the first Year after the Expulsion of the Tarquins the City of Rome being afflicted with the Plague Publius Valertus Publicola who was then Consul freed the People from this Evil by offering in the same Place a black Ox to Pluto and a black Cow to Proserpina and he caused this Inscription to be graven on the same Altar Publius Valerius Publicola hath consecrated a Fire to Pluto and Proserpina in Campus Martius and celebrated Games in Honour of the said Gods for the Deliverance of the People of Rome Rome being after that afflicted with Wars and Pestilence in the Fourth Consulship of Marcus Potitus 352 Years after the Foundation thereof the Senate ordered the Sibyll's Books to be consulted by those whose Business it was They answered that those Evils would be at an end if they did but offer Sacrifices to Pluto and Proserpina They presently sought out the Place where the Altar of these Gods was buried found it and consecrated it anew and they had no sooner finish'd their Sacrifices thereon but the Romans found themselves freed from the Evils they laboured under after which they buried the said Altar again and the same is in a certain Place at the End of Campus Martius but these Sacrifices having been neglected from the Consulship of Lucius Cénsorinus and Manlius Puelius and new Misfortunes befalling them in Augustus his Reign the said Prince renew'd those Plays under the Consulship of Lucius Censormus and Caius Sabinus after Ateius Capito had informed them of the Ceremonies they were to observe thereat and that the Quindecim-viri in whose Custody the Sibyll's Books were had found out the Place where the Sacrifices and Shews ought to be performed The Emperor Claudius after Augustus caused the same Games to be celebrated without any regard had to the Law that required they should not be performed but once every Age. Afterwards Domitian not minding what Claudius had done celebrated them at the full Revolution of an Age from the time of Augustus his solemnizings of them Lastly Severus assisted by his Sons Caracalla and Geta renewed the same Games under the Consulship of Chilo and Libo Here follows the Manner how these Plays are set down in the publick Registers the Heralds went about to invite the People to a Shew which they had never seen and should never see again but this once Harvest-time being come a few Days before this Feast the Quindecim-viri whose Business it was to look after the Ceremonies of Religion sate upon a Tribunal before the Capitol and Apollo's Temple from whence they distributed Torches of Sulphur and Bitumen to the People which every one used to purifie himself with They gave none to the Slaves but only to such as were free Afterwards all the People went to the Temples we have mentioned and to that of Diana upon Mount Aventine every one of which carried some Wheat Barley and Beans thither and kept the sacred Eve there all Night in Honour of the Destinies with a great deal of Company Lastly They solemnized this â—east for Three Days and Three Nights beginning with offering Sacrifices in Campus Martius upon the Banks of the Tiber in a Place named Terentum The Gods to whom they offered were Jupiter Juno Apollo Latona and Diana as also the Destinies Lucina Ceres Pluto and Proserpina The first Night Two Hours after Sun-set the Emperor being assisted by the Quidecim-viri of whom before sacrificed Three Lambs upon Three Altars raised upon the Banks of the Tiber and when he had sprinkled the Altars with the Victims Blood he burnt them all whole during which Time the Musicians who were set upon an advanced Place sung an Hymn made for that Purpose They lighted Fires and Lamps every where and gave Shews that agreed with those Sacrifices Those who were to provide for Ceremonies by way of Recompence receiv'd the first Fruits of the Earth after some of them had been distributed to all the People In the Morning they met in the Capitol from whence after they had sacrificed the usual Victims they went to the Theater to celebrate Games there in Honour of Apollo and Diana On the second Day the Women of Quality went to the Capitol at the Hour assigned them in the Sibyll's Books and there sacrificed to Jupiter and sung Hymns in his Praise Lastly On the third Day a Company of Youths of good Birth to the Number of 27 and as many young Girls all whose Parents were alive in fix Chorus's sung Hymns in Greek and Latin and Sacred Songs for the obtaining all manner of Prosperity to the Cities of Rome There were moreover many other Things done according to the Prescription of the Gods and as long as these Ceremonies were observed the Roman Empire remained entire but to the end you may know the Truth of what has been said I 'll here recite the Oracle of the Sibylle her self as others have already done Roman remember every 110th Year which is the longest Time of the Duration of a Man's Life I say remember to offer Sacrifice to the immortal Gods in the Field that is watered by the Tiber. When the Night is come and that the Sun is set then offer Goats and Sheep to the Destinies afterwards offer proper Sacrifices to Lucina who presides over Child-bearing next sacrifice a Hog and a black Sow to the Earth and this done offer white Oxen on Jupiter's Altar and this must be performed in the Day-time and not by Night for those Sacrifices that are made in the Day-time please the Coelestial Gods by the same Reason thou shall offer to Juno a young Cow that has a good Hide the like Sacrifices thou shall make to Phoebus-Apolio the Son of Latona who is also called the Sun and let the Roman Boys accompanied with Girls sing Hymns with a loud Voice in the Sacred Temples but so that the Girls sing on one side and the Boys on the other and the Parents both of the one and the other must be then alive let married Women fall upon their Knees before Juno's Altar and pray that Goddess to give Ear to the publick Vows and theirs in particular let every one according to his Ability offer first Fruits to the Gods to render them propitious and these first Fruits ought to be kept with Care and they must not forget to distribute some of them to every one that assists at the Sacrifices let there be a great Number of People Night and Day at the Resting-places of the Gods and there let serious and diverting Things be agreeably intermix'd See therefore O Roman that these Injunctions be always kept in mind by thee and thus the Country of Italy and that of the Latins will always be subject to thy Power SELLA SOLIDA a Chair or Seat made of a piece of Wood wherein the Augurs sate when they were taking their Augury SELLA CURULIS the Curule-Chair which was adorned with ivory and on which the great Magistrates of Rome had a Right to sit and to be carried SEMELE
