REX (βασιλεύς, ἄναξ), king.--(1) GREEK. In the heroic age, as
depicted in the poems of Homer, the kingly form of government was
universal. The authority of these kings and its limitations were
derived not from any definite scheme, or written code, but from
the force of traditionary usage, and the natural influence of the
circumstances in which the kings were placed, surrounded as they were
by a body of chiefs or nobles, whose power was but little inferior
to that of the kings themselves. Even the title βασιλῆες is applied
to them as well as to the king. The maintenance of regal authority
doubtless depended greatly on the possession of personal superiority
in bravery, military prowess, wisdom in council and eloquence in
debate. When old age had blunted his powers and activity, a king
ran a great chance of losing his influence. There was, however, an
undefined notion of a sort of divine right connected with the kingly
office, whence the epithet διοτρεφής, so commonly applied to kings
in Homer. The characteristic emblem of the kingly office was the
σκῆπτρον. [SCEPTRUM.] Our information respecting the Grecian kings
in the more historical age is not ample or minute enough to enable
us to draw out a detailed scheme of their functions. Respecting the
kings of Sparta the reader is referred to the article EPHORI. As
an illustration of the gradual limitation of the prerogatives of
the king or chief magistrate, the reader may consult the article
ARCHON. The title _Basileus_ was sometimes applied to an officer
who discharged the priestly functions of the more ancient kings,
as in Athens. [ARCHON.]--(2) ROMAN. Rome was originally governed
by kings. All the ancient writers agree in representing the king
as elected by the people for life, and as voluntarily entrusted by
them with the supreme power in the state. No reference is made to
the hereditary principle in the election of the first four kings;
and it is not until the fifth king Tarquinius Priscus obtained the
sovereignty, that anything is said about the children of the deceased
king. Since the people had conferred the regal power, it returned
to them upon the death of the king. But as a new king could not
be immediately appointed, an Interrex forthwith stepped into his
place. The necessity for an immediate successor to the king arose
from the circumstance that he alone had had the power of taking the
auspicia on behalf of the state; and as the auspicia devolved upon
the people at his death, it was imperative upon them to create a
magistrate, to whom they could delegate the auspicia, and who would
thus possess the power of mediating between the gods and the state.
Originally the people consisted only of the patres or patricii;
and accordingly on the death of the king, we read _res ad patres
redit_, or, what is nearly the same thing, _auspicia ad patres
redeunt_. [AUGUR.] The interrex was elected by the whole body of
the patricians, and he appointed (_prodebat_) his successor, as it
was a rule that the first interrex could not hold the comitia for
the election; but it frequently happened that the second interrex
appointed a third, the third a fourth, and so on, till the election
took place. The Interrex presided over the comitia curiata, which
were assembled for the election of the king. The person whom the
senate had selected was proposed by the interrex to the people in
a regular _rogatio_, which the people could only accept or reject,
for they had not the initiative and could not themselves propose
any name. If the people voted in favour of the rogation, they were
said _creare regem_, and their acceptance of him was called _jussus
populi_. But the king did not immediately enter upon his office. Two
other acts had still to take place before he was invested with the
full regal authority and power. First, his _inauguratio_ had to be
performed, as it was necessary to obtain the divine will respecting
his appointment by means of the auspices, since he was the high
priest of the people. This ceremony was performed by an augur, who
conducted the newly-elected king to the _arx_, or citadel, and there
placed him on a stone seat with his face turned to the south, while
the people waited below in anxious suspense until the augur announced
that the gods had sent the favourable tokens confirming the king
in his priestly character. The inauguratio did not confer upon him
the auspicia; for these he obtained by his election to the royalty,
as the comitia were held _auspicato_. The second act which had to
be performed was the conferring of the imperium upon the king. The
curiae had only determined by their previous vote who was to be
king, and had not by that act bestowed the necessary power upon him;
they had, therefore, to grant him the imperium by a distinct vote.
