S

SACCUS (σάκκος) signified in general any kind of sack or bag made of hair, cloth, or other materials. We have only to notice here its meaning as—(1) A head-dress. [Coma.]—(2) A sieve for straining wine. [Colum.]—(3) A purse for holding money. Hence the phrase in Plautusire ad saccum, “to go a begging.”

SĂCELLUM is a diminutive ofsacer, and signifies a small place consecrated to a god, containing an altar, and sometimes also a statue of the god to whom it was dedicated, but it was without a roof. It was therefore a sacred inclosure surrounded by a fence or wall, and thus answered to the Greekπερίβολος.

SĂCERDOS, SĂCERDŌTĬUM. As all the different kinds of priests are treated of separately in this work, it is only necessary here to make some general remarks. In comparison with the civil magistrates, all priests at Rome were regarded ashomines privati, though all of them, as priests, were sacerdotes publici, in as far as their office (sacerdotium) was connected with any worship recognised by the state. The appellation ofsacerdos publicuswas, however, given principally to the chief pontiff and the flamen dialis, who were at the same time the only priests who were members of the senate by virtue of their office. All priestly offices or sacerdotia were held for life, without responsibility to any civil magistrate. A priest was generally allowed to hold any other civil or military office besides his priestly dignity; some priests, however, formed an exception, for the duumviri, the rex sacrorum, and the flamen dialis were not allowed to hold any state office, and were also exempt from service in the armies. Their priestly character was, generally speaking, inseparable from their person as long as they lived: hence the augurs and fratres arvales retained their character even when sent into exile, or when they were taken prisoners. It also occurs that one and the same person held two or three priestly offices at a time. Thus we find the three dignities of pontifex maximus, augur, and decemvir sacrorum united in one individual. Bodily defects incapacitated a person at Rome, as among all ancient nations, from holding any priestly office. All priests were originally patricians, but from the yearB.C.367 the plebeians also began to take part in the sacerdotia [Plebes]; and those priestly offices which down to the latest times remained in the hands of the patricians alone, such as that of the rex sacrorum, the flamines, salii, and others, had no influence upon the affairs of the state. As regards the appointment of priests, the ancients unanimously state, that at first they were appointed by the kings, but after the sacerdotia were once instituted, each college of priests—for nearly all priests constituted certain corporations called collegia—had the right of filling up, by cooptatio, the vacancies which occurred. [Pontifex.] Other priests, on the contrary, such as the vestal virgins and the flamines, were appointed (capiebantur) by the pontifex maximus, a rule which appears to have been observed down to the latest times; others again, such as the duumviri sacrorum, were elected by the people, or by the curiae, as the curiones. But in whatever manner they were appointed, all priests after their appointment required to be inauguratedby the pontiffs and the augurs, or by the latter alone. Those priests who formed colleges had originally, as we have already observed, the right of cooptatio; but in the course of time they were deprived of this right, or at least the cooptatio was reduced to a mere form, by several leges, called leges de sacerdotiis, such as the Lex Domitia, Cornelia, and Julia; their nature is described in the articlePontifex, and what is there said in regard to the appointment of pontiffs applies equally to all the other colleges. All priests had some external distinction, as the apex, tutulus, or galerus, the toga praetexta, as well as honorary seats in the theatres, circuses, and amphitheatres. Most of the priestly colleges possessed landed property, and some priests had also a regular annual salary (stipendium), which was paid to them from the public treasury. This is expressly stated in regard to the vestal virgins, the augurs, and the curiones, and may therefore be supposed to have been the case with other priests also. The pontifex maximus, the rex sacrorum, and the vestal virgins had moreover a domus publica as their place of residence.

SACRA. This word, in its widest sense, expresses what we call divine worship. In ancient times, the state, as well as all its subdivisions, had their own peculiar forms of worship, whence at Rome we find sacra of the whole Roman people, of the curies, gentes, families, and even of private individuals. All these sacra, however, were divided into two great classes, the public and private sacra (sacra publica et privata), that is, they were performed either on behalf of the whole nation, and at the expense of the state, or on behalf of individuals, families, or gentes, which had also to defray their expenses. This division is ascribed to Numa. All sacra, publica as well as privata, were superintended and regulated by the pontiffs.