swiftness so she resolved to marry none but him that should excel her in running Hippomenes the Son of Mars entred the Lifts with her and gained the Victory by casting three Golden Apples which Venus had given him out of the Garden of the Hesperides in her way for she stopping to take them up her Eyes were dazled with their shining and he overcame her by this Stratagem and enjoyed his Love but lying with her in the Temple of Cybele the Goddess was angry at the action and metamorphosed them the one into a Lion and the other into a Lioness ATE a Prophetess or Goddess according to Plutarch In his Banquet of the seven wise Men whom Jupiter cast down headlong from Heaven to Earth at the Birth of Hercules wherein Juno deceived him Homer makes Aâ—e the Daughter of Jupiter who was sent to Men to be the Source of all Evils in the Company of the Litae the Daughters of Jupiter who comfort them but because they are very old lame and blind they come often very late Homer also makes mention of Ate whom he affirms to be a Goddess for midable to Men Gods and even to Jupiter himself although she is his Daughter And after he has related the Surprize that Juno put Jupiter in when she caused Eurysthcus to be born before Hercules which gave him Power over Hercules he says that Jupiter being angry with Ate cast her down headlong from Heaven to Earth swearing that she should never return thither again So that Ate concerns her self wholly with humane Affairs Illico corripuit Aten juravit firmum juramentum nunquam in Olympum Coelum stellatum redituram Aten quae omnes infortunio afficit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sic fatus ejicit à Coelo stellato manu rotans fulgur mex autem pervenit ad opera hominum It is evident that the name of this Goddess comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nocco who if Homer makes the Daughter of Jupiter 't is because no Evil happens to us but by the permission of Providence that if this Goddess was heretofore in Heaven and was banished out of it 't was because the Division among the Angels was but once made when they became Evil of Good as they were created and by their own Sin separated themselves from the Company of Blessed Spirits The Banishment of Ate to the Earth signifies nothing else but the terrible Effects of divine Justice which shews itself only upon the Earth because that 's the only Theatre of Injustice ATELLANAE COMOEDIAE Atellan Comedies or Farces which were acted at the end of Comedies to divert the People The Original of these Farces was as Atella a City of Apulia in Campania between Capua and Naples whose Inhabitants were very Satyrical and full of filthy and obscene words These Farces were acted by the Youth in Masquerade as Festus observes and Titus Livius adds that the Atellans would not suffer any to act their Farces that were Stage-players or Comedians for they were not removed from their Tribe as infamous nor prohibited from going to War as other Comedians were Tertia species est fabularum latinarum quae à civitate Oscorum At-llâ in quâ primum caeptae Atellanae dictae sunt Diomedes the Grammarian Quod genus ludorum ab Oscis acceptum tenuit juventus nec'ab histrionibus pollxi passa est â—oinstitutum manet ut actores Atellanarum nec tribu moveantur stipendia tanquam expertes artis ludicrae faciant ATELLANI VERSUS Verses of which these sorts of Farces were composed which were very free and a little lascivious ATHAMAS King of Thebes and Son of Aeolus He married Nephele by whom he had two Children Phryxus and Helle Nephele being turned mad by Bacchus Athamas divorced her and married Themisto the Daughter of Hypsaeus by whom he had Sphincius and Orchomenus but being also divorced from her he married Ino the Daughter of Cadmus by whom he had Learchus and Melicâ—rtus Themisto being very angry to see her self so supplanted resolved to put Ino's Children to Death and hiding her self in a Place of the Palace she slew her own Children instead of her Rivals being deceived by the Cloaths which the Nurse had put on them This cruel Mistake made her slay her self Ino being thus rid of Themisto's Children contrived to take off Nepheles's Children whom she hated and to that end procured a Famine in her Country being advised to parch the Corn and not sow it which caused a Famine and a Plague Athamas sent to consult the Oracle at Delphos how he might be delivered from these Evils but his Messengers being bribed by Ino told him that the Oracle had ordered that he should sacrifice his Son Phryxus who offered himself voluntarily to Death notwithstanding Athamas was against it But as they went to sacrifice him the Accomplices discovered to Athamas the Malice of Ino who immediately delivered her and her Son Melicertus to Phryxus to be revenged on her but as he was going to put them to Death Bacchus whom she had nursed delivered them by covering them with a Cloud Athamas was punished with Madness by Jupiter and slew his Son Learchus whom he took for a Lyons Whelp Ino escaped with her Son Melicertus and cast her self head long into the Sea where Neptune Deifyed them Ino under the name of Lâ—â—oâ—thea or the Mother Mutata and Melicertus under the Name of Palaemon or Portunus ATHENAEA Feasts at Athens dedicated to the Honour of Minerva of which some were kept every Year and others every Five Years according to the Institution of Ericthonius King of Athens as Pausanias says ATHENAEUM a Place at Athens consecrated to Minerva where the Greek Poets went to make an Offering of their Works as the Latins consecrated them in the Temple of Apollo This Place was like a publick School where they taught the Liberal Arts. ATHENAE Athens the most famous City of Greece situated in that part of Achaia which lies upon the Coast from whence it was called Acte and after Attica The first Founder of it was Cecreps in the time of Moses from whence it was called Cecropia or Ionia from Ion the Son of Xuthus and afterwards Athens from Minerva for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek signifies Minerva This City was famous for Learning and Eloquence and the Defence of all Greece says Lucian in his Praise of Demosthenes I might adds he speak of the Gods to whom it owes its beginning their Amours Decrees Dwellings Presence and Mysteries I might speak of its Laws Decrees Assemblies Colonies Victories and Trophies which are so great and many as well by Sea as by Land that he must be more eloquent than D mosthenes which can sufficiently describe them It was governed by Kings for the Space of 460 Years of whom the first was Cecrops but their Power degenerating into Tyranny the People shook of the Regal Yoke which ended in Codrus They were governed for a long time after by 500 Magistrates named PRYTANES who
