ClipArt ETC
Military formation of the Romans, also agmen quadratum. Square formation with no troops in the middle.

Hollow Square

Military formation of the Romans, also agmen quadratum. Square formation with no troops in the middle.

The Ballista is a device for throwing large darts very accurately. The Roman Ballistas threw stones instead of darts.

Ballista

The Ballista is a device for throwing large darts very accurately. The Roman Ballistas threw stones…

A Gallic coin with a human figure on the front. Front.

Gallic Coin

A Gallic coin with a human figure on the front. Front.

"A round shield, three feet in diameter, carried by the celites in the Roman army. Though small, compared with the Clipeus, it was so strongly made as to be a very effectual protection. This was probably owing to the use of iron in its framework. The parma was also worn by the cavalry. We find the term parma often applied to the target (Cetra), which was also a small round shield, and therefore very similar to the parma. The preceding cut represents a votive parma, embossed and gilt, representing onits border, as is supposed the taking of Rome by the Gauls under Brennus, and its recovery by Camillus." — Smith, 1873

Parma

"A round shield, three feet in diameter, carried by the celites in the Roman army. Though small, compared…

A Gallic coin with a human figure on the front. Back.

Gallic Coin

A Gallic coin with a human figure on the front. Back.

Gallic Torques were heavy necklaces of braided metal. Gauls carried their wealth in the form of Gold Torques which they wore around their necks.

Gallic Torques

Gallic Torques were heavy necklaces of braided metal. Gauls carried their wealth in the form of Gold…

Bust of Gaius Iulius Caesar.

Gaius Iulius Caesar

Bust of Gaius Iulius Caesar.

A Gallic coin. Front.

Gallic Coin

A Gallic coin. Front.

A Gallic coin. Back.

Gallic Coin

A Gallic coin. Back.

A Gallic coin.

Gallic Coin

A Gallic coin.

A Gallic coin.

Gallic Coin

A Gallic coin.

A section of chain mail from a suit of chain mail armor, lorica hamata.

Chain Mail

A section of chain mail from a suit of chain mail armor, lorica hamata.

"An anklet or bangle, worn by the Orientals, the Greeks, and the Roman ladies also. It decorated the leg in the same manner as the bracelet adorns the wrist and the necklace the throat. The word, however, is sometimes used in the same sense as the Latin feminalia, that is, drawers reaching from the navel to the knees." — Smith, 1873

Periscelis

"An anklet or bangle, worn by the Orientals, the Greeks, and the Roman ladies also. It decorated the…

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom arose undoubtedly from the practice of smearing the face with certain juices and colours, and of appearing in disguise, at the festivals of Bacchus. Now as the Greek drama arose out of these festivals, it is highly probable that some mode of disguising the face was as old as the drama itself. Choerilus of Samos, however, is said to have been the first who introduced regular masks. Other writers attribute the invention of masks to Thesuis or Aeschylus, though the latter had probably only the merit of perfecting and completing the whole theatrical apparatus and costume. Some masks covered, like the masks of modern times, only the face, but they appear more generally to have covered the whole head down to the shoulders, for we always find the hair belonging to a mask described as being a part of it; and this must have been the case in tragedy more especially, as it was necessary to make the head correspond to the stature of an actor, which was heightened by the cothurnus. The annexed cut represents the grotesque mask of a Satyr, together with a tragic mask, which are contined in the British Museum. some of the oldest manuscripts of Terence contain representations of Roman masks, and from these manuscripts they have been copied in several modern editions of that poet. The cut annexed contains representations of four of these masks prefixed to the Andria." — Smith, 1873

Persona

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom…

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom arose undoubtedly from the practice of smearing the face with certain juices and colours, and of appearing in disguise, at the festivals of Bacchus. Now as the Greek drama arose out of these festivals, it is highly probable that some mode of disguising the face was as old as the drama itself. Choerilus of Samos, however, is said to have been the first who introduced regular masks. Other writers attribute the invention of masks to Thesuis or Aeschylus, though the latter had probably only the merit of perfecting and completing the whole theatrical apparatus and costume. Some masks covered, like the masks of modern times, only the face, but they appear more generally to have covered the whole head down to the shoulders, for we always find the hair belonging to a mask described as being a part of it; and this must have been the case in tragedy more especially, as it was necessary to make the head correspond to the stature of an actor, which was heightened by the cothurnus. The annexed cut represents the grotesque mask of a Satyr, together with a tragic mask, which are contined in the British Museum. some of the oldest manuscripts of Terence contain representations of Roman masks, and from these manuscripts they have been copied in several modern editions of that poet. The cut annexed contains representations of four of these masks prefixed to the Andria." — Smith, 1873

