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CTC Glossary of the Classics Category: Language and Literature > Classical History Date & country: 11/09/2007, USA Words: 1434

Satyr
mythical male being associated with Bacchus who are portrayed as part man and part goat or as a man with pointed ears and a horse's tail and a large erection.

Satyr Play
at the City Dionysia, each tragedian presented three tragedies and one satyr play; the chorus was composed of satyrs, half-human and half-animal (goat or horse); Aristotle claims that tragedy originated from satyr-like-plays in Poetics 4; one belief is that satyr plays were used to preserve the association between tragedy, which was moving away from Dionysiac subjects, and the festival of Dionysus; another belief is that satyr-plays provided comic relief; the only surviving satyr-play is the Cyclops by Euripides; numerous fragments and about half of a satyr-play, entitled Ichneutai (The Trackers) survive.

Scaccarium
(Latin) chess game.

Scan
to assign stress patterns to a poem.

Scelus
(Latin) crime, wickedness.

Scholasticus
(Latin) student of rhetoric.

Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio, Roman general and master of warfare focused on techical innovations in soldiering; at the age of 25, Scipio takes command of Roman troops in Spain after the deaths of his uncle and father in 211 BCE; in 209 BCE, he defeats Hasdrubal Barca's smaller army at Baeula, which results in the division of Spain in two, Nearer Spain and Further Spain; he is elected consul in 205 BCE and invades Africa in 204 BCE; he defeats Hannibal at the battle of Zama in 202 BCE ending the Second Punic War, and as result earns the name Scipio Africanus.

Scorpius
a constellation of the scorpion; sent by Gaia to kill Orion, the hunter who vowed to rid the earth of all wild beasts; an alternative myth says that Apollo convinced Gaia to send Scorpius after Orion worried that Orion was in love with his sister, Artemis; in the sky, Scorpius chases Orion around the heavens but never catches him.

Scribo
(Latin) to write or to compose, as in a poem or a written work.

Scriptor
(Latin) writer; writers would work in a scriptorium; the word scriptor is related to the verb scribo, to write.

Sculptor
the creator of a sculpture.

Sculptura
(Latin) sculpture; Roman sculpture flourished, depicted more realistic representations of people than did ancient Greek sculpture; wealthy Romans commissioned sculptors to create works for their villas and gardens.

Scylla
once a sea nymph, she was turned into a sea monster and is identified with the rock Scylla.

Securitas
tranquility in terms of peace of mind, the state of not being worried.

Sejanus
praetorian prefect under Tiberius beginning in 17 CE; Sejanus plotted the murder of Drusus, the husband of Livia Julia whom he tried to marry after her husband`s death; in 21 CE, Sejanus consolidated the power of the Praetorian Guard by having the soldiers live in a common barracks; however, Tiberius did not allow the marriage to take place; in 31 CE, Tiberius discovered the Sejanus was again plotting, this time to take power, and had him put to death.

Sekhmet
the ancient Egyptian lioness goddess of war and destruction, Sekhmet was depicted as a woman in red with the head of a lioness with the solar disk and the uraeus on her head; the wife and sister of Ptah, Sekhmet was born out of the fire of Re`s eye.

Seleucids
the series of rulers descended from Seleucus I who controlled much of the land from Anatolia to central Asia for about 250 years; the Seleucids ran a well-organized empire that drew upon local cultures, languages, and peoples; in 312 BCE, Babylonia was added Seleucid territories and in 199 BCE, the Seleucids added Israel to their empire, having taken it away from the Greek Ptolemies; the Seleucid dynasty ended when Pompey took Syria away from Antiochus Asiaticus in 64 BCE; the dynasty was contested often, but in 293 BCE, Seleucus I Nicator made his son Antiochus the viceroy of Baghdad..

Semele
daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, mother of Dionysus by Zeus; tricked by Hera to ask Zeus to appear before her in his godly form, Zeus could not refuse and Semele was immediately burnt to death.

Seminarium
(Latin) a place where plants are taken care of, a nursery

Senatorial Province
areas that were governed by Roman promagistrates; there were ten senatorial provinces, eight of which were led by ex-praetors and two of which were led by ex-consuls; Asia and Africa were the two richest senatorial provinces.

