VĂCATĬO. [Exercitus,Emeriti.]
VĂDĬMŌNĬUM, VAS. [Actio;Praes.]
VĀGĪNA. [Gladius.]
VALLUM, a term applied either to the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. It is derived fromvallus(a stake), and properly means the palisade which ran along the outer edge of the agger, but it very frequently includes the agger also. Thevallum, in the latter sense, together with thefossaor ditch which surrounded the camp outside of thevallum, formed a complete fortification. Thevalli(χάρακες), of which thevallum, in the former and more limited sense, was composed, are described by Polybius and Livy, who make a comparison between thevallumof the Greeks and that of the Romans, very much to the advantage of the latter. Both used forvalliyoung trees or arms of larger trees, with the side branches on them; but thevalliof the Greeks were much larger and had more branches than those of the Romans, which had either two or three, or at the most four branches, and these generally on the same side. The Greeks placed their valli in the agger at considerable intervals, the spaces between them being filled up by the branches; the Romans fixed theirs close together, and made the branches interlace, and sharpened their points carefully. Hence the Greek vallus could easily be taken hold of by its large branches and pulled from its place, and when it was removed a large opening was left in the vallum. The Roman vallus, on the contrary, presented no convenient handle, required very great force to pull it down, and even if removed left a very small opening. The Greek valli were cut on the spot; the Romans prepared theirs beforehand, and each soldier carried three or four of them when on a march. They were made of any strong wood, but oak was preferred. The wordvallusis sometimes used as equivalent tovallum. In the operations of a siege, when the place could not be taken by storm, and it became necessary to establish a blockade, this was done by drawing defences similar to those of a camp round the town, which was then said to becircumvallatum. Such a circumvallation, besides cutting off all communication between the town and the surrounding country, formed a defence against the sallies of the besieged. There was often a double line of fortifications, the inner against the town, and the outer against a force that might attempt to raise the siege. In this case the army was encamped between the two lines of works. This kind of circumvallation, which the Greeks calledἀποτειχισμόςandπεριτειχισμός, was employed by the Peloponnesians in the siege of Plataeae. Their lines consisted of two walls (apparently of turf) at the distance of 16 feet, which surrounded the city in the form of a circle. Between the walls were the huts of the besiegers. The wall had battlements (ἐπάλξεις), and at every tenth battlement was a tower, filling up by its depth the whole space between the walls. There was a passage for the besiegers through the middle of each tower. On the outside of each wall was a ditch (τάφρος). This description would almost exactly answer to the Roman mode ofcircumvallation, of which some of the best examples are that of Carthage by Scipio, that of Numantia by Scipio, and that of Alesia by Caesar. The towers in such lines were similar to those used in attacking fortified places, but not so high, and of course not moveable. [Turris.]
VALVAE. [Janua.]
VANNUS (λικμός,λίκνον), a winnowing-van,i.e.a broad basket, into which the corn mixed with chaff was received after thrashing, and was then thrown in the direction of the wind. Virgil dignifies this simple implement by calling itmystica vannus Iacchi. The rites of Bacchus, as well as those of Ceres, having a continual reference to the occupations of rural life, the vannus was borne in the processions celebrated in honour of both these divinities. In the cut annexed the infant Bacchus is carried in a vannus by two dancing bacchantes clothed in skins.
Bacchus carried in a Vannus. (From an Antefixa in the British Museum.)
Bacchus carried in a Vannus. (From an Antefixa in the British Museum.)
VAS (pl.vasa), a general term for any kind of vessel. Thus we read ofvas vinarium,vas argenteum,vasa Corinthia et Deliaca,vasa Samia, that is, made of Samian earthenware,vasa Murrhina. [Murrhina Vasa.] The wordvaswas used in a still wider signification, and was applied to any kind of utensil used in the kitchen, agriculture, &c. The utensils of the soldiers were calledvasa, and hencevasa colligereandvasa conclamaresignify to pack up the baggage, to give the signal for departure.
VECTĪGĀLĬA, the general term for all the regular revenues of the Roman state. It means anything which is brought (vehitur) into the public treasury, like the Greekφόρος. The earliest regular income of the state was in all probability the rent paid for the use of the public land and pastures. This revenue was calledpascua, a name which was used as late as the time of Pliny, in the tables or registers of the censors for all the revenues of the state in general. The senate was the supreme authority in all matters of finance, but as the state did not occupy itself with collecting the taxes, duties, and tributes, the censors were entrusted with the actual business. These officers, who in this respect may not unjustly be compared to modern ministers of finance, used to let the various branches of the revenue to the publicani for a fixed sum, and for a certain number of years. [Censor;Publicani.] As most of the branches of the public revenues of Rome are treated of in separate articles, it is only necessary to give a list of them here, and to explain those which have not been treated of separately. 1. The tithes paid to the state by those who occupied the ager publicus. [Decumae;Ager Publicus.] 2. The sums paid by those who kept their cattle on the public pastures. [Scriptura.] 3. The harbour duties raised upon imported and exported commodities. [Portorium.] 4. The revenue derived from the salt-works. [Salinae.] 5. The revenues derived from the mines (metalla). This branch of the public revenue cannot have been very productive until the Romans had become masters of foreign countries. Until that time the mines of Italy appear to have been worked, but this was forbidden by the senate after the conquest of foreign lands. The mines of conquered countries were treated like the salinae. 6. The hundredth part of the value of all things which were sold (centesima rerum venalium). This tax was not instituted at Rome until the time of the civil wars; the persons who collected it were calledcoactores. Tiberius reduced this tax to a two-hundredth(ducentesima), and Caligula abolished it for Italy altogether, whence upon several coins of this emperor we readR. C. C., that is,Remissa Ducentesima. Respecting the tax raised upon the sale of slaves, seeQuinquagesima. 7. The vicesima hereditatum et manumissionum. [Vicesima.] 8. The tribute imposed upon foreign countries was by far the most important branch of the public revenue during the time of Rome’s greatness. It was sometimes raised at once, sometimes paid by instalments, and sometimes changed into a poll-tax, which was in many cases regulated according to the census. In regard to Cilicia and Syria we know that this tax amounted to one per cent. of a person’s census, to which a tax upon houses and slaves was added. In some cases the tribute was not paid according to the census, but consisted in a land-tax. 9. A tax upon bachelors. [Aes Uxorium.] 10. A door-tax. [Ostiarium.] 11. Theoctavae. In the time of Caesar all liberti living in Italy, and possessing property of 200 sestertia, and above it, had to pay a tax consisting of the eighth part of their property.—It would be interesting to ascertain the amount of income which Rome at various periods derived from these and other sources; but our want of information renders it impossible. We have only the general statement, that previously to the time of Pompey the annual revenue amounted to fifty millions of drachmas, and that it was increased by him to eighty-five millions.
