ASTRĂGĂLUS (ἀστράγαλος), literally, that particular bone in the
ankles of certain quadrupeds, which the Greeks, as well as the
Romans, used for dice and other purposes. [TALUS.] In architecture
it signifies a certain moulding (the astragal) which seems to have
derived its name from its resemblance to a string or chain of _tali_,
and it is in fact always used in positions where it seems intended to
bind together the parts to which it is applied. It belongs properly
to the more highly decorated forms of the Ionic order, in which it
appears as a lower edging to the larger mouldings, especially the
_echinus_ (ovolo), particularly in the capital, as shown in the
following woodcut.
[Illustration: Astragalus. (Capital of an Ionic Column. Dilettanti
Society, Ionian Antiquities.)]
ASTRĂTEIAS GRĂPHĒ (ἀστρατείας γραφή), the accusation instituted at
Athens against persons who failed to appear among the troops after
they had been enrolled for a campaign by the generals. The defendant,
if convicted, incurred disfranchisement (ἀτιμία) both in his own
person and that of his descendants.
ASTRŎLŎGĬA, astrology. A belief very early arose, which still
prevails unshaken in the East, that a close connection subsisted
between the position and movements of the heavenly bodies and the
fate of man. Few doubted that the destiny of a child might be
predicted with certainty by those who were skilled to interpret
the position of the stars at the moment of his birth, and that the
result of any undertaking might be foretold from the aspect of the
firmament when it was commenced. Hence a numerous and powerful
class of men arose who were distinguished by various designations.
From the country where their science was first developed, they
were called _Chaldaei_ or _Babylonii_; from observing the stars,
_astronomi_, _astrologi_, _planetarii_; from employing diagrams such
as were used by geometricians, _mathematici_; from determining the
lot of man at his natal hour, _genethliaci_; from prophesying the
consummation of his struggles, ἀποτελεσματικοί; while their art was
known as ἀστρολογία, μετεωρολογία, γενεθλιαλογία, ἀποτελεσματική,
_Ars Chaldaeorum_, _Mathesis_, or, from the tables they consulted,
πινακική. Their calculations were termed _Babylonii numeri_,
Χαλδαίων μέθοδοι, Χαλδαίων ψηφίδες, _Rationes Chaldaicae_; their
responses when consulted _Chaldaeorum monita_, _Chaldaeorum natalicia
praedicta_, _Astrologorum praedicta_. The stars and constellations
to which attention was chiefly directed were the planets and the
signs of the zodiac, some of which were supposed to exert uniformly
a benign influence (ἀγαθοποιοὶ ἀστέρες), such as Venus, Jupiter,
Luna, Virgo, Libra, Taurus; others to be uniformly malign (κακοποιοὶ
ἀστέρες), such as Saturnus, Mars, Scorpio, Capricornus; others to be
doubtful (ἐπίκοινοι ἀστέρες), such as Mercurius. The exact period of
birth (_hora genitalis_) being the critical moment, the computations
founded upon it were styled γένεσις(_genitura_), ὡροσκόπος
(_horoscopus_), or simply θέμα, and the star or stars in the
ascendant _sidus natalitium_, _sidera natalitia_. Astrologers seem
to have found their way very early into Italy. In B.C. 139 an edict
was promulgated by C. Cornelius Hispallus, at that time praetor, by
which the Chaldaeans were ordered to quit Italy within ten days, and
they were again banished from the city in B.C. 33, by M. Agrippa, who
was then aedile. Another severe ordinance was levelled by Augustus
against this class, but the frequent occurrence of such phrases as
“expulit et mathematicos,” “pulsis Italia mathematicis,” in the
historians of the empire prove how firm a hold these pretenders must
have obtained over the public mind, and how profitable the occupation
must have been which could induce them to brave disgrace, and
sometimes a cruel death.
ASTỸNŎMI (ἀστυνόμοι), or street-police of Athens, were ten in number,
five for the city, and as many for the Peiraeeus. The _astynomi_ and
_agoranomi_ divided between them most of the functions of the Roman
aediles. [AGORANOMI.]
