AS, the unit of value in the Roman and old Italian coinages, was
made of copper, or of the mixed metal called AES. It was originally
of the weight of a pound of twelve ounces, whence it was called _as
libralis_ and _aes grave_. The oldest form of the _as_ is that which
bears the figure of an animal (a bull, ram, boar, or sow). The next
and most common form is that which has the two-faced head of Janus on
one side, and the prow of a ship on the other (whence the expression
used by Roman boys in tossing up, _Capita aut navim_.) Pliny informs
us, that in the time of the first Punic war (B.C. 264-241), in
order to meet the expenses of the state, this weight of a pound was
diminished, and asses were struck of the same weight as the sextans
(that is, two ounces, or one-sixth of the ancient weight); and that
thus the republic paid off its debts, gaining five parts in six; that
afterwards, in the second Punic war, in the dictatorship of Q. Fabius
Maximus (B.C. 217), asses of one ounce were made, and the denarius
was decreed to be equal to sixteen asses, the republic thus gaining
one half; but that in military pay the denarius was always given for
ten asses; and that soon after, by the Papirian law (about B.C. 191),
asses of half an ounce were made. The value of the as, of course,
varied with its weight. Before the reduction to two ounces, ten asses
were equal to the denarius = about 8½ pence English [DENARIUS].
Therefore the as = 3·4 farthings. By the reduction the denarius
was made equal to sixteen asses; therefore the as = 2⅛ farthings.
The as was divided into parts, which were named according to the
number of ounces they contained. They were the _deunx_, _dextans_,
_dodrans_, _bes_, _septunx_, _semis_, _quincunx_, _triens_,
_quadrans_ or _teruncius_, _sextans_, _sescunx_ or _sescuncia_, and
uncia, consisting respectively of 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,
1½, and 1 ounces. Of these divisions the following were represented
by coins; namely, the _semis_, _quincunx_, _triens_, _quadrans_,
_sextans_, and _uncia_. After the reduction in the weight of the
as, coins were struck of the value of 2, 3, 4, and even 10 asses,
which were called respectively _dussis_ or _dupondius_, _tressis_,
_quadrussis_, and _decussis_. Other multiples of the as were denoted
by words of similar formation, up to _centussis_, 100 asses; but most
of them do not exist as coins. In certain forms of expression, in
which _aes_ is used for money without specifying the denomination,
we must understand the as. Thus _deni aeris_, _mille aeris_, _decies
aeris_, mean respectively 10, 1000, 1,000,000 _asses_. The word _as_
was used also for any whole which was to be divided into equal parts;
and those parts were called _unciae_. Thus these words were applied
not only to weight and money, but to measures of length, surface,
and capacity, to inheritances, interest, houses, farms, and many
other things. Hence the phrases _haeres ex asse_, the heir to a whole
estate; _haeres ex dodrante_, the heir to three-fourths. The _as_ was
also called in ancient times _assarius_ (sc. _nummus_), and in Greek
τὸ ἀσσάριον. According to Polybius, the assarius was equal to half
the obolus.
ASCĬA (σκέπαρνον), an adze. The annexed cut shows two varieties of
the adze. The instrument at the bottom was called _acisculus_, and
was chiefly used by masons.
[Illustration: Asciae, adzes. (From ancient monuments and a coin.)]
ASCLĒPIEIA (ἀσκληπίεια), the name of festivals which were probably
celebrated in all places where temples of Asclepius (Aesculapius)
existed. The most celebrated, however, was that of Epidaurus, which
took place every five years, and was solemnized with contests of
rhapsodists and musicians, and with solemn processions and games.
ASCŌLĬASMUS (ἀσκωλιασμός, the leaping upon the leathern bag, ἀσκός)
was one of the many kinds of amusements in which the Athenians
indulged during the Anthesteria and other festivals in honour of
Dionysus. Having sacrificed a he-goat to the god, they made a bag out
of the skin, smeared it with oil, and then tried to dance upon it.
[Illustration: Ascoliasmus. (From an ancient gem.)]
ĂSĔBEIAS GRĂPHĒ (ἀσεβείας γραφή), one of the many forms prescribed
by the Attic laws for the impeachment of impiety. Any citizen not
incapacitated by disfranchisement (ἀτιμία) seems to have been a
competent accuser; and citizens, resident aliens, and strangers, were
equally liable to the accusation. Whether the causes were brought
into the areiopagus, or the common heliastic court, seems to have
been determined by the form of action adopted by the prosecutor, or
the degree of competency to which the areiopagus rose or fell at the
different periods of Athenian history.
ĂSĬARCHAE (ἀσιάρχαι) were, in the Roman province of Asia, the chief
presidents of the religious rites, whose office it was to exhibit
games and theatrical amusements every year, in honour of the gods and
the Roman emperor, at their own expense, like the Roman aediles. They
were ten in number, selected annually by the different towns of Asia,
and approved of by the Roman proconsul; of these, one was the chief
asiarch, and frequently, but not always, resided at Ephesus.