Chapter 27

Pegasus receiving the Bridle.

FRĪGĬDĀRĬUM. [Balneum.]

FRĬTILLUS (φιμός), a dice-box of a cylindrical form, and therefore called alsoturricula, orpyrgus, and formed with parallel indentations (gradus) on the inside, so as to make a rattling noise when the dice were shaken in it.

FRŪMENTĀRĬAE LEGES. The supply of corn at Rome was considered one of the duties of the government. The superintendence of the corn-market belonged in ordinary times to the aediles, but when great scarcity prevailed, an extraordinary officer was appointed for the purpose under the title ofPraefectus Annonae. Even in early times it had been usual for the state on certain occasions, and for wealthy individuals, to make occasional donations of corn to the people (donatio,largitio,divisio; subsequently calledfrumentatio). But such donations were only casual; and it was not tillB.C.123, that the first legal provision was made for supplying the poor at Rome with corn at a price much below its market value. In that year C. Sempronius Gracchus brought forward the firstLex Frumentaria, by which each citizen was entitled to receive every month a certain quantity of wheat (triticum) at the price of 6⅓ asses for the modius, which was equal to 1 gallon and nearly 8 pints English. This was only a trifle more than half the market price. Each person probably received five modii monthly, as in later times. AboutB.C.91, the tribune M. Octavius brought forward theLex Octavia,which modified the law of Gracchus to some extent, so that the public treasury did not suffer so much. Sulla went still further, and by hisLex Cornelia,B.C.82, did away altogether with these distributions of corn; but inB.C.73, the Lex Sempronia was renewed by theLex Terentia Cassia, which enacted that each Roman citizen should receive 5 modii a month at the price of 6⅓ asses for each modius. The Leges Frumentariae hadsoldcorn to the people; but by theLex Clodiaof the tribune Clodius,B.C.58, the corn was distributed without any payment; the abolition of the payment cost the state a fifth part of its revenues. When Caesar became master of the Roman world, he resolved to remedy the evils attending the system, so far as he was able. He did not venture to abolish altogether these distributions of corn, but he did the next best thing in his power, which was reducing the number of the recipients. During the civil wars numbers of persons, who had no claim to the Roman franchise, had settled at Rome in order to obtain a share in the distributions. Caesar excluded from this privilege every person who could not prove that he was a Roman citizen; and thus the 320,000 persons, who had previously received the corn, were at once reduced to 150,000. The useful regulations of Caesar fell into neglect after his death; and inB.C.5, the number of recipients had amounted to 320,000. But inB.C.2, Augustus reduced the number of recipients to 200,000, and renewed many of Caesar’s regulations. The chief of them seem to have been: 1. That every citizen should receive monthly a certain quantity of corn (probably 5 modii) on the payment of a certain small sum. Occasionally, in seasons of scarcity, or in order to confer a particular favour, Augustus made these distributions quite gratuitous; they then becamecongiaria. [Congiarium.] 2. That those who were completely indigent should receive the corn gratuitously, and should be furnished for the purpose withtesserae nummariaeorfrumentariae, which entitled them to the corn without payment. The system which had been established by Augustus, was followed by his successors; but as it was always one of the first maxims of the state policy of the Roman emperors to prevent any disturbance in the capital, they frequently lowered the price of the public corn, and also distributed it gratuitously as acongiarium. Hence, the cry of the populacepanem et circenses. In course of time, the sale of the corn by the state seems to have ceased altogether, and the distribution became altogether gratuitous. Every corn-receiver was therefore now provided with atessera, and this tessera, when once granted to him, became his property. Hence it came to pass, that he was not only allowed to keep the tessera for life, but even to dispose of it by sale, and bequeath it by will. Every citizen was competent to hold a tessera, with the exception of senators. Further, as the corn had been originally distributed to the people according to the thirty-five tribes into which they were divided, the corn-receivers in each tribe formed a kind of corporation, which came eventually to be looked upon as the tribe, when the tribes had lost all political significance. Hence, the purchase of a tessera became equivalent to the purchase of a place in a tribe; and, accordingly, we find in the Digest the expressionsemere tribumandemere tesseramused as synonymous. Another change was also introduced at a later period, which rendered the bounty still more acceptable to the people. Instead of distributing the corn every month, wheaten bread, calledannona civica, was given to the people. It is uncertain at what time this change was introduced, but it seems to have been the custom before the reign of Aurelian (A.D.270-275).