VĒLĀRĬUM. [Amphitheatrum,p. 23.]
VĒLĬTES, the light-armed troops in a Roman army. [Exercitus,p. 169.]
VĒLUM (αὐλαία).—(1) A curtain. Curtains were used in private houses as coverings over doors, or they served in the interior of the house as substitutes for doors.—(2)Velum, and more commonly its derivativevelamen, denoted the veil worn by women. That worn by a bride was specifically calledflammeum. [Matrimonium.]—(3) (Ἱστίον.) A sail. [Navis,p. 267.]
VĒNĀBŬLUM, a hunting-spear. This may have been distinguished from the spears used in warfare by being barbed; at least it is often so formed in ancient works of art. It was seldom, if ever, thrown, but held so as to slant downwards and to receive the attacks of the wild boars and other beasts of chace.
VĒNĀTĬO, hunting, was the name given among the Romans to an exhibition of wild beasts, which fought with one another and with men. These exhibitions originally formed part of the games of the circus. Julius Caesar first built a wooden amphitheatre for the exhibition of wild beasts, and others were subsequently erected; but we frequently read of venationes in the circus in subsequent times. The persons who fought with the beasts were either condemned criminals or captives, or individuals who did so for the sake of pay, and were trained for the purpose. [Bestiarii.] The Romans were as passionately fond of this entertainment as of the exhibitions of gladiators, and during the latter days of the republic, and under the empire, an immense variety of animals was collected from all parts of the Roman world for the gratification of the people, and many thousands were frequently slain at one time. We do not know on what occasion a venatio was first exhibited at Rome; but the first mention we find of any thing of the kind is in the yearB.C.251, when L. Metellus exhibited in the circus 142 elephants, which he had brought from Sicily after his victory over the Carthaginians. But this can scarcely be regarded as an instance of a venatio, as it was understood in later times, since the elephants are said to have been only killed because the Romans did not know what to do with them, and not for the amusement of the people. There was, however, a venatio in the later sense of the word inB.C.186, in the games celebrated by M. Fulvius in fulfilment of the vow which he had made in the Aetolian war; in these games lions and panthers were exhibited. It is mentioned as a proof of the growing magnificence of the age that in the ludi circenses, exhibited by the curule aediles P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica and P. LentulusB.C.168, there were 63 African panthers and 40 bears and elephants. From about this time combats with wild beasts probably formed a regular part of the ludi circenses, and many of the curule aediles made great efforts to obtain rare and curious animals, and put in requisition the services of their friends. Elephants are said to have first fought in the circus in the curule aedileship of Claudius Pulcher,B.C.99; and twenty years afterwards, in the curule aedileship of the two Luculli, they fought against bulls. A hundred lions were exhibited by Sulla in his praetorship, which were destroyed by javelin-men sent by king Bocchus for the purpose. This was the first time that lions were allowed to be loose in the circus; they were previously always tied up. The games, however, in the curule aedileship of Scaurus,B.C.58, surpassed anything the Romans had ever seen; among other novelties, he first exhibited an hippopotamos and five crocodiles in a temporary canal or trench (euripus). At the venatio given by Pompey in his second consulship,B.C.55, upon the dedication of the temple of Venus Victrix, there was an immense number of animals slaughtered,among which we find mention of 600 lions, and 18 or 20 elephants; the latter fought with Gaetulians, who hurled darts against them, and they attempted to break through the railings (clathri) by which they were separated from the spectators. To guard against this danger Julius Caesar surrounded the arena of the amphitheatre with trenches (euripi). In the games exhibited by J. Caesar in his third consulship,B.C.45, the venatio lasted for five days, and was conducted with extraordinary splendour. Cameleopards or giraffes were then for the first time seen in Italy. The venationes seem to have been first confined to the ludi circenses, but during the later times of the republic, and under the empire, they were frequently exhibited on the celebration of triumphs, and on many other occasions, with the view of pleasing the people. The passion for these shows continued to increase under the empire, and the number of beasts sometimes slaughtered seems almost incredible. Under the emperors we read of a particular kind of venatio, in which the beasts were not killed by bestiarii, but were given up to the people, who were allowed to rush into the area of the circus and carry away what they pleased. On such occasions a number of large trees, which had been torn up by the roots, was planted in the circus, which thus resembled a forest, and none of the more savage animals were admitted into it. One of the most extraordinary venationes of this kind was that given by Probus, in which there were 1000 ostriches, 1000 stags, 1000 boars, 1000 deer, and numbers of wild goats, wild sheep, and other animals of the same kind. The more savage animals were slain by the bestiarii in the amphitheatre, and not in the circus. Thus, in the day succeeding the venatio of Probus just mentioned, there were slain in the amphitheatre 100 lions and 100 lionesses, 100 Libyan and 100 Syrian leopards, and 300 bears.