ĂSῩLUM (ἄσυλον). In the Greek states the temples, altars, sacred
groves, and statues of the gods, generally possessed the privilege
of protecting slaves, debtors, and criminals, who fled to them for
refuge. The laws, however, do not appear to have recognised the
right of all such sacred places to afford the protection which was
claimed, but to have confined it to a certain number of temples, or
altars, which were considered in a more especial manner to have the
ἀσυλία, or _jus asyli_. There were several places in Athens which
possessed this privilege; of which the best known was the Theseium,
or temple of Theseus, in the city, near the gymnasium, which was
chiefly intended for the protection of ill-treated slaves, who could
take refuge in this place, and compel their masters to sell them to
some other person. In the time of Tiberius, the number of places
possessing the jus asyli in the Greek cities in Greece and Asia
Minor became so numerous, as seriously to impede the administration
of justice; and, consequently, the senate, by the command of the
emperor, limited the jus asyli to a few cities. The asylum, which
Romulus is said to have opened at Rome to increase the population of
the city, was a place of refuge for the inhabitants of other states,
rather than a sanctuary for those who had violated the laws of the
city. In the republican and early imperial times, a right of asylum,
such as existed in the Greek states, does not appear to have been
recognised by the Roman law; but it existed under the empire, and a
slave could fly to the temples of the gods, or the statues of the
emperors, to avoid the ill-usage of his master.
ĂTĔLEIA (ἀτέλεια), immunity from public burthens, was enjoyed at
Athens by the archons for the time being; by the descendants of
certain persons, on whom it had been conferred as a reward for great
services, as in the case of Harmodius and Aristogeiton; and by the
inhabitants of certain foreign states. It was of several kinds: it
might be a general immunity (ἀτέλεια ἁπάντων); or a more special
exemption, as from custom-duties, from the liturgies, or from
providing sacrifices.
ĀTELLĀNAE FĂBŬLAE were a species of farce or comedy, so called from
Atella, a town of the Osci, in Campania. From this circumstance,
and from being written in the Oscan dialect, they were also called
_Ludi Osci_. These Atellane plays were not _praetextatae_, _i.e._
comedies in which magistrates and persons of rank were introduced,
nor _tabernariae_, the characters in which were taken from low life;
they rather seem to have been a union of high comedy and its parody.
They were also distinguished from the mimes by the absence of low
buffoonery and ribaldry, being remarkable for a refined humour, such
as could be understood and appreciated by educated people. They were
not performed by regular actors (_histriones_), but by Roman citizens
of noble birth, who were not on that account subjected to any
degradation, but retained their rights as citizens, and might serve
in the army. The Oscan or Opican language, in which these plays were
written, was spread over the whole of the south of Italy, and from
its resemblance to the Latin could easily be understood by the more
educated Romans.
ĂTHĒNAEUM (ἀθήναιον), a school (_ludus_) founded by the Emperor
Hadrian at Rome, for the promotion of literary and scientific studies
(_ingenuarum artium_), and called Athenaeum from the town of Athens,
which was still regarded as the seat of intellectual refinement.
The Athenaeum was situated on the Capitoline hill. It was a kind of
university, with a staff of professors, for the various branches
of study. Besides the instruction given by these magistri, poets,
orators, and critics were accustomed to recite their compositions
there, and these prelections were sometimes honoured with the
presence of the emperors themselves. The Athenaeum seems to have
continued in high repute till the fifth century.
ATHLĒTAE (ἀθληταί, ἀθλητῆρες), persons who contended in the public
games of the Greeks and Romans for prizes (ἆθλα, whence the name of
ἀθληταί), which were given to those who conquered in contests of
agility and strength. The name was in the later period of Grecian
history, and among the Romans, properly confined to those persons
who entirely devoted themselves to a course of training which might
fit them to excel in such contests, and who, in fact, made athletic
exercises their profession. The athletae differed, therefore, from
the _agonistae_ (ἀγωνισταί), who only pursued gymnastic exercises
for the sake of improving their health and bodily strength, and who,
though they sometimes contended for the prizes in the public games,
did not devote their whole lives, like the athletae, to preparing
for these contests. Athletae were first introduced at Rome, B.C.
186, in the games exhibited by M. Fulvius, on the conclusion of
the Aetolian war. Aemilius Paullus, after the conquest of Perseus,
B.C. 167, is said to have exhibited games at Amphipolis, in which
athletae contended. Under the Roman emperors, and especially under
Nero, who was passionately fond of the Grecian games, the number of
athletae increased greatly in Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor. Those
athletae who conquered in any of the great national festivals of
the Greeks were called _Hieronicae_ (ἱερονῖκαι), and received the
greatest honours and rewards. Such a conqueror was considered to
confer honour upon the state to which he belonged; he entered his
native city through a breach made in the walls for his reception, in
a chariot drawn by four white horses, and went along the principal
street of the city to the temple of the guardian deity of the state.