FRŪMENTĀRĬI, officers under the Roman empire, who acted as spies in the provinces, and reported to the emperors anything which they considered of importance. They appear to have been calledFrumentariibecause it was their duty to collect information in the same way as it was the duty of other officers, called by the same name, to collect corn.

FŪCUS (φῦκος), the paint which the Greek and Roman ladies employed in painting their cheeks, eye-brows, and other parts of their faces. The practice of painting the face was very general among the Greek ladies, and probably came into fashion in consequence of their sedentary mode of life, which robbed their complexions of their natural freshness, and induced them to have recourse to artificial means for restoring the red and white of nature. The eye-brows and eye-lids were stained black withστίμμιorστίμμις, a sulphuret of antimony, which is still employed by the Turkish ladies for the same purpose. The eye-brows were likewise stained withἄσβολος, a preparation of soot. Among the Romans the art of painting the complexion was carried to a still greater extent than among the Greeks, and even Ovid did not disdain to write a poem on the subject, which he calls (de Art. Am.iii. 206) “parvus, sed cura grande, libellus, opus;” though the genuineness of the fragment of theMedicamina faciei, ascribed to this poet, is doubtful. The Roman ladies even went so far as to paint with blue the veins on the temples.The ridiculous use of patches (splenia), which were common among the English ladies in the reign of Queen Anne and the first Georges, was not unknown to the Roman ladies. The more effeminate of the male sex at Rome, and likewise in Greece, also employed paint.

Girl painting herself. (From a Gem.)

FŬGA LĀTA. [Exsilium.]

FŬGA LĪBĔRA. [Exsilium.]

FŬGĬTĪVUS. [Servus.]

FULLO (κναφεύς,γναφεύς), also called NACCA, a fuller, a washer or scourer of cloth and linen. The fullones not only received the cloth as it came from the loom in order to scour and smooth it, but also washed and cleansed garments which had been already worn. The clothes were first washed, which was done in tubs or vats, where they were trodden upon and stamped by the feet of the fullones, whence Seneca speaks ofsaltus fullonicus. The ancients were not acquainted with soap, but they used in its stead different kinds of alkali, by which the dirt was more easily separated from the clothes. Of these, by far the most common was the urine of men and animals, which was mixed with the water in which the clothes were washed. When the clothes were dry, the wool was brushed and carded to raise the nap, sometimes with the skin of a hedgehog, and sometimes with some plants of the thistle kind. The clothes were then hung on a vessel of basket-work (viminea cavea), under which sulphur was placed in order to whiten the cloth. A fine white earth, called Cimolian by Pliny, was often rubbed into the cloth to increase its whiteness. The establishment or workshop of the fullers was calledFullonica,Fullonicum, orFullonimn. The Greeks were also accustomed to send their garments to fullers to be washed and scoured. The wordπλύνεινdenoted the washing of linen, andκναφεύεινorγναφεύεινthe washing of woollen clothes.

FŪNAMBŬLUS (καλοβάτης σχοινοβάτης), a rope-dancer. The art of dancing on the tight-rope was carried to as great perfection among the Romans as it is with us. The performers placed themselves in an endless variety of graceful and sportive attitudes, and represented the characters of bacchanals, satyrs, and other imaginary beings. One of the most difficult exploits was running down the rope at the conclusion of the performance. It was a strange attempt of Germanicus and of the emperor Galba to exhibit elephants walking on the rope.

FUNDA (σφενδόνη), a sling. Slingers are not mentioned in the Iliad; but the light troops of the Greek and Roman armies consisted in great part of slingers (funditores,σφενδονήται). The most celebrated slingers were the inhabitants of the Balearic islands. Besides stones, plummets, calledglandes(μολυβδίδες), of a form between acorns and almonds, were cast in moulds to be thrown with slings. The manner in which the sling was wielded may be seen in the annexed figure of a soldier with a provision of stones in the sinus of his pallium, and with his arm extended in order to whirl the sling about his head.

Funda, Sling. (Column of Trajan.)

FUNDĬTŌRES. [Funda.]

