SĂLĬI, priests of Mars Gradivus, said to have been instituted by
Numa. They were twelve in number, chosen from the patricians even
in the latest times, and formed an ecclesiastical corporation. They
had the care of the twelve Ancilia, which were kept in the temple of
Mars on the Palatine hill, whence these priests were sometimes called
Salii Palatini, to distinguish them from the other Salii mentioned
below. The distinguishing dress of the Salii was an embroidered tunic
bound with a brazen belt, the trabea, and the apex, also worn by the
Flamines. [APEX.] Each had a sword by his side, and in his right hand
a spear or staff. The festival of Mars was celebrated by the Salii on
the 1st of March and for several successive days; on which occasion
they were accustomed to go through the city in their official dress,
carrying the ancilia in their left hands or suspended from their
shoulders, and at the same time singing and dancing, whence comes
their name. The songs or hymns which they sang on this occasion were
called _Asamenta, ssamenta_, or _Axamenta_, and were chiefly in
praise of Mamurius Veturius, generally said to be the armourer, who
made eleven ancilia like the one that was sent from heaven (ancile),
though some modern writers suppose it to be merely another name of
Mars. The praises of the gods were also celebrated in the songs
of the Salii. In later times these songs were scarcely understood
even by the priests themselves. At the conclusion of the festival
the Salii were accustomed to partake of a splendid entertainment in
the temple of Mars, which was proverbial for its excellence. The
members of the collegium were elected by co-optation. We read of the
dignities of praesul, vates, and magister in the collegium. The shape
of the ancile is exhibited in the annexed cut, which illustrates the
accounts of the ancient writers that its form was oval, but with the
two sides receding inwards with an even curvature, and so as to make
it broader at the ends than in the middle. The persons engaged in
carrying these ancilia on their shoulders, suspended from a pole, are
probably servants of the Salii. At the top of the cut is represented
one of the rods with which the Salii were accustomed to beat the
shield in their dance, as already described.
[Illustration: Salii carrying the Ancilia. (From an ancient Gem.)]
Tullus Hostilius established another collegium of Salii, in
fulfilment of a vow which he made in a war with the Sabines. These
Salii were also twelve in number, chosen from the patricians, and
appear to have been dedicated to the service of Quirinus. They were
called the Salii Collini, Agonales or Agonenses. It is supposed that
the oldest and most illustrious college, the Palatine Salii, were
chosen originally from the oldest tribe, the Ramnes, and the one
instituted by Tullus Hostilius, or the Quirinalian, from the Tities
alone: a third college for the Luceres was never established.
SĂLĪNAE (ἁλαὶ, ἁλοπήγιον), a salt-work. Throughout the Roman empire
the salt-works were commonly public property, and were let by the
government to the highest bidder. The first salt-works are said to
have been established by Ancus Marcius at Ostia. The publicani who
farmed these works appear to have sold this most necessary of all
commodities at a very high price, whence the censors M. Livius and
C. Claudius (B.C. 204) fixed the price at which those who took the
lease of them were obliged to sell the salt to the people. At Rome
the medius was, according to this regulation, sold for a sextans,
while in other parts of Italy the price was higher and varied. The
salt-works in Italy and in the provinces were very numerous.
SĂLĪNUM, a salt-cellar. All Romans who were raised above poverty
had one of silver, which descended from father to son, and was
accompanied by a silver plate, which was used together with the
salt-cellar in the domestic sacrifices. [PATERA.] These two articles
of silver were alone compatible with the simplicity of Roman manners
in the early times of the republic.
[Illustration: A Dance. (Lamberti, Villa Borghese.)]
SALTĀTĬO (ὄρχησις, ὀρχηστύς), dancing. The dancing of the Greeks as
well as of the Romans had very little in common with the exercise
which goes by that name in modern times. It may be divided into two
kinds, gymnastic and mimetic; that is, it was intended either to
represent bodily activity, or to express by gestures, movements,
and attitudes certain ideas or feelings, and also single events, or
a series of events, as in the modern ballet. All these movements,
however, were accompanied by music; but the terms ὄρχησις and
_saltatio_ were used in so much wider a sense than our word dancing,
that they were applied to designate gestures, even when the body did
not move at all. We find dancing prevalent among the Greeks from the
earliest times. It was originally closely connected with religion.
In all the public festivals, which were so numerous among the Greeks,
dancing formed a very prominent part. We find from the earliest times
that the worship of Apollo was connected with a religious dance,
called _Hyporchema_ (ὑπόρχημα). All the religious dances, with the
exception of the Bacchic and the Corybantian, were very simple, and
consisted of gentle movements of the body, with various turnings and
windings around the altar: such a dance was the _Geranus_ (γέρανος),
which Theseus is said to have performed at Delos on his return from
Crete. The Dionysiac or Bacchic, and the Corybantian, were of a very
different nature.