SACRĀMENTUM, the military oath, which was administered in the following manner:—Each tribunus militum assembled his legion, and picked out one of the men, to whom he put the oath, that he would obey the commands of his generals, and execute them punctually. The other men then came forward, one after another, and repeated the same oath, saying that they would do like the first.

SACRĀRĬUM was any place in which sacred things were deposited and kept, whether this place was a part of a temple or of a private house.

SACRIFĬCĬUM (ἱερεῖον), a sacrifice. Sacrifices or offerings formed the chief part of the worship of the ancients. They were partly signs of gratitude, partly a means of propitiating the gods, and partly also intended to induce the deity to bestow some favour upon the sacrificer, or upon those on whose behalf the sacrifice was offered. Sacrifices in a wider sense would also embrace theDonaria; in a narrower sense sacrificia were things offered to the gods, which merely afforded momentary gratification, and which were burnt upon their altars, or were believed to be consumed by the gods. All sacrifices may be divided into bloody sacrifices and unbloody sacrifices.—Bloody sacrifices.In the early times of Greece we find mention of human sacrifices, but with a few exceptions these had ceased in the historical ages. Owing to the influence of civilisation, in many cases animals were substituted for human beings; in others, a few drops of human blood were thought sufficient to propitiate the gods. The custom of sacrificing human life to the gods arose from the belief that the nobler the sacrifice and the dearer to its possessor, the more pleasing it would be to the gods. Hence the frequent instances in Grecian story of persons sacrificing their own children, or of persons devoting themselves to the gods of the lower world. That the Romans also believed human sacrifices to be pleasing to the gods, might be inferred from the story of Curtius and from the self-sacrifice of the Decii. The symbolic sacrifice of human figures made of rushes at the Lemuralia [Lemuralia] also shows that in the early history of Italy human sacrifices were not uncommon. For another proof of this practice, seeVer Sacrum. A second kind of bloody sacrifices were those of animals of various kinds, according to the nature and character of the divinity. The sacrifices of animals were the most common among the Greeks and Romans. The victim was calledἱερεῖον, and in Latinhostiaorvictima. In the early times it appears to have been the general custom to burn the whole victim (ὁλοκαυτεῖν) upon the altars of the gods, and the same was in some cases also observed in later times. But as early as the time of Homer it was the almost general practice to burn only the legs (μηροί, μηρία, μῆρα) enclosed in fat, and certain parts of the intestines, while the remaining parts of the victim were consumed by men at a festive meal. The gods delighted chiefly in the smoke arising from the burning victims, and the greater the number of victims, the more pleasing was the sacrifice. Hence it was not uncommon to offer a sacrifice of one hundred bulls (ἑκατόμβη) at once, though it must not be supposed that a hecatomb always signifies a sacrifice of a hundred bulls, for the name was used in a general way to designate any great sacrifice. Such great sacrifices were not less pleasing to men than to the gods,for in regard to the former they were in reality a donation of meat. Hence at Athens the partiality for such sacrifices rose to the highest degree. The animals which were sacrificed were mostly of the domestic kind, as bulls, cows, sheep, rams, lambs, goats, pigs, dogs, and horses; and each god had his favourite animals which he liked best as sacrifices. The head of the victim, before it was killed, was in most cases strewed with roasted barley meal (οὐλόχυταorοὐλοχύται) mixed with salt (mola salsa). The persons who offered the sacrifice wore generally garlands round their heads, and sometimes also carried them in their hands, and before they touched anything belonging to the sacrifice they washed their hands in water. The victim itself was likewise adorned with garlands, and its horns were sometimes gilt. Before the animal was killed, a bunch of hair was cut from its forehead, and thrown into the fire as primitiae (κατάρχεσθαι). In the heroic ages the princes, as the high priests of their people, killed the victim; in later times this was done by the priests themselves. When the sacrifice was to be offered to the Olympic gods, the head of the animal was drawn heavenward; when to the gods of the lower world, to heroes, or to the dead, it was drawn downwards. While the flesh was burning upon the altar, wine and incense were thrown upon it, and prayers and music accompanied the solemnity. The most common animal sacrifices at Rome were thesuovetauriliaorsolitaurilia, consisting of a pig, a sheep, and an ox. They were performed in all cases of a lustration, and the victims were carried around the thing to be lustrated, whether it was a city, a people, or a piece of land. [Lustratio.] The Greektrittya(τριττύα), which likewise consisted of an ox, a sheep, and a pig, was the same sacrifice as the Roman suovetaurilia. The customs observed before and during the sacrifice of an animal were on the whole the same as those observed in Greece. But the victim was in most cases not killed by the priests who conducted the sacrifice, but by a person calledpopa, who struck the animal with a hammer before the knife was used. The better parts of the intestines (exta) were strewed with barley meal, wine, and incense, and were burnt upon the altar. Those parts of the animal which were burnt were calledprosecta,prosiciae, orablegmina. When a sacrifice was offered to gods of rivers, or of the sea, these parts were not burnt, but thrown into the water. Respecting the use which the ancients made of sacrifices to learn the will of the gods, seeHaruspexandDivinatio.—Unbloody sacrifices.Among these we may first mention the libations (libationes,λοιβαίorσπονδαί). Bloody sacrifices were usually accompanied by libations, as wine was poured upon them. The wine was usually poured out in three separate streams. Libations always accompanied a sacrifice which was offered in concluding a treaty with a foreign nation, and that here they formed a prominent part of the solemnity, is clear from the fact that the treaty itself was calledσπονδαί. But libations were also made independent of any other sacrifice, as in solemn prayers, and on many other occasions of public and private life, as before drinking at meals, and the like. Libations usually consisted of unmixed wine (ἔνσπονδος,merum), but sometimes also of milk, honey, and other fluids, either pure or diluted with water. The libations offered to the Furies were always without wine. Incense was likewise an offering which usually accompanied bloody sacrifices, but it was also burned as an offering for itself. A third class of unbloody sacrifices consisted of fruit and cakes. The former were mostly offered to the gods as primitiae or tithes of the harvest, and as a sign of gratitude. They were sometimes offered in their natural state, sometimes also adorned or prepared in various ways. Cakes were peculiar to the worship of certain deities, as to that of Apollo. They were either simple cakes of flour, sometimes also of wax, or they were made in the shape of some animal, and were then offered as symbolical sacrifices in the place of real animals, either because they could not easily be procured, or were too expensive for the sacrificer.

