bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Women, Pharaonic Egypt
Authors: Sabbahy Lisa
Published: December 2012

There is abundant evidence, both written and pictorial, for women in ancient Egypt. We can glimpse the lives of royal, noble, as well as peasant women, although there are limitations on how clearly we can comprehend their actual status and role in ancient Egyptian society. Most of the pictorial evidence we have is from tombs, which only royalty or nobility could afford to build, and the reliefs and statuary in them show a perfect world meant for the eternal afterlife, not a truly realistic depiction of everyday life. Royal woman had their own tombs, but non‐royal women shared the tomb of their husband and are shown according to an elite male perspective, produced by male artists and craftsmen.
Neithhotep
Authors: Callender Vivianne
Published: December 2012

Usually rendered as Neith‐hotep, the queen's name means “Neith (the creator‐goddess) is content.” On her cylinder‐seal impressions, however, we have the complementary quail chick, so Hetepu‐Neith is another possible reading (“How gracious is Neith”). Names with Neit/Neith were quite common during the 1st Dynasty.
Mut (city)
Authors: Hope Colin A.
Published: December 2012

The remains of Mut, in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis, comprise a temple complex surrounded by a series of cemeteries.
Economy, Pharaonic
Authors: Warburton David A.
Published: December 2012

Understanding the economy of Pharaonic Egypt demands the recognition of four different realities: (1) the economy changed over the millennia: historical development is as relevant as the make‐up of the economy. Economics as we understand it was one of the creations of the first states; (2) although Bronze Age civilization was urban, economically it was agricultural, yet not a subsistence economy.
Quesna
Authors: Rowland Joanne M.
Published: December 2012

The archaeological area of Quesna is on top of a sandhill (a gezira or turtleback), commanding views over the surrounding landscape.
Wadi Tumilat
Authors: Tassie G. J.
Published: December 2012

The Wadi Tumilat is located in the southern half of the east Delta. It was part of the eighth Lower Egyptian
NOME
, whose capital from the Late Period was Per Temu Tjeku (Tell El‐Maskhuta).
Siptah
Authors: Dodson Aidan
Published: December 2012

The successor of Sety II of the 19th Egyptian Dynasty was known as Sekhaenre Rameses‐Siptah at his accession, but from his Year 2 until his death in Year 6, he was Akhenre Merenptah‐Siptah.
Alesia
Authors: Reddé Michel
Published: December 2012

Alesia, the
oppidum Mandubiorum
, was the location of Julius Caesar's famous siege and victory over Vercingetorix in 52
BCE
(
Bellum Gallicum
8.68). Little is known of the Mandubians, who lived between the Lingones (capital Langres) to the north, and the Aedui (capital Bibracte (Mont Beuvray)) to the south.
Augusta Emerita (Mérida)
Authors: Edmondson Jonathan
Published: December 2012

Augusta Emerita (modern Mérida) was a Roman colony—the Colonia Iulia Augusta Emerita—founded in Spanish Extremadura on the banks of the River Anas (modern Guadiana) in 25
BCE
, according to Cassius dio (53.26.1), for the “older soldiers” of the Legions V Alaudae and X Gemina engaged in Augustus' campaigns against the Cantabrians and Asturians in the far north of Spain.
Barbegal
Authors: Leveau Philippe
Published: December 2012

The Barbegal water mills are located 7 km outside Arles on the edge of the Vallee des Baux. Built on a hillside with a 30% (19°) slope, the structure was fed by an aqueduct.
Boscotrecase
Authors: Powers Jessica
Published: December 2012

Boscotrecase is a modern town located almost 20 km south of Naples on the southern slopes of Mount Vesuvius, just west of Boscoreale and north of Pompeii. Sporadic excavations have revealed several Roman villas that were destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79
CE
. Wall paintings from the best known of these villas, the so‐called villa of Agrippa Postumus, are among the finest that survive from the Augustan period.
Bulla Regia
Authors: Leone Anna
Published: December 2012

The site of Bulla Regia (Hamman Daradji) is located in the Mejerda valley.
Carnuntum
Authors: Humer Franz
Published: December 2012

Carnuntum, the center of Roman border defenses in the mid‐Danube region, is mentioned as a Celtic town in the year 6
CE
. This oldest settlement of Carnuntum was probably situated north of the Danube (Bratislava).
Cillium (Kasserine)
Authors: Cherry David
Published: December 2012

Cillium was located in a comparatively fertile part of the Tunisian upland steppe, approximately 150 miles south‐southwest of Carthage, at a strategically important pass in the Aurès mountains, between Djebel Chambi, Tunisia's highest mountain (5066 ft), and Djebel Semmama. In antiquity, the pass allowed seasonal movement between the semi‐arid, mostly pastoralist region south of Cillium and the rich grain‐producing areas to its north. The region was home to several semi‐nomadic tribes, notably the Musulamii and the Fraxii.
Deva (Chester)
Authors: Bidwell Paul
Published: December 2012

Deva (Chester) was a Roman fortress on a navigable part of the River Dee.
Elbe
Authors: Wells Peter S.
Published: December 2012

The Elbe River represented an unachieved goal of Roman military conquest in northern Europe and was a major route of communication for the peoples that inhabited the lands along its course.
Ensérune
Authors: Garcia Dominique
Published: December 2012

Located 10 km southwest of Béziers in what is now southern France, theoppidumof Ensérune occupies a natural strategic spot, close to the sea and the lagoon as well as the pre‐Roman road known as the Heraclean Way.
Hadrian's Wall
Authors: Witcher Robert
Published: December 2012

