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Calvisius Sabinus (mentioned By Seneca)
Calvisius Sabinus, whose ''praenomen'' is not recorded, was a wealthy contemporary of the younger Seneca. Sabinus was of servile origin, and, though ignorant, he affected to be a man of learning. Seneca was contemptuous of him, noting that he had inherited his wealth from a freedman, but describing him as "a man whose reliance on slaves is so complete that he cannot even think for himself. He has bought slaves and has had them trained to memorize poetry, so that he can be cultured while having nothing in his head." From his name, it seems that his father was a freedman of the Calvisii Sabini, a family that had been prominent in Roman politics a century earlier.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', William Smith, Editor. See also * Calvisia gens The gens Calvisia was an ancient Roman family, which first rose to prominence during the final decades of the Republic, and became influential in imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Praenomen
The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the '' dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy. The praenomen would then be formally conferred a second time when girls married, or when boys assumed the ''toga virilis'' upon reaching manhood. Although it was the oldest of the '' tria nomina'' commonly used in Roman naming conventions, by the late republic, most praenomina were so common that most people were called by their praenomina only by family or close friends. For this reason, although they continued to be used, praenomina gradually disappeared from public records during imperial times. Although both men and women received praenomina, women's praenomina were frequently ignored, and they were gradually abandoned by many Roman families, though they continued to be used in some families and in the countryside. Backg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seneca The Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in Kingdom of Córdoba, Córdoba in Hispania, and raised in Rome, where he was trained in rhetoric and philosophy. His father was Seneca the Elder, his elder brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus, and his nephew was the poet Lucan. In AD 41, Seneca was exiled to the island of Corsica under emperor Claudius, but was allowed to return in 49 to become a tutor to Nero. When Nero became emperor in 54, Seneca became his advisor and, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, provided competent government for the first five years of Nero's reign. Seneca's influence over Nero declined with time, and in 65 Seneca was forced suicide, forced to take his own life for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to Assassin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedman
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self-purchase. A fugitive slave is a person who escaped enslavement by fleeing. Ancient Rome Rome differed from Greek city-states in allowing freed slaves to become plebeian citizens. The act of freeing a slave was called ''manumissio'', from ''manus'', "hand" (in the sense of holding or possessing something), and ''missio'', the act of releasing. After manumission, a slave who had belonged to a Roman citizen enjoyed not only passive freedom from ownership, but active political freedom ''(libertas)'', including the right to vote. A slave who had acquired ''libertas'' was known as a ''libertus'' ("freed person", feminine ''liberta'') in relation to his former master, who was called his or her patron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Slavery
Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Besides manual labour, slaves performed many domestic services and might be employed at highly skilled jobs and professions. Accountants and physicians were often slaves. Slaves of Greek origin in particular might be highly educated. Unskilled slaves, or those sentenced to slavery as punishment, worked on farms, in mines, and at mills. Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Most slaves would never be freed. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation (prostitutes were often slaves), torture and summary execution. Over time, however, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. One major source of slaves had been Roman military expansion during the Republic. The use of former enemy soldiers as slaves led perhaps inevitably to a series of ''en masse'' armed rebel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium
The ' (Latin for "Moral Letters to Lucilius"), also known as the ''Moral Epistles'' and ''Letters from a Stoic'', is a collection of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, during his retirement, after he had worked for the Emperor Nero for more than ten years. They are addressed to Lucilius Junior, the then procurator of Sicily, who is known only through Seneca's writings. Regardless of how Seneca and Lucilius actually corresponded, it is clear that Seneca crafted the letters with a broad readership in mind. The letters often begin with an observation on daily life, and then proceed to an issue or principle abstracted from that observation. The result is like a diary, or handbook of philosophical meditations. The letters focus on many traditional themes of Stoic philosophy such as the contempt of death, the stout-heartedness of the sage, and virtue as the supreme good. Writing The ''Letters'' were probably written in the last three years of Seneca's li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dictionary Of Greek And Roman Biography And Mythology
The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 pages. It is a classic work of 19th-century lexicography. The work is a companion to Smith's '' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' and ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''. Authors and scope The work lists thirty-five authors in addition to the editor, who was also the author of the unsigned articles. The other authors were classical scholars, primarily from Oxford, Cambridge, Rugby School, and the University of Bonn, but some were from other institutions. Many of the mythological entries were the work of the German expatriate Leonhard Schmitz, who helped to popularise German classical scholarship in Britain. With respect to biographies, Smith intended to be comprehensive. In the preface, he writes: Much of the v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Smith (lexicographer)
Sir William Smith (20 May 1813 – 7 October 1893) was an English lexicographer. He became known for his advances in the teaching of Greek and Latin in schools. Early life Smith was born in Enfield in 1813 to Nonconformist parents. He attended the Madras House school of John Allen in Hackney. Originally destined for a theological career, he instead became articled to a solicitor. Meanwhile, he taught himself classics in his spare time, and when he entered University College London carried off both the Greek and Latin prizes. He was entered at Gray's Inn in 1830, but gave up his legal studies for a post at University College School and began to write on classical subjects. Lexicography Smith next turned his attention to lexicography. His first attempt was '' A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', which appeared in 1842, the greater part being written by him. Then followed the ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' in 1849. A parallel '' Dicti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calvisia Gens
The gens Calvisia was an ancient Roman family, which first rose to prominence during the final decades of the Republic, and became influential in imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Calvisius Sabinus in 39 BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 689 ("Calvisius Sabinus").Dixonp. 225 Origin The nomen ''Calvisius'' is probably based on the Latin adjective ''calvus'', meaning "bald". Both ''Calvus'' and its diminutive, ''Calvinus'', were common Roman surnames.Chase, p. 110. With respect to their place of origin, Ronald Syme begins a survey of the evidence by stating, "Calvisii might issue from any region of Italy except old Latium." He lists a placename, "villa Calvisia" in Southern Etruria, amongst the properties of a Hadrianic consular; two Calvisii attested in Puteoli, and fifteen named in sources from Transpadane Italy, but concludes " t they lead nowhere"; the evidence is frustratingly inconclusive. Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st-century Romans
The 1st century was the century spanning AD 1 ( I) through AD 100 ( C) according to the Julian calendar. It is often written as the or to distinguish it from the 1st century BC (or BCE) which preceded it. The 1st century is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. The 1st century also saw the appearance of Christianity. During this period, Europe, North Africa and the Near East fell under increasing domination by the Roman Empire, which continued expanding, most notably conquering Britain under the emperor Claudius (AD 43). The reforms introduced by Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire after the turmoil of the previous century's civil wars. Later in the century the Julio-Claudian dynasty, which had been founded by Augustus, came to an end with the suicide of Nero in AD 68. There followed the famous Year of Four Emperors, a brief period of civil war and instability, which was finally brought to an end by Vespasian, ninth Roman emper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
