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An abacus is denoted primarily a square tablet of any description, and was hence employed in the following significations: 1. A table, or side-board, chiefly used for the display of gold and silver cups, and other kinds of caluable and ornamental utensils. The use of abaci was first introduced at Rome from Asia Minor after the victories of Cn. Manlius Vulso, B.C. 187, and their introduction was regarded as one of the marks of the growing luxury of the age; 2. A draught-board or chess-board; 3. A board used by mathematicians for drawing diagrams, and by arithmeticians for the purposes of calculation; 4. In architecture, the flat square stone which constituted the highest member of a column, being placed immediately under te architrave.

Abacus

An abacus is denoted primarily a square tablet of any description, and was hence employed in the following…

A cloak chiefly worn by soldiers, and thus opposed to the toga, the garb of peace. The abolla was used by by the lower classes at Rome, and consequently by the philosophers who affected severity of manners and life.

Abolla

A cloak chiefly worn by soldiers, and thus opposed to the toga, the garb of peace. The abolla was used…

"The mosted noted of the orations of Isocrates is the Panathenaicus or Panegyric of Athens, a work on which he spent ten years, and in which he uses all the resources of his art to extol Athens and magnify the benefits she conferred o nthe whole of Greece." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Ancient Athens

"The mosted noted of the orations of Isocrates is the Panathenaicus or Panegyric of Athens, a work on…

"Aeschines owes the perpetuity of his fame to the fact he was the only rival of Demosthenes. He was five years older than the great orator, being born in 389 B.C. In early life he served as a soldier, then as a public clerk, and afterwards undertook the role of an actor." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Aeschines

"Aeschines owes the perpetuity of his fame to the fact he was the only rival of Demosthenes. He was…

"In the oratory of more thn two thousand years Demosthenes stands in the front rank, and will always hold first place among the orators of the ancient world. He was born in 384 B.C. When he was only seven years of age, his father, a wealthy manufacturer of arms in Athens, died. When the youth came of age he found himself stripped of his inheritance by dishonest trustees. Aided by Isaeus he commenced a lawsuit against the chief embezzler, and succeeded in recovering about a third of his father's estate. The loss of his patrimony was the means of developing a spirit of courage and self-relience, which might otherwise have remained latent." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Demosthenes

"In the oratory of more thn two thousand years Demosthenes stands in the front rank, and will always…

Quills, a crown, olive branches, and books

Quill doodad

Quills, a crown, olive branches, and books

Women playing a lyre.

Greek border

Women playing a lyre.

A group of women, with a lyre and wreath.

Sappho

A group of women, with a lyre and wreath.

"An amphitheatre was a place for the exhibitions of public shows of combatants and wild beasts, entirely surrounded by seats for the spectators; whereas, in those for dramatic performances, the seats were arranged in a semicircle facing he stage. Longitudinal section of the Flavian Amphitheatre." — Smith, 1873

Amphitheatrum

"An amphitheatre was a place for the exhibitions of public shows of combatants and wild beasts, entirely…

"Besides Sappho, her friend, perhaps lover, Alcaeus is almost the sole representative of the Aeolic school of poetry. He was a noble of Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos. With other nobles he opposed and drove into exile the tyrant of this city." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Alcaeus

"Besides Sappho, her friend, perhaps lover, Alcaeus is almost the sole representative of the Aeolic…

Greek illustration of Elysium.

Elysium doodad

Greek illustration of Elysium.

"Though Anacreon has been famous as the poet of wine and love, few geniune fragments of his songs have come down to us. Those which pass under his name belong to his Greek imitators in later times. Specimens are given here in relief after the prosing of historians and philosophers." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Anacreon

"Though Anacreon has been famous as the poet of wine and love, few geniune fragments of his songs have…

"The fame of Theocritus, the prince of bucolic poetry, depends on his faithful pictures of natural scenery and the common Sicilian people. He is generally considered the only poet of the Alexandrean epoch whose works can rank with the brilliant Grecian songs of earlier days." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Theocritus

"The fame of Theocritus, the prince of bucolic poetry, depends on his faithful pictures of natural scenery…

"Theocritus asserts that there is no rememdy for Love but the Muses. He then gives an account of the love of the Cyclops Polyphemus for the sea-nymph Galatea." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Polyphemus

"Theocritus asserts that there is no rememdy for Love but the Muses. He then gives an account of the…

A group of Greeks rowing a boat.