these Gallows and then drawing them again with a Hook they cast them into the Tiber Tandem apud Gemonias minutissimis ictibus excarnificatus atque confectus est inde unco tractus in Tiberim This Historian seems to intimate that they were tied there before they were dead These Gallows stood in the fourteenth Ward of the City GENETHLIUS An Epithet given to Jupiter because Poets represent him presiding over the Generation and Nativities of Children GENIUS A Divinity whom ancient Phllosophers esteemed to be the Son of God and the Father of Men. They allowed a Genius or Intelligence to each Province Town and Person who took care of the Affairs of this World They allowed also Genius's to Forests Fountains Trees Eloquence Sciences and Joy and it appears by several Medals particularly one of Nero GENIO AUGUSTI GENIO SENATUS GENIO P. ROMANI GENIO EXERCITUUM Upon these Medals the figure of God Genius is represented veiled at the middle of the Body holding with one hand a Horn of Plenty and with the other a Cup for the Sacrifice and before the Statue there was an Altar and a Fire thereon Which agrees with the description that Ammianus Marcellinus has given us of the same in the 25th Book of the Emperor Julianus's Deeds Censorinus in his Book intituled de Die Natali says that as soon as Men are born they are put under the tuition of God Genius and Euclid tells us that Men have two Genins's one good and the other bad Plutarch relates in the life of Brutus that he saw by night in a Dream a Fantome by the light of a Lamp that was in his Chamber and having asked him who he was he answer'd him that he was his bad Genius Each person offered Sacrifice every year to his Genius and particularly upon Birth-days with leven and salted Dough and sometimes with a Pig two months old and scattered Flowers and sprinkled Wine to him and the Sacrifice being over they made a great Feast for their Friends and thus the Comedians was called Genio indulgere or Genio volupe facere In the beginning it was not permitted to swear by the Genius of the Prince but afterwards the most solemn Oaths were those that were sworn by the Genius of the Emperor and Suetonius assures that Caligula put many to death because they refused to swear by his Genius Apuleius has writ a Treatise of the Genius or evil Spirit of Socrates The name of Genius among some who call themselves Christians is given to the good Angels attending Men or States The Pagans rank'd Venus Priapus and Genius among the number of the Gods who are intrusted with the care of Men's Generation By these three Divinities the Heathens understood nothing else but the fecundity of nature that brings forth every day so many living Creatures as Festus says Genius est Deorum filius parens hominum ex quo homines gignuntur propterea Genius meus nominatur quia me genuit the Genius is the Son of the Gods and the Father of Men and my Genius is called Genius because he has begotten me This worship was rendered to Nature not only because of the celestial Intelligence who presides over our Generation but also because of the fecundity of the Stars and Elements giving Being to so many Creatures Censorinus affirms that there was no bloody Sacrifice offered to Genius wherefore Persius says funde merum Genio for Men would not shed Blood upon their birth-day He is called Genius because he is the God who is intrusted with the care of Men as soon as they are born And this Author tells us still that this Genius never leaves Men from the first instant of their life to the last and has a very great Authority over them and that some Men confounded him with the God Lar and admitted two Genius's in Houses where Husband and Wife lived together Eundem esse Genium Larem multi veteres memoriae prodiderunt hunc in not maximam quinimo omnem habere potestatem creditum est Non nulli binos Genios in its duntaxat domibus quae essent maritae colendos putaverunt The Tabula Caebetis says that Genius directs those who come into the World the way they should observe that many forget the Directions but that yet he gives them warning that they are not to mind the Goods of Fortune which might be taken away from them Monet Genius id Fortuna esse ingenium ut quae dederit eripiat and tells them still that Men who don't hearken to his precepts come to a bad end GERMANIA See after GERMANICUS GERMANICUS The Son of Drusus and Nephew to the Emperor Tiberius He married Agrippina the Grand-Daughter of Augustus and had six Children by her viz. three Sons and three Daughters Nero Drusus Caligula Agrippina Drusilla and Livia In the time he commanded six Legions in Germany he refused the Empire that the Legions offered him after the death of Augustus He took the sirname of Germanicus because he had subdued Germany and triumphed over the Germans at last he died in Syrla being poisoned by Piso's order and was lamented by all the Inhabitants of Syria and Neighbouring Provinces thereof A Hero says Tacitus worthy of respect both for his discourse and presence whose Fortune was without Envy his Reputation without blemish and his Majestick Countenance without arrogance his Funeral Pomp tho' without splendor and great show was yet Illustrious only by the commemoration of his Virtues and celebration of his Glory Some more nicely observing his Life his Age his Gate and the Circumstances of his Death have compared him to Alexander the Great Both fine Men of good meen and great birth who died something more than thirty years old by a Conspiracy of their own Men in a foreign Country Before his Corps was reduced to Ashes it was exposed in the publick place of Antioch which was appointed for his Burial The Senate ordained great Honours to his Memory viz. That his Name should be solemnized in the Salian Hymn that in all the places where the Priests of Augustus should meet they should set him an Ivory Chair and a Crown of Oak upon it that a Statue of Ivory should be carried for him at the opening of the Circian Games that no body should be chosen Augur or Pontiff in his room but that a Triumphal Arch should be erected to his Memory at Rome Mount Amanus in Syria and on the Banks of the River Rhine and that his Atchievements should be engraven upon them with this Inscription That he Died for the Commonwealth That a Monument should be fet up for him in the City of Antioch where his Corps was burnt and a Tribunal at Epidaphne where he was dead They ordered also his Picture drawn in a golden Shield of an extraordinary bigness should be set up amongst the Orators The Squadron of the Youth was called by Equestrian Order the Squadron of Germanicus and they ordered that at the Ides of
