chosen from them by the suffrages of the curiæ. Such as were chosen into the Senate by Brutus, after the expulsion of Tarquin the proud, to supply the place of those whom that k

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Other Divisions of the Roman People.

That the Patricians and Plebeians might be connected together by the strictest bonds, Romulus ordained that every Plebeian should choose from the Patricians any one he pleased, for his patron or protector, whose client he was called. It was the duty of the patron to advise and defend his client, and to assist him with his interest and substance. The client was obliged to pay the greatest respect to his patron, and to serve him with his life and fortune in any extremity. It was unlawful for patro

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Gentes and Familiæ; Names of the Romans, &c.

The Romans were divided into various clans, (gentes,) and each clan into several families. Those of the same gens were called gentiles, and those of the same family, agnati. But relations by the father's side were also called agnati, to distinguish them from cognati, relations only by the mother's side. The Romans had three names, to mark the different clans and families, and distinguish the individuals of the same family—the prænomen, nomen and cognomen. The prænomen was put first, and marked t

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Private Rights of Roman Citizens.

The right of liberty comprehended not only liberty from the power of masters, but also from the dominion of tyrants, the severity of magistrates, the cruelty of creditors, and the insolence of more powerful citizens. After the expulsion of Tarquin, a law was made by Brutus, that no one should be king at Rome, and that whoever should form a design of making himself a king, might be slain with impunity. At the same time the people were bound by an oath that they would never suffer a king to be cre

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Public Rights of Roman Citizens.

The jus militiæ , was the right of serving in the army, which was at first peculiar to the higher order of citizens only, but afterwards the emperor took soldiers not only from Italy and the provinces, but also from barbarous nations. The jus tributorum was the payment of a tax by each individual through the tribes, in proportion to the valuation of his estates. There were three kinds of tribute, one imposed equally on each person; another according to his property; and a third exacted in cases

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Places of Worship.

Templum was a place which had been dedicated to the worship of some deity, and consecrated by the augurs. Ædes sacræ were such as wanted that consecration, which, if they afterwards received, they changed their names to temples. Delubrum comprehended several deities under one roof. The most celebrated temples were the capitol and pantheon. The capitol or temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, was the effect of a vow made by Tarquinius Priscus, in the Sabine war. But he had scarcely laid the foundation b

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Of other public Buildings.

Theatres, so called from the Greek θεαομαι, to see, owe their origin to Bacchus. That the theatres and amphitheatres were two different sorts of edifices, was never questioned, the former being built in the shape of a semicircle; the other generally oval, so as to make the same figure as if two theatres should be joined together. Yet the same place is often called by these names in several authors. They seem, too, to have been designed for quite different ends: the theatres for stage plays, the

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Ruins of the Flavian Amphitheatre, commonly called the Colisæum.

There was a threefold distinction of the seats, according to the ordinary division of the people into senators, knights, and commons. The first range was called orchestra, from ορχειςθαι, because in that part of the Grecian theatres, the dances were performed; the second equestria ; and the other popularia . The Flavian amphitheatre, now better known by the name of the Colisæum , from its stupendous magnitude, excites the astonishment of the world. It was five hundred fifty feet in length, and f

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Porticos, Arches, Columns and Trophies.

The porticos are worthy of observation: they were structures of curious work and extraordinary beauty annexed to public edifices, sacred and civil, as well for ornament as use. They generally took their names either from the temples which they stood near, from the builders, from the nature and form of the building, or from the remarkable paintings in them. They were sometimes used for the assemblies of the senate; sometimes the jewellers and such as dealt in the most precious wares took their st

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Bagnios, Aqueducts, Sewers and public Ways.

The Romans expended immense sums of money on their bagnios. The most remarkable were those of the emperors Dioclesian and Antonius Caracalla—great part of which are standing at this time, and with the high arches, the beautiful and stately pillars, the abundance of foreign marble, the curious vaulting of the roofs, and the prodigious number of spacious apartments, may be considered among the greatest curiosities of Rome. The first invention of aqueducts, is attributed to Appius Claudius, four hu

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Of Augurs and Auguries.