Persona

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom…

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited extent, it is probable that the Greek bridges were built entirely of wood, or, at best, were nothing more than a wooden platform supported upon stone piers at each extremity. Pliny mentions a bridge over the Acheron 1000 feet in length; and also says that the island Euboea was joined to Boeotia by a bridge; but it is probably that both these works were executed after the Roman conquest. The Romans were the first people who applied the arch to the construction of bridges, by which they were enabled to erect structures of great beauty and solidity, as well as utility. The width of the passage-way in a roman bridge was commonly narrow, as compared with modern structures of the same kind, and corresponded with the road leading to and from it. It was divided into three parts. the centre one, for horses and carriages, was denominated agger or iter; and the raised foot paths on each side decursoria, which were enclosed by parapet walls similar in use and appearance to the pluteus in the basilica." — Smith, 1873

Pons Cestius

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited…

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited extent, it is probable that the Greek bridges were built entirely of wood, or, at best, were nothing more than a wooden platform supported upon stone piers at each extremity. Pliny mentions a bridge over the Acheron 1000 feet in length; and also says that the island Euboea was joined to Boeotia by a bridge; but it is probably that both these works were executed after the Roman conquest. The Romans were the first people who applied the arch to the construction of bridges, by which they were enabled to erect structures of great beauty and solidity, as well as utility. The width of the passage-way in a roman bridge was commonly narrow, as compared with modern structures of the same kind, and corresponded with the road leading to and from it. It was divided into three parts. the centre one, for horses and carriages, was denominated agger or iter; and the raised foot paths on each side decursoria, which were enclosed by parapet walls similar in use and appearance to the pluteus in the basilica." — Smith, 1873

Pons Aelius

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited…

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited extent, it is probable that the Greek bridges were built entirely of wood, or, at best, were nothing more than a wooden platform supported upon stone piers at each extremity. Pliny mentions a bridge over the Acheron 1000 feet in length; and also says that the island Euboea was joined to Boeotia by a bridge; but it is probably that both these works were executed after the Roman conquest. The Romans were the first people who applied the arch to the construction of bridges, by which they were enabled to erect structures of great beauty and solidity, as well as utility. The width of the passage-way in a roman bridge was commonly narrow, as compared with modern structures of the same kind, and corresponded with the road leading to and from it. It was divided into three parts. the centre one, for horses and carriages, was denominated agger or iter; and the raised foot paths on each side decursoria, which were enclosed by parapet walls similar in use and appearance to the pluteus in the basilica." — Smith, 1873

Pons Ariminum

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited…

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited extent, it is probable that the Greek bridges were built entirely of wood, or, at best, were nothing more than a wooden platform supported upon stone piers at each extremity. Pliny mentions a bridge over the Acheron 1000 feet in length; and also says that the island Euboea was joined to Boeotia by a bridge; but it is probably that both these works were executed after the Roman conquest. The Romans were the first people who applied the arch to the construction of bridges, by which they were enabled to erect structures of great beauty and solidity, as well as utility. The width of the passage-way in a roman bridge was commonly narrow, as compared with modern structures of the same kind, and corresponded with the road leading to and from it. It was divided into three parts. the centre one, for horses and carriages, was denominated agger or iter; and the raised foot paths on each side decursoria, which were enclosed by parapet walls similar in use and appearance to the pluteus in the basilica." — Smith, 1873

Pons Trajan

"A bridge. As the rivers of Greece were small, and the use of the arch known to them only to a limited…

"Puteal, properly means the enclosure surrounding the opening of a well, to protect persons from falling into it. It was either round or square, and seems usually to have been of the height of three or four feet from the ground. It was the practice in some cases to surround a sacred place with an enclosure open at the top, and such enclosres, from the great similarity they bore to putealia, were called by this name. there were two such places in the Roman forum; one of these was called Puteal Libonis or Scribonianum, because a chapel in that place had been struck by lightning, and Scribonius Libo expiated it by proper ceremonies, and erected a puteal around it, open at the top, to preserve the memory of the place. The form of the puteal is preserved on several coins of the Scribonian gens. This puteal seems to have been near the atrium of Vesta, and was a common place of meeting for usurers. The other puteal was in the comitium, on the left side of the senate-house, and in it were deposited the whetstone and razor of Attus Navius." — Smith, 1873

Puteal

"Puteal, properly means the enclosure surrounding the opening of a well, to protect persons from falling…

"Signa Militaria, military ensigns or standards. The most ancient standard employed by the Romans is said to have been a handful of straw fixed to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to it was called Manipulus. The bundle of hay or fern was soon succeeded by the figures of animals, viz. the eagle, the wolf, the minotaur, the horse, and the boar. These appear to have corresponded to the five divisions of the Roman army." — Smith, 1873

Signa Militaria

"Signa Militaria, military ensigns or standards. The most ancient standard employed by the Romans is…