Venationes. (From Bas-reliefs on the Tomb of Scaurus at Pompeii.)
Venationes. (From Bas-reliefs on the Tomb of Scaurus at Pompeii.)
VĔNĒFĬCĬUM, the crime of poisoning, is frequently mentioned in Roman history. Women were most addicted to it: but it seems not improbable that this charge was frequently brought against females without sufficient evidence of their guilt, like that of witchcraft in Europe in the middle ages. We find females condemned to death for this crime in seasons of pestilence, when the people are always in an excited state of mind, and ready to attribute the calamities under which they suffer to the arts of evil-disposed persons. Thus the Athenians, when the pestilence raged in their city during the Peloponnesian war, supposed the wells to have been poisoned by the Peloponnesians, and similar instances occur in the history of almost all states. Still, however, the crime of poisoning seems to have been much more frequent in ancient than in modern times;and this circumstance would lead persons to suspect it in cases when there was no real ground for the suspicion. At Athens thePharmacon Graphewas brought against poisoners. At Rome the first legislative enactment especially directed against poisoning was a law of the dictator Sulla—Lex Cornelia de Sicariis et Veneficis—passed inB.C.82, which continued in force, with some alterations, to the latest times. It contained provisions against all who made, bought, sold, possessed, or gave poison for the purpose of poisoning. The punishment fixed by this law was the interdictio aquae et ignis.
VER SACRUM (ἔτος ἱερόν). It was a custom among the early Italian nations, especially among the Sabines, in times of great danger and distress, to vow to the deity the sacrifice of everything born in the next spring, that is, between the first of March and the last day of April, if the calamity under which they were labouring should be removed. This sacrifice in the early times comprehended both men and domestic animals, and there is little doubt that in many cases the vow was really carried into effect. But in later times it was thought cruel to sacrifice so many infants, and accordingly the following expedient was adopted. The children were allowed to grow up, and in the spring of their twentieth or twenty-first year they were with covered faces driven across the frontier of their native country, whereupon they went whithersoever fortune or the deity might lead them. Many a colony had been founded by persons driven out in this manner; and the Mamertines in Sicily were the descendants of such devoted persons. In the two historical instances in which the Romans vowed a ver sacrum, that is, after the battle of lake Trasimenus and at the close of the second Punic war, the vow was confined to domestic animals.
VERBĒNA. [Sagmina.]
VERBĒNĀRĬUS. [Fetialis.]
VERNA. [Servus.]
VERSŪRA. [Fenus.]
VĔRU, VERŪTUM. [Hasta.]
VESPAE, VESPILLŌNES. [Funus,p. 188.]
VESTĀLES, the virgin priestesses of Vesta, who ministered in her temple and watched the eternal fire. Their existence at Alba Longa is connected with the earliest Roman traditions, for Silvia the mother of Romulus was a member of the sisterhood; their establishment in the city, in common with almost all other matters connected with state religion, is generally ascribed to Numa, who selected four, two from the Titienses and two from the Ramnes; and two more were subsequently added from the Luceres, by Tarquinius Priscus according to one authority, by Servius Tullius according to another. This number of six remained unchanged to the latest times. They were originally chosen (capereis the technical word) by the king, and during the republic and empire by the pontifex maximus. It was necessary that the maiden should not be under six nor above ten years of age, perfect in all her limbs, in the full enjoyment of all her senses, patrima et matrima [Patrimi], the daughter of free and freeborn parents who had never been in slavery, who followed no dishonourable occupation, and whose home was in Italy. The Lex Papia ordained that when a vacancy occurred the pontifex maximus should name at his discretion twenty qualified damsels, one of whom was publicly (in concione) fixed upon by lot, an exemption being granted in favour of such as had a sister already a vestal, and of the daughters of certain priests of a high class. The above law appears to have been enacted in consequence of the unwillingness of fathers to resign all control over a child, and this reluctance was manifested so strongly in later times, that in the age of Augustuslibertinaewere declared eligible. The casting of lots moreover does not seem to have been practised if any respectable person came forward voluntarily, and offered a daughter who fulfilled the necessary conditions. As soon as the election was concluded, the pontifex maximus took the girl by the hand and addressed her in a solemn form. After this was pronounced she was led away to the atrium of Vesta, and lived thenceforward within the sacred precincts, under the special superintendence and control of the pontifical college. The period of service lasted for thirty years. During the first ten the priestess was engaged in learning her mysterious duties, being termeddiscipula, during the next ten in performing them, during the last ten in giving instructions to the novices, and so long as she was thus employed she was bound by a solemn vow of chastity. But after the time specified was completed, she might, if she thought fit, throw off the emblems of her office, unconsecrate herself (exaugurare), return to the world, and even enter into the marriage state. Few however availed themselves of these privileges; those who did were said to have lived in sorrow and remorse (as might indeed have been expected from the habits they had formed); hence such a proceeding was considered ominous, and the priestesses for the most part died, as they had lived, in the service of the goddess. The senior sister was entitledVestalis Maxima,orVirgo Maxima, and we find also the expressionsVestalium vetustissimaandtres maximae. Their chief office was to watch by turns, night