Those games, which gave the conquerors the right of such an entrance
into the city, were called _Iselastici_ (from εἰσελαύνειν). This term
was originally confined to the four great Grecian festivals, the
Olympian, Isthmian, Nemean, and Pythian, but was afterwards applied
to other public games. In the Greek states, the victors in these
games not only obtained the greatest glory and respect, but also
substantial rewards. They were generally relieved from the payment
of taxes, and also enjoyed the first seat (προεδρία) in all public
games and spectacles. Their statues were frequently erected at the
cost of the state, in the most frequented part of the city, as the
market-place, the gymnasia, and the neighbourhood of the temples. At
Athens, according to a law of Solon, the conquerors in the Olympic
games were rewarded with a prize of 500 drachmae; and the conquerors
in the Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian, with one of 100 drachmae;
and at Sparta they had the privilege of fighting near the person
of the king. The privileges of the athletae were secured, and in
some respects increased, by the Roman emperors. The term athletae,
though sometimes applied metaphorically to other combatants, was
properly limited to those who contended for the prize in the five
following contests:--1. _Running_ (δρόμος, _cursus_). [STADIUM.]
2. _Wrestling_ (πάλη, _lucta_). 3. _Boxing_ (πυγμή, _pugilatus_).
4. The _pentathlum_ (πένταθλον), or, as the Romans called it,
_quinquertium_. 5. The _pancratium_ (παγκράτιον). Of all these an
account is given in separate articles. Great attention was paid to
the training of the athletae. They were generally trained in the
_palaestrae_, which, in the Grecian states, were distinct places from
the gymnasia. Their exercises were superintended by the gymnasiarch,
and their diet was regulated by the aliptes. [ALIPTAE.]--The
athletae were accustomed to contend naked. In the descriptions of
the games given in the Iliad, the combatants are represented with
a girdle about their loins; and the same practice, as we learn
from Thucydides, anciently prevailed at the Olympic games, but was
discontinued afterwards.
ĂTĪMĬA (ἀτιμία), the forfeiture of a man’s civil rights at Athens.
It was either total or partial. A man was totally deprived of his
rights, both for himself and for his descendants (καθάπαξ ἄτιμος),
when he was convicted of murder, theft, false witness, partiality as
arbiter, violence offered to a magistrate, and so forth. This highest
degree of atimia excluded the person affected by it from the forum,
and from all public assemblies; from the public sacrifices, and from
the law courts; or rendered him liable to immediate imprisonment,
if he was found in any of these places. It was either temporary
or perpetual, and either accompanied or not with confiscation of
property. Partial atimia only involved the forfeiture of some
few rights, as, for instance, the right of pleading in court.
Public debtors were suspended from their civic functions till they
discharged their debt to the state. People who had once become
altogether atimi were very seldom restored to their lost privileges.
The converse term to _atimia_ was _epitimia_ (ἐπιτιμία).
ATLANTES (ἄτλαντες) and TĔLĂMŌNES (τελαμῶνες), terms used in
architecture, the former by the Greeks, the latter by the Romans, to
designate those male figures which are sometimes fancifully used,
like the female _Caryatides_, in place of columns. Both words are
derived from τλῆναι, and the former evidently refers to the fable of
Atlas, who supported the vault of heaven, the latter _perhaps_ to
the strength of the Telamonian Ajax.
[Illustration: Atlantes. (From Temple at Agrigentum: Professor
Cockerell.)]
ĀTRĀMENTUM, a term applicable to any black colouring substance, for
whatever purpose it may be used, like the _melan_ (μέλαν) of the
Greeks. There were, however, three principal kinds of atramentum:
one called _librarium_, or _scriptorium_ (in Greek, γραφικὸν μέλαν),
writing-ink; another called _sutorium_, which was used by the
shoemakers for dyeing leather; the third _tectorium_, or _pictorium_,
which was used by painters for some purposes, apparently as a sort
of varnish. The inks of the ancients seem to have been more durable
than our own; they were thicker and more unctuous, in substance and
durability more resembling the ink now used by printers. An inkstand
was discovered at Herculaneum, containing ink as thick as oil, and
still usable for writing. The ancients used inks of various colours.
Red ink, made of _minium_ or vermilion, was used for writing the
titles and beginning of books. So also was ink made of _rubrica_,
“red ochre;” and because the headings of _laws_ were written with
rubrica, the word rubric came to be used for the civil law. So
_album_, a white or whited table, on which the praetors’ edicts
were written, was used in a similar way. A person devoting himself
to _album_ and _rubrica_, was a person devoting himself to the law.
[ALBUM.]
ĀTRĬUM (called αὐλή by the Greeks and by Virgil, and also μεσαύλιον,
περίστυλον, περίστῳον) is used in a distinctive as well as collective
sense, to designate a particular part in the private houses of the
Romans [DOMUS], and also a class of public buildings, so called
from their general resemblance in construction to the atrium of a
private house. An atrium of the latter description was a building by
itself, resembling in some respects the open basilica [BASILICA],
but consisting of three sides. Such was the Atrium Publicum in
the capitol, which, Livy informs us, was struck with lightning,
B.C. 216. It was at other times attached to some temple or other
edifice, and in such case consisted of an open area and surrounding
portico in front of the structure. Several of these buildings are
mentioned by the ancient historians, two of which were dedicated to
the same goddess, Libertas. The most celebrated, as well as the most
ancient, was situated on the Aventine Mount. In this atrium there
was a tabularium, where the legal tablets (_tabulae_) relating to
the censors were preserved. The other Atrium Libertatis was in the
neighbourhood of the Forum Caesaris, and was immediately behind the
Basilica Paulli or Aemilia.
