In ancient Roman culture , felicitas (from the Latin adjective felix , "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness . Felicitas could encompass both a woman's fertility and a general's luck or good fortune. The divine personification of Felicitas was cultivated as a goddess. Although felicitas may be translated as "good luck," and the goddess Felicitas shares some characteristics and attributes with Fortuna , the two were distinguished in Roman religion . Fortuna was unpredictable and her effects could be negative, as the existence of an altar to Mala Fortuna ("Bad Luck") acknowledges. Felicitas, however, always had a positive significance. She appears with several epithets that focus on aspects of her divine power.
130-660: Felicitas had a temple in Rome as early as the mid-2nd century BC, and during the Republican era was honored at two official festivals of Roman state religion , on July 1 in conjunction with Juno and October 9 as Fausta Felicitas . Felicitas continued to play an important role in Imperial cult , and was frequently portrayed on coins as a symbol of the wealth and prosperity of the Roman Empire . Her primary attributes are
260-911: A byname , is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great , Suleiman the Magnificent , Richard the Lionheart , and Ladislaus the Short , or allusive , as in Edward the Confessor , William the Conqueror , Æthelred the Unready , John Lackland , Mehmed
390-616: A great victory for Metellus. Rome then besieged the last Carthaginian strongholds in Sicily, Lilybaeum and Drepana , but these cities were impregnable by land. Publius Claudius Pulcher , the consul of 249, recklessly tried to take the latter from the sea, but suffered a terrible defeat ; his colleague Lucius Junius Pullus likewise lost his fleet off Lilybaeum . Without the corvus , Roman warships had lost their advantage. By now, both sides were drained and could not undertake large-scale operations. The only military activity during this period
520-477: A call for help from Syracuse, where tyrant Thoenon was desperately fighting an invasion from Carthage . Pyrrhus could not let them take the whole island, as it would have compromised his ambitions in the western Mediterranean, and so declared war. The Carthaginians lifted the siege of Syracuse before his arrival, but he could not entirely oust them from the island as he failed to take their fortress of Lilybaeum . His harsh rule soon led to widespread antipathy among
650-424: A focus on epithet as a smear word,' writes David Binder, my longtime Times colleague, 'which was still a synonym for 'delineation' or 'characterization' in my big 1942 Webster's but now seems to be almost exclusively a synonym for 'derogation' or 'smear word.' ... In the past century, [epithet] blossomed as 'a word of abuse,' today gleefully seized upon to describe political smears." Descriptive bynames were given to
780-569: A garrison in Tarentum, to wage a new campaign in Greece against Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia . His death in battle at Argos in 272 BC forced Tarentum to surrender to Rome. Rome and Carthage were initially on friendly terms, lastly in an alliance against Pyrrhus, but tensions rapidly rose after the departure of the Epirote king. Between 288 and 283 BC, Messina in Sicily was taken by
910-405: A glorified nickname or sobriquet , and for this reason some linguists have argued that they should be considered as pronouns . It has also been argued that epithets are a phenomenon with the syntax–semantics interface , because they have components of both, and also a pragmatic dimension. An epithet is linked to its noun by long-established usage. Not every adjective is an epithet. An epithet
1040-440: A later source. Cato says that a lustrum should be found to have produced felicitas "if the crops had filled up the storehouses if the vintage had been abundant if the olive oil had flowed deliberately from the groves", regardless of whatever else might have occurred. The efficacy of a ritual might be thus expressed as its felicitas. The ability to promote felicitas became proof of one's excellence and divine favor. Felicitas
1170-517: A long-lasting alliance with Rome. In 262 BC, the Romans moved to the southern coast and besieged Akragas . In order to raise the siege, Carthage sent reinforcements, including 60 elephants—the first time they used them—but still lost the battle . Nevertheless, Rome could not take all of Sicily because Carthage's naval superiority prevented it from effectively besieging coastal cities. Using a captured Carthaginian ship as blueprint, Rome therefore launched
1300-433: A massive construction program and built 100 quinqueremes in only two months. It also invented a new device, the corvus , a grappling engine that enabled a crew to board an enemy ship. The consul for 260 BC, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina , lost the first naval skirmish of the war against Hannibal Gisco at Lipara , but his colleague Gaius Duilius won a great victory at Mylae . He destroyed or captured 44 ships and
1430-485: A modifier from the animate to the inanimate; for example, "cheerful money" and "suicidal sky". Orators take special care when using epithets so as to not use them as smear words. Orators could be accused of racial or abusive epithets if used incorrectly. American journalist William Safire discussed the use of the word in a 2008 column in The New York Times : "'I am working on a piece about nationalism with