Coffins. (Stackelberg, ‘Die Gräber der Hellenen,’ pl. 7, 8.)

Tomb in Lycia.

FŪNUS, a funeral.—(1)Greek.The Greeks attached great importance to the burial of the dead. They believed that souls could not enter the Elysian fields till their bodies had been buried; and so strong was this feeling among the Greeks, that it was considered a religious duty to throw earth upon a dead body, which a person might happen tofind unburied; and among the Athenians, those children who were released from all other obligations to unworthy parents, were nevertheless bound to bury them by one of Solon’s laws. The neglect of burying one’s relatives is frequently mentioned by the orators as a grave charge against the moral character of a man; in fact, the burial of the body by the relations of the dead was considered one of the most sacred duties by the universal law of the Greeks. Sophocles represents Antigone as disregarding all consequences in order to bury the dead body of her brother Polyneices, which Creon, the king of Thebes, had commanded to be left unburied. The common expressions for the funeral rites,τὰ δίκαια,νόμιμαorνομιζόμενα,προσήκοντα, show that the dead had, as it were, a legal and moral claim to burial. After a person was dead, it was the custom first to place in his mouth an obolus, calleddanace(δανάκη), with which he might pay the ferryman in Hades. The body was then washed and anointed with perfumed oil, the head was crowned with the flowers which happened to be in season, and the body dressed in as handsome a robe as the family could afford. These duties were not performed by hired persons, like thepollinctoresamong the Romans, but by the women of the family, upon whom the care of the corpse always devolved. The corpse was then laid out (πρόθεσις,προτίθεσθαι) on a bed, which appears to have been of the ordinary kind, with a pillow for supporting the head and back. By the side of the bed there were placed painted earthen vessels, calledλήκυθοι, which were also buried with the corpse. Great numbers of these painted vases have been found in modern times; and they have been of great use in explaining many matters connected with antiquity. A honey-cake, calledμελιττοῦτα, which appears to have been intended for Cerberus, was also placed by the side of the corpse. Before the door a vessel of water was placed, calledὄστρακον,ἀρδάλιονorἀρδάνιον, in order that persons who had been in the house might purify themselves by sprinkling water on their persons. The relatives stood around the bed, the women uttering great lamentations, rending their garments, and tearing their hair. On the day after theπρόθεσις, or the third day after death, the corpse was carried out (ἐκφορά,ἐκκομιδή) for burial, early in the morning and before sunrise. A burial soon after death was supposed to be pleasing to the dead. In some places it appears to have been usual to bury the dead on the day following death. The men walked before the corpse, and the women behind. The funeral procession was preceded or followed by hired mourners (θρηνῳδοί), who appear to have been usually Carian women, playing mournful tunes on the flute. The body was either buried or burnt. The wordθάπτεινis used in connection with either mode; it is applied to the collection of the ashes after burning, and accordingly we find the wordsκαίεινandθάπτεινused together. The proper expression for interment in the earth isκατορύττειν. In Homer the bodies of the dead are burnt; but interment was also used in very ancient times. Cicero says that the dead were buried at Athens in the time of Cecrops; and we also read of the bones of Orestes being found in a coffin at Tegea. The dead were commonly buried among the Spartans and the Sicyonians, and the prevalence of this practice is proved by the great number of skeletons found in coffins in modern times, which have evidently not been exposed to the action of fire. Both burning and burying appear to have been always used to a greater or less extent at different periods; till the spread of Christianity at length put an end to the former practice. The dead bodies were usually burnt on piles of wood, calledpyres(πυραί). The body was placed on the top; and in the heroic times it was customary to burn with the corpse animals and even captives or slaves. Oils and perfumes were also thrown into the flames. When the pyre was burnt down, the remains of the fire were quenched with wine, and the relatives and friends collected the bones. The bones were then washed with wine and oil, and placed in urns, which were sometimes made of gold. The corpses which were not burnt were buried in coffins, which were called by various names, asσοροί,πύελοι,ληνοί,λάρνακες,δροῖται, though some of these names are also applied to the urns in which the bones were collected. They were made of various materials, but were usually of baked clay or earthenware. The following woodcut contains two of the most ancient kind; the figure in the middle is the section of one. The dead were usually buried outside the town, as it was thought that their presence in the city brought pollution to the living. At Athens none were allowed to be buried within the city; but Lycurgus, in order to remove all superstition respecting the presence of the dead, allowed of burial in Sparta. Persons who possessed lands in Attica were frequently buried in them, and we therefore read of tombs in the fields. Tombs, however, were most frequently built by the side of roads, and near the gates of the city. At Athens, the most common place of burial was outside of the Itonian gate, near the road leading to the Peiraeeus, which gate was for that reason called the burial gate. Those who had fallen in battle were buried at the public expense in the outer Cerameicus, on the road leading to the Academia. Tombs were calledθῆκαι,τάφοι,μνήματα,μνημεῖα,σήματα. Many of these were only mounds of earth or stones (χώματα,κολῶναιτύμβοι). Others were built of stone, and frequently ornamented with great taste. Some Greek tombs were built under ground, and calledhypogea(ὑπόγαιαorὑπόγεια). They correspond to the Romanconditoria. The monuments erected over the graves of persons were usually of four kinds: 1.στῆλαι, pillars or upright stone tablets; 2.κίονες, columns; 3.ναΐδιαorἡρῷα, small buildings in the form of temples; and 4.τράπεζαι, flat square stones, called by Ciceromensae. The termστῆλαιis sometimes applied to all kinds of funeral monuments, but properly designates upright stone tablets, which were usually terminated with an oval heading, calledἐπίθημα. The epithema was frequently ornamented with a kind of arabesque work, as in the preceding specimen. Theκίονες, or columns, were of various forms, as is shown by the two specimens in the annexed cut.

