Roman Coinage, Ancestry, and Cultural Traditions

Vocabulary terms covering ancient Roman coin minting, mythological figures, judicial tools, and ancestral wax masks based on the lecture context.

Fecials

Priests in ancient Rome who performed rituals such as throwing spears across borders into enemy territory.

Castor and Pollux

Spirits protecting the republic in times of war who were featured on early Denari reverses after supporting the Roman army against king Arquintus II Pernus.

Titus Carysius

A supervisor of coin minting who depicted minting tools on coin reverses to celebrate producing a large order of coins for Caesar in minimal time.

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

A monetary magistrate who issued a denarius honoring his ancestor who saved a Roman citizen's life and killed an enemy at age 15.

Calliope

The muse of epic poetry and string music, depicted on Roman coins with her lyre.

Cleo

The muse of history, depicted with her scroll of parchment on Roman coinage.

Melvomene

The muse of tragedy, depicted on coins holding a mask in her left hand.

Lucius Cassius Flaminus Rabila

A defender of traditional Roman virtue elected by the people's assembly to review the judicial case of three Vestal virgins accused of unchastity.

Abzalvo

The judicial meaning represented by the letter 'A' on Roman voting tablets, translating to 'I acquit you'.

Kosendo

The judicial meaning represented by the letter 'C' on Roman voting tablets, translating to 'I pronounce you guilty'.

Death masks

Wax impressions taken from ancestors' faces that Roman families preserved and paraded on special occasions, which engravers used to create realistic coin portraits.

Duodecimal system

The Roman base-12 monetary structure where fractions like $\frac{1}{12}$ of an As were denoted by single dots on coins to show market value.