“Hadrian's Wall” is the modern name for the complex of military works which defined the northern frontier of the Roman Empire for three centuries. A series of linear fortifications extended 117 kilometers across the Tyne‐Solway isthmus from Wallsend (
Segedunum
) in the east to Bowness‐on‐Solway (
Maia
) in the west.
Hispalis (Seville)
Authors: Hernández Juan Pablo Sánchez
Published: December 2012

Hispalis, or Hispal (Pomponius Mela 2.6.4, Plin. 3.3.11, Sil. Ital. 3.392), ’'Iσπαλι (Ptol. 2.4.10, Cass. Dio 43.39.5), or ‘'Iπoλα (Philostr.
VA
5.9) was the administrative and economic center of one of the four
conventus iuridici
into which the province of Baetica was partitioned.
Isca
Authors: Gardner Andrew
Published: December 2012

The Roman fortress of Isca at Caerleon (Newport, Wales) was one of the three long‐term legionary bases in Britain, along with Deva (Chester) and Eboracum (York).
Lambaesis
Authors: Lemak Joseph
Published: December 2012

Lambaesis (modern‐day Tazzoult), located in North Africa in ancient
Numidia
north of the Aurès mountain range, was one of the most important Roman military bases in Africa.
Misenum
Authors: Tuck Steven L.
Published: December 2012

Misenum is a large, steep‐sided promontory of 40 ha rising over 100 m above sea level that defines the northern edge of the Bay of Naples. It projects into the Tyrrhenian Sea, dominating both the Bay as well as the Tyrrhenian and overlooking the islands of Procida and Ischia. Its location served as a natural spot for the cliffside villas of elite Romans in the Late Republican period. In the Roman imperial period it became the headquarters for the Roman navy.
Mogontiacum (Mainz)
Authors: Wilson R. J. A.
Published: December 2012

A double legionary fortress of 36 ha (89 acres), on a terrace above the Rhine at its confluence with the Main, was founded in 13/12
BCE
in support of Augustus' ambition to conquer territory east of the Rhine, to be masterminded by his stepson Drusus. However, Drusus died in 9
BCE
, much mourned by his troops. The 19.6 m (64 ft) high funerary monument outside the fortress to the southeast (“Eichelstein” or “Drususstein”) may well be a cenotaph built in his memory.
Narbo Martius (Narbonne)
Authors: Sabrie Raymond
Published: December 2012

Narbo Martius, founded in 118
BCE
, played a prestigious role as the political and religious center of the province of Gallia Narbonensis and made an important contribution to the Romanization of southern Gaul. The motives for founding Narbo Martius were strategic, commercial, and social. Rome chose a site at the base of the Gulf of Lion with direct access to the sea via the Aude River as the basis for the new colony. After the Gallic War in 45
BCE
, Caesar organized a second expansion of the colony and, in 27
BCE
, Augustus stayed in Narbonne to reorganize the colony's administration. Under Diocletian, the province was dissolved and only the western part was administered from Narbonne. The Visigoths made Narbonne their capital from 462 to 501
CE
.
Paestum (Poseidonia)
Authors: Higginbotham James
Published: December 2012

In a second wave of Greek settlement in southern Italy, colonists from Sybaris founded Poseidonia (the city's Greek name) at the end of the seventh centuryBCEon the western coast of Italy approximately 80 km southeast of Naples (Arist.Pol. 5.1303a). The colony's location afforded access to the fertile plain while maintaining vital contacts by sea and overland through the Lucanian hills. Strabo (5.4.13) reports that the colonists established a fortified base (teichos) on the sea before moving to another location inland.
Potaissa (Cluj, Romania)
Authors: Alexandrescu Cristina‐Georgeta
Published: December 2012

Potaissa
was an important Roman town that developed near the legionary camp on the main strategic and commercial thoroughfare of Dacia. Its ruins lie under the present‐day town Turda. The name is of Dacian origin and appears in the ancient sources (Ptol. 3.8.4:
Patrouissa
; Tab. Peut.;
Rav.Cosm
. 4.7; Ulp.
De cens., Dig
. 50.15.1.8.9).
Puteoli
Authors: Tuck Steven L.
Published: December 2012

Puteoli was founded in ca. 600 as a Greek colony by Cumae and political refugees from Samos and was originally called Dicearchia, the City of Just Rule. Its Greek character continued through its history as seen in its festivals, temples, and personal names. For much of its history, Puteoli was the second city of Italy; as the major harbor on the Bay of Naples, Puteoli was the commercial center of Italy for over 300 years, with special ties to the eastern Mediterranean and the critical trade from Alexandria, notably Egyptian grain. From its position on the northern half of the Bay, it was relatively untouched by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79
CE
, so its role was only briefly interrupted by the devastation that afflicted the southern edge of the Bay.
Rome, city of: 1. Prehistoric (earliest remains)
Authors: Bettelli Marco
Published: December 2012

The concept of proto‐urban was introduced into the study of Italian proto‐history by Renato Peroni and his school. This concept is crucial for understanding the development of research into the origins of the city of Rome, especially in light of what is now known about the birth of urban centers in nearby Etruria and other regions of the Italian peninsula between the end of the Bronze Age and the earliest stages of the Iron Age (tenth to ninth centuriesBCE: hereafter, all the absolute dates are given according to traditional chronology).
Rome, city of: 2. Republican
Authors: Van Dusen Rachel
Published: December 2012

According to ancient tradition, the Roman Republic began in 509 with the expulsion of the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus (Livy 1.60; Dion. Hal.Ant.Rom. 1.75).
Saguntum (Sagunto)
Authors: Gascó Carmen Aranegui
Published: December 2012

Saguntum (province of Valencia, Spain) was an
oppidum
(19.7 acres) on the center of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian peninsula, famous for its fidelity to Rome during the Second Punic War (218–202
BCE
).
Taras/Tarentum
Authors: Lippolis Enzo
Published: December 2012