Petitions and Requests made unto him and afterwards to enlarge upon them in the Letters Patent or Briefs that were granted He had under him other Officers who were called Scriniarii Memoriae or Memoriales T is thought this Office was instituted by Augustus and that the same was exercised by Roman Knights MAGISTER SCRINII EPISTOLARUM the Secretary who wrote the Emperor's Letters Augustus writ them himself and then gave them to Mecaenas and Agrippa to correct says Dio other Emperors usually dictated them or told their Secretary what they would have writ and then did no more than subscribe them with the Word Vale unless it were that they had a Mind to keep a Business secret This Secretary had Thirty Four Officers under him which they called Epistolares MAGISTER SCRINII LIBELLORUM Master of the Requests the Person who represented to the Prince the Requests and Petitions of particular Persons and received his Answer which was reduced into Writing by his Clerks who were Thirty Four in Number and were called Libellenses This may be seen in the Notitia Imperii Cognitiones preces Magister Libellorum tractabat Acta Libellenses scribebant We have still in being the Form of a Petition that was presented to the Emperor Antoninus Pius in these Words Cum ante hos dies conjugem filium amiserim pressus necessitate corpora eorum fictili sarcophago commendaverim donec quietis locus quem emeraem aedificaretur viâ Flaminiâ inter milliare secundum tertium euntibus ab Vrbe parte laevâ custodia Monumenti Flam. Thymeles Amelosae M. Signii Orgilii Rogo Domine permittas mihi in eodem Loco in marmorco sarcophago quem mibi modo comparavi ea corpora colligere ut quando ego esse desiero pariter cum eis ponar This was a Petition presented by Arrim Alphius the Freed-man of Arria Fadilla the Emperor's Mother importing his Desire to have Leave given him to gather up his Wife and his Sons Bones to be laid in a Marble-Coffin which before he had put in an Earthen-Vessel till such Time as the Place which he had bought to raise a Monument for them was ready to whom Answer was given in this Manner Decretum fieri placet Jubentius Celsus promagister subscripsi III Non. Novemb. MAGISTER SCRINII DISPOSITIONUM was the Person who gave the Emperor an Account of the Sentences and Judgments past by the Judges of the respective Places and who examined them to see if they had judged aright or not and thereupon sent the Answer to his Prince He had Courriers appointed on purpose to carry these Answers who were called Agentes ad Responsum and a Fund to pay them called Aurum ad Responsum MAIA the Daughter of Atlas and the Nymph Pleione on whom Jupiter was enamoured who bore him Mercury MAIUS May the fifth Month in the Year reckoning from the first of January and the third in counting the Year to begin with March as they anciently did the Sun enters now into Gemini and the Plants of the Earth flower This Month was called Maius by Romulus in respect to the Senators and Nobles of his City which were named Majores as the following Month was named Junius in Honour of the Youth of Rome in Honorem Juniorum who served him in the War Others will have it to have been called thus from Maia the Mother of Mercury to whom they offered Sacrifice on that Day This Month was under the Protection of Apollo and therein also they kept the Festival of Bona Dea that of Goblins called Lemuria and the Ceremony of Regifugium or the Expulsion of Kings On the first Day was celebrated the Anniversary of the Dedication of an Altar erected by the Sabines to the Lares or Houshold Gods praestitibus Laribus because they took a faithful Care of whatever was in the House These Lares had a Dog represented at their Feet because this Animal also took Care of the House And this is the Reason which Ovid gives of it L. 1. Fast At canis ante Pedes saxo fabricatus eodem Stabat quae standi cum Lare causa fuit Servat uterque domum domino quoque fidus uterque est Compita grata Deo compita grata cani The Roman Ladies on this same Day offered Sacrifice to Bona Dea in the Chief Pontiff's House whereat it was not lawful for Men to assist they also covered all Mens Pictures and Statues as they did those of other Animals of the Male Kind On the 9th was celebrated the Feast of Apparitions or Goblins called Lemuria or Remuria instituted by Romulus for appeasing the Ghost of his Brother Remus that appeared to him in the Night See Lemuria On the 12th came on the Feast of Mars surnamed Vltor or the Avenger to whom Augustus consecrated a Temple on that Day On the 15th or Ides of the Month was performed the Ceremony of the Argians whereon the Vestal Virgins threw Thirty Figures made of Rushes into the Tiber above the Wooden Bridge The same Day was kept the Feast of Traders which they celebrated in Honour of Mercury they offered unto him a whole Sow and went to a Fountain called Aqua Mercurii at the Gate named Capena and there sprinkled themselves with a Lawrel-branch praying that God to favour them in their Gains and to pardon the exorbitant Prizes they sold their Goods at in the Way of their Occupations On the 21st came on the Feast named Secunda Agonia or Agonalia whereof I have spoken under Agonalia On the 24th was another Ceremony called Regifugium which same was often repeated in the Compass of the Year See Regifugium Plutarch asks why the Romans did not marry in the Month of May and says it was either because that in that Month they made several Expiations with which Marriage did not agree or because the Month of May took its Name from aged Persons Majores for whom Marriage was not suitable but that the Month of June deducing its Name from Juniores Marriages were re-assumed therein A little farther he asks why Virgins never married on Festival Days or such as the Publick Assembly were held on but that Widows affected to marry at those times He answers that Virgins are married with Grief and as it were by Constraint which is not suitable to Festival Days an causa est ratio quam affert Varro virgines nubere invitas tristes festo autem die nilil agi debet cum molestid But as for Widows they married the rather on Festival Days because they could do it then much more retiredly the Feast having drawn all the People thither and they thereby with Reason exprest their Shame for their Second Marriages MAMURIUS surnamed Veturius whose Name is famous in the Hymns of the Salians for having made Eleven Shields or Bucklers so like unto that which Numa pretended to have fallen down from Heaven that it could not be distinguished from them MANCEPS A Farmer of the Publick Revenue MANCEPS