Senatus
(Latin) a Roman body of men that originally advised the king and then the consuls; the number of men fluctuated but all had to be of good standing in the community (the censores could remove a man from the senate if necessary) and eventually needed to be a member of the equestrian order, that is, they needed to have property worth at least 400,000 sesterces; although having family members in the senate could help someone gain entrance into the body, heredity was not the only means of joining the senate and new men or novi homines could become part of it; generally an advisory body, the senate could at times declare a state of emergency (senatus consultum ultimum) that let the group govern as necessary; Augustus (63-14 BCE) revised the senate and left the body with less power and bolstered hereditary claims as a means to enter the senate; it continued to make laws and conferred powers on new emperors.

Senatus Consulta
(Latin) recommendations made by the Senate that were similar to laws; the Roman assemblies would then act on the Senate's recommendations; the most powerful senatus consultum was called the senatus consultum ultimum that essentially could declare martial law, giving absolute power to the consuls; copies of senatus consulta were kept in the Temple of Ceres beginning in 449 BCE.

Senatus Consultum Ultimum
(Latin) a state of emergency that could be called for by the Roman senate; when this state of emergency was in effect, the consuls could do almost anything they thought necessary to restore order to Rome; the senatus consultum ultimum was used for the first time in 121 BCE.

Seneca
born Lucius Annaeus Seneca, ca. 4 CE; Roman philosopher, dramatist, and statesman; his father, the Roman rhetorician Marcus Lucius Annaeus Seneca, was known as Seneca the Elder; Seneca (the Younger) studied philosophy and rhetoric in Rome, gaining a deep appreciation for Stoic philosophy; in 49, Seneca became a praetor and was appointed tutor to Nero; upon the death of the Emperor Claudius, Nero became Roman emperor at a young age; Seneca, along with Rome's commander of the Praetorian Guard, Sextus Afranius Burrus, guided the first five years of Nero's rule; after losing his influence over Nero, Seneca retired a very wealthy man and devoted himself to philosophical pursuits; Nero, jealous of Seneca, tried to have him poisoned but failed; in 65, Seneca was implecated in a plot to kill Nero and committed suicide by imperial order; prior to his death, Seneca published many literary works including: Apocolocyntosis Divi Claudi (The Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius) in 54; seven books of Quaestiones Naturales; Epistulae ad Lucilium, letters written between 63 and 64; several Stoic treatises on anger, tranquillity of mind, and philosophical retirement; and nine tragic dramas in verse that were adapted from ancient Greek legends.

Sermo
(Latin) speech; the word sermo can refer to just about any kind of speech from conversation to formal discourse to language in general.

Servile Wars
three slave uprisings that were ultimately quelled by the Roman Senate; the first Servile War occurred from 135-132 BCE; the second began in 104 BCE and lasted for a year; the last Servile War was led by Spartacus and took place between 73-71 BCE.

Servus
(Latin) slave; slavery was practiced in both Greece and Rome; both Greeks and Romans did not want to make their fellow-countrymen into slaves, so the slaves usually were captives of war, piracy, or trade and the descendants of those captives; slaves filled many different roles in Greek and Roman society, from policemen to artisans, household workers, estate workers, etc.

Servus.Andromache
wife of Hektor, taken prisoner after the fall of Troy (Iliad).

Sestertius
(Latin) a silver coin that, during the time of the Republic, was valued at a two and a half denarii; later, the sestertius was made of copper and worth 4 denarii during the Imperial period.

Seth
the ancient Egyptian god of thunder and storms as well as the desert; his parents were Nut and Geb, his brother was Osiris, and his sisters were Isis and Nephthys; though married to Nephthys, Seth never had any children, a fact that contributes to his association with the barren desert and infertility; Seth and 72 conspirators murdered Osiris and threw the coffin containing Osiris` body into the Nile.

Sextarius
Roman liquid measure; 1/16 cogius or approximately 1 pint; in dry measure 1/16 modius.

Shape
in reference to vases, one of the many forms in which vases appear.

Sibyl
priestess of Apollo who predicted the Trojan War and the fall of Troy at the hand of a Spartan woman (Helen); the Sibyl at Cumae guided Aeneas through the underworld (Aeneid).

Sic
(Latin) literally thus; used in scholarly citation to indicate that a quoted word that appears misspelled or poorly punctuated is found that way in the original text; using sic means that the author who is citing the text will not be responsible for the misspelling or punctuation error.