The business of the augurs or soothsayers was to interpret dreams, oracles, prodigies, &amp;c. and to tell whether any action should be fortunate or prejudicial to any particular persons, or to the whole commonwealth. There are five kinds of auguries mentioned in authors—1st. From the appearances in heaven,—as thunder, lightning, comets and other meteors; as, for instance, whether the thunder came from the right or left, whether the number of strokes was even or odd, &amp;c. 2d. From bir

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Of the Aruspices, Pontifices, Quindecemviri, Vestals, &c.

The business of aruspices was to look upon the beasts offered in sacrifices, and by them to divine the success of any enterprise. They took their observations, 1st. From the beasts before they were cut up. 2d. From the entrails of those beasts after they were cut up. 3d. From the flame that used to rise when they were burning. 4th. From the flour of bran, from the frankincense, wine and water, which they used in the sacrifice. The offices of the pontifices were to give judgment in all cases rela

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Religious Ceremonies of the Romans.

In sacrifices it was requisite that those who offered them, should come chaste and pure; that they should bathe themselves, be dressed in white robes, and crowned with the leaves of the tree which was thought most acceptable to the god whom they worshipped. Sacrifices were made of victims whole and sound ( Integræ et sanæ .) But all victims were not indifferently offered to all gods. A white bull was an acceptable sacrifice to Jupiter; an ewe to Juno; black victims, bulls especially, to Pluto; a

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The Roman Year.

Romulus divided the year into ten months; the first of which was called March from Mars, his supposed father; the 2d April, either from the Greek name of Venus, (Aφροδιτα) or because trees and flowers open their buds, during that month; the 3d, May, from Maia, the mother of Mercury; the 4th, June, from the goddess Juno; 5th, July, from Julius Cæsar; 6th, August, from Augustus Cæsar; the rest were called from their number, September, October, November, December. Numa added two months—January from

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Roman Games.

The Roman Games formed a part of religious worship, and were always consecrated to some god: they were either stated or vowed by generals in war, or celebrated on extraordinary occasions; the most celebrated were those of the circus. Among them were first, chariot and horse races, of which the Romans were extravagantly fond. The charioteers were distributed into four parties or factions from the different colours of their dresses. The spectators favored one or other of the colours, as humor or c

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Magistrates.

Rome was at first governed by kings, chosen by the people; their power was not absolute, but limited; their badges were the trabea or white robe adorned with stripes of purple, a golden crown and ivory sceptre; the curule chair and twelve lictors with the fasces , that is, carrying each a bundle of rods, with an axe in the middle of them. The regal government subsisted at Rome for two hundred and forty-three years, under seven kings—Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Luciu

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Of Military Affairs.

According to the Roman constitution, every free-born citizen was a soldier, and bound to serve if called upon, in the armies of the state at any period, from the age of seventeen to forty-six. When the Romans thought themselves injured by any nation, they sent one or more of the priests, called feciales , to demand redress, and if it was not immediately given, thirty-three days were granted to consider the matter, after which war might be justly declared; then the feciales again went to their co

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Assemblies, Judicial Proceedings, and Punishments of the Romans.

The assemblies of the whole Roman people, to give their vote on any subject, were called comitia . There were three kinds, the curiata , centuriata , and tributa . The comitia curiata were assemblies of the resident Roman citizens, who were divided into thirty curiæ , a majority of which determined all matters of importance that were laid before them, such as the election of magistrates, the enacting of laws and judging of capital causes. Comitia centuriata were assemblies of the various centuri

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The Roman Dress.

The ordinary garments of the Romans were the toga and the tunic . The toga was a loose woollen robe, of a semicircular form, without sleeves, open from the waist upwards, but closed from thence downwards, and surrounding the limbs as far as the middle of the leg. The upper part of the vest was drawn under the right arm, which was thus left uncovered, and, passing over the left shoulder, was there gathered in a knot, whence it fell in folds across the breast: this flap being tucked into the girdl

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Of the Fine Arts and Literature.

The Romans invented short or abridged writing, which enabled their secretaries to collect the speeches of orators, however rapidly delivered. The characters used by such writers were called notes. They did not consist in letters of the alphabet, but certain marks, one of which often expressed a whole word, and frequently a phrase. The same description of writing is known at the present day by the word stenography . From notes came the word notary , which was given to all who professed the art of

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Roman Houses.

The houses of the Romans are supposed at first to have been nothing more than thatched cottages. After the city was burnt by the Gauls, it was rebuilt in a more solid and commodious manner; but the streets were very irregular. In the time of Nero the city was set on fire, and more than two-thirds of it burnt to the ground. That tyrant himself is said to have been the author of this conflagration. He beheld it from the tower of Mæcenas, and being delighted, as he said, with the beauty of the flam

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Marriages and Funerals.