eo me solvat amantem Ovid in like manner says that they call'd him Forgetful Love Lethaeus Amor who had a Temple at Rome near the Colline-Gate Est propè Collinam templum venerabile portam Est illic Lethaus Amor qui pectora sanat Inque suas gelidam lampadas addit aquam In Remed Amoris Some have had recourse to Magicians and Charms to make 'em love Lucian brings in an Harlot named Melissa who desired Bacchis to bring some Magician to her who gave Philtres to cause Love and allure Lovers She tells her That she knew a Syrian Woman who made a Lover return to her again after Four Months absence by an Enchantment which she then declar'd to her She shall hang says she the Calces or Sandals of the Lover upon a Peg and shall put upon them some Perfumes then she shall cast some Salt into the Fire pronouncing thy Name and his then drawing a Magical Looking Glass out of her Bosom she shall turn every way muttering several words with a low voice We meet also with other Enchantments set down in Theocritus's Pharmaceutria in Virgil and Juvenal Josephus also the Jewish Historian testifies that Moses having learn'd the Aegyptian Philosophy made Rings for Lovers and Forgetfulness as also did King Solomon against Witchcraft Whatever Effects these Love-Potions might have what Ovid tells us is more probable That Beauty and something else not to be mention'd are the only Philtres which engage any Man to love Fallitur Aemonias siquis decurrit ad artes Datque quod à teneri fronte revellit equi Non facient ut vivat amor Medeides herbae Mixtaque cum magicis Marsa venena sonis Phasias Aesonidem Circe tenuisset Ulyssem Si modò servari carmine posset amor Nec data profuerint pallentia philtra puellis Philtra nocent animis vimque furoris habent Sit procul omne nefas Ut ameris amabilis esto Quod tibi non facies solave forma dabit Art Amand. Lib. II. v. 99. AMPHIARAUS the Son of Oecleus or according to some of Apollo and Hypermnestra being unwilling to go with Adrastus King of Argos to war against Etheocles King of Thebes hid himself to avoid the Death which he knew would happen to him in that Expedition but Eriphyle his Wife being gain'd by Adrastus with the promise of a rich Chain betray'd him and discover'd the place where he was hid Amphiaraus enrag'd that he was so basely betray'd by the Treachery of his own Wife commanded his Son Alcmeon before his departure That as soon as he heard of his death he should revenge it upon his Mother Eriphyle as the only cause of his Misfortune The Enterprize against Thebes prov'd very unsuccesful for of the Seven chief Commanders Five of them were slain at the first On-set and Amphiaraus was swallow'd up alive in the Earth with his Chariot as he was retreating Philostratus gives this account of Amphiaraus in his Second Book of the Life of Apollonius Amphiaraus the Son of Oecleus at his return from Thebes was swallow'd up in the Earth He had an Oracle in Attica whither he sent the Dreams of those who came to consult him about their Affairs but above all things they must be 24 hours without Meat or Drink and Three days entire without the use of Wine Pausanias in his Attica speaks of a Temple consecrated to him At the going out of the City Oropus upon the Sea-Coasts about 12 Furlongs from thence there stands the Temple of Amphiaraus who flying from Thebes was swallowed up with his Chariot Others say that it was not in that place but in the way that leads from Thebes to Chalcis Nevertheless 't is evident that Amphiaraus was first deifi'd by the Oropians and afterwards the Greeks decreed him divine Honours His Statue was made of white Marble with an Altar of which only the third part is dedicated to him and the rest to other Gods Near to this Temple there is a Fountain call'd the Temple of Amphiaraus out of which 't is said he came when he was plac'd among the number of the Gods None were permitted to wash or purify in that Fountain but when they had an Answer from the Oracle or found their trouble remov'd then they cast some pieces of Silver or Gold into the Fountain Jopho of Gnossus one of the Interpreters of Amphiaraus's Oracles publish'd them in Hexameter Verse which brought the People to his Temple Amphiaraus after he was deifi'd instituted the way of fore-telling things to come by Dreams and they that came to consult his Oracle must first sacrifice to him as to a God and then observe the other Ceremonies prescribed They sacrificed a Sheep and after they have flead it they spread the Skin upon the ground and slept upon it expecting a Resolution of what they asked which he gave them in a Dream The same Author in his Corinthiaca tells us also That in the City of the Phliasium behind the great Market there is an House which is called the Prophecying or Divining-place where Amphiaraus having watch'd one Night began to fore-tell things to come Plutarch speaking of the Oracle of Amphiarans says That in the time of Xerxes a Servant was sent to consult it concerning Mardonius This Servant being asleep in the Temple dreamt that an Officer of the Temple chid him much and beat him and at last flung a great Stone at his head because he would not go out This Dream prov'd true for Mardonius was slain by the Lieutenant of the King of Lacedaemon having receiv'd a Blow with a Stone upon his head of which he dyed This is almost all that Antiquity has left us about Amphiaraus and his Oracles AMPHICTYON the Son of Helenus This was he says Strabo who appointed that famous Assembly of Greece made up of the most vertuous and wise of Seven Cities who were called after his Name as were also the Laws which they made Caelius would have us believe that he was the first that taught Men to mingle Wine with Water There was another of that Name the Son of Deucalion Governour of Attica after Cranaus who is said to be an Interpreter of Prodigies and Dreams AMPHILOCHUS Lucian in one of his Dialogues entituled The Assembly of the Gods tells us That he was the Son of a Villain that slew his Mother and that had the confidence to prophecy in Cilicia where he foretold all that Men desired for about Two pence so that he took away Apollo's Trade And the same Lucian in his Lyar brings in Eucrates speaking thus about Amphilochus As I return'd says he from Egypt having heard of the Fame of the Oracle of Amphilochus which answer'd clearly and punctually to every thing any person desired to know provided they gave it in writing to his Prophet I had the curiosity to consult him as I passed AMPHINOMUS and ANAPIUS two Brothers who were eminent for their Piety having saved their Parents by carrying them upon their Shoulders with the peril of their