Greek Boat

A group of Greeks rowing a boat.

"Zeus of Otricoli. (Marble bust in the Vatican.)" — The Delphian Society, 1913

Zeus

"Zeus of Otricoli. (Marble bust in the Vatican.)" — The Delphian Society, 1913

The temple of Asklepios.

Temple of Asklepios

The temple of Asklepios.

"Flavius Josephus was a strange amalgamation of Jew, Greek, and Roman, admittedly not what he should have been, either as a teacher of Mosiac law, as a patriot, or as a public man; and yet he performed successfully what he could not have achieved had he been any one of these only." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Flavius Josephus

"Flavius Josephus was a strange amalgamation of Jew, Greek, and Roman, admittedly not what he should…

A Greek woman laying peacefully on an alter.

Woman laying down

A Greek woman laying peacefully on an alter.

A Greek object, with cherubs depicted.

Greek doodad

A Greek object, with cherubs depicted.

"An amphitheatre was a place for the exhibitions of public shows of combatants and wild beasts, entirely surrounded by seats for the spectators; whereas, in those for dramatic performances, the seats were arranged in a semicircle facing he stage. Elevation of one side of the preceding section." — Smith, 1873

Amphitheatrum

"An amphitheatre was a place for the exhibitions of public shows of combatants and wild beasts, entirely…

"Plutarch, as the great interpreter of Greece and Rome, exerted on generations succeeding him in influence perhaps greater than any other classical writer." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Plutarch

"Plutarch, as the great interpreter of Greece and Rome, exerted on generations succeeding him in influence…

"A vessel used for holding wine, oil, honey. The following cut represents amphorae in the British Museum. They are of variouss forms and sizes; in general they are tall and narrow, with a small neck, and a handle on each side of the neck, and terminating at the bottom in a point, which was let into a stand or stuck in the ground, so that the vessel stood upright: several amphorae have been found in this position in the cellars at Pompeii. Amphorae were commonly made of earthenware. Homer mentions amphorae of gold and stone, and the Egyptians had them of brass; glass vessels of this form have been found at Pompeii. The most common use of the amphora, both amoung the Greeks and the Romans, was for keeping wine. The cork was covered with pitch or gypsum, and on the outside the title of the wine was painted, the date of the vintage being marked by the names of the consuls then in office; or, when the jars were of glass, little tickets were suspended from them, indicating these particulars." — Smith, 1873

Amphorae

"A vessel used for holding wine, oil, honey. The following cut represents amphorae in the British Museum.…

"Lucian, the humorous satirist, was a native of Samosata, in Syria, and flourished towards the end of the second century. In early life he was a sculptor, but later applied himself to the study of literature and philosophy. He was an extensive traveler, and seems to have traversed Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, and Gaul, teaching and studying human nature. After having amassed wealth as a wandering sophist, he settled down in Athens, when about forty years of age, and devoted himself to those satirical and humorous works which have made his name famous." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Lucian

"Lucian, the humorous satirist, was a native of Samosata, in Syria, and flourished towards the end of…

"An Anchor. The anchor used by the ancients was for the most part made of iron, and its form resembled that of the modern anchor. The shape of the two extremities illustrates the unco morsu and dente tenaci of Virgil. Indeed, the Greek and Latin names themselves express the essential property of the anchor being allied to angelus and uncus. The anchor as here represented and as commonly used, was called bidens, because it had two teeth or flukes. Sometimes it had one only, and then it had the epithet." — Smith, 1873

Ancora

"An Anchor. The anchor used by the ancients was for the most part made of iron, and its form resembled…