Epithema or Heading of Tombstone. (Stackelberg, pl. 3.)

Sepulchral Columns. (Paintings on Vases.)

The inscriptions upon these funeral monuments usually contain the name of the deceased person, and that of the demus to which he belonged, as well as frequently some account of his life. The following example of anἡρῷονwill give a general idea of monuments of this kind.—Orations in praise of the dead were sometimes pronounced; but Solon ordained that such orations should be confined to persons who were honoured with a public funeral. In the heroic ages games werecelebrated at the funeral of a great man, as in the case of Patroclus; but this practice does not seem to have been usual in the historical times.—All persons who had been engaged in funerals were considered polluted, and could not enter the temples of the gods till they had been purified. After the funeral was over, the relatives partook of a feast, which was calledπερίδειπνονorνεκρόδειπνον. This feast was always given at the house of the nearest relative of the deceased.

Sepulchral Heroon. (Painting on Vase.)

Thus the relatives of those who had fallen at the battle of Chaeroneia partook of theπερίδειπνονat the house of Demosthenes, as if he were the nearest relative to them all. On the second day after the funeral a sacrifice to the dead was offered, calledτρίτα; but the principal sacrifice to the dead was on the ninth day, calledἔνναταorἔνατα. The mourning for the dead appears to have lasted till the thirtieth day after the funeral, on which day sacrifices were again offered. At Sparta the time of mourning was limited to eleven days. During the time of mourning it was considered indecorous for the relatives of the deceased to appear in public; they were accustomed to wear a black dress, and in ancient times they cut off their hair as a sign of grief.—The tombs were preserved by the family to which they belonged with the greatest care, and were regarded as among the strongest ties which attached a man to his native land. In the Docimasia of the Athenian archons it was always a subject of inquiry whether they had kept in proper repair the tombs of their ancestors. On certain days the tombs were crowned with flowers, and offerings were made to the dead, consisting of garlands of flowers and various other things. The act of offering these presents was calledἐναγίζειν, and the offerings themselvesἐναγίσματα, or more commonlyχοαί. Theγενέσιαmentioned by Herodotus appear to have consisted in offerings of the same kind, which were presented on the anniversary of the birth-day of the deceased. Theνεκύσιαwere probably offerings on the anniversary of the day of the death; though, according to some writers, theνεκύσιαwere the same as theγενέσια. Certain criminals, who were put to death by the state, were also deprived of the rights of burial, which was considered as an additional punishment. There were certain places, both at Athens and Sparta, where the dead bodies of such criminals were cast. A person who had committed suicide was not deprived of burial, but the hand with which he had killed himself was cut off and buried by itself.—(2)Roman.When a Roman was at the point of death, his nearest relation present endeavoured to catch the last breath with his mouth. The ring was taken off the finger of the dying person; and as soon as he was dead his eyes and mouth were closed by the nearest relation, who called upon the deceased by name, exclaiminghaveorvale. The corpse was then washed, and anointed with oil and perfumes, by slaves, calledpollinctores, who belonged to thelibitinarii, or undertakers. The libitinarii appear to have been so called because they dwelt near the temple of Venus Libitina, where all things requisite for funerals were sold. Hence we find the expressionsvitare Libitinamandevadere Libitinamused in the sense of escaping death. At this temple an account (ratio, ephemeris) was kept of those who died, and a small sum was paid for the registration of their names. A small coin was then placed in the mouth of the corpse, in order to pay the ferryman in Hades, and the body was laid out on a couch in the vestibule of the house, with its feet towards the door, and dressed in the best robe which the deceased had worn when alive. Ordinary citizens were dressed in a white toga, and magistrates in their official robes. If the deceased had received a crown while alive as a reward for his bravery, it was now placed on his head; and the couch on which he was laid was sometimes covered with leaves and flowers. A branch of cypress was also usually placed at the door of the house, if he was aperson of consequence. Funerals were usually calledfunera justaorexsequiae; the latter term was generally applied to the funeral procession (pompa funebris). There were two kinds of funerals, public and private; of which the former was calledfunus publicumorindictivum, because the people were invited to it by a herald; the latterfunus tacitum,translatitium, orplebeium. A person appears to have usually left a certain sum of money in his will to pay the expenses of his funeral; but if he did not do so, nor appoint any one to bury him, this duty devolved upon the persons to whom the property was left, and if he died without a will, upon his relations, according to their order of succession to the property. The expenses of the funeral were in such cases decided by an arbiter, according to the property and rank of the deceased, whencearbitriais used to signify the funeral expenses.