SACRĬLĔGĬUM, the crime of stealing things consecrated to the gods, or things deposited in a consecrated place. A Lex Julia appears to have placed the crime of sacrilegium on an equality with peculatus. [Peculatus.]

SAECŬLUM was, according to the calculation of the Etruscans, which was adopted by the Romans, a space of time containing 110 lunar years. The return of each saeculum at Rome was announced by the pontiffs, who also made the necessary intercalations in such a manner, that at the commencement of a new saeculum the beginning of the ten months’ year, of the twelve months’ year, and of the solar year coincided. But in these arrangements the greatest caprice and irregularity appear to have prevailed at Rome, as may be seen from the unequal intervals at which the ludi saeculares were celebrated. [Ludi Saeculares.] This also accounts for the various ways in which a saeculum was defined by the ancients; some believed that it contained thirty, and others that it contained a hundred years: the latteropinion appears to have been the most common in later times, so that saeculum answered to our century.

SĂGITTĀRĬI. [Arcus.]

SAGMĬNA, were the same as theverbenae, namely, herbs torn up by their roots from within the inclosure of the Capitoline, which were always carried by the Fetiales or ambassadors, when they went to a foreign people to demand restitution for wrongs committed against the Romans, or to make a treaty. [Fetiales.] They served to mark the sacred character of the ambassadors, and answered the same purpose as the Greekκηρύκεια.