A marriage ceremony was never solemnized without consulting the auspices, and offering sacrifices to the gods, particularly to Juno; and the animals offered up on the occasion were deprived of their gall, in allusion to the absence of every thing bitter and malignant in the proposed union. A legal marriage was made in three different ways, called confarreatio , usus and coemptio . The first of these was the most ancient. A priest, in the presence of ten witnesses, made an offering to the gods, o

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Weights, Measures and Coins.

The principal Weight in use among the Romans, was the pound, called As or Libra , which was equal to 12 oz. avoirdupoise, or 16 oz. 18 pwts. and 13¾ grains, troy weight. It was divided into twelve ounces, the names of which were as follow: Uncia , 1 oz.— Sextans , 2 oz.— Triens , 3 oz.— Quadrans , 4 oz.— Quincunx , 5 oz.— Semis , ½ lb.— Septunx , 7 oz— Bes , 8 oz.— Dodrans , 9 oz.— Dextans , 10 oz.— Deunx , 11 oz. The As and its divisions were applied to anything divided into twelve parts, as we

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THE GODS DESCENDING TO BATTLE

Pl. 3. Pope's Homer's Iliad. B. 20. L. 51....

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Celestial Gods.

JUPITER, the supreme god of the Pagans, though set forth by historians as the wisest of princes, is described by his worshippers as infamous for his vices. There were many who assumed the name of Jupiter; the most considerable, however, and to whom the actions of the others are ascribed, was the Jupiter of Crete, son to Saturn and Rhea, who is differently said to have had his origin in Crete, at Thebes in Bœotia, and among the Messenians. His first warlike exploit, and, indeed, the most memorabl

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JUNO & MINERVA GOING TO ASSIST THE GREEKS.

Pl. 4. Pope's Homer's Illiad, B. 8. L. 47....

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Celestial Goddesses.

JUNO, daughter of Saturn and Rhea, was sister and wife of Jupiter. Though the poets agree that she came into the world at the same birth with her husband, yet they differ as to the place. Some fix her nativity at Argos, others at Samos, near the river Imbrasus. The latter opinion is, however, the more generally received. Samos, was highly honored, and received the name of Parthenia, from the consideration that so eminent a vir gin as Juno was educated and dwelt there till her marriage. As queen

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AURORA.

Pl. 5. Pope's Homer's Odyssey. B. 12. L. 2. LATONA. This goddess was daughter of Cæus the Titan and Phœbe, or, according to Homer, of Saturn. As she grew up extremely beautiful, Jupiter fell in love with her; but Juno, discovering their intercourse, not only expelled her from heaven, but commanded the serpent Python to follow and destroy both her and her children. The earth also was caused by the jealous goddess to swear that she would afford her no place in which to bring forth. It happened, ho

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Terrestrial Gods.

SATURN was the son of Cœlus and Titæa or Terra, and married his sister Vesta. She, with her other sisters, persuaded their mother to join them in a plot, to exclude Titan, their elder brother, from his birthright, and raise Saturn to his father's throne. Their design so far succeeded, that Titan was obliged to resign his claim, though on condition, that Saturn brought up no male children, and thus the succession might revert to the Titans again. Saturn, it is said, observed this covenant so fait

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Terrestrial Goddesses.

CYBELE, or Vesta the elder . It is highly necessary, in tracing the genealogy of the heathen deities, to distinguish between this goddess and Vesta the younger , her daughter, because the poets have been faulty in confounding them, and ascribing the attributes and actions of the one to the other. The elder Vesta, or Cybĕle, was daughter of Cœlus and Terra, and wife of her brother Saturn, to whom she bore a numerous offspring. She had a variety of names besides that of Cybĕle, under which she is

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APOLLO AND THE MUSES.

These divinities, formerly called Mosæ, were so named from a Greek word signifying to inquire ; because, by inquiring of them, the sciences might be learnt. Others say they had their name from their resemblance, because there is a similitude, an infinity, and relation, betwixt all the sciences, in which they agree together, and are united with each other; for which reason they are often painted with their hands joined, dancing in a circle round Apollo their leader. They were represented crowned

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Gods of the Woods.

