Roman Antiquities And Ancient Mythology For Classical Schools

Ancient Italy was separated, on the north, by the Alps, from Germany. It was bounded, on the east and north-east, by the Adriatic Sea, or _Mare Superum_; on the south-west, by a...

The Senate was instituted by Romulus, to be the perpetual council of the republic, and at first consisted only of one hundred, chosen from the Patricians. They were called Patre...

That the Patricians and Plebeians might be connected together by the strictest bonds, Romulus ordained that every Plebeian should choose from the Patricians any one he pleased,...

The Romans were divided into various clans, (gentes,) and each clan into several families. Those of the same gens were called gentiles, and those of the same family, agnati. But...

The right of liberty comprehended not only liberty from the power of masters, but also from the dominion of tyrants, the severity of magistrates, the cruelty of creditors, and t...

The _jus militiae_, was the right of serving in the army, which was at first peculiar to the higher order of citizens only, but afterwards the emperor took soldiers not only fro...

The capitol or temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, was the effect of a vow made by Tarquinius Priscus, in the Sabine war. But he had scarcely laid the foundation before his death. Hi...

That the theatres and amphitheatres were two different sorts of edifices, was never questioned, the former being built in the shape of a semicircle; the other generally oval, so...

They generally took their names either from the temples which they stood near, from the builders, from the nature and form of the building, or from the remarkable paintings in t...

The Romans expended immense sums of money on their bagnios. The most remarkable were those of the emperors Dioclesian and Antonius Caracalla--great part of which are standing at...

The business of the augurs or soothsayers was to interpret dreams, oracles, prodigies, &c. and to tell whether any action should be fortunate or prejudicial to any particular pe...

They took their observations, 1st. From the beasts before they were cut up. 2d. From the entrails of those beasts after they were cut up. 3d. From the flame that used to rise wh...

All the inhabitants of the invisible world, to which the souls of people departed after death, were indiscriminately called _Inferi_. _Elysium_ was that part of hell (_apud Infe...

Romulus divided the year into ten months; the first of which was called March from Mars, his supposed father; the 2d April, either from the Greek name of Venus, ({Aphrodita}) or...

The Roman Games formed a part of religious worship, and were always consecrated to some god: they were either stated or vowed by generals in war, or celebrated on extraordinary...

Rome was at first governed by kings, chosen by the people; their power was not absolute, but limited; their badges were the _trabea_ or white robe adorned with stripes of purple...

According to the Roman constitution, every free-born citizen was a soldier, and bound to serve if called upon, in the armies of the state at any period, from the age of seventee...

The _comitia curiata_ were assemblies of the resident Roman citizens, who were divided into thirty _curiae_, a majority of which determined all matters of importance that were l...

The _toga_ was a loose woollen robe, of a semicircular form, without sleeves, open from the waist upwards, but closed from thence downwards, and surrounding the limbs as far as...

The Romans invented short or abridged writing, which enabled their secretaries to collect the speeches of orators, however rapidly delivered. The characters used by such writers...

The houses of the Romans are supposed at first to have been nothing more than thatched cottages. After the city was burnt by the Gauls, it was rebuilt in a more solid and commod...

A marriage ceremony was never solemnized without consulting the auspices, and offering sacrifices to the gods, particularly to Juno; and the animals offered up on the occasion w...

The food of the ancient Romans was of the simplest kind; they rarely indulged in meat, and wine was almost wholly unknown. So averse were they to luxury, that epicures were expe...

The principal Weight in use among the Romans, was the pound, called _As_ or _Libra_, which was equal to 12 oz. avoirdupoise, or 16 oz. 18 pwts. and 13-3/4 grains, troy weight. I...

JUPITER, the supreme god of the Pagans, though set forth by historians as the wisest of princes, is described by his worshippers as infamous for his vices. There were many who a...

JUNO, daughter of Saturn and Rhea, was sister and wife of Jupiter. Though the poets agree that she came into the world at the same birth with her husband, yet they differ as to...

SATURN was the son of Coelus and Titaea or Terra, and married his sister Vesta. She, with her other sisters, persuaded their mother to join them in a plot, to exclude Titan, the...

CYBELE, _or_ VESTA _the elder_. It is highly necessary, in tracing the genealogy of the heathen deities, to distinguish between this goddess and Vesta the _younger_, her daughte...

_Pan_, the god of shepherds and hunters, leader of the nymphs, president of the mountains, patron of a country life, and guardian of flocks and herds, was likewise adored by fis...

DIANA, daughter of Jupiter and Lat{=o}na, and sister of Apollo, was born in the island of Delos. She had a threefold divinity, being styled Di{=a}na on earth, Luna, or the moon,...

NEPTUNE was the son of Saturn, and Rhea or Ops, and brother of Jupiter. When arrived at maturity, he assisted his brother Jupiter in his expeditions, for which that god, on atta...

TARTARUS _or_ HELL, the region of punishment after death. The whole imaginary world, which we call Hell, though according to the ancients it was the receptacle of all departed p...

TYPHOEUS, a giant of enormous size, was, according to Hesiod, son of Erebus, or Tartarus and Terra. His stature was prodigious. With one hand he touched the east, and with the o...

HARPYIAE, _or_ HARPIES, were three in number, their names, Celaeno, Aello, and Ocyp{)e}te. The ancients looked on them as a sort of Genii, or Daemons. They had the faces of virg...

HERCULES was the son of Jupiter by Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon, king of Thebes, and is said to have been born in that city about 1280 years before the Christian era. During his...

GRACES _or_ CHARITES. Among the multitude of ancient divinities, none had more votaries that the Graces. Particular nations and countries had appropriate and local deities, but...