Taras (Latin Tarentum; modern Taranto) was a city and harbor in southern Italy.
Tarquinii (Tarquinia)
Authors: Colantoni Elizabeth
Published: December 2012

Tarquinii (in Latin; Etruscan Tarch(u)na; modern Tarquinia), a prominent Etruscan city‐state, was a place of political, economic, and cultural importance in the Mediterranean world of late prehistory and after. The site is now most famous for its painted tombs.
Thysdrus (El Jem)
Authors: Jerbania Imed Ben
Published: December 2012

Thysdrus (modern El Jem) was one of the most important cities of Roman Africa, located at the crossroads of routes connecting the large port cities of Hadrumetum, Leptiminus, and Sullechthum with the interior.
Tropaeum Traiani (Adamklissi)
Authors: Black Erin L.
Published: December 2012

The Tropaeum Traiani (Trophy of Trajan) at Adamklissi, Romania is a monumental commemorative trophy that was erected in the Roman province of Lower Moesia (
see
Moesia).
Aventicum (Avenches)
Authors: Fuchs Michel E.
Published: December 2012

Aventicum is referred to as
caput Helvetiorum,
the capital of the Helvetii, by Tacitus (Hist. 1.67–9), while inscriptions refer to it as the
civitas Helvetiorum,
the city of the Helvetii.
Colonia Iulia Equestris/Noviodunum (Nyon, Switzerland)
Authors: Dubosson Benoît
Published: December 2012

Colonia Iulia Equestris, also known as Noviodunum, was the first Roman colony to be established in present‐day Switzerland. Located at the Swiss plateau's southwestern end, between Lake Geneva and the Jura range, it went through a major development during the first two centuries
CE
, after which it declined, supplanted by the neighboring city of Genava (Geneva).
Curia (Coire)
Authors: Fuchs Michel E.
Published: December 2012

Chur (Curia), a crossroads where several routes over the Alps met, was the first important stop on the road of the Julier and Septimer passes, between the Rhine and the Mediterranean.
Cortona
Authors: Fracchia Helena
Published: December 2012

Cortona, in central Tuscany, allegedly founded by the Trojan hero Dardanos, was first mentioned by Herodotus (1.57) and later by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Lycophron, and Silius Italicus: the settlement's ancient importance is documented archaeologically by a Villanovan settlement, Etruscan monumental grave circles, and a meeting house, an Etruscan palatial complex, by large princely burial tumuli (eighth–sixth centuries
BCE
) and later chamber tombs (fourth‐third centuries
BCE
).
Via Appia
Authors: Hunt Patrick
Published: December 2012

The Via Appia – often called
regina viarum
or “queen of roads” since antiquity – was the first of the major Roman roads, begun in 312
BCE
under its namesake Appius Claudius (
gens
Claudia), a patrician who was also a politician (
censor
at the time) with strong plebeian support.
Ara Pacis Augustae
Authors: von Dippe Roger
Published: December 2012

The Altar of Augustan Peace was authorized by the Roman Senate in 13
BCE
, on Augustus' return from Spain and Gaul. It stood in the Campus Martius and consists of an enclosure wall, measuring 11.6 m by 10.6 m, which surrounds a stepped altar. The relief sculptures of the marble wall project a powerful political message, intended to convince the Roman people ofthe benefits ofAugustan rule.
Abraxas
Authors: Pollard Elizabeth Ann
Published: December 2012

Abraxas, also called Abrasax, is a solar deity found in Greco‐Egyptian magical papyri, on magical amulets, and in Gnostic thought. The numerological value of Abraxas is 365 (using the standard numerical equivalents for the Greek letters that make up his name), equaling the number of days in a year and also the numerological value of Meithras, another solar power in antiquity (Leclercq 1907: 132).
Aeternitas
Authors: Barden Dowling Melissa
Published: December 2012

Aeternitas
, “Eternal Time,” appeared in Roman literature in the Late Republic, was connected to the emperor on coinage of Tiberius, and received Personification in the coinage of Vespasian.
Agathos Daimon
Authors: Martin Katharina
Published: December 2012

Agathos Daimon initially is an abstract concept of a “good spirit” that is active in various, mainly private, contexts: for example, fertility and prosperity, protection of the household, and burial.
Aidos
Authors: Smith Amy C.
Published: December 2012

Aidos, an abstraction whose meaning ranges from shame to modesty, is personified in literature (Hani 1980) but not art (Cairns 1996). Homer contrastsaidos, personal shame, with Nemesis, public indignation (Scott 1980).
Altar
Authors: Haase Mareile
Published: December 2012

Altars may best be defined by function rather than by form. They constituted the focus of ritual action, such as prayer and various forms of sacrifice, formed the arrival point of sacrificial processions, and were places of refuge (asylon/asylum).
Ambarvalia
Authors: Holland Lora L.
Published: December 2012

Ritual lustration of fields and crops is a feature of some pre‐industrial agricultural communities, for example, Bronze Age Ugaritic practices in southwest Asia or eighth century
CE
Japanese Shinto rites.
Amphictyony
Authors: Scott Michael C.
Published: December 2012

An amphictyony, deriving from the word
amphiktiones
(“dwellers around”), was one of the many different types of organized grouping possible within the ancient Greek world.
Aoros
Authors: Hanesworth Pauline
Published: December 2012

Aorosrefers to one who has died prematurely: children, the unmarried, and those who die without bearing and rearing children. Dying without the honor attendant upon marriage and children,aoroidwell apart from the regular dead either wandering the earth (Tert.De anim. 56) or situated on the margins of the Underworld (Verg. Aen. 6.426–9).
Apatouria
Authors: Taylor Martha C.
Published: December 2012