and day, the everlasting fire which blazed upon the altar of Vesta, its extinction being considered as the most fearful of all prodigies, and emblematic of the extinction of the state. If such misfortune befell, and was caused by the carelessness of the priestess on duty, she was stripped and scourged by the pontifex maximus, in the dark and with a screen interposed, and he rekindled the flame by the friction of two pieces of wood from afelix arbor. Their other ordinary duties consisted in presenting offerings to the goddess at stated times, and in sprinkling and purifying the shrine each morning with water, which according to the institution of Numa was to be drawn from the Egerian fount, although in later times it was considered lawful to employ any water from a living spring or running stream, but not such as had passed through pipes. When used for sacrificial purposes it was mixed withmuries, that is, salt which had been pounded in a mortar, thrown into an earthen jar, and baked in an oven. They assisted moreover at all great public holy rites, such as the festivals of the Bona Dea, and the consecration of temples; they were invited to priestly banquets, and we are told that they were present at the solemn appeal to the gods made by Cicero during the conspiracy of Catiline. They also guarded the sacred relics which formed thefatale pignus imperii, the pledge granted by fate for the permanency of the Roman sway, deposited in the inmost adytum, which no one was permitted to enter save the virgins and the chief pontifex. What this object was no one knew; some supposed that it was the palladium, others the Samothracian gods carried by Dardanus to Troy, and transported from thence to Italy by Aeneas, but all agreed in believing that something of awful sanctity was here preserved, contained, it was said, in a small earthen jar closely sealed, while another exactly similar in form, but empty, stood by its side. We have seen above that supreme importance was attached to the purity of the vestals, and a terrible punishment awaited her who violated the vow of chastity. According to the law of Numa, she was simply to be stoned to death, but a more cruel torture was devised by Tarquinius Priscus, and inflicted from that time forward. When condemned by the college of pontifices, she was stripped of her vittae and other badges of office, was scourged, was attired like a corpse, placed in a close litter and borne through the forum attended by her weeping kindred, with all the ceremonies of a real funeral, to a rising ground called theCampus Sceleratus, just within the city walls, close to the Colline gate. There a small vault underground had been previously prepared, containing a couch, a lamp, and a table with a little food. The pontifex maximus, having lifted up his hands to heaven and uttered a secret prayer, opened the litter, led forth the culprit, and placing her on the steps of the ladder which gave access to the subterranean cell, delivered her over to the common executioner and his assistants, who conducted her down, drew up the ladder, and having filled the pit with earth until the surface was level with the surrounding ground, left her to perish deprived of all the tributes of respect usually paid to the spirits of the departed. In every case the paramour was publicly scourged to death in the forum. The honours which the vestals enjoyed were such as in a great measure to compensate for their privations. They were maintained at the public cost, and from sums of money and land bequeathed from time to time to the corporation. From the moment of their consecration they became as it were the property of the goddess alone, and were completely released from all parental sway, without going through the form ofemancipatioor suffering anycapitis deminutio. They had a right to make a will, and to give evidence in a court of justice without taking an oath. From the time of the triumviri each was preceded by a lictor when she went abroad; consuls and praetors made way for them, and lowered their fasces; even the tribunes of the plebs respected their holy character, and if any one passed under their litter he was put to death. Augustus granted to them all the rights of matrons who had borne three children, and assigned them a conspicuous place in the theatre, a privilege which they had enjoyed before at the gladiatorial shows. Great weight was attached to their intercession on behalf of those in danger and difficulty, of which we have a remarkable example in the entreaties which they addressed to Sulla on behalf of Julius Caesar, and if they chanced to meet a criminal as he was led to punishment, they had a right to demand his release, provided it could be proved that the encounter was accidental. Wills, even those of the emperors, were committed to their charge, for when in such keeping they were considered inviolable; and in like manner very solemn treaties, such as that of the triumvirs with Sextus Pompeius, were placed in their hands. That they might be honoured in death as in life, their ashes were interred within thepomoerium. They were attired in a stola over which was an upper vestment made of linen, and in addition to the infula and white woollen vitta, they wore when sacrificing a peculiar head-dress calledsuffibulum, consisting of a piece of white cloth bordered with purple, oblong in shape, and secured by a clasp. In dress and general deportment they were required to observe the utmost simplicity and decorum, any fanciful ornaments in the one or levity in the other being always regarded with disgust and suspicion. Their hair was cut off, probably at the period of their consecration: whether this was repeated from time to time does not appear, but they are never represented with flowing locks. The following cut represents the vestal Tuccia who, when wrongfully accused, appealed to the goddess to vindicate her honour, and had power given to her to carry a sieve full of water from the Tiber to the temple. The form of the upper garment is well shown.
Vestal Virgin. (From a Gem.)
Vestal Virgin. (From a Gem.)
VESTĬBŬLUM. [Domus,p. 142, a.]
VĔTĔRĀNUS. [Tiro.]
