JCL Master Study Guide

apodyterium

dressing room of the baths

hypocausta

furnace of the baths

caldarium

hot bath pool of the baths

frigidarium

cold bath pool of the baths

unctorium

scraping or massage room of the baths

strigil

a scraper for cleaning

palaestra

exercise area of the baths

Via Appia

the Appian Way; main road from Rome to Capua to Brundisium

312 BCE

year Appius Claudius Caecus began construction on the Via Appia

Via Sacra

the road which ran through the Roman forum

basilica

law court

curia

senate house

cloaca maxima

great sewer of Rome

insulae

apartment buildings or city blocks

vigiles

"watchmen"; firemen/peacekeepers

cisium

light, two-wheeled vehicle

raeda

four-wheeled carriage

lectica

litter carried by four or more slaves

subligaculum

underwear

tunica

light tunic, similar to a long t-shirt

toga praetexta

worn by boys under sixteen and magistrates wear it with a purple stripe

toga virilis

all white toga worn by men (over age sixteen)

toga pura

any solid colored toga including the toga virilis or an all toga pulla

toga libera

same as the toga virilis which marks a man's citizenship

toga candida

toga worn by a man running for office; exaggerated white toga

toga pulla

all black toga worn by men in mourning (aka. toga sordidata)

stola

long gown worn by women

palla

shawl worn by women

fibula

borach or pin for holding clothes (usually women's) in place

calceus

shoe

petasus

broad-brimmed hat usually used for travel

pileus

cap of freedom for freedmen

ludus

elementary school

litterator

elementary school teacher

paedagogus

slave who carries books and takes students to school

grammaticus

upper school teacher

rhetor

teacher of public speaking

stylus and tabula/tabella

pen and notebook

ientaculum

breakfast

prandium

lunch

thermopolium

fast food restaurant for quick hot meals

cena

dinner

garum/liquamen

fish sauce; Italy's #1 export

secunda mensa

dessert

gustatio/promulsis/antecena

appetizer

mulsum

wine mixed with honey

mulsa

fermented honey and water

mustum

grape juice

acetum

vinegar

comissatio

drinking party

rex bibendi

master of drinking; toastmaster; master of ceremonies

seating

Romans recline on their left on three couches which each seated three people

praeficae

professional mourners

neniae

dirges

conclamatio

the act of the oldest son shaking his father three times and calling his name

sarcophagus

"body-eater" in Greek; stone coffin

columbarium

underground chamber for urns; usually form a family mortuary

cursus honorum

course of honors; steps one takes to achieve the highest political offices

consul

two executives; one-year term

praetor

eight judges; one-year term

quaestor

twenty treasurers; one-year term

aedile

half are Plebeian, half are Patrician; in charge of public roads, games, and food supply; one-year term

censor

two census takers and enforcers of public morals; eighteen-month term every five years

dictator

one who holds absolute power in times of emergency; six-month term

magister equitum

master of the horse who assists the dictator; appointed by dictator

senator

praetors and higher offices join; life term

tribune (of the Plebs)

ten elected to represent Plebs and limit Patricians; one-year term

patricians

upper class by birth (not necessarily wealth)

equites

business (i.e. not political) class

plebeians

lower class by birth (not necessarily wealth)

optimates

politicians who favor policies beneficial to Patricians

populares

politicians who favor policies beneficial to Plebeians

patron

a legal, financial, and political sponsor

cliens

a legal, financial, and political dependent

salutatio

the act of a client visiting a patron's house

sportula

cold food basket given to client when he is received by his patron

deductio

the act of a patron leading a client (or clients) to the forum

753 BCE

year Rome was founded

509 BCE

year Rome became a republic

44 BCE

Year of Julius Caesar's death

Mare Nostum

"our sea"; Mediterranean Sea

atrium

large entry hallway or greeting room

compluvium

hole in the roof of atrium which allows rain to fall in

impluvium

basin beneath the compluvium for catching rain water

alae

wings of the house off the atrium

imagines

busts of ancestors, usally diplayed in the wings of the house

tablinum

office of the pater familias

triclinium

dining room

culina

kitchen

cubiculum

bedroom

peristylium

outdoor garden with a roofed porch lined with columns

hortus

basic garden

paterfamilias

the male head of the household

patria potestas

the power of the father to even kill the members of his household

tunica recta

white wedding dress

flammeum

saffron collored veil

sponsalia

engagement

dos

dowry

"ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia"

"Where you are, I am"; wife's vow to husband

bulla

a child's protective medalion worn around the neck; a girl dedicates it to the lares before her wedding