"Spira, the base of a column. in the Tuscan and the Roman Doric the base consisted of a single torus, sometimes surmounted by an astragal. In the Ionic and Attic it commonly consisted of two tori, divided by a scotia, and in the Corinthian of two tori divided by two scotiae. The upper torus was often fluted, and surmounted by an astragal, as in the left-hand figure of the following wood-cut, which shows the form of the base in the Ionic or Attic temple of Panops on the Ilissus. The right-hand figure in the same wood-cut shows the corresponding part in the temple of Minerva Polias at Athens. In this the upper torus is wrought with a platted ornament, perhaps designed to represent a robe or cable." — Smith, 1873

Spira

"Spira, the base of a column. in the Tuscan and the Roman Doric the base consisted of a single torus,…

"A Greek measure of length, and the chief one used for itinerary distances. It was equal to 600 Greek or 625 Roman feet, or to 125 Roman paces; and the roman mile contained 8 stadia. Hence the stadiura contained 600 feet 9 inches English. This standard prvailed throughout Greece, under the name of the Olympic stadium, so called because it was the exact length of the stadium or footrace course at Olympia, measured between the pillars at the two extremities of the course. The first use of the measure seems to be contemporaneous with the formation of the stadium at Olympia when the Olympic games were revived by Iphitus." — Smith, 1873

Stadium

"A Greek measure of length, and the chief one used for itinerary distances. It was equal to 600 Greek…

A Roman soldier

Soldier

A Roman soldier

A Roman soldier

Soldier

A Roman soldier

A Roman soldier

Soldier

A Roman soldier

How Horatius kept the bridge

Horatius

How Horatius kept the bridge

Roman soldier with short trousers.

Trousers

Roman soldier with short trousers.

A type of fancy roman architecture.

Chevron Molding

A type of fancy roman architecture.

A Roman boat

Roman Boat

A Roman boat

A Roman Galley with three banks of oars.

Roman Galley

A Roman Galley with three banks of oars.

A receptacle for the chrism, or holy oil, used in the services or the Roman Catholic and Eastern Churches.

Chrismatory

A receptacle for the chrism, or holy oil, used in the services or the Roman Catholic and Eastern Churches.

"Represents a Roman augur, with his litmus or divining staff, observing the signs in the heavens." — Anthon, 1891

Roman augur

"Represents a Roman augur, with his litmus or divining staff, observing the signs in the heavens." —…

A statue of Minerva, with a serpent depicted at the goddesses' feet.

Minerva

A statue of Minerva, with a serpent depicted at the goddesses' feet.

"The following cut represents a Roman clypeus, from the column of Trajan. The projection in the centre was called the <em>umbo</em>, or boss, and sometimes a spike or other prominent excrescence, was placed upon this." — Anthon, 1891

Roman Clypeus

"The following cut represents a Roman clypeus, from the column of Trajan. The projection in the centre…

A ornate Roman engraving.

Roman engraving

A ornate Roman engraving.

A tall stone structure.

Roman edifice

A tall stone structure.

"The cestus was used by boxers from the earliest times. It consisted of thongs of raw ox-hide, or of leather, tied round the hands of pugilists, in order to render their blows more powerful. Sometimes these bands were tied round the arms as high as the elbow." &mdash; Anthon, 1891

Boxer with cestus

"The cestus was used by boxers from the earliest times. It consisted of thongs of raw ox-hide, or of…

"Syrinx, the Pan's pipe, or Pandean pipe, was the appropriate musical instrument of the Arcadian and other Grecian shepherds, and was regarded by them as the invention of Pan, their tutelary god. When the Roman poets had occasion to mention it, they called it fistula. It was formed in general of seven hollow stems of cane or reed, fitted together by means of wax, having been previously cut to the proper lengths, and adjusted so as to form an octave; but sometimes nine were admitted, giving an equal number of notes." &mdash Smith; 1873

Syrinx

"Syrinx, the Pan's pipe, or Pandean pipe, was the appropriate musical instrument of the Arcadian and…

"There appears to have been no essential difference in form between Greek and Roman or Tyrrhenian trumpets. Both were long, straight, bronze tubes, gradually increasing in diameter, and terminating in a bell-shaped aperture." &mdash; Anthon, 1891

Roman trumpet

"There appears to have been no essential difference in form between Greek and Roman or Tyrrhenian trumpets.…

A Roman chariot.

Chariot

A Roman chariot.