—The following description of the mode in which a funeral was conducted only applies strictly to the funerals of the great; the same pomp and ceremony could not of course be observed in the case of persons in ordinary circumstances. All funerals in ancient times were performed at night, but afterwards the poor only were buried at night, because they could not afford to have any funeral procession. The corpse was usually carried out of the house (efferebatur) on the eighth day after the death. The order of the funeral procession was regulated by a person calleddesignatorordominus funeris, who was attended by lictors dressed in black. It was headed by musicians of various kinds (cornicines, siticines), who played mournful strains, and next came mourning women, calledpraeficae, who were hired to lament and sing the funeral song (naeniaorlessus) in praise of the deceased. These were sometimes followed by players and buffoons (scurrae, histriones), of whom one, calledarchimimus, represented the character of the deceased, and imitated his words and actions. Then came the slaves whom the deceased had liberated, wearing the cap of liberty (pileati); the number of whom was occasionally very great, since a master sometimes liberated all his slaves, in his will, in order to add to the pomp of his funeral. Before the corpse the images of the deceased and of his ancestors were carried, and also the crowns or military rewards which he had gained. The corpse was carried on a couch (lectica), to which the name offeretrumorcapulumwas usually given; but the bodies of poor citizens and of slaves were carried on a common kind of bier or coffin, calledsandapila. Thesandapilawas carried by bearers, calledvespaeorvespillones, because they carried out the corpses in the evening (vespertino tempore). The couches on which the corpses of the rich were carried were sometimes made of ivory, and covered with gold and purple. They were often carried on the shoulders of the nearest relations of the deceased, and sometimes on those of his freedmen. Julius Caesar was carried by the magistrates, and Augustus by the senators. The relations of the deceased walked behind the corpse in mourning; his sons with their heads veiled, and his daughters with their heads bare and their hair dishevelled, contrary to the ordinary practice of both. They often uttered loud lamentations, and the women beat their breasts and tore their cheeks, though this was forbidden by the Twelve Tables. If the deceased was of illustrious rank, the funeral procession went through the forum, and stopped before therostra, where a funeral oration (laudatio) in praise of the deceased was delivered. This practice was of great antiquity among the Romans, and is said by some writers to have been first introduced by Publicola, who pronounced a funeral oration in honour of his colleague Brutus. Women also were honoured by funeral orations. From the Forum the corpse was carried to the place of burning or burial, which, according to a law of the Twelve Tables, was obliged to be outside the city. The Romans in the most ancient times buried their dead, though they also early adopted, to some extent, the custom of burning, which is mentioned in the Twelve Tables. Burning, however, does not appear to have become general till the later times of the republic. Marius was buried, and Sulla was the first of the Cornelian gens whose body was burned. Under the empire burning was almost universally practised, but was gradually discontinued as Christianity spread, so that it had fallen into disuse in the fourth century. Persons struck by lightning were not burnt, but buried on the spot, which was calledBidental, and was considered sacred. [Bidental.] Children also, who had not cut their teeth, were not burnt, but buried in a place calledSuggrundarium. Those who were buried were placed in a coffin (arcaorloculus), which was frequently made of stone, and sometimes of the Assian stone, which came from Assos in Troas, and which consumed all the body, with the exception of the teeth, in 40 days, whence it was calledsarcophagus. This name was in course of time applied to any kind of coffin or tomb. The corpse was burnt on a pile of wood (pyraorrogus). This pile was built in the form of an altar, with four equal sides, whence we find it calledara sepulcriandfuneris ara. The sides of the pile were,according to the Twelve Tables, to be left rough and unpolished, but were frequently covered with dark leaves. Cypress trees were sometimes placed before the pile. On the top of the pile the corpse was placed, with the couch on which it had been carried, and the nearest relation then set fire to the pile with his face turned away. When the flames began to rise, various perfumes were thrown into the fire, though this practice was forbidden by the Twelve Tables; cups of oil, ornaments, clothes, dishes of food, and other things, which were supposed to be agreeable to the deceased, were also thrown upon the flames. The place where a person was burnt was calledbustum, if he was afterwards buried on the same spot, andustrinaorustrinumif he was buried at a different place. Sometimes animals were slaughtered at the pile, and in ancient times captives and slaves, since the manes were supposed to be fond of blood; but afterwards gladiators, called bustuarii, were hired to fight round the burning pile. When the pile was burnt down, the embers were soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes of the deceased were gathered by the nearest relatives, who sprinkled them with perfumes, and placed them in a vessel calledurna, which was made of various materials, according to the circumstances of individuals.

