Roman Final

fall 2025

Aedilis (Aedile)

Magistrate who supervised markets, public buildings, streets, and games (ludi).

Amphitheatrum

Elliptical arena with seating on all sides (e.g., Colosseum), used for gladiatorial games.

Auxiliaries

Non-citizen soldiers who served for ~25 years to gain citizenship; often fought with their own local weapons.

Biga

Two-horse chariot.

Censor

Magistrate who held the census, registered citizens, managed public morality, and let out public contracts.

Circus

Area for chariot racing (e.g., Circus Maximus); elongated horseshoe shape with a central barrier.

Comitia

Name given to popular voting assemblies in Rome.

Consilium

An advisory council; the Senate was the consilium of the magistrates.

Consul

The two chief magistrates of the Republic; held imperium, presided over the Senate, and led armies.

Dictator

Emergency magistrate with absolute power, appointed for max 6 months in the Republic.

Doctor

Trainer at a gladiatorial school.

Dos

Dowry; returned to the wife if marriage ended by divorce (unless she was at fault).

Editor

The producer/sponsor of a spectacle (games).

Eques (Equestrian)

"Knight"; non-political wing of the ruling class; wealthy (400k sesterces) business class.

Euripus

Ancient name for the central barrier (spina) in a circus.

Factio

Originally a professional organization for chariot racing; later referred to the "team colors" (Red, White, Blue, Green).

Familia

The household unit including parents, children, slaves, and freedmen under the paterfamilias.

Fasces

Bundle of rods with an axe; symbol of a magistrate's imperium (power to punish).

Gladius

Short sword; root of the word "gladiator".

Imperator

Title given by soldiers to a victorious general; later the basis for "Emperor".

Imperium

The legal power of command (military and civil) held by consuls and praetors.

Infamia

Diminution of legal status/reputation (e.g., for being a gladiator, actor, or prostitute).

Lanista

Manager-owner of a gladiatorial training school.

Legatum

Legacy; a deduction from an inheritance given to someone other than the primary heir.

Leno/Lena

Pimp or procuress.

Lex (Leges)

Law(s); specifically those passed by the assemblies.

Libertus/Liberta

Freedman/Freedwoman (ex-slave).

Lictor

Attendant who carried the fasces for magistrates.

Ludus

Two meanings: 1) Games/Spectacles; 2) Training school for gladiators.

Matrona

A respectable married woman.

Meretrix

Prostitute.

Mos Maiorum

"Custom of the ancestors"; unwritten code of social norms and precedent.

Munus (pl. Munera)

"Duty"; term for gladiatorial games, originally a funeral duty to the dead.

Paterfamilias

Male head of the household with absolute power (patria potestas) over the family.

Patria Potestas

Power of the father over his children/descendants, including life and death.

Pomerium

Sacred boundary of the city of Rome; armies could not cross it.

Pontifex Maximus

Chief priest of Rome; title held by the Emperor in the Imperial period.

Praetor

Magistrate who served as a judge/administrator of the legal system; could also command armies.

Princeps

"First Citizen" or "Chief"; title used by Augustus to describe his position (origin of "Principate").

Quadriga

Four-horse chariot.

Quaestor

Financial magistrate; managed the treasury (aerarium).

Retiarius

Light-armed gladiator using a net and trident.

Samnite

Heavy-armed gladiator.

Senate

Advisory body of ex-magistrates; in Empire, became a high social class with less actual power.

Senatus Consultum (SC)

Decree of the Senate; technically advice, but had force of law when enforced by magistrates.

Spina

The central barrier of a circus track (modern term for euripus).

Stola

Long dress worn by married women (matronae).

Tribunicia Potestas

"Tribunician Power"; power to veto, convene Senate, and protect people; basis of Emperor's civil authority.

Tribunus Plebis (Tribune)

Plebeian official; sacrosanct; had veto power (intercessio) against magistrates/laws.

Triumph

Parade for a victorious general; required Senate vote; only time soldiers entered the city armed.

Venatio

Wild animal hunt spectacle.

Venator

Fighter specializing in animal combats (similar to bestiarius).

Vestal Virgins

Priestesses of Vesta; served 30 years; kept sacred fire; only women who could make a will without a guardian.

Trimalchio

Wealthy Freedman (libertus) in Petronius' "Satyricon"; represents "new money" and vulgarity.

Petronius

Author of the "Satyricon" (Satire).

Minicia Marcella

Subject of a letter by Pliny; died at age 13; praised for maturity and courage.

Sempronia

Woman described by Sallust; talented, educated, but "morally dissipated"; involved in Catiline Conspiracy.

Catiline

Failed revolutionary/conspirator in 63 BC; defeated by Cicero.

Augustus (Octavian)

First Emperor; claimed to restore the Republic; held powers of Tribune and Consul without the offices.

Pliny the Younger

Wrote letters; famously disliked chariot races (found them boring/childish).

Aretaeus

Ancient medical writer; believed the "Womb" moved around the body like an animal (Wandering Womb).

Soranus

Doctor who rejected the "Wandering Womb" theory; specialized in gynecology.

Juvenal

Satirist; complained about Rome becoming a "Greek city" and women's behavior.

Sallust

Historian; wrote about the moral decline of Rome and the Catiline Conspiracy.

Trajan

Emperor; corresponded with Pliny regarding the treatment of Christians (don't seek them out).

Diocles

Famous charioteer; won 1,462 races; started with Whites, moved to Greens, then Reds.

Spartacus

Led a major slave revolt (73-71 BC).

Republic vs. Empire (Senate)

Republic: Powerful advisory body. Empire: High social class, court of law for treason (maiestas), confirmed Emperor.

Republic vs. Empire (Elections)

Republic: Assemblies elected magistrates. Empire: Emperor "commended" candidates who were automatically elected.

Date of Augustus receiving Tribunicia Potestas

23 BC.

Changes to Senate under Empire

Became a high social status; members needed 1 million sesterces; included more provincials over time.

Maiestas

"Treason"; charge used by paranoid Emperors (Tiberius, Nero, Domitian) to purge enemies.

Cursus Honorum

The sequence of offices: Quaestor -> Aedile/Tribune -> Praetor -> Consul.

Populus

The People (Patricians + Plebeians); voted in assemblies.

Plebs

The common people (excluding Patricians); had their own assembly (Concilium Plebis).