VEXILLĀRĬI. [Exercitus,p. 170, b.]
VEXILLUM. [Signa Militaria.]
VIA, a public road. It was not until the period of the long protracted Samnite wars that the necessity was felt of securing a safe communication between the city and the legions, and then for the first time we hear of those famous paved roads, which, in after ages, connected Rome with her most distant provinces, constituting the most lasting of all her works. The excellence of the principles upon which they were constructed is sufficiently attested by their extraordinary durability, many specimens being found in the country around Rome which have been used without being repaired for more than a thousand years. The Romans are said to have adopted their first ideas upon this subject from the Carthaginians, and it is extremely probable that the latter people may, from their commercial activity and the sandy nature of their soil, have been compelled to turn their attention to the best means of facilitating the conveyance of merchandise to different parts of their territory. The first great public road made by the Romans was the Via Appia, which extended in the first instance from Rome to Capua, and was made in the censorship of Appius Claudius Caecus (B.C.312.) The general construction of a Roman road was as follows:—In the first place, two shallow trenches (sulci) were dug parallel to each other, marking the breadth of the proposed road; this in the great lines is found to have been from 13 to 15 feet. The loose earth between thesulciwas then removed, and the excavation continued until a solid foundation (gremium) was reached, upon which the materials of the road might firmly rest; if this could not be attained, in consequence of the swampy nature of the ground or from any peculiarity in the soil, a basis was formed artificially by driving piles (fistucationibus). Above thegremiumwere four distinct strata. The lowest course was thestatumen, consisting of stones not smaller than the hand could just grasp; above the statumen was therudus, a mass of broken stones cemented with lime, (what masons callrubble-work,) rammed down hard, and nine inches thick; above the rudus came thenucleus, composed of fragments of bricks and pottery, the pieces being smaller than in the rudus, cemented with lime, and six inches thick. Uppermost was thepavimentum, large polygonal blocks of the hardest stone (silex), usually, at least in the vicinity of Rome, basaltic lava, irregular in form, but fitted and jointed with the greatest nicety, so as to present a perfectly even surface, as free from gaps or irregularities as if the whole had been one solid mass. The general aspect will be understood from the cut given below.
Street at the entrance of Pompeii.
Street at the entrance of Pompeii.
The centre of the way was a little elevated, so as to permit the water to run off easily. Occasionally, at least in cities, rectangular slabs of softer stone were employed instead of the irregular polygons of silex, and hence the distinction between the phrasessilice sternereandsaxo quadrato sternere. Nor was this all. Regular foot-paths (margines,crepidines,umbones) were raised upon eachside and strewed with gravel, the different parts were strengthened and bound together withgomphior stone wedges, and stone blocks were set up at moderate intervals on the side of the foot-paths, in order that travellers on horseback might be able to mount without assistance. Finally, Caius Gracchus erected mile-stones along the whole extent of the great highways, marking the distances from Rome, which appear to have been counted from the gate at which each road issued forth, and Augustus, when appointed inspector of the viae around the city, erected in the forum a gilded column (milliarium aureum), on which were inscribed the distances of the principal points to which the viae conducted. During the earlier ages of the republic the construction and general superintendence of the roads without, and the streets within the city, were committed like all other important works to the censors. These duties, when no censors were in office, devolved upon the consuls, and in their absence on the praetor urbanus, the aediles, or such persons as the senate thought fit to appoint. There were also under the republic four officers, calledquatuorviri viarum, for superintending the streets within the city, and two calledcuratores viarum, for superintending the roads without. Under the empire thecuratores viarumwere officers of high rank. The chief roads which issued from Rome are:—1. TheVia Appia, theGreat South Road. It issued from thePorta Capena, and passing throughAricia,Tres Tabernae,Appii Forum,Tarracina,Fundi,Formiae,Minturnae,Sinuessa, andCarilinum, terminated atCapua, but was eventually extended throughCalatiaandCaudiumtoBeneventum, and finally from thence throughVenusia,Tarentum, andUria, toBrundusium.—2. TheVia Latina, from thePorta Capena, another great line leading to Beneventum, but keeping a course farther inland than the Via Appia. Soon after leaving the city it sent off a short branch (Via Tusculana) toTusculum, and passing throughCompitum Anaginum,Ferentinum,Frusino,Fregellae,Fabrateria,Aquinum,Casinum,Venafrum,Teanum,Allifae, andTelesia, joined theVia AppiaatBeneventum. A cross-road called theVia Hadriana, running fromMinturnaethroughSuessa AuruncatoTeanum, connected theVia Appiawith theVia Latina.—3. From thePorta Esquilinaissued theVia Labicana, which passing Labicum fell into theVia Latinaat the stationad Bivium, 30 miles from Rome.—4. TheVia Praenestina, originally theVia Gabina, issued from the same gate with the former. Passing throughGabiiandPraeneste, it joined theVia Latinajust belowAnagnia.—5. TheVia Tiburtina, which issued from thePorta Tiburtina, and proceeding N. E. toTibur, a distance of about 20 miles, was continued from thence, in the same direction, under the name of theVia Valeria, and traversing the country of theSabines passed throughCarseoliandCorfiniumtoAternumon the Adriatic, thence toAdria, and so along the coast toCastrum Truentinum, where it fell into theVia Salaria.