AUCTĬO signifies generally “an increasing, an enhancement,” and hence
the name is applied to a public sale of goods, at which persons
bid against one another. The sale was sometimes conducted by an
_argentarius_, or by a _magister auctionis_; and the time, place,
and conditions of sale, were announced either by a public notice
(_tabula_, _album_, &c.), or by a crier (_praeco_). The usual phrases
to express the giving notice of a sale were, _auctionem proscribere,
praedicare_; and to determine on a sale, _auctionem constituere_.
The purchasers (_emtores_), when assembled, were sometimes said
_ad tabulam adesse_. The phrases signifying to bid are, _liceri_,
_licitari_, which was done either by word of mouth, or by such
significant hints as are known to all people who have attended an
auction. The property was said to be knocked down (_addici_) to the
purchaser. The praeco, or crier, seems to have acted the part of the
modern auctioneer, so far as calling out the biddings, and amusing
the company. Slaves, when sold by auction, were placed on a stone,
or other elevated thing, as is the case when slaves are sold in
the United States of North America; and hence the phrase _homo de
lapide emtus_. It was usual to put up a spear (_hasta_) in auctions;
a symbol derived, it is said, from the ancient practice of selling
under a spear the booty acquired in war.
AUCTOR, a word which contains the same element as _aug-eo_, and
signifies generally one who enlarges, confirms, or gives to a
thing its completeness and efficient form. The numerous technical
significations of the word are derivable from this general notion. As
he who gives to a thing that which is necessary for its completeness
may in this sense be viewed as the chief actor or doer, the
word auctor is also used in the sense of one who originates or
proposes a thing; but this cannot be viewed as its primary meaning.
Accordingly, the word auctor, when used in connection with lex or
senatus consultum, often means him who originates and proposes.--The
expressions _patres auctores fiunt_, _patres auctores facti_, have
given rise to much discussion. In the earlier periods of the Roman
state, the word _patres_ was equivalent to _patricii_; in the later
period, when the patricians had lost all importance as a political
body, the term patres signified the senate. Hence some ambiguity has
arisen. The expression _patres auctores fiunt_, when used of the
early period of Rome, means that the determinations of the populus
in the comitia centuriata were confirmed by the patricians in the
comitia curiata. Till the time of Servius Tullius there were only
the comitia curiata, and this king first established the comitia
centuriata, in which the plebs also voted, and consequently it was
not till after this time that the phrase _patres auctores fiunt_
could be properly applied. Livy, however, uses it of an earlier
period. The comitia curiata first elected the king, and then by
another vote conferred upon him the imperium. The latter was called
_lex curiata de imperio_, an expression not used by Livy, who
employs instead the phrase _patres auctores fiunt_ (Liv. i. 17, 22,
32).--After the exile of the last Tarquin, the patres, that is the
patricians, had still the privilege of confirming at the comitia
curiata the vote of the comitia centuriata, that is, they gave to
it the _patrum auctoritas_; or, in other words, the _patres_ were
_auctores facti_. In the fifth century of the city a change was made.
By one of the laws of the plebeian dictator Q. Publilius Philo, it
was enacted that in the case of leges to be enacted at the comitia
centuriata, the _patres_ should be _auctores_, that is, the curiae
should give their assent before the vote of the comitia centuriata.
By a lex Maenia of uncertain date the same change was made as to
elections.--But both during the earlier period and afterwards no
business could be brought before the comitia without first receiving
the sanction of the senate; and accordingly the phrase _patres
auctores fiunt_ came now to be applied to the approval of a measure
by the senate before it was confirmed by the votes of the people.
This preliminary approval was also termed _senatus auctoritas_.--When
the word auctor is applied to him who recommends but does not
originate a legislative measure, it is equivalent to _suasor_.
Sometimes both auctor and suasor are used in the same sentence, and
the meaning of each is kept distinct. With reference to dealings
between individuals, auctor has the sense of owner. In this sense
auctor is the seller (_venditor_), as opposed to the buyer (_emtor_):
and hence we have the phrase _a malo auctore emere_. Auctor is also
used generally to express any person under whose authority any legal
act is done. In this sense, it means a tutor who is appointed to aid
or advise a woman on account of the infirmity of her sex.