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#17327872018091560-520: A person to distinguish them from other people of the same name. In England bynames were used during the period when the use of surnames had not been extensively adopted. As an example the Domesday Book of 1086 identifies 40 individuals with the given name of "Richard". Most (40%), such as "Richard of Coursey" are identified with a locational byname, indicating where they came from, or in some cases where they lived. Others (25%), such as "Richard
1690-422: A persuasive tactic. Orators have a variety of epithets that they can employ that have different meanings. The most common are fixed epithets and transferred epithets. A fixed epithet is the repetitive use of the same word or phrase for the same person or object. A transferred epithet qualifies a noun other than the person or thing it is describing. This is also known as a hypallage. This can often involve shifting
1820-467: A reference to the mythological place of birth or numinous presence at a specific sanctuary: sacrifice might be offered on one and the same occasion to Pythian Apollo ( Apollo Pythios ) and Delphic Apollo ( Apollo Delphinios ). A localizing epithet refers simply to a particular center of veneration and the cultic tradition there, as the god manifested at a particular festival, for example: Zeus Olympios, Zeus as present at Olympia, or Apollo Karneios, Apollo at
1950-433: A renewed effort to tackle indebtedness; required the election of at least one plebeian consul each year; and prohibited magistrates from holding the same magistracy for the next ten years or two magistracies in the same year. In 339 BC, the plebeian consul and dictator Quintus Publilius Philo passed three laws extending the plebeians' powers. His first law followed the lex Genucia by reserving one censorship to plebeians,
2080-504: A result of the end of the patrician monopoly on senior magistracies, many small patrician gentes faded into history during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC due to the lack of available positions. About a dozen remaining patrician gentes and 20 plebeian ones thus formed a new elite, called the nobiles , or Nobilitas . By the early 3rd century BC, Rome had established itself as the major power in Italy, but had not yet come into conflict with
2210-660: A sacrifice in Capitolio, on the Capitoline Hill , on the latter date as Fausta Felicitas in conjunction with the Genius Publicus ("Public Genius ") and Venus Victrix . These observances probably took place at an altar or small shrine ( aedicula ) , not a separate temple precinct . The Acts of the Arval Brothers (1st century AD) prescribe a cow as the sacrifice for Felicitas. Pompey established
2340-701: A shrine for Felicitas at his new theater and temple complex , which used the steps to the Temple of Venus Victrix as seating. Felicitas was cultivated with Honor and Virtue, and she may have shared her shrine there with Victory , as she did in the Imperial era as Felicitas Caesaris (Caesar's Felicitas ) at Ameria . Pompey's collocation of deities may have been intended to parallel the Capitoline grouping. A fourth cult site for Felicitas in Rome had been planned by Caesar, and possibly begun before his death. Work on
2470-531: A significant defeat at the Battle of the Cremera in 477 BC, wherein it fought against the most important Etruscan city, Veii ; this defeat was later avenged at the Battle of Veii in 396 BC, wherein Rome destroyed the city. By the end of this period, Rome had effectively completed the conquest of its immediate Etruscan and Latin neighbours and secured its position against the immediate threat posed by
2600-708: A similar revolt in Sardinia to seize the island from Carthage, in violation of the peace treaty. This led to permanent bitterness in Carthage. After its victory, the Republic shifted its attention to its northern border as the Insubres and Boii were threatening Italy. Meanwhile, Carthage compensated the loss of Sicily and Sardinia with the conquest of Southern Hispania (up to Salamanca ), and its rich silver mines. This rapid expansion worried Rome, which concluded
2730-704: A stalemate, with the Treaty of Phoenice signed in 205. In Hispania, Scipio continued his successful campaign at the battles of Carmona in 207, and Ilipa (now Seville ) in 206, which ended the Punic threat on the peninsula. Elected consul in 205, he convinced the Senate to invade Africa with the support of the Numidian king Masinissa , who had defected to Rome. Scipio landed in Africa in 204. He took Utica and then won
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#17327872018092860-529: A temple or public altar were featured on coins, among them Felicitas. On the only extant Republican coin type, Felicitas appears as a bust and wearing a diadem . A calendar from Cumae records that a supplicatio was celebrated on April 16 for the Felicitas of the Empire, in honor of the day Augustus was first acclaimed imperator . In extant Roman coinage, Felicitas appears with a caduceus only during
2990-714: A third term in 121 but was defeated. During violent protests over repeal of an ally's colonisation bill, the Senate moved the first senatus consultum ultimum against him, resulting in his death, with many others, on the Aventine. His legislation (like that of his brother) survived; the Roman aristocracy disliked the Gracchan agitation but accepted their policies. Epithet An epithet (from Ancient Greek ἐπίθετον (epítheton) 'adjective', from ἐπίθετος (epíthetos) 'additional'), also