"Constantine, the first Christian emperor, removed the capital of the world-empire from Rome to Byzantium, henceforth to be called Constantinople. Though the court, with all its splendor and power, was thus transferred to a city where Greek was the vernacular, the change did not retard, but rather hastened, the decline of literature." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Byzantine court

"Constantine, the first Christian emperor, removed the capital of the world-empire from Rome to Byzantium,…

"Thus the prince, both when present and when coming, was alike victorius: and these things he achieved just starting up from amidst his books; or rather, in marching against the adversary, he marched with his books, for he had always in his hands either books or arms, believing that war was wonderfully assisted by philosophy, and that a prince competent to give counsel threw more weight into the scale than a fighting one." — The Delphian Society, 1913

Julian

"Thus the prince, both when present and when coming, was alike victorius: and these things he achieved…

A Greek statue.

Victory of Samothreace

A Greek statue.

"A Sacrifice. (From a vase-painting by Polygnotus.)"

Sacrifice

"A Sacrifice. (From a vase-painting by Polygnotus.)"

"Water jaw, <em>Hydria</em>" &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Hydria

"Water jaw, Hydria" — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Cup, <em>Kantharos</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Kantharos

"Cup, Kantharos." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"A wine jar, <em>Pelike</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Pelike

"A wine jar, Pelike." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Ladle, <em>Kyathos</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Kyathos

"Ladle, Kyathos." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Water-jaw, <em>Hydria</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Hydria

"Water-jaw, Hydria." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Jar for carrying wine, <em>Amphora</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Amphora

"Jar for carrying wine, Amphora." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Called also navis aperta, a ship which had no deck but was merely covered with planks in the front and hinder part, as is represented in the following cut. The ships which had decks were called cataphracti. At the time of the Trojan war the Greek ships had no decks, but were only covered over in the prow and stern." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Aphractus

"Called also navis aperta, a ship which had no deck but was merely covered with planks in the front…

"The enrollment of a mortal among the gods. The mythology of Greece contains numerous instances of the deification of mortals; but in the republican times of Greece we find few examples of such deification. The inhabitants of Amphipolis, however, offered sacrifices to Brasidas after his death. In the Greek kingdoms, which arose in the East of the dismemberment of the empire of Alexander, it appears to have been not uncommon for the successor to the throne to offer divine honours to the former sovereign. Such an apotheosis of Ptolemy, king of Egypt, is described by Theocritus in his 17th Idyl" &mdash; Smith, 1873

Apotheosis

"The enrollment of a mortal among the gods. The mythology of Greece contains numerous instances of the…

"A plough. Among the Greek and Romans the three most essential parts of the plough were-the plough tail, the share-beam, that is, the piece of wood to which the share is fixed, and the pole. In the time and country of Virgil it was the custom to force a tree into the crooked form of the buris, or plough-tail. The upper end of the buris being held by the ploughman, the lower part, below its junction with the pole, was used to hold the dentale or share-beam, which was either sheathed with metal, or driven bare into the ground, according to circumstances. The term vomer was sometimes applied to the end of the dentale. The image distinctly shows the pole (1), the coulter (2), the dentale (3), the buris (4), and the handle (5)." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Aratrum

"A plough. Among the Greek and Romans the three most essential parts of the plough were-the plough tail,…

"A plough. Among the Greek and Romans the three most essential parts of the plough were-the plough tail, the share-beam, that is, the piece of wood to which the share is fixed, and the pole. In the time and country of Virgil it was the custom to force a tree into the crooked form of the buris, or plough-tail. The upper end of the buris being held by the ploughman, the lower part, below its junction with the pole, was used to hold the dentale or share-beam, which was either sheathed with metal, or driven bare into the ground, according to circumstances. The term vomer was sometimes applied to the end of the dentale. The image distinctly shows the buris (1), the temo (2), the dentale (3), the culter (4), the vomer (5), and the aures (6)." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Aratrum

"A plough. Among the Greek and Romans the three most essential parts of the plough were-the plough tail,…