Sicily
an island in the Mediterranean off the western coast of mainland Italy; initially Sicily was settled by Greek colonists; in the 5th century BCE, Sicily fell under the power of the tyrant Dionysios of Syracuse; eventually Sicily came under Carthaginian control and became a major source of conflict in the Punic Wars; the Roman army came to Sicily in 264 BCE at the beginning of the Punic War and the island mostly became a Roman province; during the Roman Republican period, Sicily was very important source of grain and other foodstuffs, and many latifundia were located on Sicily.

Sicyonians
(Sikyonians) the people of Sicyon who became Dorians after they had, as Pausanias says, 'lost their power' having been defeated by Agamemnon and the Mycenaeans.

Signature
the signing or mark of a potter, coin artist or sculptor; for more information, see the Perseus Encyclopedia entry for Dipinto.

Silens
(Latin) another name for a satyr.

Silvia
a girl in the Aeneid who lived in Italy; the death of her pet stag was the overt cause for war between Aeneas` forces and the original Italians, although the less overt causes of the war include Juno and Allecto`s combined forces that riled up the countryside against the incoming Trojans.

Simile
a figure of speech using 'as' or 'like' for an explicit comparison.

Sine Die
(Latin) literally without a day; this phrase indicates that no day is chosen for a subsequent rendez-vous; a meeting can be adjourned without a fixed date to reconvene the group, and that adjourning is termed sine die.

Sine Dubio
(Latin) literally without doubt.

Sine Mora
(Latin) literally without delay.

Sine Praeiudicio
(Latin) literally without prejudice; a legal matter can be dismissed and termed sine praeiudicio, which means that no records will be kept that prejudice the defendant.

Sine Qua Non
(Latin) literally without which not; a sine qua non item is one that is unquestionably needed.

Sinon
Greek spy who tricks the Trojans into bringing the Trojan Horse within their city walls.

Sirens
a mythical female being, part woman, part bird, who enticed sailors to their deaths with a seductive song.

Sistrum
(Latin) a rattle-like instrument used in the worship of gods such as Dionysus, Isis and Amon.

Situla
(Latin) a bowl.

Skene
building connected to the stage; in ancient Greek, skene is 'tent, booth'; in drama, the stage building that was at the back (from the audience`s perspective) of the performing area; the building had a door and often represented a palace; the building could be painted and used as scenery; the origin, date of institution, and physical specifications of this building are unknown.

Skyphos
a drinking cup.

Smyrna
earliest settlement at Bayrakli; occupied by the Aeolian Greeks at ca. 1050 BCE; by the 9th century BCE defensive walls were present and the city possessed the earliest known Greek religious shrine in Anatolia, the Archaic temple of Athena, built ca. 625 BCE; may have been the birthplace of Homer; sacked by the Lydians ca. 600 BCE and again by the Persians ca. 545 BCE; a response from an oracle resulted in the building of a new Smyrna, founded by Alexander the Great between Mount Pagus and the sea.

Sobek
the ancient Egyptian god of crocodiles, Horus the Elder enlisted the help of Sobek to kill his uncle Seth; Sobek helped Horus on another occasion when he rescued Horus` four sons from the waters of Nun; Sobek was depicted as a crocodile or as a man with the head of a crocodile.

Social War
two different wars; one Social War was fought in 220-217 BCE between Philip V of Macedon warred against the allied Aetolians, Sparta, and Elisians; this war was resolved with the Peace of Naupactus; the second Social War was fought between 91 and 87 BCE between Rome and its Italian allies; fighting was kept among the Samnites in 88; after this Social War Italy was united.

Socrates
Athenian philosopher and central figure of Plato's Apology, Symposium and Dialogues.

Sodales Augustales
(Latin) Roman priests who worshipped Augustus and his family; sometimes called simply Augustales.

Sodalitas
(Latin) companionship, fellowship.

Sodalitates
(Latin) in Rome, sodalitates were companies of priests who performed religious music; famous companies included the Arval brethren (frates Arvales) who sang songs intended to banish evil and the Salii comprised of 12 members from the noble class who performed under a vates (a lead singer) and a praesul (a lead dancer).

Somnus
Roman god of sleep.

Sophismata
(Latin) false conclusions, fallacies.

Sophists
professional traveling teachers of rhetoric and other subjects, noted for their ingenuity and speciousness.

Sophocles
Athenian tragedian.

Soteria
(Latin) gifts given to someone who has just gotten better after having been ill.

