ANNŌNA (from _annus_, like _pomona_ from _pomum_).--(1) The produce
of the year in corn, fruit, wine, &c., and hence,--(2) provisions
in general, especially the corn, which, in the later years of the
republic, was collected in the storehouses of the state, and sold to
the poor at a cheap rate in times of scarcity; and which, under the
emperors, was distributed to the people gratuitously, or given as pay
and rewards;--(3) the price of provisions;--(4) a soldier’s allowance
of provisions for a certain time. The word is used also in the
plural for yearly or monthly distributions of pay in corn, &c.
ANNŬLUS (δακτύλιος), a ring. It is probable that the custom of
wearing rings was very early introduced into Greece from Asia, where
it appears to have been almost universal. They were worn not merely
as ornaments, but as articles for use, as the ring always served as a
seal. A seal was called _sphragis_ (σφραγίς), and hence this name was
given to the ring itself, and also to the gem or stone for a ring in
which figures were engraved. Rings in Greece were mostly worn on the
fourth finger (παράμεσος). At Rome, the custom of wearing rings was
believed to have been introduced by the Sabines, who were described
in the early legends as wearing golden rings with precious stones of
great beauty. But, whenever introduced at Rome, it is certain that
they were at first always of iron; that they were destined for the
same purpose as in Greece, namely, to be used as seals; and that
every free Roman had a right to use such a ring. This iron ring was
worn down to the last period of the republic by such men as loved the
simplicity of the good old times. In the course of time, however,
it became customary for all the senators, chief magistrates, and at
last for the equites also, to wear a golden seal-ring. The right of
wearing a gold ring, which was subsequently called the _jus annuli
aurei_, or the _jus annulorum_, remained for several centuries at
Rome the exclusive privilege of senators, magistrates, and equites,
while all other persons continued to wear iron ones. During the
empire the right of granting the annulus aureus belonged to the
emperors, and some of them were not very scrupulous in conferring
this privilege. Augustus gave it to Mena, a freedman, and to Antonius
Musa, a physician. The emperors Severus and Aurelian conferred the
right of wearing golden rings upon all Roman soldiers; and Justinian
at length allowed all the citizens of the empire, whether ingenui
or libertini, to wear such rings. The ring of a Roman emperor was a
kind of state seal, and the emperor sometimes allowed the use of it
to such persons as he wished to be regarded as his representatives.
During the republic and the early times of the empire the jus annuli
seems to have made a person ingenuus (if he was a libertus), and to
have raised him to the rank of eques, provided he had the requisite
equestrian census, and it was probably never granted to any one
who did not possess this census. Those who lost their property,
or were found guilty of a criminal offence, lost the jus annuli.
The principal value of a ring consisted in the gem set in it, or
rather in the workmanship of the engraver. The stone most frequently
used was the onyx (σαρδῶνος, σαρδόνυξ), on account of its various
colours, of which the artist made the most skilful use. In the art
of engraving upon gems the ancients far surpassed anything that
modern times can boast of. The devices engraved upon rings were very
various: they were portraits of ancestors or of friends, subjects
connected with mythology; and in many cases a person had engraved
upon his seal some symbolical allusion to the real or mythical
history of his family. The bezel or part of the ring which contained
the gem was called _pala_. With the increasing love of luxury and
show, the Romans, as well as the Greeks, covered their fingers with
rings. Some persons also wore rings of immoderate size, and others
used different rings for summer and winter. Much superstition appears
to have been connected with rings, especially in the East and in
Greece. Some persons made it a lucrative trade to sell rings which
were believed to possess magic powers, and to preserve the wearers
from external danger.