Copy of `CTC Glossary of the Classics`

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

Vergo
(Latin) to bend, to draw to an end.

Veritas
(Latin) honesty and truthfulness, a Roman virtue.

Verres
Caius Verres; born ca. 120 BCE; Roman statesman and administrator; served as governor of Sicily from 73 to 71 BCE; during his term as governor, Verres' corruption and extortion of free and stipended cities was so notable that he was placed on trial in 70 BCE; Cicero prosecuted Verres and delivered his Verrine Orations against which Verres' lawyer, Quintus Hortensius, was unable to defend his client; in the face of Cicero's colorful and politically motivated oration, Verres was convicted and fled from Rome to the city of Massilia, modern day Marseilles; Verres died in 43 BCE.

Vespera
(Latin) evening; this word also came to mean the direction west, referring to the direction in which the sun set in the evening.

Vesta
Roman goddess of the hearth.

Vestal Virgins
six priestesses of Vesta, Roman goddess of the hearth; they were chosen by lot and given the task of keeping the sacred fire in Vesta`s temple in Rome; the Vestal Virgins were members of the priestesshood for thirty years, after which they could leave and marry; if they did not remain celibate while serving the goddess, they were punished by being buried alive; in 273 BCE, the Vestal Virgin Sextilia was buried alive because she was suspected of having committed adultery.

Vestitor
(Latin) tailor; a vestitor was charged with making clothing, or, in Latin, vestio.

Viaduct
a bridge comprised of a number of short spans that support aqueducts to deliver water from a higher point outside the city to the city, i.e., Rome, and neighboring villages.

Viator
(Latin) traveler; this word is linked to the Latin word via, which means road; a viator is someone who travels along the road systems, including the Via Appia.

Victima
(Latin) a sacrifice, such as an animal who is sacrificed.

Victum
(Latin) to bind, conquer, win, excel.

Vigintisexvirate
six groups of magistrates that governed in the late Roman republic; if a male Roman citizen wanted to be a quaestor or in the senate, it was generally considered a springboard to participate in the vigintisexvirate.

Vilicus
(Latin) the manager of a Roman estate who supervised the farm work; usually a slave.

Villa
(Latin) a country estate and the most preferable form of Roman housing; the villa was surrounded by lush colonnaded gardens and often had spectacular views of the countryside or sea; opulent art, the abundant foliage, and the open space of the villa were a result of Hellenistic influence of the 2nd century BCE; the villa urbana was a luxurious, expansive retreat from the city combining the amenities of the city with the beauty of the countryside.

Villica
(Latin) person in charge of the Roman household; usually a slave.

Vinalia Rustica
a Roman festival in honor of Venus and Jupiter, which was begun in 293 BCE to celebrate the victory of the Latins over Mezentius.

Vinco
(Latin) To conquer; one of the verbs in the famous phrase attributed to Julius Caesar: veni, vidi, vici; the past tense of the verb vinco is vici.

Vinctus
(Latin) food, living, nourishment.

Vinea
(Latin) a roof under which people who were besieging a city could protect themselves from stones, arrows, and fire that were being thrown down upon them by the people who were being besieged.

Viridis
(Latin) green.

Virtus
(Latin) excellence; derived from the word vir (man), this word generally connotes manly greatness and bravery.

Vitellius
Aulus Vitellius, Roman emperor born in 15 CE; Vitellius was consul in 48 and proconsul of Africa; in 68 Galba made him the commander of the army in Germany; Vitellius became emperor by means of a military decision in Germany; however, much of the army in other places wanted Vespasian to be the emperor and in 69 Vitellius was killed by Vespasian`s soldiers; Vitellius only was emperor for three months.

Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio; a Roman military engineer and architect, born ca. 90 BCE; author of De Architectura Libri Decem, Ten Books on Architecture; in the ten books, Vitruvius discusses pavement techniques, building materials and dyes, town planning, temples, civic and private structures, amplification in ampitheaters, water supply, geometry, astronomy and civil and military machinery; his texts is the forerunner for text on individual engineering disciplines, e.g., material science, chemical engineering, civil engineering; Vitruvius' engineering handbook was used for centuries after his death in 20 BCE.

Vitumnus
Roman god who gave life to children in the womb.

Voice
the dominating ethos or tone of a literary work. The voice existing in a literary work is not always identifiable with the actual views of the author.

Votive Relief
a sculpture type offered or dedicated in accordance with a vow.

Vulcan
Roman deity worshiped at the festival Vulcanalia, where little fish and other animals, representing humans, were sometimes thrown into a fire in order to preserve the human lives they represented; god who made armor for Aeneas; identified with Hephaestus by Romans.

White-Ground
a type of vase on which figures are painted on a white background.

Xenophon
(Perseus Encyclopedia entry 4) ancient Greek author; wrote the Anabasis, the Hellenica, the Cyropaedia, the Oeconomica and other works.

Xerxes I
king of Persia from 486-465 BCE; his military invasion of Greece, the Persian Wars (480-479 BCE), is chronicles in Herodotus' Histories; according to Herodotus, Xerxes led an immense army of Persians and mercenaries into Greece in order to conquer the territories; the Persians were beaten back by united Greek forces at the battle of Plataea; Xerxes I was murdered in 465 BCE.

Xystos
a gymnasium at Elis where runners and pentathletes trained one month prior to the start of the ancient Olympic games.

Xystus
(Latin) a walkway decorated with trees or a walk through a colonnade.

Ymber
(Latin) rain storm, pouring rain.

Zeus
son of Cronus and Rhea, brother and husband of Hera; defeated Cronus to become the greatest of the Olympian gods; read the Homeric Hymn to Zeus to learn more.