The Apatouria, an important festival celebrated by Ionians, including Athenians, was for Herodotus one of two criteria of Ionian identity (Hdt. 1.147). In Athens the Apatouria was the central element in the ritual calendar of the phratries, the kinship organizations crucial for determining Athenian citizenship. The three‐day festival occurred in the autumn in the month Pyanepsion and was celebrated at the separate phratry shrines throughout Attica. There was a feast on the first day, and a sacrifice to Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria on the second. On the third day, fathers would introduce their sons for admission to the phratry (and, in effect, to Athenian citizenship). In the normal course of events this occurred during a child's first few years. Our sources suggest that there were various athletic and intellectual literary competitions over the three days in which the children of thephraterescould demonstrate their merit. Ancient scholarship links the Apatouria to the myth of the ritual combat between the Athenian Melanthos (the “dark one”) and the Boiotian Xanthos (the “fair one”) for the kingship of Attica, which Melanthos won through a trick (apate) (HellanikosFGrH4 F23). Although some modern scholars have therefore seen a connection to the ephebes and to rites of passage involving social inversion, the rituals of the festival have no apparent connection to the narrative of the myth, and most modern scholars now link the Apatouria to “the control, maintenance, and affirmation of kinship and of membership in society at every level” (Lambert 1993: 151).
Aphrodite
Authors: Wallensten Jenny
Published: December 2012

Aphrodite was one of the mightiest Olympians, traditionally known as the goddess of love, sex, and beauty. However, recent scholarship underlines her complex character and has revealed that her sphere of influence was less restricted than formerly thought. Besides presiding over every aspect of sexuality, Aphrodite also filled significant functions in the marine, martial, and political spheres of the Greek cities. It is furthermore clear from the ancient evidence that Aphrodite was not mainly a goddess of women and private life. Among her worshipers were men and women, officials of the polis, and private individuals alike.
Army cult, Roman
Authors: Irby‐Massie Georgia L.
Published: December 2012

Roman army cults, both public and private, provided an important focus of identity and loyalty for soldiers of different ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.
Arrhephoria
Authors: Stehle Eva
Published: December 2012

At Athens, a ritual (“Bearing” ?) performed annually (?) by two young girls called “Arrhephoroi,” who lived on the Acropolis for a period and served Athena Polias.
Artemis
Authors: Petrovic Ivana
Published: December 2012

Artemis was one of the most important Greek goddesses, with a widespread cult and numerous sanctuaries all over the Greek world.
Asklepios
Authors: Mylonopoulos Ioannis
Published: December 2012

In Greek antiquity, the omnipresence of illness and death transformed the process of healing into one of the most powerful areas of communication with the divine sphere.
Astral deities, Greece and Rome
Authors: Hijmans Steven E.
Published: December 2012

The fixed stars, thought to be attached to a sphere that circled the earth, were deemed to be of a higher order by virtue of their perfect motion (circular) and associated shape (sphere), and hence divine.
Athena
Authors: Stehle Eva
Published: December 2012

Daughter of Zeus, born from his head, and goddess of war, crafts, cleverness; city‐protector; patron of heroes. When and where the Greeks first adopted Athena is unknown.
Brigantia
Authors: Tomlin R. S. O.
Published: December 2012

Romano‐British goddess who personified the Brigantes, the largest tribe in Roman Britain, which, according to Ptolemy, extended ”from sea to sea”
(Geog
. 2.3.10) – across the Pennines and most of northern England. Appropriately the name derives from Celtic *frng‐(”high”), like that of the Irish saint Brigit, who may have once been a cognate deity. The only representation is the stone figure from Birrens (Dumfriesshire)
(CSIR
I.4, No. 12=
RIB
2091), a winged female warrior with shield, spear, and orb, plumed helmet with mural crown implying power to protect a city or people, the Gorgon's‐head
aegis
on her breast, and a conical
omphalos
stone beside her. These attributes identify her with Minerva, Victoria, and Dea Caelestis, the North African Juno/Tanit. The only other evidence of her cult and its extent are seven inscribed altars:
RIB
623 (found near Huddersfield, in the masculine form
Bregans); RIB
627 (dedicated near Halifax in 208
CE
, which equates her with Victoria);
RIB
628 (Castleford);
RIB
630 (near Leeds);
RIB
1053 (South Shields);
RIB
1131 (Corbridge, dedicated by a centurion who equates her with Caelestis and Juno Regina, the consort of Jupiter Dolichenus); and
RIB
2066 (Brampton, near Carlisle, dedicated by the imperial procurator of Britain to the ”goddess‐nymph” Brigantia for the well‐being of the emperor Caracalla, probably in 212
CE
). These may imply official recognition in the early third century
CE
, perhaps as personifying the new province of Lower Britain, but the evidence from Birrens, which was apparently abandoned ca. 180
CE
, proves that the cult already existed.
Caelestis
Authors: Bessi Benedetta
Published: December 2012

The cult of Caelestis was very significant in Roman North Africa, where it was often associated with that of Saturn. However, unlike that of her companion, the cult of this divinity spread outside North Africa and is also attested in other Roman provinces (Dacia, Britain, Gaul, and Germany) as well as in Rome itself, where the emperor Elagabalus organized a splendid wedding ceremony for her with his god Elagabalus (Herodian 5.6.4–5; Cass. Dio 80.12).
Carmentis and Carmentalia
Authors: Holland Lora L.
Published: December 2012

Carmentis, or Carmenta, is an early Roman goddess, or perhaps one of a divine group, the Carmentes. Her name probably derives from Latin
carmen
(a special utterance, such as a spell, song, or poem), which suggests her original nature as the abstraction of the prophetic voice.
Indigitamenta
such as Postvorta (“Turned Backwards”) and Porrima (“Facing Forward”) help her see into the past and future; but she is also designated a birth goddess, with her helpers' names referring to the position of infants at birth.
Colors and color perception, Greece and Rome
Authors: Bradley Mark
Published: December 2012