Sepulchral Urn in British Museum

The urnae were also of various shapes, but most commonly square or round; and upon them there was usually an inscription or epitaph (titulusorepitaphium), beginning with the letters D. M. S., or only D. M., that is,Dis Manibus Sacrum, followed by the name of the deceased, with the length of his life, &c. The woodcut opposite is a representation of a sepulchral urn in the British Museum. It is of an upright rectangular form, richly ornamented with foliage, and supported at the sides with pilasters. It is to the memory of Cossutia Prima. Its height is 21 inches, and its width at the base 14 inches 6-8ths. Below the inscription an infant genius is represented driving a car drawn by four horses.—After the bones and ashes of the deceased had been placed in the urn, the persons present were thrice sprinkled by a priest with pure water from a branch of olive or laurel for the purpose of purification; after which they were dismissed by thepraefica, or some other person, by the solemn wordIlicet, that is,ire licet. At their departure they were accustomed to bid farewell to the deceased by pronouncing the wordVale. The urns were placed in sepulchres, which, as already stated, were outside the city, though in a few cases we read of the dead being buried within the city. Thus Valerius Publicola, Tubertus, and Fabricius, were buried in the city; which right their descendants also possessed, but did not use. The vestal virgins and the emperors were buried in the city.—The verbsepelire, like the Greekθάπτειν, was applied to every mode of disposing of the dead; andsepulcrumsignified any kind of tomb in which the body or bones of a man were placed. The termhumarewas originally used for burial in the earth, but was afterwards applied likesepelireto any mode of disposing of the dead: since it appears to have been the custom, after the body was burnt, to throw some earth upon the bones.—The places for burial were either public or private. The public places of burial were of two kinds; one for illustrious citizens, who were buried at the public expense, and the other for poor citizens, who could not afford to purchase ground for the purpose. The former was in the Campus Martius, which was ornamented with the tombs of the illustrious dead, and in the Campus Esquilinus; the latter was also in the Campus Esquilinus, and consisted of small pits or caverns, calledputiculiorputiculae;but as this place rendered the neighbourhood unhealthy, it was given to Maecenas, who converted it into gardens, and built a magnificent house upon it. Private places for burial were usually by the sides of the roads leading to Rome; and on some of these roads, such as the Via Appia, the tombs formed an almost uninterrupted street for many miles from the gates of the city. They were frequently built by individuals during their lifetime; thus Augustus, in his sixth consulship, built the Mausoleum for his sepulchre between the Via Flaminia and the Tiber, and planted round it woods and walks for public use. The heirs were often ordered by the will of the deceased to build a tomb for him; and they sometimes did it at their own expense.—Sepulchres were originally calledbusta, but this word was afterwards employed in the manner mentioned under Bustum. Sepulchres were also frequently calledmonumenta, but this term was also applied to a monument erected to the memory of a person in a different place from that where he was buried.Conditoriaorconditivawere sepulchres under ground, in which dead bodies were placed entire, in contradistinction to those sepulchres which contained the bones and ashes only.—The tombs of the rich were commonly built of marble, and the ground enclosed with an iron railing or wall, and planted round with trees. The extent of the burying-ground was marked by cippi [Cippus]. The name of mausoleum, which was originally the name of the magnificent sepulchre erected by Artemisia to the memory of Mausolus, king of Caria, was sometimes given to any splendid tomb. The open space before a sepulchre was called forum, and neither this space nor the sepulchre itself could become the property of a person by usucapion. Private tombs were either built by an individual for himself and the members of his family (sepulcra familiaria), or for himself and his heirs (sepulcra hereditaria). A