own Lives out of the City of Catanca which was set on fire by the Flames of Aetna AMPHION the Son of Jupiter and Antiope the Daughter of Nycetus King of Baeotia Antiope was first marryed to Lycus King of Thebes but he divorc'd her because she had postituted herself to Enaphus King of Sicyon Jupiter who was in love with her enjoy'd her under the form of a Satyr Derce the Second Wife of Lycus caus'd her to be imprison'd out of Jealousie but she having escaped and seeing herself pursu'd hid herself in Mount Citheron where she brought forth Twins Zethus and Amphion who were brought up by Shepherds and being grown up reveng'd the Wrongs done to their Mother by Lycus and Derce whom they caus'd to be pull'd in pieces having ty'd them to the Tail of a mad Bull. Amphyon was very excellent at Musick and learn'd of Mercury to play upon stringed Instruments in which he grew so great a Proficient as the Poets say That he built the Walls of Thebes by the sound of his Harp and that the Stones put themselves in order to make that Building Having married Niobe the Daughter of Tantalus he had by her Seven Sons and Seven Daughters of which their Mother was so proud that she preferred herself before Latona the Mother of Apollo and Diana for which she lost all her Children except Cloris they being slain by Apollo's and Diana's Darts Amphion to revenge himself attempted to destroy Apollo's Temple but that God slew him and punish'd him in Hell with the loss of his Sight and Harp Amphion receiv'd his Harp of Mercury who was the Inventer of it as Apollo speaks in Lucian He made says that God to Vulcan an Instrument of a Tortoise-Shell on which he play'd so excellently so that he made me jealous who am the God of Harmony And after he had shewn it to Apollo and the Muses as Pausanias says he made a Present of it to Amphion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 AMPHITHEATRUM the Amphitheatre a place built round or oval which encompassed the Roman-Theatre and was furnish'd with Seats on which the People sitting saw divers Shows and Sports which were expos'd to view It is evident that in Vitruvius's time the true Amphitheatres were not built at Rome and therefore 't is a mistake in Pliny when he speaks of Pempeii Amphitheatri instead of Pompeiani Theatri as Lipsius observes There were afterwards several Amphitheatres built at Rome in imitation of the Greeks of which the most famous was Nero's which was built all of Tybertine-Stone which is as hard and beautiful as Marble It was call'd the Amphitheatre of Nero's Colossus or Statue It was 135 feet broad and 525 long large enough to contain 87000 persons sitting at their ease and the height of it was 165 feet Amphitheatres and Theatres at first were not built for continuance being only of Boards which they pull'd down after the Plays were ended Dion Cassius says That one of these Amphitheatres fell down and crush'd a great number of People under the Ruines of it Augustus was the first that built one of Stone in the Campus Martius at the Expence of StatiliusTaurus A. U. 725. and this Amphitheatre remained till the time of the Emperor Vespasian for the first being burnt in Nero's time Vespasian began a new one in his Eighth Consulship two Years before his Death but Titus finish'd it Pliny relates that Curio made an Amphitheatre that turned upon huge Iron-Hinges so that two Theatres might be made of that Amphitheatre at pleasure on which different Plays might be represented at the same time The Amphitheatres were consecrated to Diana Taurica or Scythica Jove Latino or Stygio as Martial will have it and at last to Saturn Minutius Felix tells us That there was an Altar upon which they sacrificed Men before they began their Sports The Amphitheatre was divided into Three principal parts the First which was the Theatre was the lowest and made as it were a plain of Sand which was call'd the Cavea that is to say the Cave because it was full of artificial subterraneous Caverns of which some were used to shut up Beasts in and others served to hold Water for the imittaing of Sea-Fights and for the conveniency of the Spectators This place was plain even and sandy whence it was call'd Arena or the Sand and from it proceeded that Latin figurative Phrase In arenam descendere which is as much as to say To enter the Combat because the Gladiators fought upon that Sand or on that Sandy Place The second part was the Circle about the Arena which contain'd a great number of Seats with divers Ascents one above another that the Spectators who sat nearest might not hinder those that sat further off from seeing The third part was us'd for the keeping of divers kinds of Beasts as Horses for Races and Hunting of Wild-Beasts for Criminals and for keeping the Athletae i. e. Wrestlers It is very hard says Justus Lipsius to set down the precise time when Amphitheatres were first built yet that Author does not doubt to fix the Invention of them about the Declension of the Commonwealth and believes that Curio's Theatre was an Amphitheatre because when they pleas'd they could divide it into two parts and when they chang'd its Form and us'd it in its full Extent it was a true Amphiteatre These Words are almost the same with Pliny's and seem to make that Tribune of the People the first Inventor of Amphitheatres for in the same place 't is expresly observ'd that the Diversions of the Scene were so artificially dispos'd that altho there were as it were two Theatres yet the Contrivance of the Machine-maker did order things so well that when they pleas'd there appear'd but one Inclosure or Amphitheatre Nevertheless Statilius Scaurus that famous Aedile may be thought to have preceded Curio in that Design for as Pliny says Scaurus was the first who expos'd to the People an hundred and fifty Panthers and Bullenger adds that he us'd his Theatre as an Amphitheatre However 't is most evident that Julius Caesar was the first Inventor of Amphitheatres and Bullenger assures us That after he had subdu'd Asia and Africa he built a Theatre of Wood in the Campus Martius which was called an Amphitheatre because of the Ascents that were round it and upon which the Spectators might see the Plays sitting at their ease AMPHITRYO a Theban Prince the Son of Alcaeus and Laonoma the Daughter of Gunaeus according to Pausanias in his Arcadica He marry'd Alcmena of whom the Story is famous for the Birth of Twins whereof one was nam'd Hercules who was the Son of Jupiter and was surnamed Alcides either from his Grand-father Alcaeus or else from the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Strength or Valour because of his extraordinary Strength by which he subdu'd so many huge Monsters and clear'd the Earth of them See Alcmena AMPHITRITE a Greek Word which signifies encompassing The Poets make