—6. TheVia Nomentana, ancientlyFiculnensis, ran from thePorta Collina, crossed theAniotoNomentum, and a little beyond fell into theVia SalariaatEretum.—7. TheVia Salaria, also from thePorta Collina(passingFidenaeandCrustumerium) ran north and east through Sabinum and Picenum toReateandAsculum Picenum. AtCastrum Truentinumit reached the coast, which it followed until it joined theVia FlaminiaatAncona.—8. TheVia Flaminia, theGreat North Road, carried ultimately toAriminum. It issued from thePorta Flaminia, and proceeded nearly north toOcriculumandNarniain Umbria. Here a branch struck off, making a sweep to the east throughInteramnaandSpoletium, and fell again into the main trunk (which passed throughMevania) atFulginia. It continued throughFanum FlaminiiandNuceria, where it again divided, one line running nearly straight toFanum Fortunaeon the Adriatic, while the other diverging toAnconacontinued from thence along the coast toFanum Fortunae, where the two branches uniting passed on toAriminumthroughPisaurum. From thence theVia Flaminiawas extended under the name of theVia Aemilia, and traversed the heart of Cisalpine Gaul throughBononia,Mutina,Parma,Placentia(where it crossed the Po), toMediolanum.—9. TheVia Aurelia, theGreat Coast Road, issued originally from thePorta Janiculensis, and subsequently from thePorta Aurelia. It reached the coast atAlsium, and followed the shore of the lower sea along Etruria and Liguria byGenoaas far asForum Juliiin Gaul. In the first instance it extended no farther thanPisa.—10. TheVia Portuensiskept the right bank of the Tiber toPortus Augusti.—11. TheVia Ostiensisoriginally passed through thePorta Trigemina, afterwards through thePorta Ostiensis, and kept the left bank of the Tiber toOstia. From thence it was continued under the name ofVia Severianaalong the coast southward throughLaurentum,Antium, andCircaei, till it joined theVia AppiaatTarracina. TheVia Laurentina, leading direct toLaurentum, seems to have branched off from theVia Ostiensisat a short distance from Rome.—12. TheVia Ardeatinafrom Rome toArdea. According to some this branched off from theVia Appia, and thus the circuit of the city is completed.
VĬĀTĬCUM is, properly speaking, everything necessary for a person setting out on a journey, and thus comprehends money, provisions, dresses, vessels, &c. When a Roman magistrate, praetor, proconsul, or quaestor went to his province, the state provided him with all that was necessary for his journey. But as the state in this, as in most other cases of expenditure, preferred paying a sum at once to having any part in the actual business, it engaged contractors (redemptores), who for a stipulated sum had to provide the magistrates with the viaticum, the principal parts of which appear to have been beasts of burden and tents (muli et tabernacula). Augustus introduced some modification of this system, as he once for all fixed a certain sum to be given to the proconsuls (probably to other provincial magistrates also) on setting out for their provinces, so that the redemptores had no more to do with it.
VĬĀTOR, a servant who attended upon and executed the commands of certain Roman magistrates, to whom he bore the same relation as the lictor did to other magistrates. The nameviatoreswas derived from the circumstance of their being chiefly employed on messages either to call upon senators to attend the meeting of the senate, or to summon people to the comitia, &c. In the earlier times of the republic we find viatores as ministers of such magistrates also as had their lictors: viatores of a dictator and of the consuls are mentioned by Livy. In later times, however, viatores are only mentioned with such magistrates as had only potestas and not imperium, such as the tribunes of the people, the censors, and the aediles.
VICTIMA. [Sacrificium.]
VĪCĒSĬMA, a tax of five per cent. Every Roman, when he manumitted a slave, had to pay to the state a tax of one-twentieth of his value, whence the tax was calledvicesima manumissionis. This tax was first imposed by the Lex Manlia (B.C.357), and was not abolished when all other imposts were done away with in Rome and Italy. A tax calledvicesima hereditatum et legatorumwas introduced by Augustus (Lex Julia Vicesimaria): it consisted of five per cent., which every Roman citizen had to pay to the aerarium militare, upon any inheritance or legacy left to him, with the exception of such as were left to a citizen by his nearest relatives, and such as did not amount to above a certain sum. It was levied in Italy and the provinces by procuratores appointed for the purpose.
VĪCOMĂGISTRI. [Vicus.]
VĪCUS, the name of the subdivisions into which the four regions occupied by the fourcity tribes of Servius Tullius were divided, while the country regions, according to an institution ascribed to Numa, were subdivided into pagi. This division, together with that of the four regions of the four city tribes, remained down to the time of Augustus, who made the vici subdivisions of the fourteen regions into which he divided the city. In this division each vicus consisted of one main street, including several smaller by-streets; their number was 424, and each was superintended by four officers, calledvico-magistri, who had a sort of local police, and who, according to the regulation of Augustus, were every year chosen by lot from among the people who lived in the vicus. On certain days, probably at the celebration of the compitalia, they wore the praetexta, and each of them was accompanied by two lictors. These officers, however, were not a new institution of Augustus, for they had existed during the time of the republic, and had had the same functions as a police for the vici of the Servian division of the city.
VICTŌRĬĀTUS. [Denarius.]
VĬGĬLES. [Exercitus,p. 171.]
VĬGĬLĬAE. [Castra.]
