Roman Archeology: From Caesar to Constantine Test #1 Terms

27 BC

Octavian receives the moniker Augustus from the senate

31 BC

Battle of Actium

753 BC

Founding of Rome

acanthus leaves

Depicted on the Ara Pacis

• Every panel has one root

• Symbolize the "roots" of the Empire and current peace

• Mars/Romulus & Remus, Aeneas, Augustan family, the Elite (senators)

Aplustre

decorative element made of wood on a ship

-back of the ship

-was also a status symbol

Auctoritas

Influence/authority

Augustus

the majestic one, the sacred one

Baths of Agrippa

First baths in Rome

33 BC

Benefaction

To do good for society

-an expectation of Roman politicians

-especially with their own money

Bisellium

a richly ornamented seat of honor

bucrania

skull of an ox/bull, used to decorate architecture

camilli

an attendant to a priest

Campus Martius

The field of Mars

candelabrum

Lamp-stand, originally used to hold candles

Cardo Decumanus

the main east-west boulevard in an ancient Roman city grid

Cardo Maximus

the main north-south boulevard in an ancient Roman city grid

Chalcidicum

a porch

civitas libera

free city

-residents that lived there didn't have to pay taxes to Rome

Clipeus virtutis

Shield of virtue

Cloaca Maxima

The drain/sewer that drained the waters from the Stagnum Agrippae

Columna Rostrata

column with rostrum sticking out of it

-was on the roman forum\

Comitia Centuriata

A public assembly linked to the army (where your father and grandfather served)

Comitia Curiata

A public assembly that was based on wards/neighborhoods

Comitia Tributa

A public assembly linked to ones tribe

Concilium Plebis

Elected tribunes

Constantia

Roman value - constancy, consistency with tradition

corona civica

An honorary wreath given to a Roman who saved the life of another Roman in enemy territory

-was meant to always to be worn when one was making a public appearance

-Julius Caesar was awarded one when he was 19

-Halos and crowns relate to this

Cuirass

armor for the upper body

-Augustus' cuirass on the Prima Porta statue

Denarius

Roman silver coin

Dictator perpetuus

dictator for life; Julius Caesar was named this in Feb. 44 BCE

Dignitas

Respect / Your public value and worth

Divos Iulius

Divine Julius

Egregia facinora

relates to gloria

• mostly in a military context

ex manubiis

Made from the spoils of war

Familia

Family/Ancestors

Fasces

The weapons that lictors carried around

Fasti Consulares

the list of consuls on the Parthian arch

Fasti Triumphales

list of triumph winners on the Parthian arch

Fides

Roman value - trustworthiness, fulfilling your sacred duty of your obligations in the Patron-Client system

Forum Iulium

Caesar's forum

Forum Romanum

Roman forum

Genetrix

The life giver

Gloria

serving your family and the state

Gnomon

Egyptian obelisk from Heliopolis

Gravitas

Roman value - weightiness

Hellenistic Ruler type

Type of Statue Style

Perfectly muscular human physique, superhuman, depicts conquest, power, and might

• Octavian portraying himself in this matter was him basically declaring him to be king

Horologium/Solarium di Augusti

Originally thought to be a sort of sundial using a gnomon (an Egyptian obelisk from Heliopolis) but the structure was actually meridian.

Imperium

Sovereignty

-Ultimate power of the state

-Power over life and death

-Consuls, Praetors, Proconsuls, Propraetors

-Curule seat

Janus Quirinus - Temple of Janus

Temple on the Forum Romanum

-Doors were closed only when there was total peace

-Doors were closed 3 times during Augustus' rule

-Doors had only been closed 2 times before that

Jupiter Optimus Maximus

"Jupiter the best and the greatest"

Largo Argentina

Leges Iulia

18 BC

-penalties for adultery

-honored and rewarded women who had more children

Mores maiorum

-unwritten codes of ideal Roman conduct

Lex Titia

Established the Triumvirate of: Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidus

• Res Publicae Constituendae (for the purpose of reconstituting the republic)

-Gave 5 year imperium

--Powers:

• Make laws, levy armies, command armies, appoint senators and magistrates, coin money, govern provinces

Lictors

The bodyguards of those who had imperium

-executors of capital punishment

-Consuls had 12 lictors

-Praetors had 6 lictors

Lituus

top of the augur staff

Louculi

little burial spaces

maius imperium

greater imperium than all others

Nikopolis

city of victory

A city that Augustus built near Actium

-wanted to emulate Alexander the Great

-Had quinquennial games (every four years)

-Surrounding communities were made to transmigrate into the city

-Augustus enlarged the temple of Apollo that was already there and built a tropaeum there

Nymphaeum

A public space with a fountain meant for rest

Opus mixtum

A type of Roman wall masonry; alternation of courses of bricks and small squared stones

Palladium

The sacred object given to the Trojans by Pallas Athena (a statue of Pallas Athena)

Paludamentum

a blood red military cloak given to the imperator

patera

a libation bowl

penates

Roman household deities

Pietas

filial and religious piety (being dutiful to your family and the gods)

PP, pater patriae

father of the fatherland

Princeps

first among equals

Proscription

a kill list

regnum Apollinis

kingdom of Apollo

Res Gestae Divi Augusti

Augustus' autobiography that was placed next to the opening of the Mausoleum of Augustus

Res Publica Populi Romani

"The public thing of the Roman people"

Restitutio rei publicae

"Restoration of the republic"

Rostrum

the battering ram of a ship made of bronze

saeculum aureum

Golden Age of Augustus

-Officially declared in 17 BC

Secretarium Senatus

A court to judge senators

Sella Curulis

Curule seat

-A special ceremonial seat for higher level magistrates

Senatus consultum

The senate

Sidus Iulium

Julian/Caesar's star, a come

signis

the Roman military standards

signis receptis

Standards returned

-A special ceremonial seat for higher level magistrates

Stagnum Agrippae

Where the excess water from the Baths of Agrippa gathered

Stratigraphic Matrix

Sequence of contexts (events) in chronological order

summi viri

Great Men

-Monument on the forum of Augustus

• One side started with Aeneas and the other Romulus

temenos

sacred boundary

--the precinct wall surrounding the interior altar

The Pantheon

The rotunda is Hadrianic

-Agrippa wanted to place a statue of Augustus inside and name it after him

Titulus & Elogium

Title & Brief descriptions of their ancestry and accomplishments

-Label on the Sumri Viri monument in the forum of Augustus

tribunicia potestas

power of a tribune

--sacrosanct

-could veto legislation

Tropaeum

a victory monument

tumulus

a burial mound made of earth

Verism (veristic portraiture)

A realistic depiction

Vestal Virgins

Priestesses who maintained the sacred fire of Vesta.

Virtus

Roman value - the art of being a man