"Homer describes in various passages an entire suit of armour, and we observe that it consisted of the same portions which were used by the Greek soldiers ever after. Moreover, the order of putting them on is always the same. The heavy-armed warrior, having already a tunic around his body, and preparing for combat, puts on-1. his greaves; 2. his cuirass; 3. his sword, hung on the left side of his body by means of a belt which passed over the right shoulder; 4. the large round shield, supported in the same manner; 5. his helmet; 6. he took his spear." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Arma

"Homer describes in various passages an entire suit of armour, and we observe that it consisted of the…

"Homer describes in various passages an entire suit of armour, and we observe that it consisted of the same portions which were used by the Greek soldiers ever after. Moreover, the order of putting them on is always the same. The heavy-armed warrior, having already a tunic around his body, and preparing for combat, puts on-1. his greaves; 2. his cuirass; 3. his sword, hung on the left side of his body by means of a belt which passed over the right shoulder; 4. the large round shield, supported in the same manner; 5. his helmet; 6. he took his spear." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Arma

"Homer describes in various passages an entire suit of armour, and we observe that it consisted of the…

"Gold appears not to have been coined at Athens till the time of the Macedonian empire, with the exception a solitary issue of a debased coinage in 407. But from a very early period the Asian nations, and he Greek cities of Asia Minor and the adjacent islands, possessed a gold coinage, which was more or less current in Greece. Herodotus says that the Lydians were the first who coined gold; and the stater of Croesus appears to have been the earliest gold coin known to the Greeks. The dario was a Persian coin. Staters of Cyzicus and Phocaea had a considerable currency in Greece. There was a gold coinage in Samos as early as the time of Polycrates." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Aurum

"Gold appears not to have been coined at Athens till the time of the Macedonian empire, with the exception…

"Trowsers, pantaloons, were common to all the nations which encircled the Greek and Roman population, extending from the Indian to the Atlantic ocean, but were not worn by the Greeks and Romans themselves. Accordingly the monuments containing representations of people different from the Greeks and romans exhibit them in trowsers, thus distinguishing them from the latter people. An example is seen in the preceding group of Sarmatians." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Bracae

"Trowsers, pantaloons, were common to all the nations which encircled the Greek and Roman population,…

"Rosetta Stone is the name given to a stone found near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile by a French engineer in 1798. It is a tablet of basalt, with an inscription of the year 136 B. C., during the reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes. The inscription is in hieroglyphic, in demotic, and in Greek. It was deciphered by Dr. Young, and formed the key to the reading of the hieroglyphic characters. It was captured by the English on the defeat of the French forces in Egypt, and is now kept in the British Museum."&mdash;(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

Rosetta Stone

"Rosetta Stone is the name given to a stone found near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile by a French engineer…

"Sarcophagus, plural Sarcophagi, is a kind of stone used among the Greeks for making coffins, and so called because it was believed to have the property of consuming the flesh of dead bodies deposited in it within a few weeks. Hence a coffin or tomb of stone; a kind of stone chest used for containing a dead body. In modern times stone coffins are occasionally used for royal or distinguished persons."—(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

Sarcophagus of Scipio

"Sarcophagus, plural Sarcophagi, is a kind of stone used among the Greeks for making coffins, and so…

"Wine-jar, <em>Stamnos</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Stamnos

"Wine-jar, Stamnos." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Oil-jar, <em>Lekythos</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Lekythos

"Oil-jar, Lekythos." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Cup, <em>Kylix</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Kylix

"Cup, Kylix." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Mixing bowl, <em>Kelebe</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Kelebe

"Mixing bowl, Kelebe." — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Wine-jug, <em>Oinochoe</em>" &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Oinochoe

"Wine-jug, Oinochoe" — The Delphian Society, 1913

"Jar for unguents, <em>Aryballos</em>." &mdash; The Delphian Society, 1913

Aryballos

"Jar for unguents, Aryballos." — The Delphian Society, 1913

The Palladium, an ancient statue.

The Palladium

The Palladium, an ancient statue.

