aedile: Roman political official in charge of games, markets, temples, and public buildings
Aesculapius: god of healing
amphora: large, narrow-necked jar used to store and transport wine and food
Annwn: Celtic land of the dead
Aphrodite: goddess of love
Athena Nike: virgin goddess of wisdom and power, in her aspect of goddess of victory
atrium: the central room of a Roman house, frequently built around a pool
augurs: a priestly college at Rome, the business of which was to take the auspices on all important occasions
auxiliaries: cavalry, light troops, bowmen, etc., recruited from the provinces; term applied to all units other than the legions; the officers were Roman, and the men received Roman citizenship upon their discharge.
Avernus: lake in the crater of an extinct volcano, supposed to lead to the underworld
Bacchus: god of wine
basilica: public building housing law courts and exchange
Cassandra: prophetess daughter of Trojan King Priam; Apollo, whom she had repulsed, caused her true predictions always to be disbelieved
century: a unit of eighty men; six centuries made a cohort
Charon: boatman who ferried the dead across the River Styx
cohort: six centuries; ten cohorts made up a legion
confarreatio: the old religious form of Roman marriage witnessed by senior priests; divorce was nearly impossible
consuls: formerly the two highest Republican magistrates in Rome; under the empire a much less powerful office, but still a great honor; the emperor was generally a consul
corona aurea: Roman army decoration for extraordinary bravery
corona civica: Roman army decoration awarded to a soldier who has saved the life of a fellow citizen, at risk to his own
corvus: “crow’s beak,” the iron spike at the end of a Roman boarding ramp, used to punch through the deck of an enemy ship and hold it to be boarded
cuirass: close-fitting body armor covering the torso
Diogenes: Greek Cynic philosopher, reputed to have gone about in daylight with a lantern, looking for a man with the proper human virtues
Donar: German god of thunder, protector of men
Eagle: the standard of a Roman legion; it personified the legion’s honor, and its loss was a disgrace
the Eagles: the Roman legions
Eir: German goddess of healing
Epona: Celtic goddess of horses
Erebus: the darkness through which the souls of the dead travel to Hades
Europa: Phoenician princess carried off by Zeus in the form of a bull
the Fates: three goddesses who spin, fix the length, and finally cut the thread of life
Flavian Amphitheater: later known as the Colosseum
Furies: avenging goddesses
the Goddess: Earth Mother in her many forms
Gorgons: three frightful sisters whose look turns the beholder to stone
greaves: lower leg armor
Hades: lord of the underworld; also the name of the underworld itself
Hector: chief Trojan hero in the war with the Greeks
Hel: German goddess of the underworld; also the name of her domain
Hercules: hero god famed for great feats of strength
hortator: on a ship, one who sets time for the oar strokes with a mallet
hypocaust: Roman hot-air system
Isis: Earth Mother in her Egyptian form
Janus: two-faced god of beginnings and endings of all undertakings
Juno: wife of Jupiter, goddess of marriage and childbirth
Jupiter: Roman name of Zeus, all-powerful father of the gods, protector of Rome
latrunculi: literally “bandits,” Roman board game
legate: commander of a legion
legionary: the enlisted man of the legions; he was a Roman citizen
lilies: small, sharp spikes set in a defensive ditch
lorica: body armor of several types; at this time, scale or segmented plates
Lugh: Celtic sun god
maenads: priestesses of Bacchus who worked themselves into a frenzy at his festivals
Mercury: god of commerce; messenger of Zeus who guides the shades of the dead to the underworld
Minerva: Roman name of Athena
Mithras: Persian god of light and truth, mediator between man and the supreme god; his worship was popular in the Roman army
the Morrigan: Celtic goddess of battle; Earth Mother in her warlike aspect
the Mother: Earth Mother in any of her many forms
naiad: freshwater nymph
Neptune: Roman name of Poseidon
Olympus: mythical home of the Roman gods on the summit of Mount Olympus in Thessaly
optio: aide assigned to an officer
Persephone: maiden abducted by Hades to become his wife; doomed to spend six months of each year in the underworld
phalerae: Roman military decorations in the form of medallions worn on a leather harness across the chest
pilum: Roman military javelin
Pontifex Maximus: the chief priest of Rome
Poseidon: sea god and creator of the horse
Praetorian Guards: the home guard of Rome, the elite of the army, and the personal bodyguard of the emperor
praetorium: the commander’s quarters in a Roman fort
primus pilus: commander of the First Cohort; in the field, second-in-command of the legion
principia: headquarters building in a Roman fort
quinquireme: galley with five oarsmen, but probably only three actual banks of oars
Rome Dea: goddess personification of the City of Rome
Romulus: legendary founder of Rome
Saturnalia: Roman winter festival when slaves impersonated their masters and vice versa
sidhe: in Celtic legend, the hollow hills of the faery folk; here used to mean a dwelling of an older race
Sign of Horns: invoking the Horned God (similar to Pan) to ward off evil
spina: central divider of a chariot track
Tartarus: lowest level of the underworld
tribune: officer in a legion, generally a young man serving a short term before beginning a political career
trireme: galley with three banks of oars
triumviri capitales: Roman officials who inquired into all capital crimes, apprehended criminals, had charge of prisons, and carried out sentences
Typhon: fire-breathing monster and creator of hurricanes, said to have a hundred heads and terrible voices
Ulysses: hero of the Trojan War
Valhalla: German paradise for the souls of slain heroes
Valkyrie: maiden messengers of Wuotan sent to choose the slain in battle and serve them mead in Valhalla
Venus: Roman name of Aphrodite
Vestal Virgins: priestesses of Vesta, supposed to be incorruptible
vicus: the civil settlement outside a Roman fort
vine staff: a centurion’s staff of office; literally a cane cut from vine wood
Wisdom: a Celtic board game resembling chess
Wuotan: German chief of all the gods; sky god; god of light, war, and knowledge, giver of life and death to men; he had two ravens, Hugin and Munin, who perched on his shoulders daily to tell him the news
Ziu: ancient German tribal god of war