SĂGUM, the cloak worn by the Roman soldiers and inferior officers, in contradistinction to the paludamentum of the general and superior officers. [Paludamentum.] It is used in opposition to the toga or garb of peace, and we accordingly find, that when there was a war in Italy, all citizens put on the sagum even in the city, with the exception of those of consular rank (saga sumere,ad saga ire,in sagis esse). The sagum was open in the front, and usually fastened across the shoulders by a clasp: it resembled in form the paludamentum (see cut,p. 281). The cloak worn by the general and superior officers is sometimes calledsagum, but the diminutivesagulumis more commonly used in such cases. The cloak worn by the northern nations of Europe is also called sagum. The German sagum is mentioned by Tacitus: that worn by the Gauls seems to have been a species of plaid (versicolor sagum).

SĂLĂMINĬA. [Paralus.]

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 calledAsamenta, ssamenta, orAxamenta, 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.

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 byTullus 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.

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 termsὄρχησιςandsaltatiowere 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, calledHyporchema(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 theGeranus(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.

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, seeChorus. 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 Hoplitesπρυλέες, a war-dance having been calledπρύλιςby the Cretans. Of such dances the most celebrated was the Pyrrhic (ἡ πυῤῥίχη), of which theπρύλιςwas probably only another name. It was danced to the sound of the flute, and its time was very quick and light, as is shownby 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 thePyrrhic, 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 theCarpaea(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 calledκυβιστάν 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 theHormos(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 thebibasis(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 underPantomimus. The dancers on the tight-rope (funambuli) under the empire were as skilful as they are in the present day.

Tumbler. (Museo Borbonico, vol.VII.tav. 58.)

SĂLŪTATŌRES, the name given in the latertimes 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 ofsambucistriae(σαμβυκίστριαι) were only known to the early Romans as luxuries brought over from Asia.Sambucawas 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.

SAMNĪTES. [Gladiatores.]

SANDĂLĬUM (σανδάλιονorσάνδαλον), a kind of shoe worn only by women. The sandalium must be distinguished from thehypodema(ὑπόδημα), which was a simple sole bound under the foot, whereas the sandalium was a sole with a piece of leather covering the toes, so that it formed the transition from thehypodemato real shoes. The piece of leather over the toes was calledζυγόςorζυγόν.

SANDĂPĬLA. [Funus.]

SARCŎPHĂGUS. [Funus.]

SARISSA. [Hasta.]

SARRĀCUM, a kind of common cart or waggon, which was used by the country-people of Italy for conveying the produce of their fields, trees, and the like, from one place to another.

SĂTŬRA, the root of which issat, literally means a mixture of all sorts of things. The name was accordingly applied by the Romans in many ways, but always to things consisting of various parts or ingredients,e.g.lanx satura, an offering consisting of various fruits, such as were offered at harvest festivals and to Ceres;lex per saturam lata, a law which contained several distinct regulations at once, and to a species of poetry, afterwards calledSatira.