"Sphinx is a Greek word signifying 'strangler,' applied to certain symbolical forms of Egyptian origin, having the body of a lion, a human or an animal head, and two wings. Various other combinations of animal forms have been called by this name, though they are rather griffins or chim&aelig;ras. Human-headed sphinxes have been called andro-sphinxes; that with the head of a ram, a criosphinx; and that with a hawk's head, a hieracosphinx. The form when complete had the wings added at the sides; but these are of a later period and seem to have originated with the Babylonians or Assyrians. In Egypt the sphinx also occurs as the symbolical form of the monarch considered as a conqueror, the head of the reigning king being placed on a loin's body, the face bearded, and the usual head dress. Thus used, the sphinx was generally male; but in the case of female rulers that figure has a female head and the body of a lioness. The most remarkable sphinx is the Great Sphinx at Gizeh (Giza), a colossal form hewn out of the natural rock, and lying about a quarter of a mile S.E. of the Great Pyramid. It is sculptured out of a spur of the rock itself, to which masonry has been added in certain places to complete the shape, and it measures 172 feet 6 inches long by 56 feet high."&mdash;(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

Sphinx

"Sphinx is a Greek word signifying 'strangler,' applied to certain symbolical forms of Egyptian origin,…

"Caryae was a city in Arcadia, near the Laconian border, the inhabitants of which joined the Persians after the battle of Thermopylae. On the defeat of the Persians the allied Greeks destroyed the town, slew the men, and led the women into captivity; and Praxiteles and other Athenian artists employed female figures, representing Caryatidae, or women of Caryae, instead of columns in architecture. This account is illustrated by a bas-relief with a Greek inscription, mentioning the conquest of the Caryatae." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Caryatides

"Caryae was a city in Arcadia, near the Laconian border, the inhabitants of which joined the Persians…

"A pillar or column. The use of the trunks of trees placed upright for supporting buildings, unquestionably led to the adoption of similar supports wrought in stone. As the tree required to be based upon a flat square stone, and to have a stone or tile of similar form fixed on its summit to preserve it from decay, so the column was made with a square base, and was covered with an abacus. Hence the principal parts of which every column consists are three, the base, the shaft, and the capital. In the Doric, which is the oldest style of Greek architecture, we must consider all the columns in the same row as having one common base, whereas in the Ionian and Corinthian each column has a seperate base, called spira. The capitals of these two latter orders show, on comparison with the Doric, a much richer style of ornament; and the character of lightness and elegence is further obtained in them by their more slender shaft, its height being much greater in proportion to its thickness. Of all these circumstances some idea may be formed by the inspection of the three accompanying specimens of pillars. The first on the left hand is Doric, the second Ionic, and the third Corinthian." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Columna

"A pillar or column. The use of the trunks of trees placed upright for supporting buildings, unquestionably…

"A Greek and Roman liquid measure, containing one-twelfth of the sextarius, or .0825 of a pint English. The form of the cyathus used at banquets was that of a small ladle, by means of which the wine was conveyed into the drinking-cups from the large vessel in which it was mixed. Two of these cyathi are represented in this following woodcut." &mdash; Smith, 1873.

Cyathus

"A Greek and Roman liquid measure, containing one-twelfth of the sextarius, or .0825 of a pint English.…

Ground Plan of a Greek House.

Domus

Ground Plan of a Greek House.

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek states were the Attic and Aeginetan." &mdash; Smith, 1873. This image shows Attic Drachma.

Drachma

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek…

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek states were the Attic and Aeginetan." &mdash; Smith, 1873. This image shows Aeginetan Drachma.

Drachma

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek…

"An ancient Greek or Roman temple, of rectangular construction, is terminated at its upper extremity by a triangular figure, both in front and rear, which rests upon the cornice of the entablature as a base, and has its sides formed by the cornices which terminate the roof. The whole of this triangle above the trabeation is implied in the term fastigium." &mdash; Smith, 1873.

Fastigium

"An ancient Greek or Roman temple, of rectangular construction, is terminated at its upper extremity…