[Illustration: Corybantian Dance. (Visconti, Mus. Pio Clem., vol. iv.
tav. 9.)]
In the former the life and adventures of the god were represented
by mimetic dancing. [DIONYSIA.] The Corybantian was of a very wild
character: it was chiefly danced in Phrygia and in Crete; the dancers
were armed, struck their swords against their shields, and displayed
the most extravagant fury; it was accompanied chiefly by the flute.
Respecting the dances in the theatre, see CHORUS. Dancing was applied
to gymnastic purposes and to training for war, especially in the
Doric states, and was believed to have contributed very much to the
success of the Dorians in war, as it enabled them to perform their
evolutions simultaneously and in order. There were various dances
in early times, which served as a preparation for war: hence Homer
calls the Hoplites πρυλέες, a war-dance having been called πρύλις by
the Cretans. Of such dances the most celebrated was the Pyrrhic (ἡ
πυῤῥίχη), of which the πρύλις was probably only another name. It was
danced to the sound of the flute, and its time was very quick and
light, as is shown by the name of the Pyrrhic foot (˘˘), which must
be connected with this dance. In the non-Doric states it was probably
not practised as a training for war, but only as a mimetic dance:
thus we read of its being danced by women to entertain a company. It
was also performed at Athens at the greater and lesser Panathenaea
by ephebi, who were called Pyrrhichists (πυῤῥιχισταί), and were
trained at the expense of the choragus. In the mountainous parts of
Thessaly and Macedon dances are performed at the present day by men
armed with muskets and swords. The Pyrrhic dance was introduced in
the public games at Rome by Julius Caesar, when it was danced by the
children of the leading men in Asia and Bithynia. There were other
dances, besides the PYRRHIC, in which the performers had arms; but
these seem to have been entirely mimetic, and not practised with any
view to training for war. Such was the _Carpaea_ (καρπαία), peculiar
to the Aenianians and Magnetes, and described by Xenophon in the
Anabasis. Such dances were frequently performed at banquets for the
entertainment of the guests, where also the tumblers (κυβιστῆρες)
were often introduced, who in the course of their dance flung
themselves on their head and alighted again upon their feet. These
tumblers were also accustomed to make their somersets over knives and
swords, which was called κυβιστάν εἰς μαχαίρας. We learn from Tacitus
that the German youths also used to dance among swords and spears
pointed at them. Other kinds of dances were frequently performed at
entertainments, in Rome as well as in Greece, by courtezans, many of
which were of a very indecent and lascivious nature. Among the dances
performed without arms one of the most important was the _Hormos_
(ὅρμος), which was danced at Sparta by youths and maidens together:
the youth danced first some movements suited to his age, and of a
military nature; the maiden followed in measured steps and with
feminine gestures. Another common dance at Sparta was the _bibasis_
(βίβασις), in which the dancer sprang rapidly from the ground and
struck the feet behind.--Dancing was common among the Romans in
ancient times, in connection with religious festivals and rites,
because the ancients thought that no part of the body should be free
from the influence of religion. The dances of the Salii, which were
performed by men of patrician families, are described elsewhere.
[ANCILE.] Dancing, however, was not performed by any Roman citizens
except in connection with religion, and it was considered disgraceful
for any freeman to dance. The mimetic dances of the Romans, which
were carried to such perfection under the empire, are described under
PANTOMIMUS. The dancers on the tight-rope (_funambuli_) under the
empire were as skilful as they are in the present day.
[Illustration: Tumbler. (Museo Borbonico, vol. VII. tav. 58.)]
SĂLŪTATŌRES, the name given in the later times of the republic, and
under the empire, to a class of men who obtained their living by
visiting the houses of the wealthy early in the morning, to pay their
respects to them (_salutare_), and to accompany them when they went
abroad. This arose from the visits which the clients were accustomed
to pay to their patrons, and degenerated in later times into the
above-mentioned practice: such persons seem to have obtained a good
living among the great number of wealthy and vain persons at Rome,
who were gratified by this attention. [SPORTULA.]
SAMBŪCA (σαμβύκη), a harp, was of oriental origin. The performances
of _sambucistriae_ (σαμβυκίστριαι) were only known to the early
Romans as luxuries brought over from Asia. _Sambuca_ was also the
name of a military engine, used to scale the walls and towers of
besieged cities. It was called by this name on account of its general
resemblance to the form of a harp.