SĀTURNĀLĬA, the festival of Saturnus, to whom the inhabitants of Latium attributed the introduction of agriculture and the arts of civilized life. Falling towards the end of December, at the season when the agricultural labours of the year were fully completed, it was celebrated in ancient times by the rustic population as a sort of joyous harvest-home, and in every age was viewed by all classes of the community as a period of absolute relaxation and unrestrained merriment. During its continuance no public business could be transacted, the law courts were closed, the schools kept holiday, to commence a war was impious, to punish a malefactor involved pollution. Special indulgences were granted to the slaves of each domestic establishment; they were relieved from all ordinary toils, were permitted to wear thepileus, the badge of freedom, were granted full freedom of speech, and partook of a banquet attired in the clothes of their masters, and were waited upon by them at table. All ranks devoted themselves to feasting and mirth, presents were interchanged among friends,cereior wax tapers being the common offering of the more humble to their superiors, and crowds thronged the streets, shouting,Io Saturnalia(this was termedclamare Saturnalia), while sacrifices were offered with uncovered head, from a conviction that no ill-omened sight would interrupt the rites of such a happy day. Many of the peculiar customs of this festival exhibit a remarkable resemblance to the sports of our own Christmas and of the Italian Carnival. Thus on the Saturnalia public gambling was allowed by the aediles, just as in the days of our ancestors the most rigid were wont to countenance card-playing on Christmas-eve; the whole population threw off the toga, wore a loose gown, calledsynthesis, and walked about with the pileus on their heads, which reminds us of the dominos, the peaked caps, and other disguises worn by masques and mummers; thecereiwere probably employed as themoccolinow are on the last night of the Carnival; and lastly, one of the amusements in private society was the election of a mock king, which at once calls to recollection the characteristic ceremony of Twelfth-night. During the republic, although the whole month of December was considered as dedicated to Saturn, only one day, theXIV.Kal. Jan., was set apart for the sacred rites of the divinity. When the month was lengthened by the addition of two days upon the adoption of the Julian Calendar, the Saturnalia fell on theXVI.Kal. Jan., which gave rise to confusion and mistakes among the more ignorant portion of the people. To obviate this inconvenience, and allay all religious scruples, Augustus enacted that three whole days, the 17th, 18th, and 19th of December, should in all time coming be hallowed, thus embracing both the old and new style. Under the empire the merry-making lasted for seven days, and three different festivals were celebrated during this period. First came theSaturnaliaproper, commencing onXVI.Kal. Dec., followed by theOpalia, anciently coincident with the Saturnalia, onXIV.Kal. Jan.; these two together lasted for five days, and the sixth and seventh were occupied with theSigillaria, so called from little earthenware figures (sigilla,oscilla) exposed for sale at this season, and given as toys to children.

SCALPTŪRA or SCULPTŪRA, originally signified cutting figures out of a solid material, but was more particularly applied to the art of cutting figures into the material (intaglios), which was chiefly applied to producing seals and matrices for the mints; and 2. the art of producing raised figures (cameos), which served for the most part as ornaments.Sculpturein our sense of the word was usually designated by the termStatuaria. The first artist who is mentioned as an engraver of stones is Theodoras, the son of Telecles, the Samian, who engraved the stone in the ring of Polycrates. The most celebrated among them was Pyrgoteles, who engraved the seal-rings for Alexander the Great. Several of the successors of Alexander and other wealthy persons adopted the custom of adorning their gold and silver vessels, craters, candelabras, and the like, with precious stones on which raised figures (cameos) were worked. The art was in a particularly flourishing state at Rome under Augustus and his successors, in the hands of Dioscurides and other artists, many of whose works are still preserved. Numerous specimens of intaglios and cameos are still preserved in the various museums of Europe.

SCAMNUM,dim.SCĂBELLTUM, a step which was placed before the beds of the ancients in order to assist persons in getting into them, as some were very high: others which were lower required also lower steps, which were calledscabella. A scamnum was also used as a footstool. A scamnum extended in length becomes a bench, and in this sense the word is frequently used. The benches in ships were sometimes called scamna.

SCĒNA. [Theatrum.]

SCEPTRUM (σκῆπτρον), which originally denoted a simple staff or walking-stick, was emblematic of station and authority. In ancient authors the sceptre is represented as belonging more especially to kings, princes, and leaders of tribes: but it is also borne by judges, by heralds, and by priests and seers. The sceptre descended from father to son, and might be committed to any one in order to express the transfer of authority. Those who bore the sceptre swore by it, solemnly taking it in the right hand and raising it towards heaven. The ivory sceptre of the kings of Rome, which descended to the consuls, was surmounted by an eagle.

SCHOENUS (ὁ,ἡ,σχοῖνος), an Egyptian and Persian measure, the length of which is stated by Herodotus at 60 stadia, or 2 parasangs. It was used especially for measuring land.

SCORPĬO. [Tormentum.]