"According to the ancient authorities, it was made of bronze, and its form was oval, but with the two sides receding inward with an even curvature, and so as to make it broader at the ends than in the middle. The original ancile was said to have fallen from the skies in the time of Numa. To secure its preservation, Numa ordered eleven other shields to be made exactly like it. These twelve <em>ancilia</em> were kept in the temple of Mars Gradivus, and were taken from it only once a year, on the kalends of March. The feast of the god was then observed during several days; when the Salii, or priests of Mars, twelve in number, carried the sacred shields about the city, singing songs in praise of Mars, Numa, and Mamurius Veturius, who made the eleven. They at the same time performed a dance, in which they struck the shield with rods, so as to keep time with their voices and with the movements of the dance." &mdash; Anthon, 1891

Ancilia

"According to the ancient authorities, it was made of bronze, and its form was oval, but with the two…

"Tunica, an under-garment. Roman. The Tunica of the Romans, like the Greek chiton, was a woollen under garment, over which the toga was worn. It was the Indumentum of Indulus, as opposed to the Amictus, the general term for the toga, pallium, or any other outer garment. The Romans are said to have had no other clothing originally but the toga; and when the tunic was first introduced, it was merely a short garment without sleeves, and was called Colobrium. It was considered a mark of effeminacy for men to wear tunics with long sleeves and reaching the feet." &mdash; Smith; 1873

Tunica

"Tunica, an under-garment. Roman. The Tunica of the Romans, like the Greek chiton, was a woollen under…

The armor worn by ancient Roman emperors and generals.

Roman soldier

The armor worn by ancient Roman emperors and generals.

"Vestaes, the virgin priestesses of Vesta, who ministered in her temple and watched the eternal fire. Their existence at Alba Longa is connected with the earliest Roman traditions, for silva the mother of Romulus was a member of the sisterhood; their establishment in the city, in common with almost all other matters connected with state religion, is generally ascribed to Numa, who selected four, two from the Titienses and two from the Rames; and two more were subsequently added from the Luceres, by Tarquinius Priscus according to one authority, by Servius Tullius according to another. This number of six remained unchanged to the latest times." &mdash Smith; 1873

Vestales

"Vestaes, the virgin priestesses of Vesta, who ministered in her temple and watched the eternal fire.…

"Umbraculum, Umbella, a parasol, was used by Greek and Roman ladies as a protection against the sun. They seem not to have been carried generally by the ladies themselves, but by female slaves who held them over their mistresses. The daughters of the aliens at Athens had to carry parasols after the Athenian maidens at the Panathenaea, as is mentioned under Hydriaphoria. The parasols of the ancients seem to have been exactly like our own parasols or umbrellas in form, and could be shut up and opened like ours." &mdash; Smith; 1873

Umbraculum

"Umbraculum, Umbella, a parasol, was used by Greek and Roman ladies as a protection against the sun.…

"The sagum was open in the front, and usually fastened across the shoulders by a clasp. The form of the sagum worn by the northern nations of Europe may be seen in the following cut from the column of Trajan, representing three Sarmatians with saga." &mdash; Anthon, 1891

Sagum

"The sagum was open in the front, and usually fastened across the shoulders by a clasp. The form of…

"The apex was a cap worn by the Flamines and Salii at Rome." — Anthon, 1891

Apex

"The apex was a cap worn by the Flamines and Salii at Rome." — Anthon, 1891

"Amphitheatre at Rome." &mdash; Goodrich, 1844

Roman amphitheatre

"Amphitheatre at Rome." — Goodrich, 1844

"All histories of England commence with the invasion of Julius Caesar, the earliest event in that quarter of which we have any authentic account. The Island of Britain was an unknown region to the Romans, and nearly so to the rest of mankind, at the period when Caesar's conquests had reduced the greater part of Gaul to the Roman government. Britain, lying within sight of the northern shores of Gaul, attracted his notice, and he began to meditate schemes of conquest." &mdash; Goodrich, 1844

Caesar in England

"All histories of England commence with the invasion of Julius Caesar, the earliest event in that quarter…

"One of the most extraordinary events in the history of England is that commonly known by the name of the gunpowder Treason and plot; in which case the king and parliament of England had a narrow escape, by a singular accident, from a diabolical scheme of destruction. This plot was the work of a small number of fanatical Roman Catholics, who undertook to wreak their revenge on James the First and his government for not showing indulgence to their religion." &mdash; Goodrich, 1844

Guy Fawkes and his associates

"One of the most extraordinary events in the history of England is that commonly known by the name of…

The Colosseum in Rome.

Colosseum

The Colosseum in Rome.

A private booth in a Roman Catholic church to confess to a priest.

Confessional

A private booth in a Roman Catholic church to confess to a priest.

A Roman soldier.

Roman soldier

A Roman soldier.

The front of a roman coin.

Roman Coin

The front of a roman coin.

The back of a roman coin.

Roman Coin

The back of a roman coin.

A Roman coin.

Roman coin

A Roman coin.

A Roman coin.

Roman coin

A Roman coin.

"Roman Battle Ship." — Greenough, 1899

Roman Ship

"Roman Battle Ship." — Greenough, 1899

"Roman Transports." &mdash; Greenough, 1899

Roman Transports

"Roman Transports." — Greenough, 1899