out of the Isle of the Blessed Vlysses took him aside and gave him a Letter to Calypso without the Knowledge of his Wife and that he arriving within Three Days after in the Isle of Ogygia broke open this Letter for fear lest this crafty Knare should put so me Trick upon him and he found written in it what follows I should not have left you before but that I inffer'd Shipwrack and hardly escaped by the Help of Leucotheus in the Country of the Phaeaces When I returned home I found my Wife courted by a sort of People who consumed my Goods and after they were killed I was assassinated by Telemachus whom I had by Circe At present I am in the Isle of the Blessed where I remember with Grief the Pleasures we enjoy'd together and wish that I had always continued with you and had accepted the Offer you made me of Immortality If I can therefore make an Escape you may rest assured that you shall see me again Farewel He delivered this Letter to Calypso whom he found in a Grotto such as Homer describes where she was working Hangings with Figures in them CHAM or CHAMESES the Son of Noab who brought upon himself his Father's Curse by his Reproaches although he had for his Share the rich Countries of Syria and Egypt and all Affrica as we read in Genesis yet he made Inroads into the Countries possessed by his Nephews and planted there such Vices as were not known before He continued Ten Years in Italy and was driven thence by Janus Fuctius does not reckon him among the first Founders of the Italians CAMILLA the Queen of the Volsci who was much addicted to Hunting and was never so well pleased as in shooting with a Bow She came into the Help of Turnus and the Latins against Aeneas and signalized herself by many brave Exploits She was treacherously killed by Arontius as we learn from Virgil in L 11. of the Aeneids CAMILLUS Camillus Furius an illustrious Roman who was called a second Romulus for restoring the Roman Commonwealth He vanquished the Antiatae in a Naval Fight and caused the Prows of the Ships to be brought into the Place of the Assemblies at Rome which were afterwards called Rostra being the Tribunal for Orations When the Capitol was besieged by the Gauls he was chosen Dictator although he had been banished by his ungrateful Country-men Assoon as he heard this News he solicited the Ardeatae to come in to the Assistance of Rome and invited all Italy to oppose the Invasion of the Gauls He arrived at Rome in that very Moment when the Citizens were weighing 2000 Pounds of Gold in Performance of a Treaty they had made with the Gauls to oblige them to raise the Seige But he charging them on a sudden forced them by this Surprize to draw off with Shame and Loss After this Defeat and Deliverance of Rome he made a Model of a Temple for that Voice which had given Notice to the Romans of the Arrival of the Gauls and which they had slighted He instituted Sacrifices to it under the Name of Deus Locutius He caused also a Temple to be built to Juno Moneta and the Goddess Matuta The Romans in Acknowledgement of so many Benefits erected to him an Equestrian Statue in the Market-place of Rome which was an Honour that was never done to any Citizen before He died of the Plague at Eighty Years of age CAMILLUS or CASMILLUS was the Minister of the Gods Cabiri Thus Plutarch says that the Romans and Greeks gave this Name to a young Man who served in the Temple of Jupiter as the Greeks gave it to Mercury Ministrantem in ade Jovis puerum in flore aetatis dici Camillum ut Mercurium Graecorum nonnulli Camillum à ministerio appellavêre Varro thinks that this Name comes from the Mysteries of the Samothracians Macrobius informs us that the young Boys and Maids who ministred to the Priests and Priestesses of the Pagan Deities were call'd Camilli and Camillae Romani quoque pueros puellasve nobiles investes Camillos Camillas appellant Flaminicarum Flaminum praeministros Servius says that in the Tuscan Tongue Mercury was call'd Camillus as being the Minister of the Gods This Word Camillus obtained among the Tuscans Romans Greeks Samothracians and the Egyptians and came from the East into the West Bochart thinks that this Word might be deriv'd from the Arabick chadamae i. e. ministrare And 't is well known that the Arabick has much Affinity with the Phoenician and Hebrew Tongues Grotius derives Camillus from Chamarim Writings wherein this Term signifies Priests or Augurs CAMOENAE the Nine Muses the Daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne so call'd from the Sweetness of their Singing CAMPANA SUPELLEX an Earthen Vessel which was made in Campania CAMPANA alone or NOLAE Bells Pancirollus says expresly that they were not invented until about the Year of J. C. 400 or 420 when they were first found out by the Bishop of Nola in Campania call'd Paulinus And that for this Reason they were call'd Campanae from the Country or Nolae from the City where they were first used But Salmuth upon this Passage of Pancirollus tells us that it was an ancient Error to think that Paulinus first invented the Use of Bells since they were in use from the Times of Moses for the High-Priest among the Jews had a great many little Bells of Gold at the lower part of his Garment to give Notice to the People when he entred into and when he came out of the Sanctuary The Priest of Proserpina among the Athenians call'd Hierophantus rung a Bell to call the People to Sacrifice The Romans likewise had a Bell in the publick Baths to give Notice of the Time when they were open'd and shut up as may appear from these Verses of Martial L. 14. Epigr. 163. Redde pilam sonat aes thermarum ludere pergis Virgine vis solâ lotus abire domum Plutarch in his Book of Symposiacks speaks of certain Greeks who assembled at the Ringing of a Bell to go and sup together Adrianus Junius assures us that the Ancients used Bells for the same End as we do that they rung them at the Death of any Person as is done to this Day out of a superstitious Opinion which was then generally receiv'd that the Sound of Bells drove away Devils They made use of them also against Enchantments and particularly after the Moon was eclipsed which they thought came to pass by Magick Thus we must understand these Verses of Juvenal Jam nemo tubas atque aera fatiget Vna laboranti poterit sucurrere Lunae CAMPESTRE the Lappet of a Gown or lower part of a Cassock that went round the Body a sort of Apron wherewith they girded themselves who perform'd the Exercises in the Campus Martius which reach'd from the Navel down to the middle of their Thighs to cover their Privy Parts CAMPUS MARTIUS a large Place without Rome between the City and