VĪGINTĬSEXVĬRI, twenty-six magistratus minores, among whom were included the Triumviri Capitales, the Triumviri Monetales, the Quatuorviri Viarum Curandarum for the city, the two Curatores Viarum for the roads outside the city, the Decemviri Litibus (stlitibus) Judicandis, and the four praefects who were sent into Campania for the purpose of administering justice there. Augustus reduced the number of officers of this college to twenty (vigintiviri), as the two curatores viarum for the roads outside the city and the four Campanian praefects were abolished. Down to the time of Augustus the sons of senators had generally sought and obtained a place in the college of the vigintisexviri, it being the first step towards the higher offices of the republic; but inA.D.13 a senatusconsultum was passed, ordaining that only equites should be eligible to the college of the vigintiviri. The consequence of this was that the vigintiviri had no seats in the senate, unless they had held some other magistracy which conferred this right upon them. The age at which a person might become a vigintivir appears to have been twenty.
VĪGINTĬVĬRI. [Vigintisexviri.]
VILLA, a farm or country-house. The Roman writers mention two kinds of villa, thevilla rusticaor farm-house, and thevilla urbanaorpseudo-urbana, a residence in the country or in the suburbs of a town. When both of these were attached to an estate they were generally united in the same range of buildings, but sometimes they were placed at different parts of the estate. The interior arrangements of thevilla urbanacorresponded for the most part to those of a town-house. [Domus.]
VILLĬCUS, a slave who had the superintendence of thevilla rustica, and of all the business of the farm, except the cattle, which were under the care of themagister pecoris. The word was also used to describe a person to whom the management of any business was entrusted.
VĪNĀLĬA. There were two festivals of this name celebrated by the Romans: theVinalia urbanaorpriora, and theVinalia rusticaoraltera. The vinalia urbana were celebrated on the 23rd of April, when the wine-casks which had been filled the preceding autumn were opened for the first time, and the wine tasted. The rustic vinalia, which fell on the 19th of August, and was celebrated by the inhabitants of all Latium, was the day on which the vintage was opened. On this occasion the flamen dialis offered lambs to Jupiter, and while the flesh of the victims lay on the altar, he broke with his own hands a bunch of grapes from a vine, and by this act he, as it were, opened the vintage, and no must was allowed to be conveyed into the city until this solemnity was performed. This day was sacred to Jupiter, and Venus too appears to have had a share in it.
VINDĒMĬĀLIS FĒRĬA. [Feriae.]
VINDEX. [Actio.]
VINDICTA. [Manumissio.]
VĪNĔA, in its literal signification, is a bower formed of the branches of vines; and, from the protection which such a leafy roof affords, the name was applied by the Romans to a roof under which the besiegers of a town protected themselves against darts, stones, fire, and the like, which were thrown by the besieged upon the assailants. The whole machine formed a roof, resting upon posts eight feet in height. The roof itself was generally sixteen feet long and seven broad. The wooden frame was in most cases light, so that it could be carried by the soldiers; sometimes, however, when the purpose which it was to serve required great strength, it was heavy, and then the whole fabric probably was moved by wheels attached to the posts. The roof was formed of planks and wicker-work, and the uppermost layer or layers consisted of raw hides or wet cloth, as a protection against fire, by which the besieged frequently destroyed the vineae. The sides of a vinea were likewise protected by wicker-work. Such machines were constructedin a safe place at some distance from the besieged town, and then carried or wheeled (agere) close to its walls. Here several of them were frequently joined together, so that a great number of soldiers might be employed under them. When vineae had taken their place close to the walls, the soldiers began their operations, either by undermining the walls, and thus opening a breach, or by employing the battering-ram (aries).
VĪNUM (οἴνος). The general term for the fermented juice of the grape. In the Homeric poems the cultivation of the grape is represented as familiar to the Greeks. It is worth remarking that the only wine upon whose excellence Homer dilates in a tone approaching to hyperbole is represented as having been produced on the coast of Thrace, the region from which poetry and civilisation spread into Hellas, and the scene of several of the more remarkable exploits of Bacchus. Hence we might infer that the Pelasgians introduced the culture of the vine when they wandered westward across the Hellespont, and that in like manner it was conveyed to the valley of the Po, when at a subsequent period they made their way round the head of the Adriatic. It seems certain that wine was both rare and costly in the earlier ages of Roman history. As late as the time of the Samnite wars, Papirius the dictator, when about to join in battle with the Samnites, vowed to Jupiter only a small cupful (vini pocillum) if he should gain the victory. In the times of Marius and Sulla foreign wines were considered far superior to native growths; but the rapidity with which luxury spread in this matter is well illustrated by the saying of M. Varro, that Lucullus when a boy never saw an entertainment in his father’s house, however splendid, at which Greek wine was handed round more than once, but when in manhood he returned from his Asiatic conquests he bestowed on the people a largess of more than a hundred thousand cadi. Four different kinds of wine are said to have been presented for the first time at the feast given by Julius Caesar in his third consulship (B.C.46.), these being Falernian, Chian, Lesbian, and Mamertine, and not until after this date were the merits of the numerous varieties, foreign and domestic, accurately known and fully appreciated. But during the reign of Augustus and his immediate successors the study of wines became a passion, and the most scrupulous care was bestowed upon every process connected with their production and preservation. Pliny calculates that the number of wines in the whole world deserving to be accounted of high quality (nobilia) amounted to eighty, of which his own country could claim two-thirds; and that 195 distinct kinds might be reckoned up, and that if all the varieties of these were to be included in the computation, the sum would be almost doubled.