tomb, which was fitted up with niches to receive the funeral urns, was calledcolumbarium, on account of the resemblance of these niches to the holes of a pigeon-house. In these tombs the ashes of the freedmen and slaves of great families were frequently placed in vessels made of baked clay, calledollae, which were let into the thickness of the wall within these niches, the lids only being seen, and the inscriptions placed in front. Tombs were of various sizes and forms, according to the wealth and taste of the owner. A sepulchre, or any place in which a person was buried, wasreligiosus; all things which were left or belonged to the Dii Manes werereligiosae; those consecrated to the Dii Superi were calledsacrae. Even the place in which a slave was buried was considered religiosus. Whoever violated a sepulchre was subject to an action termedsepulcri violati actio. After the bones had been placed in the urn at the funeral, the friends returned home. They then underwent a further purification, calledsuffitio, which consisted in being sprinkled with water and stepping over a fire. The house itself was also swept with a certain kind of broom; which sweeping or purification was calledexverrae, and the person who did iteverriator. TheDenicales Feriaewere also days set apart for the purification of the family. The mourning and solemnities connected with the dead lasted for nine days after the funeral, at the end of which time a sacrifice was performed, callednovendiale.—A feast was given in honour of the dead, but it is uncertain on what day; it sometimes appears to have been given at the time of the funeral, sometimes on the novendiale, and sometimes later. The name ofsilicerniumwas given to this feast. Among the tombs at Pompeii there is a funeral triclinium for the celebration of these feasts, which is represented in the annexed woodcut. It is open to the sky, and the walls are ornamented by paintings of animals in the centre of compartments, which have borders of flowers. The triclinium is made of stone, with a pedestal in the centre to receive the table. After the funeral of great men, there was, in addition to the feast for the friends of the deceased, a distribution of raw meat to the people, calledvisceratio, and sometimes a public banquet. Combats of gladiators and other games were also frequently exhibited in honour of the deceased. Thus at thefuneral of P. Licinius Crassus, who had been Pontifex Maximus, raw meat was distributed to the people, 120 gladiators fought, and funeral games were celebrated for three days, at the end of which a public banquet was given in the forum. Public feasts and funeral games were sometimes given on the anniversary of funerals. At all banquets in honour of the dead, the guests were dressed in white.—The Romans, like the Greeks, were accustomed to visit the tombs of their relatives at certain periods, and to offer to them sacrifices and various gifts, which were calledinferiaeandparentalia. The Romans appear to have regarded the manes or departed souls of their ancestors as gods; whence arose the practice of presenting to them oblations, which consisted of victims, wine, milk, garlands of flowers, and other things. The tombs were sometimes illuminated on these occasions with lamps. In the latter end of the month of February there was a festival, calledferalia, in which the Romans were accustomed to carry food to the sepulchres for the use of the dead. The Romans were accustomed to wear mourning for their deceased friends, which appears to have been black under the republic for both sexes. Under the empire the men continued to wear black in mourning, but the women wore white. They laid aside all kinds of ornaments, and did not cut either their hair or beard. Men appear to have usually worn their mourning for only a few days, but women for a year when they lost a husband or parent. In a public mourning on account of some signal calamity, as, for instance, the loss of a battle, or the death of an emperor, there was a total cessation from business, calledjustitium, which was usually ordained by public appointment. During this period the courts of justice did not sit, the shops were shut, and the soldiers freed from military duties. In a public mourning the senators did not wear the latus clavus and their rings, nor the magistrates their badges of office.