The issue of ancient color perception and discrimination represents one of the oldest and most contested problems of classical philology.
Cult attendants, Greek
Authors: Horster Marietta
Published: December 2012

In administrative, organizational, financial, and cultic duties, priests were often assisted and supported by cult attendants.
Diana
Authors: Holland Lora L.
Published: December 2012

Diana was the Latin and, therefore, the Roman goddess of the hunt.
Dius Fidius
Authors: Mueller Hans‐Friedrich
Published: December 2012

The full name of this god who guarded oaths seems to have been Semo Sancus Dius Fidius (
CIL
VI 30795, 30994), although Semo Sancus and Dius Fidius are frequently treated by both ancient and modern authors as separate names referring to the same god.
Dolichenus
Authors: Blömer Michael , Winter Engelbert
Published: December 2012

The local supreme god of the Kommagenian town of Doliche (today Dülük, southeastern Turkey) was venerated under the name Jupiter Dolichenus throughout the Roman Empire. His original sanctuary is on the summit of a local mountain (modern name Dülük Baba Tepesi), situated 3 km outside Doliche. Excavations conducted there since 2001 have attested to the continuous religious importance of the site since at least the late Iron Age.
Equirria
Authors: McDonough Christopher M.
Published: December 2012

A paired set of festivals in honor of Mars, celebrated on February 27 and March 14, during which horse‐races were held on the Campus Martius (cf. Varr.
Ling
. 6.13; Ov.
Fast
. 2.856–62, 3.519–22).
Etrusca disciplina
Authors: de Grummond Nancy T.
Published: December 2012

TheEtrusca disciplinais Etruscan systematic teachings about how to divine the will of the gods and act in accordance with it.
Euhemeros and Euhemerism
Authors: de Jáuregui Miguel Herrero
Published: December 2012

Euhemerism is a rationalistic approach to mythology that considers it derived from historical facts: gods were significant men of ancient times who were later deified, and myths, correspondingly, derive from human deeds that later generations interpreted as divine.
Fate, Greece and Rome
Authors: Wildberger Jula
Published: December 2012

Like English “fate,” the Latin wordfatumhas two basic meanings: (1) an irrevocably predetermined event or condition, in particular death, that befalls an individual; and (2) the power or principle that thus predetermines events both for individuals and in the world as a whole.
Feriale Duranum
Authors: Irby‐Massie Georgia L.
Published: December 2012

A fragmentary papyrus calendar, in four columns, with verso blank,
P. Dura 54
is datable to 223–227
CE
(Severus Alexander); it was found in 1931–1932 in the archives of the
Cohors XX Palmyrenorum
at Dura‐Europos.
Feronia
Authors: Glinister Fay
Published: December 2012

A goddess widely worshipped in Central Italy (Varro
Ling
. 5.74 thought her Sabine), particularly venerated by freed slaves (Livy 22.1.18).
Fetiales
Authors: Woodard Roger D.
Published: December 2012

The
Fetiales
constituted a college of priests in ancient Rome. The principal function of these priests was the declaration of war and the making of treaties.
First fruits
Authors: Naiden F. S.
Published: December 2012

The Greek and Roman practice of giving first fruits to the gods was chiefly agricultural.
Haloa
Authors: Dillon Matthew
Published: December 2012

Most of the Haloa festival, honoring the deities Demeter, Kore, and Dionysos, was carried out in secrecy by citizen women. It was celebrated at Eleusis, south of Athens, during the winter (the 26th day of the month Posideion).
Hekate
Authors: Mili Maria
Published: December 2012

Hekate is best known as a minor deity, connected with various practices that scholars tend to classify as magic.
Hermes
Authors: Mylonopoulos Ioannis
Published: December 2012

Already an important deity in the Mycenaean pantheon, Hermes is mentioned in the Linear B tablets found in the palatial archives of Pylos, Thebes, and Knossos.
Holocaust
Authors: Ekroth Gunnel
Published: December 2012

From Greekholos, “entire,” andkaustos, “burnt.” Sacrifice at which the offerings are totally destroyed by fire, usually accomplished with animal victims, but also with cakes, grain, and vegetative materials.
Honos
Authors: Dowling Melissa Barden
Published: December 2012

Honos, normally paired with Virtus (Martial Courage), personified the honor and status acquired through successful military action.
Hygieia
Authors: Mylonopoulos Ioannis
Published: December 2012

In addition to the two sons of Asklepios, Machaon, and Podaleirios, Hygieia is certainly the most significant of Asklepios' offspring.
Iguvine Tables
Authors: Weiss Michael
Published: December 2012

The Iguvine Tables (Tabulae Iguvinae) are seven bronze tablets discovered in 1444 in the Umbrian town of Gubbio (ancientIguvium).
Iovis epulum
Authors: McDonough Christopher M.
Published: December 2012

The
Iovis epulum
, “feast of Jupiter,” was an elaborate feast celebrated publicly in Jupiter's honor on the Capitoline hill during the
Ludi Plebeii
on the Ides of November and, at least from Augustan times, during the
Ludi Romani
on the Ides of September.
Juventas
Authors: Woodard Roger D.
Published: December 2012

Juventas is the Roman goddess of the
iuvenes
, men of military age.
Karneia
Authors: Kowalzig Barbara
Published: December 2012

Karneia is the main Dorian festival celebrated in honor of Apollo Karneios.
Libations, Roman
Authors: Bendlin Andreas
Published: December 2012

Thelibatiowas a ritual offering of liquids poured but also of solid substances presented to a deity.
Liber and Libera
Authors: Holland Lora L.
Published: December 2012