SCRĪBAE, public notaries or clerks, in the pay of the Roman state. They were chiefly employed in making up the public accounts, copying out laws, and recording the proceedings of the different functionaries of the state. The phrasescriptum facerewas used to denote their occupation. Being very numerous, they were divided into companies or classes (decuriae), and were assigned by lot to different magistrates, whence they were named Quaestorii, Aedilicii, or Praetorii, from the officers of state to whom they were attached. The appointment to the office of a “scriba” seems to have been either made on the nomination of a magistrate, or purchased. Horace, for instance, bought for himself a “patent place as clerk in the treasury” (scriptum quaestorium comparavit). In Cicero’s time, indeed, it seems that any one might become a scriba or public clerk by purchase, and consequently, as freedmen and their sons were eligible, and constituted a great portion of the public clerks at Rome, the office was not highly esteemed, though frequently held by ingenui or free-born citizens. Very few instances are recorded of the scribae being raised to the higher dignities of the state. Cn. Flavius, the scribe of Appius Claudius, was raised to the office of curule aedile in gratitude for his making public the various forms of actions, which had previously been the exclusive property of the patricians [Actio]; but the returning officer refused to acquiesce in his election till he had given up his books and left his profession.

SCRĪNĬUM. [Capsa.]

SCRIPTA DUŎDĔCIM. [Latrunculi.]

SCRIPTŪRA, that part of the revenue of the Roman Republic which was derived from letting out, as pasture land, those portions of the ager publicus which were not taken into cultivation. The names for such parts of the ager publicus were,pascua publica,saltus, orsilvae. They were let by the censors to the publicani, like all other vectigalia; and the persons who sent their cattle to graze on such public pastures had to pay a certain tax or duty to the publicani, which of course varied according to the number and quality of the cattle which they kept upon them. The publicani had to keep the lists of persons who sent their cattle upon the public pastures,together with the number and quality of the cattle. From this registering (scribere) the duty itself was calledscriptura, the public pasture landager scripturarius, and the publicani, or their agents who raised the tax,scripturarii. The Lex Thoria (B.C.111) did away with the scriptura in Italy, where the public pastures were very numerous and extensive, especially in Apulia, and the lands themselves were now sold or distributed. In the provinces, where the public pastures were also let out in the same manner, the practice continued until the time of the empire; but afterwards the scriptura is no longer mentioned.

SCRŪPŬLUM, or more properlyScripulumorScriplum(γράμμα), the smallest denomination of weight among the Romans. It was the 24th part of theUncia, or the 288th of theLibra, and therefore = 18·06 grains English, which is about the average weight of the scrupular aurei still in existence. [Aurum.] As a square measure, it was the smallest division of the jugerum, which contained 288 scrupula. [Jugerum.]

SCŪTUM (θυρεός), the Roman shield worn by the heavy-armed infantry, instead of being round, like the GreekClipeus, was adapted to the form of the human body, by being made either oval or of the shape of a door, (θύρα), which it also resembled in being made of wood or wicker-work, and from which consequently its Greek name was derived. Polybius says that the dimensions of the scutum were 4 feet by 2½.

Scuta, shields. (Bartoli, Arcus Triumph.)

SCỸTĂLĒ (σκυτάλη) is the name applied to a secret mode of writing, by which the Spartan ephors communicated with their kings and generals when abroad. When a king or general left Sparta, the ephors gave to him a staff of a definite length and thickness, and retained for themselves another of precisely the same size. When they had any communications to make to him, they cut the material upon which they intended to write into the shape of a narrow riband, wound it round their staff, and then wrote upon it the message which they had to send to him. When the strip of writing material was taken from the staff, nothing but single letters appeared, and in this state the strip was sent to the general, who, after having wound it round his staff, was able to read the communication.

SCỸTHAE (Σκύθαι). [Demosii.]

SĔCESPĬTA, an instrument used by the Roman priests in killing the victims at sacrifices, probably an axe. In the annexed coin, the reverse represents a culter, a simpuvium, and a secespita.

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