the River Tiber. Some Authors affirm that Romulus consecrated it to the God Mars from whom he said he was descended and that he devoted it to the Exercises of the Roman Youth Others as particularly Titus Livius think that Tarquinius Superbus challeng'd to himself the Use of it and that when he was driven away upon the Account of his Cruelty and the impudent Rape of his Son committed on the Body of the chaste Lucretia the Romans confiscated all his Goods and particularly a great Field cover'd with Corn without the City which they consecrated to the God Mars by throwing all the Corn into the Tiber Ager Tarquinius qui inter Vrbem Tiberim fuit consecratus Marti Martius deinde campus fuit Liv. This Field contain'd all that great Plain which reaches to the Gate call'd Popolo and even as far as the Pons Milvius or Ponte-mole according to the Topography of Cluverius It had on one side the Tiber and on the other the Quirinal Mount the Capitol and the little Hill of Gardens It s lowermost part was call'd Vallis Martia which reach'd from the Arch of Domitian as far as the Gate Popolo Strabo speaking of the Beauties of the City of Rome takes particular Notice of the Field of Mars which was of a prodigious Compass and much longer than it was broad In this Field the People assembled to chuse Magistrates Review was taken of the Armies and the Consuls listed Souldiers This Place serv'd also for the Exercises of the Youth as to ride the Horse to Wrestle to shoot with the Bow to throw the Quoit or Ring And after these Exercises they bath'd themselves in the Tiber to refresh themselves and to learn to swim In this Place the People beheld the Naumachiae or Sea-fights which were shown there for their Pleasure and Diversion Here also were to be seen the Statues of illustrious Men and a vast Gallery built by Antoninus Pius together with that Pillar 70 Foot high whose Ascent was 106 Steps that were enlightned by 36 Windows Here also was the Obelisk which Augustus fetch'd from Egypt that supported a Sun-dial Moreover in this Place were to be seen the Arch of Domitian the Amphitheatre of the Emperor Claudius the Naumachia of Domitian the Mansoleum of Augustus the Sepulchre of Marcellus his Nephew the Trophies of Marius and a vast Number of Sepulchres and ancient Monuments all along the River-side At one End of this Place there was a little rising Ground call'd Mons Citorius or Citatorum on which the People mounted to give their Votes at Elections Very near to this was the Town-house where Foreign Ambassadors were receiv'd lodg'd and entertain'd at the Charge of the Commonwealth during the Time of their Embassy as Titus Livius relates upon occasion of the Macedonian Ambassadors Macedones deducti extra Vrbem in villam publicam ibique eis locus lautia praebita In this Place also the Censors made the first Assessment and the Enrolment of the People and their Estates in the Year 319. In Cicero's Time C. Capito made a Proposal to build the Campus Martius and inclose it within the City He offer'd to make the Septa or Inclosures into which the People entred one by one to give their Votes of Marble which before were only of Wood But the Civil Wars which fell out unexpectedly hindred the Execution of this great Design CAMPUS FLORAE the Field of Flora a Place consecrated to that Goddess wherein were shown the Games call'd Floralia instituted to her Honour CAMPUS SCELERATUS a Place which was near the Porta Collina where the Vestal Virgins which were lewd Prostitutes were enterr'd alive CAMPUS RIDICULI a Place where Hannibal encamp'd when he besieg'd Rome which he might easily have taken if he had not been frighted with vain Dreams and Fancies which kindred him from continuing the Siege for the Romans perceiving the Siege to be raised and their City by this means to be deliver'd upon this occasion burst out into a very loud Laughter and henceforth erected an Altar to the God of Laughter CANCELLARIUS he who went by this Name in the Roman Empire had neither the Dignity nor the Power of him whom we now call Chancellor in England for he was only a little Officer of very small Esteem among the Romans who sate in a Place shut up with Grates or Bars to write out the Sentences of the Judges and other Judicial Acts very much like our Registers or Deputy-Registers They were paid by the Roll for their Writing as Salmasius has observ'd when he relates a Passage out of the Laws of the Lombards Volumus ut nullus Cancellarius pro ullo judicio aut scripto aliquid amplius accipere audeat nisi dimidiam libram argenti de majoribus scriptis de minoribus autem infra dimidiam libram Doubless this Officer was a very inconsiderable Person since Vopiscus tells us that Numerianus made a very shameful Election when he preferr'd one of these Officers to be Governour of Rome Praefectum Vrbi unum è Cancellariis suis fecit quo â—oedius nec cogitari potuit aliquid nec dici Mons Menage says that this Word comes à Cancellis from the Bars or Lattice within which the Emperor was when he administred Justice because the Chancellor stood at the Door of that Apartment which separated the Prince from the People M. Du Cange following herein the Opinion of Joannes de Janua thinks that this Word comes from Palestine wherein the Tops of Houses were flat and made in the Form of Terrass-walks having Bannisters with cross Bars which were call'd Cancelli and that those who mounted upon these Tops of Houses to repeat an Oration were call'd Cancellarii and that this Name was extended to those who pleaded within the Bars which were call'd Cancelli forenses and that afterwards those were call'd Chancellors who sate in the first Place between these Bars The Register in Sea-Port-Towns i. e. in the Maritime Places in the Levans was also call'd Chancellor CANDELA BRUM a Candlestick The Candlestick of the Temple at Jerusalem which was of Gold which weigh'd 100 Minae i. e. Pounds differ'd from the Candlestick of the Romans in this that the latter had but one Stem with its Foot and one Lamp at top whereas the Candlestick of the Temple of Solomon had seven Branches three on each side and one in the middle together with seventy Lamps as Josephus says Du Choul in the Religion of the ancient Romans has given seven Branches to their Candlestick as Joseph did to that in Solomon's Temple but then he allows to it only seven Lamps whereof that in the middle is greater than the rest and represents the Sun as the six other do the Planets This Candlestick with the Vessels and other Rarities of the Temple at Jerusalem serv'd for Ornaments to the Triumph of Titus and Vespasian after the Sacking of Jerusalem and it was laid up in the Temple of Peace together with the Sacred Vessels of