Liber, or Leiber (VarroLing. 6.2 cites an old form *Loebesos), and Libera are indigenous Roman/Italian deities who, along with Ceres, form the Aventine Triad, a plebeian version of the Capitoline Triad.
Liberalia
Authors: Holland Lora L.
Published: December 2012

The festival of the Liberalia was celebrated in Rome and Latium on March 17, in honor of the deities Liber and Libera.
Lua
Authors: Holland Lora L.
Published: December 2012

Lua, also called Lua Mater and Lua Saturni, is an obscure Italian goddess known only from literary references. There are no extant images of Lua, nor is there archaeological evidence for her cult. Scholars connect her name with the Latin verbluere, “to suffer, to make amends for,” as well as the Greek verbluō, “to lose” (de Vaan 2008: 353). Beyond that, they have agreed on little.
Men
Authors: Roller Lynn E.
Published: December 2012

Men was an Anatolian deity whose cult was particularly prominent in Lydia, but is also well attested in Phrygia, Caria, Pisidia, Lycaonia, and the Pontic region.
Minerva
Authors: Scopacasa Rafael
Published: December 2012

Minerva (EtruscanMenrua) was an Italian goddess chiefly associated with arts and handicrafts, as well as with martial prowess and medicine.
Nekydaimon
Authors: Hanesworth Pauline
Published: December 2012

Nekydaimon, a term found predominantly in the Greek Magical Papyri (seeMagical papyri, greek) but denoting a concept that spans ancient magical practices, refers to the soul of a dead person.
Neokoros
Authors: Burrell Barbara
Published: December 2012

Neokoros (“temple‐warden”) was an official whose duties could range from sacrifice to upkeep and wardship over a shrine and its valuables (Burrell 2004: 3–6). From the late first centuryCEit became a title granted to cities of the Roman east honored with their province's temple to the current emperor(s).
Odysseus
Authors: Anderson Ralph
Published: December 2012

Mythical king of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Antikleia; with Penelope, father of Telemachos.
Omphalos
Authors: Kindt Julia
Published: December 2012

Ancient Greek for “navel,” “umbilical cord,” and, metaphorically, “center, middle‐point.”
Orestes
Authors: Kanavou Nikoletta
Published: December 2012

Mythical hero, son of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra.
Panathenaia
Authors: Taylor Martha C.
Published: December 2012

The Panathenaia, the most important festival in Athens, was celebrated annually on several days in Hekatombaion (a midsummer month) in honor of Athena Polias, “Athena of the City.”
Pax deorum
Authors: Johnson Michael
Published: December 2012

Pax deorum
(“peace of the gods”) denotes the central goal of Roman state religion: a mutually beneficial state of peace between Rome and its deities, with the gods safeguarding Rome's public welfare (
salus publica
; cf. Cic.
Rab
.
perd
. 5) and the Romans providing the gods their desired worship and cult.
Penates, di penates
Authors: McDonough Christopher M.
Published: December 2012

The (di)Penateswere the premier Roman gods of guardianship.
Personification
Authors: Smith Amy C.
Published: December 2012

Artists as early as Homer created personifications – representations of nouns in human form – to explain aspects of the primary characters, particularly Olympian divinities: the Litai (Prayers) as daughters of Zeus, for example, express an aspect of Zeus' broad‐ranging powers.
Pilgrimage
Authors: Rutherford Ian
Published: December 2012

Defined at its broadest, a pilgrimage is a journey of unusual length to a sacred place for a religious reason, a phenomenon found in almost all societies, past and present.
Pomerium
Authors: Orlin Eric
Published: December 2012

The
pomerium
was the sacred boundary of the city of Rome, not always on the same line as the city walls.
Procharisteria
Authors: Taylor Martha C.
Published: December 2012

The Procharisteria, or festival of “Thanks in advance,” known to us only from lexicographical sources, was an Athenian festival in which, according to the
Suda
(s.v., P 2968) “all those in office sacrificed to Athena when the plants are beginning to grow, and winter is already ending.”
Prodigies, Greece and Rome
Authors: Engels David
Published: December 2012

Whereas divination through extispicy (
see
haruspices
), auguries, and oracles seemed to enable humans or collectivities to question divinities about the future (
auspicia impetrativa
), the gods themselves could also actively communicate with humans (
auspicia oblativa
) thanks to dreams or prodigies.
Quirinus
Authors: Smith Christopher J.
Published: December 2012

The god Quirinus appears at one and the same time to be deeply rooted in Roman religious practice and curiously vague. The festival of the Quirinalia was celebrated on February 17.
Religion, Persian
Authors: Jong Albert De
Published: December 2012

In order to gain an overview of the variety of religion(s) in the Iranian world in antiquity, scholars need to make difficult choices. Since Iranians rejected the use of writing for literary and religious purposes (relying on oral transmission for both), there are few sources that can help out. Much of the discussion is dominated by attempts to combine the sources we have and give an estimate of the ways in which they are connected.
Roma, Goddess
Authors: Mueller Hans‐Friedrich
Published: December 2012

The “goddess of Rome,” ordea Roma, refers to two related, but distinct conceptions. The first was a Roman god or goddess who protected the city of Rome, but whose identity was kept secret to prevent enemies from luring this tutelary divinity elsewhere. A favorite topic of speculation for ancient scholars, candidates include Jupiter, Luna, Ops, and Eros, among others (Macrob.Sat. 3.9.4; Plin.HN28.18; LydusDe mens. 4.73; Plut.Quaest.Rom. 61; Servius DanielisAen. 2.351).
Sacrifice, Greek
Authors: Naiden F. S.
Published: December 2012