Accordingly the king himself proposed to the curiae a _lex curiata
de imperio_, and the curiae by voting in favour of it gave him the
imperium. Livy in his first book makes no mention of the _lex curiata
de imperio_, but he uses the expressions _patres auctores fierent_,
_patres auctores facti_; but these expressions are equivalent to the
_lex curiata de imperio_ in the kingly period.--The king possessed
the supreme power in the earliest times, and the senate and the
comitia of the curiae were very slight checks upon its exercise. In
the first place, the king alone possessed the right of taking the
auspices on behalf of the state; and as no public business of any
kind could be performed without the approbation of the gods expressed
by the auspices, the king stood as mediator between the gods and
the people, and in an early stage of society must necessarily have
been regarded with religious awe. [AUGUR.] Secondly, the people
surrendered to the king the supreme military and judicial authority
by conferring the _imperium_ upon him. The king was not only the
commander in war, but the supreme judge in peace. Seated on his
throne in the comitium, he administered justice to all comers,
and decided in all cases which were brought before him, civil as
well as criminal. Again, all the magistrates in the kingly period
appear to have been appointed by the king and not elected by the
curiae. Further, the king was not dependent upon the people for his
support; but a large portion of the ager publicus belonged to him,
which was cultivated at the expense of the state on his behalf. He
had also the absolute disposal of the booty taken in war and of
the conquered lands. It must not, however, be supposed that the
authority of the king was absolute. The senate and the assembly of
the people must have formed some check upon his power. But these were
not independent bodies possessing the right of meeting at certain
times and discussing questions of state. They could only be called
together when the king chose, and further could only determine upon
matters which the king submitted to them. The only public matter in
which the king could not dispense with the co-operation of the senate
and the curiae was in declarations of war. There is no trace of the
people having had anything to do with the conclusion of treaties
of peace.--The insignia of the king were the fasces with the axes
(_secures_), which twelve lictors carried before him as often as he
appeared in public, the _trabea_, the _sella curulis_, and the _toga
praetexta_ and _picta_. The _trabea_ appears to have been the most
ancient official dress, and is assigned especially to Romulus: it
was of Latin origin, and is therefore represented by Virgil as worn
by the Latin kings. The _toga praetexta_ and _picta_ were borrowed,
together with the _sella curulis_, from the Etruscans, and their
introduction is variously ascribed to Tullus Hostilius or Tarquinius
Priscus.
REX SACRĬFĬCŬLUS, REX SACRĬFĬCUS, or REX SACRORUM. When the civil
and military powers of the king were transferred to two praetors
or consuls, upon the establishment of the republican government at
Rome, these magistrates were not invested with that part of the royal
dignity by virtue of which the king had been the high priest of his
nation and had conducted several of the sacra publica, but this
priestly part of his office was transferred to a priest called Rex
Sacrificulus or Rex Sacrorum. The first rex sacrorum was designated,
at the command of the consuls, by the college of pontiffs, and
inaugurated by the augurs. He was always elected and inaugurated
in the comitia curiata under the presidency of the pontiffs,
and as long as a rex sacrificulus was appointed at Rome, he was
always a patrician, for as he had no influence upon the management
of political affairs, the plebeians never coveted this dignity.
Considering that this priest was the religious representative of
the kings, he ranked indeed higher than all other priests, and even
higher than the pontifex maximus, but in power and influence he was
far inferior to him. He held his office for life, was not allowed to
hold any civil or military dignity, and was at the same time exempted
from all military and civil duties. His principal functions were: 1.
To perform those sacra publica which had before been performed by the
kings; and his wife, who bore the title of _regina sacrorum_, had
also, like the queens of former days, to perform certain priestly
functions. These sacra publica he or his wife had to perform on
all the Calends, Ides, and the Nundines; he to Jupiter, and she to
Juno in the regia. 2. On the days called regifugium he had to offer
a sacrifice in the comitium. [REGIFUGIUM.] 3. When extraordinary
portenta seemed to announce some general calamity, it was his duty to
try to propitiate the anger of the gods. 4. On the nundines, when the
people assembled in the city, the rex sacrorum announced (_edicebat_)
to them the succession of the festivals for the month. This part
of his functions, however, must have ceased after the time of Cn.
Flavius. He lived in a domus publica on the via sacra, near the regia
and the house of the vestal virgins.
RHĒDA or RĒDA, a travelling carriage with four wheels. Like the
COVINUS and the ESSEDUM it was of Gallic origin, and may perhaps
contain the same root as the German _reiten_ and our _ride_. It
was the common carriage used by the Romans for travelling, and was
frequently made large enough not only to contain many persons, but
also baggage and utensils of various kinds. The word _Epirhedium_,
which was formed by the Romans from the Greek preposition ἐπι and
the Gallic _rheda_, is explained by the Scholiast on Juvenal as
“Ornamentum rhedarum aut plaustrum.”
RHĒTRAE (ῥῆτραι), specially the name of the ordinances of Lycurgus.
The word _Rhetra_ means a solemn compact, either originally emanating
from, or subsequently sanctioned by the gods, who are always parties
to such agreements. The Rhetra of Lycurgus emanated from the Delphian
god: but the kings, senators, and people all bound themselves, both
to each other and to the gods, to obey it.
RHYTON (ῥυτόν), a drinking-horn (κέρας). Its original form was
probably the horn of the ox, but one end of it was afterwards
ornamented with the heads of various animals and birds. The _rhyton_
had a small opening at the bottom, which the person who drank put
into his mouth, and allowed the wine to run in: hence it derived its
name.
[Illustration: Rhyton, drinking-horn. (Museo Borbonico.)]