3120-680: A treaty with Hasdrubal in 226, stating that Carthage could not cross the Ebro river . But the city of Saguntum , south of the Ebro, appealed to Rome in 220 to act as arbitrator during a period of internal strife . Hannibal took the city in 219, triggering the Second Punic War. Initially, the Republic's plan was to carry war outside Italy, sending the consuls P. Cornelius Scipio to Hispania and Ti. Sempronius Longus to Africa, while their naval superiority prevented Carthage from attacking from
3250-450: Is " Apollo , [as] leader of the Muses " and therefore patron of the arts and sciences, while Phoibos Apollo is the same deity, but as shining sun-god. " Athena protects the city as polias , oversees handicrafts as ergane , joins battle as promachos and grants victory as nike ." Alternatively, the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god, such as
3380-687: Is also sometimes called antonomasia , as a Cicero for an orator. The use of a father's name or ancestor's name, such as "Pelides" in the case of Achilles, or "Saturnia" in the case of the goddess Juno in Virgil's Aeneid , is specifically called a patronymic device and is in its own class of epithet. In William Shakespeare 's play Romeo and Juliet , epithets are used in the prologue, such as "star-cross'd lovers" and "death-mark'd love." Epithets were in layman's terms glorified nicknames that could be used to represent one's style, artistic nature, or even geographical reference. They originated to simply serve
3510-417: Is especially recognizable when its function is largely decorative, such as if "cloud-gathering Zeus" is employed other than in reference to conjuring up a storm. "The epithets are decorative insofar as they are neither essential to the immediate context nor modeled especially for it. Among other things, they are extremely helpful to fill out a half-verse", Walter Burkert has noted. Some epithets are known by
3640-570: Is indicated by the inscription Hic habitat Felicitas ("Felicitas dwells here") on an apotropaic relief of a phallus at a bakery in Pompeii . In archaic Roman culture, felicitas was a quality expressing the close bonds between religion and agriculture . Felicitas was at issue when the suovetaurilia sacrifice conducted by Cato the Elder as censor in 184 BC was challenged as having been unproductive, perhaps for vitium , ritual error. In
3770-566: Is powerful when she is merciful" (potens misericors publica est Felicitas) . Epithets of Felicitas include: The cult of Felicitas is first recorded in the mid-2nd century BC, when a temple was dedicated to her by Lucius Licinius Lucullus , grandfather of the famous Lucullus , using booty from his military campaigns in Spain in 151–150 BC. Predecessor to a noted connoisseur of art, Lucullus obtained and dedicated several statues looted by Mummius from Greece , including works by Praxiteles :
3900-487: Is said to have sided with the plebeians, ruined by the sack and largely indebted to patricians. According to Livy, Capitolinus sold his estate to repay the debt of many of them, and even went over to the plebs, the first patrician to do so. Nevertheless, the growing unrest he had caused led to his trial for seeking kingly power; he was sentenced to death and thrown from the Tarpeian Rock . Between 376 BC and 367 BC,
4030-576: The epitheton Comes as companion of another (usually major) divinity. An epithet can even be meant for collective use, e.g., in Latin pilleati , "the felt hat-wearers" for the brothers Castor and Pollux . Some epithets resist explanation. Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Christians of other churches practice the use of epithets in the veneration of Jesus (e.g., "Christ"; " Prince of Peace "; " The Good Shepherd "), of Mary, Mother of Jesus (e.g., " Mother of God "; " Panagia "), and of
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4160-610: The Aqua Appia , and the first Roman road, the Via Appia . In 300 BC, the two tribunes of the plebs Gnaeus and Quintus Ogulnius passed the lex Ogulnia , which created four plebeian pontiffs, equalling the number of patrician pontiffs, and five plebeian augurs, outnumbering the four patricians in the college. The Conflict of the Orders ended with the last secession of the plebs around 287. The dictator Quintus Hortensius passed
4290-543: The Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and the Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian as Augustus in 27 BC—which effectively made him the first Roman emperor —marked the end of the Republic. Rome had been ruled by monarchs since its foundation . These monarchs were elected, for life, by the men of the Roman Senate . The last Roman monarch was called Tarquin the Proud , who in traditional histories
4420-455: The Battle of Bovianum in 305 BC. By 304 BC, Rome had annexed most Samnite territory and begun to establish colonies there, but in 298 BC the Samnites rebelled, and defeated a Roman army, in a Third Samnite War . After this success, it built a coalition of several previous enemies of Rome. The war ended with Roman victory in 290 BC. At the Battle of Populonia , in 282 BC, Rome finished off
4550-810: The Battle of Zama in 202 BC, becoming the dominant power of the ancient Mediterranean world. It then embarked on a long series of difficult conquests, defeating Philip V and Perseus of Macedon , Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire , the Lusitanian Viriathus , the Numidian Jugurtha , the Pontic king Mithridates VI , Vercingetorix of the Arverni tribe of Gaul , and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra . At home, during