The term “sacrifice,” from the Latinsacra facere, “to do sacred things” (renderable into Greek ashiera rezein), denotes a congeries of Greek practices. Best known is the slaughter of animals as offerings to the gods, often (but not always) before a meal at which the worshippers ate most of the flesh of the animal while consigning part to the gods or to the officiants.
Taurobolium
Authors: Roller Lynn E.
Published: December 2012

The taurobolium was a ritual involving the sacrifice of a bull in honor of a deity, usually the Roman Magna Mater, or Cybele. The practice is first attested in the early second century
CE
in Asia Minor, where it involves bull running and capture, rather than the actual sacrifice of an animal.
Theoria
Authors: Rutherford Ian
Published: December 2012

The Greek wordtheoriameans “watching,” and has two special senses in Greek culture: first, a religious delegation sent by a Greek city, to consult an oracle or take part in a festival at a sanctuary outside its territory, and second, philosophical contemplation.Theoriain the first sense is attested from the sixth centuryBCEuntil the Roman Empire, but the sources are particularly rich in the Hellenistic period. Sacred delegates were calledtheoroi, were often led by a so‐calledarchitheoros, and if they went by sea, the vehicle was atheoris‐ship.
Ver Sacrum
Authors: Scopacasa Rafael
Published: December 2012

We read of the ritual of the “Ver Sacrum” (Sacred Spring) in connection with archaic and Hellenistic Italy.
Maenads
Authors: Topper Kathryn
Published: December 2012

Female worshippers of Dionysos, maenads (“mad women”) engaged in ritual frenzies that compelled them to take to the mountains and perform nocturnal dances to musical accompaniment; in myth, their rites could culminate in the dismemberment of live victims and consumption of their raw flesh.
Erechtheus/Erichthonios
Authors: Stehle Eva
Published: December 2012

Earth‐born hero and mythical king, emblem of Athenian autochthony. Why the double name exists is unclear.
Confarreatio
Authors: Hersch Karen K.
Published: December 2012

Of the three methods by which a Roman woman could enter into themanusof her husband (confarreatio,usus, andcoemptio), onlyconfarreatioseems to have been understood by Romans as a religious wedding ceremony accompanied by the acquisition ofmanus.Ususimplied cohabitation for one uninterrupted year, andcoemptiothe exchanging of goods or money in a symbolic sale.
Antioch in Syria
Authors: Butcher Kevin
Published: December 2012

Antioch was a city of the Syrian Tetrapolis founded by Seleukos I Nikator between 301 and 299BCEand named after his father, Antiochos.
Arabia Felix
Authors: Graf David F.
Published: December 2012

The LatinArabia FelixorBeatacorresponds to the GreekEudaimon Arabia(“happy, fortunate, fertile, lucky Arabia”).
Cities, Roman Empire (west)
Authors: Bartels Jens
Published: December 2012

Today “city” means both a specific kind of settlement and a special form of political organization.
Colonies, Roman Empire (east)
Authors: Mitchell Stephen
Published: December 2012

Colonies in the Eastern Roman Empire did not differ formally or in legal status from their counterparts in Italy and the western provinces, but their context poses a substantially different set of historical questions for modern observers to investigate. Westerncoloniae, self‐governing communities of Roman citizens, were not sharply distinguished in the provincial landscape ofmunicipia, Romanized towns whose magistrates acquired citizenship and whose populations assimilated Roman life‐styles. Colonies in the east contrasted with the prevailing pattern of Greekpoleisin the origin of their inhabitants, in language use, in the legal rights of their citizens compared to those of other free‐born subjects of Roman rule in the east, and in their ideological orientation.
Colonies, Roman Empire (west)
Authors: Bispham Edward
Published: December 2012

With the emergence of the principate came a reformulation of Roman identity; the canonical expressions of the ritual and ideological underpinnings of Roman colonies are also Augustan.
Corinth
Authors: Freitag Klaus
Published: December 2012

The urban center was situated in the northeast Peloponnese near the Isthmus, and was strongly fortified since the fifth centuryBCE. The neighboring polis to the northeast was Megara. To the west, Corinthian territory bordered on Sikyon (Strabo 8.6.25) and in the south and southwest on Kleonai, Argos, and Epidauros.
Gardens, Roman
Authors: Giesecke Annette L.
Published: December 2012

The wide range of meaning applied to the Latin word for garden,hortus, is indicative of the immeasurable importance of gardens in the Roman world. Thehortusmay be a garden devoted primarily to the production of vegetables and fruit, an agricultural plot or vineyard, a farm property, a suburban or urban villa with its gardens, or a pleasure garden. In the case of garden estates and pleasure gardens, however,horti, the plural ofhortus, is the usual designation. In a more specialized sense,hortusandhortialso connote the philosophical school of Epicurus.
Herodes Atticus
Authors: Bowie Ewen L.
Published: December 2012

Born into a top Athenian family, Herodes Atticus (ca. 101–177CE) played an important part in Athens' internal politics, its relations with emperors, and its sophistic culture.
Hispania
Authors: Campedelli Camilla
Published: December 2012

The term Hispania corresponds with today's Iberian peninsula.
Caria
Authors: Mitchell Stephen
Published: December 2012

Caria was a region of southwest Asia Minor between the Maeander and Indus rivers. Its boundaries varied at different periods.
Languages, Roman Empire (west)
Authors: Penney J. H. W.
Published: December 2012

The best evidence for languages other than Latin in the Roman Empire naturally comes from direct attestation in the form of inscriptions, yet many languages were never written down.
Latin language, Roman Empire (east)
Authors: Kreinecker Christina M.
Published: December 2012