Spatium
(Latin) expanse.

Specialis
(Latin) secret, confidential, good friend.

Speculor
(Latin) To explore, to look out, to spy.

Sphendone
a sling or head band.

Sphinx
a mythical female being with the head of a human and the body of a lion; sent by Hera, she ravaged Thebes until Oedipus solved her riddle (Oedipus the King).

Spondophoroi
the citizens of Elis who wore olive branch crowns and held the caduceus, herald`s wands, in their hands; the spondorphoroi traveled to all Greek city-states to proclaim the official three-month truce, ekecheiria, that was initiated during the Olympic games.

Stade
or stadium, a Greek linear measure; 625 Roman feet or 1/8 Roman mile.

Stadion
in ancient Greek athletic competition, a running race of 200 meters, approximately 200 yards.

Stamnos
a wide-mouth vase.

Stasimon
(plural staisima) in ancient Greek an adjective meaning 'standing,' 'stationary'; in drama, the stasimon was used for odes after the parodos and before the exodus; the songs are not in a marching rhythm, as the parodos is, but are in a standing rhythm; the chorus, however, is not standing still, but is dancing.

Stephane
a headband, diadem.

Stichomythia
in ancient Greek, conversation in alternate lines; a form of tragic dialogue in which characters converse by using usually one line each; in such dialogues characters may use two, three, or a half line each.

Stilus
a stylus; an instrument used to write on wax tablets used in business, government, and by students; one end of the stylus was pointed for writing, the other end was a flat scoop used to rub out mistakes.

Stoicism
Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno; Stoics advocated the complete control of one's passions (e.g., joy and grief) and asserted that everything happens for the best; the Aeneid presents a Stoic hero in Aeneas, a man governed by fate and who needed to cut himself off from his emotions (i.e. in Book Four with Dido) in order to fulfill his destiny and gain virtue; however, his Stoicism is eventually unbalanced by furor.

Strepsiades
comic hero of the Clouds.

Strigil
a scraper used by the ancient Greeks to remove dirt and oil.

Strophe
in ancient Greek 'a turning'; a part of a stasimon; a strophe precedes and corresponds metrically to an antistrophe.

Strophium
an undergarment or bra worn by women to support their breast; the strophium was a band of cloth made of linen or cotton.

Studeo
(Latin) To study.

Stultus
(Latin) foolish; a fool.

Style.Aureus
(Latin) a golden coin.

Suasoria
(Latin) speeches which would propose a course of action in a historical event or mythological event; these speeches were given as training exercises in the process of learning declamatio; often these speeches on historical events would be crafted and given long after the event had taken place; speakers learning suasoria would generally be in training for public governmental life.

Sub Imperio
(Latin) literally under the power.

Sub Iudice
(Latin) (Latin) literally under consideration; this phrase now indicates an issue that appears before a legal court and is being debated, implying that the matter cannot be freely discussed until it emerges from the legal process.

Sub Poena
(Latin) literally under penalty; in English, this phrase has become a single word â€` subpoena â€` and is a document that requires the recipient to appear in court.

Sub Rosa
(Latin) literally under the rose; this phrase has come to mean secretly or under cover; the exact genealogy of the phrase is debated.

Sub Verbo
(Latin) literally under the word; this phrase is used in academic citation and is abbreviated s.v.; it is used to refer to a definition or entry in a reference work.

Summa Cum Laude
(Latin) with highest praise; this phrase denotes an academic record of the highest distinction.

Supellex
(Latin) the furniture of a household.

Superveho
(Latin) to ride or sail past something.

Symphonia
(Latin) a musical performance.

Symposium
a drinking party that usually included entertainment and conversation.

Synoris
a chariot race using two full grown horses or two foals; the synoris for horses was eight laps and for foals three laps; the stronger horse was usually place on the right for faster pull around the turning post in the hippodrome.

Synthema
a password used in the Eleusinian Mysteries; the initiates would say the password, the synthema, when they entered the location of the Eleusinian mysteries to indicate that they were ready to be a part of the rites.

Syrinx
pan-pipes.

Tabella
(Latin) writing tablet.

Taberna
(Latin) a booth, stall, or shop where goods and wares were sold by merchants and farmers and where money-leaders plied their trade; tabernae lined the north and south sides of the Roman forum and were used by spectators of festivals, fights, battles, and games as seating so they could watch the activities from better vantage points.