—The process followed in wine-making was essentially the same among both the Greeks and the Romans. After the grapes had been gathered they were first trodden with the feet in a vat (ληνός,torcular); but as this process did not press out all the juice of the grapes, they were subjected to the more powerful pressure of a thick and heavy beam (prelum) for the purpose of obtaining all the juice yet remaining in them. From the press the sweet unfermented juice flowed into another large vat, which was sunk below the level of the press, and therefore called theunder wine-vat, in Greekὑπολήνιον, in Latinlacus. A portion of the must was used at once, being drunk fresh after it had been clarified with vinegar. When it was desired to preserve a quantity in the sweet state, an amphora was taken and coated with pitch within and without, and corked so as to be perfectly air-tight. It was then immersed in a tank of cold fresh water or buried in wet sand, and allowed to remain for six weeks or two months. The contents after this process were found to remain unchanged for a year, and hence the nameἀεὶ γλεῦκος,i.e.semper mustum. A considerable quantity of must from the best and oldest vines was inspissated by boiling, being then distinguished by the Greeks under the general names ofἕψημαorγλύξις, while the Latin writers have various terms according to the extent to which the evaporation was carried. Thus, when the must was reduced to two-thirds of its original volume it becamecarenum, when one-half had evaporateddefrutum, when two-thirdssapa(known also by the Greek namessiraeumandhepsema), but these words are frequently interchanged. Similar preparations are at the present time called in Italymusto cottoandsapa, and in Francesabe. The process was carried on in large caldrons of lead (vasa defrutaria), over a slow fire of chips, on a night when there was no moon, the scum being carefully removed with leaves, and the liquid constantly stirred to prevent it from burning. These grape-jellies, for they were nothing else, were used extensively for giving body to poor wines and making them keep, and entered as ingredients into many drinks, such as theburranica potio, so called from its red colour, which was formed by mixingsapawith milk. The whole of the mustum not employed for some of the above purposes was conveyed from thelacusto thecella vinaria,an apartment on the ground-floor or a little below the surface. Here were thedolia(πίθοι), otherwise calledseriaeorcupae, long bell-mouthed vessels of earthenware, very carefully formed of the best clay, and lined with a coating of pitch. They were usually sunk (depressa,defossa,demersa) one-half or two-thirds in the ground; to the former depth, if the wine to be contained was likely to prove strong, to the latter if weak. In thesedoliathe process of fermentation took place, which usually lasted for about nine days, and as soon as it had subsided, and themustumhad becomevinum, the dolia were closely covered. The lids (opercula doliorum), were taken off about once every thirty-six days, and oftener in hot weather, in order to cool and give air to the contents, to add any preparation required to preserve them sound, and to remove any impurities that might be thrown up. The commoner sorts of wine were drunk direct from the dolium, and hence draught wine was calledvinum doliareorvinum de cupa, but the finer kinds were drawn off (diffundere,μεταγγίζειν), intoamphorae. On the outside the title of the wine was painted, the date of the vintage being marked by the names of the consuls then in office. [Amphora.] The amphorae were then stored up in repositories (apothecae,horrea,tabulata), completely distinct from thecella vinaria, and usually placed in the upper story of the house (whencedescende,testa, andderipere horreoin Horace), for a reason explained afterwards. It is manifest that wine prepared and bottled in the manner described above must have contained a great quantity of dregs and sediment, and it became absolutely necessary to separate these before it was drunk. This was sometimes effected by fining with yolks of eggs, those of pigeons being considered most appropriate by the fastidious, but more commonly by simply straining through small cup-like utensils of silver or bronze perforated with numerous small holes. Occasionally a piece of linen cloth (σάκκος,saccus) was placed over thecolum, and the wine filtered through. [Colum.] In all the best wines hitherto described the grapes are supposed to have been gathered as soon as they were fully ripe, and fermentation to have run its full course. But a great variety of sweet wines were manufactured by checking the fermentation, or by partially drying the grapes, or by converting them completely into raisins.Passumorraisin-winewas made from grapes dried in the sun until they had lost half their weight, or they were plunged into boiling oil, which produced a similar effect, or the bunches after they were ripe were allowed to hang for some weeks upon the vine, the stalks being twisted or an incision made into the pith of the bearing shoot so as to put a stop to vegetation. The stalks and stones were removed, the raisins were steeped in must or good wine, and then trodden or subjected to the gentle action of the press. The quantity of juice which flowed forth was measured, and an equal quantity of water added to the pulpy residuum, which was again pressed, and the product employed for an inferiorpassumcalledsecundarium. The passum of Crete was most prized, and next in rank were those of Cilicia, Africa, Italy, and the neighbouring provinces. The kinds known asPsythiumandMelampsythiumpossessed the peculiar flavour of the grape and not that of wine. The grapes most suitable for passum were those which ripened early, especially the varietiesApiana,Scirpula, andPsithia. The Greeks recognised three colours in wines:red(μέλας),white, i.e. pale straw-colour (λευκός), and brown or amber-coloured (κιῤῥός). The Romans distinguish four:albus, answering toλευκός,fulvustoκιῤῥός, whileμέλαςis subdivided intosanguineusandniger, the former being doubtless applied to bright glowing wines like Tent and Burgundy, while thenigeroraterwould resemble Port. We have seen that wine intended for keeping was rackedoff from the dolia into amphorae. When it was necessary in the first instance to transport it from one place to another, or when carried by travellers on a journey, it was contained in bags made of goat-skin (ἀσκοί,utres) well pitched over so as to make the seams perfectly tight.