The Roman Empire was a conglomerate of cultures, nations and also, therefore, of languages. Contact between languages was part of everyday life, in particular within the military, the administration, and among merchants. As the Romans successfully expanded south and east from 63BCE, the end of the Third Mithradatic War, to the time of Trajan, they took control of regions that had been under Greek cultural influence from the time of Alexander the Great, in which native languages were gradually, but definitely replaced by Greek in the public sphere, especially in the cities. The Romans, therefore, encountered an existing Greek linguistic infrastructure, which could be used by their administration. Latin played a role at official level, but was largely irrelevant to everyday life.
Latin language, Roman Empire (west)
Authors: Clackson James
Published: December 2012

In the Western Roman Empire, Latin was the language of the army, of administration, literature, and law.
Mansiones, mutationes
Authors: Kolb Anne
Published: December 2012

Mansioneswere overnight stopping places along main routes in the Roman Empire.
Moesia
Authors: Zahariade Mihail
Published: December 2012

Moesia was a strip of territory about 75 km wide situated north of the Balkan (Haemus) Mountains, which stretched from Singidunum (Belgrade) to the mouth of the Danube and the Black Sea.
Weaponry, Rome
Authors: Coulston J. C. N.
Published: December 2012

The infantry of Roman legions partook in the Archaic and Classical Mediterranean mode of short‐bladed swords.
Actium
Authors: Rankov Boris
Published: December 2012

The promontory of Actium lies in Akarnania in northwestern Greece, on the southern side of the mouth of the Ambrakian Gulf, opposite the modern town of Preveza.
Apollodoros of Damascus
Authors: Rance Philip
Published: December 2012

Apollodoros of Damascus was a renowned engineer and architect active under Trajan (98–17) and Hadrian (11–78), and an author of treatises on siegecraft and military engineering.
Athenaeus Mechanicus
Authors: Rance Philip
Published: December 2012

Athenaeus, conventionally styled “Mechanicus” in modern literature, was the author of a short treatise on siege‐engines, entitled
On Machines (Peri mechanematon)
and addressed to a “most august Marcellus.” The date, authorship, and context of this work were long disputed, but scholarly consensus since the nineteenth century holds that the dedicatee was most probably M. Claudius Marcellus (42–23
BCE
), nephew and son‐in‐law of Augustus.
Aurelian (Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus) Davis
Authors: Davis Raymond
Published: December 2012

Aurelian, Roman emperor 270–5CE(PIR2D 135;PLRE1.129–30;REDomitius 36), was born September 9 in (probably) 214, in what would later be the province of Dacia Ripensis, south of the Danube.
Caecina Alienus, Aulus
Authors: Evans Richard
Published: December 2012

Given the rarity of the name, Caecina was probably related to the A. Caecina Severus (cos. 1
BCE
) and A. Caecina Paetus (cos. 37
CE
).
Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus)
Authors: Gibson Alisdair
Published: December 2012

Tiberius Claudius Germanicus (10BCE–54CE) was born on August 1 in Lugdunum (Lyons), the main city in Gallia Lugdunensis.
Claudius Quintillus(Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus Augustus)
Authors: Davis Raymond
Published: December 2012

Perhaps born ca. 220
CE
, of Danubian origin, Claudius Quintillus (
PLRE
I 579;
PIR
2
A 1480) was Roman emperor for two or three months in the summer of 270. His acceptance of the throne, mainly on the basis of being the younger brother of his predecessor Claudius II, displayed the problems of hereditary succession when it did not produce the most capable candidate at a time when the empire faced critical economic and military problems.
Comites
Authors: Whately Conor
Published: December 2012

Comites
, singular
comes
, literally “counts,” could be a number of things, from officials and commanders to elite cavalry regiments. Originally, the term applied to high‐ranking senators and
equites
who accompanied the emperor, and it was only later that it was applied to military officers, officials, and cavalry regiments. The term seems to have become formalized under Constantine I.
Conspiracies against emperors
Authors: Schwinghammer Gundula
Published: December 2012

Many conspiracies against emperors can be observed during the course of Roman history (Lat.
Coniuratio
a conspiracy, plot, treason, intrigue;
coniuro
to join in a plot, form a conspiracy).
Contarii
Authors: Whately Conor
Published: December 2012

Contarii
, the Greek
kontophoroi
, were mounted lancers who usually wore a coat of mail, and were so named because their primary weapon was the
contus
, a long thrusting spear that seems to have required the use of two hands.
Corbulo, Gnaeus Domitius
Authors: Gallia Andrew B.
Published: December 2012

A charismatic and physically imposing general, Corbulo (4BCE?‐67CE;PIR2D 141;RE50) became famous as a commander of Roman armies under Claudius and Nero. His high profile reflects the increasing opportunities for political advancement available to ambitious men of undistinguished ancestry under the Julio‐Claudian emperors, as well as the limitations and dangers that sometimes attended their careers.
Cornelius Fuscus
Authors: MacRae Duncan
Published: December 2012

Cornelius Fuscus (
RE
158;
PIR

2

C 1365) was a partisan of Galba and then the Flavians in the civil wars of 68–69
CE
and a Praetorian Prefect under Domitian.
De rebus bellicis
Authors: Tomlin R. S. O.
Published: December 2012

De rebus bellicis
(“On Military Matters”) is the inadequate title given to a late Roman illustrated treatise preserved with the Notitia Dignitatum and other works of reference in the lost
Codex Spirensis
, a manuscript of the late ninth to early tenth century which survives in five copies of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Discens
Authors: Ng Michael
Published: December 2012

Training, alongside discipline, was an important part of life in the Roman army, and it was this training that made the army of both the republican and, especially, the imperial periods so formidable to the enemies of Rome.
Domitian (Domitianus Augustus)
Authors: Thornton Daniel James
Published: December 2012

Titus Flavius Caesar Domitianus Augustus, commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman emperor who ruled from 81 to 96CEand the last reigning member of the Flavian Dynasty.