Funeral Triclinium at Pompeii. (Mazois, Pomp., 1, pl. xx.)

FURCA, which properly means a fork, was also the name of an instrument of punishment. It was a piece of wood in the form of the letter Λ, which was placed upon the shoulders of the offender, whose hands were tied to it. Slaves were frequently punished in this way, and were obliged to carry about the furca wherever they went; whence the appellation offurciferwas applied to a man as a term of reproach. The furca was used in the ancient mode of capital punishment among the Romans; the criminal was tied to it, and then scourged to death. Thepatibulumwas also an instrument of punishment, resembling the furca; it appears to have been in the form of the letter Π. Both the furca and patibulum were also employed as crosses, to which criminals appear to have been nailed.

FURĬŌSUS. [Curator.]

FUSCĬNA (τρίαινα), a trident, more commonly calledtridens, meaningtridens stimulus, because it was originally a three-pronged goad, used to incite horses to greater swiftness. Neptune was supposed to be armed with it when he drove his chariot, and it thus became his usual attribute, perhaps with an allusion also to the use of the same instrument in harpooning fish. It is represented in the cut onp. 84. In the contests of gladiators, theretiariuswas armed with a trident. [Gladiatores]

FUSTŬĀRĬUM (ξυλοκοπία), was a capital punishment inflicted upon Roman soldiers for desertion, theft, and similar crimes. It was administered in the following manner:—When a soldier was condemned, the tribune touched him slightly with a stick, upon which all the soldiers of the legion fell upon him with sticks and stones, and generally killed him upon the spot. If, however, he escaped, for he was allowed to fly, he could not return to his native country, nor did any of his relatives dare to receive him into their houses.

FŪSUS (ἄτρακτος), the spindle, was always, when in use, accompanied by the distaff (colus,ἠλακάτη), as an indispensable part of the same apparatus. The wool, flax, or other material, having been prepared for spinning, was rolled into a ball (τολύπη,glomus), which was, however, sufficiently loose to allow the fibres to be easily drawn out by the hand of the spinner. The upper part of the distaff was then inserted into this mass of flax or wool, and the lower part was held under the left arm in such a position as was most convenient for conducting the operation. The fibres were drawn out, and at the same time spirally twisted, chiefly by the use of the fore-finger and thumb of the right hand; and the thread (filum, stamen,νήμα) so produced was wound upon the spindle until the quantity was as great as it would carry. The spindle was a stick, 10 or 12 inches long, having at the top a slit or catch (dens,ἄγκιστρον) in which the thread was fixed, so that the weight of the spindle might continually carry down the thread as it was formed. Its lower extremity was inserted into a small wheel, called the whorl (vorticellum), made of wood, stone, or metal (see woodcut), the use of which was to keep the spindle more steady, and to promote its rotation. The accompanying woodcut showsthe operation of spinning, at the moment when the woman has drawn out a sufficient length of yarn to twist it by whirling the spindle with her right thumb and fore-finger, and previously to the act of taking it out of the slit to wind it upon the bobbin (πήνιον) already formed. It was usual to have a basket to hold the distaff and spindle, with the balls of wool prepared for spinning, and the bobbins already spun. [Calathus.] The distaff and spindle, with the wool and thread upon them, were carried in bridal processions; and, without the wool and thread, they were often suspended by females as offerings of religious gratitude, especially in old age, or on relinquishing the constant use of them. They were most frequently dedicated to Pallas, the patroness of spinning, and of the arts connected with it. They were exhibited in the representations of the three Fates, who were conceived, by their spinning, to determine the life of every man.

Back to Index Next