Pan , the god of shepherds and hunters, leader of the nymphs, president of the mountains, patron of a country life, and guardian of flocks and herds, was likewise adored by fishermen, especially those who lived about the promontories washed by the sea. There is scarcely any of the gods to whom the poets have given a greater diversity of parents. The most common opinion is, that he was the son of Mercury and Penelŏpe. As soon as he was born, his father carried him in a goat's skin to heaven, wher

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Goddesses of the Woods.

Diana, daughter of Jupiter and Latōna, and sister of Apollo, was born in the island of Delos. She had a threefold divinity, being styled Diāna on earth, Luna, or the moon, in heaven, and Hecăte, or Proserpine, in hell. The poets say she had three heads, one of a horse, another of a woman, and the third of a dog. Hesiod makes Diāna, Luna, and Hecăte, three distinguished goddesses. Of all the various characters of this goddess, there is no one more known than that of her presiding over woods, and

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NEPTUNE RISING FROM THE SEA

Pl. 7. Pope's Homer's Iliad. B. 13. L. 41...

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Gods of the Sea.

NEPTUNE was the son of Saturn, and Rhea or Ops, and brother of Jupiter. When arrived at maturity, he assisted his brother Jupiter in his expeditions, for which that god, on attaining to supreme power, assigned him the sea and the islands for his empire. Whatever attachment Neptune might have had to his brother at one period, he was at another expelled heaven for entering into a conspiracy against him, in conjunction with several other deities; whence he fled, with Apollo, to Laomedon, king of Tr

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Tartarus and its Deities.

TARTARUS or HELL, the region of punishment after death. The whole imaginary world, which we call Hell, though according to the ancients it was the receptacle of all departed persons, of the good as well as the bad, is divided by Virgil into five parts: the first may be called the previous region; the second is the region of waters, or the river which they were all to pass; the third is what we may call the gloomy region, and what the ancients called Erĕbus; the fourth is Tartărus, or the region

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The condemned in Hell.

TYPHŒUS, a giant of enormous size, was, according to Hesiod, son of Erĕbus, or Tartărus and Terra. His stature was prodigious. With one hand he touched the east, and with the other the west, while his head reached to the stars. Hesiod has given him an hundred heads of dragons, uttering dreadful sounds, and eyes which darted fire; flame proceeded from his mouths and nostrils, his body was encircled with serpents, and his thighs and legs were of a serpentine form. When he had almost discomfited th

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Monsters of Hell.

HARPYIÆ, or HARPIES, were three in number, their names, Celæno, Aëllo, and Ocypĕte. The ancients looked on them as a sort of Genii, or Dæmons. They had the faces of virgins, the ears of bears, the bodies of vultures, human arms and feet, and long claws, hooked like the talons of carnivorous birds. Phineas, king of Arcadia, being a prophet, and revealing the mysteries of Jupiter to mortals, was by that deity struck blind, and so tormented by the Harpies that he was ready to perish for hunger; the

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Dii indigĕtes, or Heroes who received divine Honors after Death.

HERCULES was the son of Jupiter by Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon, king of Thebes, and is said to have been born in that city about 1280 years before the Christian era. During his infancy Juno sent two serpents to kill him in his cradle, but the undaunted child grasping one in either hand, immediately strangled them both. As he grew up, he discovered an uncommon degree of vigor both of body and of mind. Nor were his extraordinary endowments neglected; for his education was intrusted to the greatest

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HECTOR'S BODY DRAGGED AT THE CAR OF ACHILLES.

Pl. 8. ACHILLES was the offspring of a goddess. Thetis bore him to Peleus, king of Thessaly, and was so fond of him, that she charged herself with his education. By day she fed him with ambrosia, and by night covered him with celestial fire, to render him immortal. She also dipped him in the waters of Styx, by which his whole body became invulnerable, except that part of his heel by which she held him. He was afterwards committed to the care of Chiron the Centaur, who fed him with honey, and the

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Other fabulous personages.

GRACES or CHARITES. Among the multitude of ancient divinities, none had more votaries that the Graces. Particular nations and countries had appropriate and local deities, but their empire was universal. To their influence was ascribed all that could please in nature and in art; and to them every rank and profession concurred in offering their vows. Their number was generally limited, by the ancient poets, to three: Euphrosyne , Thalīa , and Aglaia ; but they differed concerning their origin. Som

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