4680-469: The Battle of the Great Plains , which prompted Carthage to open peace negotiations. The talks failed because Scipio wanted to impose harsher terms on Carthage to prevent it from rising again as a threat. Hannibal was therefore sent to face Scipio at Zama . Scipio could now use the heavy Numidian cavalry of Massinissa—which had hitherto been so successful against Rome—to rout the Punic wings, then flank
4810-630: The Campus Martius , along a route associated with triumphs : the axle of Julius Caesar 's triumphal chariot in 46 BC is supposed to have broken in front of it. The temple was destroyed by a fire during the reign of Claudius , though the Muses were rescued. It was not rebuilt at this site. Sulla identified himself so closely with the quality of felicitcas that he adopted the agnomen (nickname) Felix. His domination as dictator resulted from civil war and unprecedented military violence within
4940-586: The Capitol , and Sulla thus established an important theological element for the later authority of the emperor. Although he established no new temple for Felicitas, he venerated her with a Ludi circenses to close the Sullan Victory games on the Kalends of November, and Ovid writes of a lavish prosperity feast day for Felicitas which he celebrated thereafter. On July 1 and October 9, Felicitas received
5070-625: The Conflict of the Orders , the patricians , the closed oligarchic elite, came into conflict with the more numerous plebs ; this was resolved peacefully, with the plebs achieving political equality by the 4th century BC. The late Republic, from 133 BC onward, saw substantial domestic strife , often anachronistically seen as a conflict between optimates and populares , referring to conservative and reformist politicians, respectively. The Social War between Rome and its Italian allies over citizenship and Roman hegemony in Italy greatly expanded
5200-594: The Cornelii , Aemilii , Claudii , Fabii , and Valerii . The leading families' power, privilege and influence derived from their wealth, in particular from their landholdings, their position as patrons , and their numerous clients. The vast majority of Roman citizens were commoners of various social degrees. They formed the backbone of Rome's economy, as smallholding farmers, managers, artisans, traders, and tenants. In wartime, they could be summoned for military service. Most had little direct political influence. During
5330-486: The Mamertines , a band of mercenaries formerly employed by Agathocles . They plundered the surroundings until Hiero II , the new tyrant of Syracuse , defeated them (in either 269 or 265 BC). In effect under a Carthaginian protectorate, the remaining Mamertines appealed to Rome to regain their independence. Senators were divided on whether to help. A supporter of war, the consul Appius Claudius Caudex , turned to one of
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5460-513: The Pax Romana , with themes such as Felicitas Temporum and Felicitas Saeculi, "Prosperity of the Age" ( saeculum ) , prevalent in the years 200 to 202. Some Imperial coins use these phrases with images of women and children in the emperor's family. When the Empire came under Christian rule, the personified virtues that had been cultivated as deities could be treated as abstract concepts, though
5590-591: The Seleucid Empire made increasingly aggressive and successful attempts to conquer the entire Greek world. Now not only Rome's allies against Philip, but even Philip himself, sought a Roman alliance against the Seleucids. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that Hannibal was now a chief military advisor to the Seleucid emperor, and the two were believed to be planning outright conquest not just of Greece, but also of Rome. The Seleucids were much stronger than
5720-545: The Seleucid Empire . In 202, internal problems led to a weakening of Egypt's position, disrupting the power balance among the successor states. Macedonia and the Seleucid Empire agreed to an alliance to conquer and divide Egypt. Fearing this increasingly unstable situation, several small Greek kingdoms sent delegations to Rome to seek an alliance. Rome gave Philip an ultimatum to cease his campaigns against Rome's new Greek allies. Doubting Rome's strength, Philip ignored
5850-636: The Thespiades, a statue group of the Muses brought from Thespiae , and a Venus . This Temple of Felicitas was among several that had a secondary function as art museums, and was recommended by Cicero along with the Temple of Fortuna Huiusce Diei for those who enjoyed viewing art but lacked the means to amass private collections. The temple was located in the Velabrum in the Vicus Tuscus of
5980-789: The caduceus and cornucopia . The English word "felicity" derives from felicitas. In its religious sense, felix means "blessed, under the protection or favour of the gods; happy." That which is felix has achieved the pax divom , a state of harmony or peace with the divine world. The word derives from Indo-European *dhe(i)l, meaning "happy, fruitful, productive, full of nourishment." Related Latin words include femina , "woman" (a person who provides nourishment or suckles); felo , "to suckle" in regard to an infant; filius , "son" (a person suckled); and probably fello, fellare , "to perform fellatio ", with an originally non-sexual meaning of "to suck". The continued magical association of sexual potency, increase, and general good fortune in productivity
6110-427: The lex Hortensia , which reenacted the law of 339 BC, making plebiscites binding on all citizens, while also removing the requirement for prior Senate approval. These events were a political victory of the wealthy plebeian elite, who exploited the economic difficulties of the plebs for their own gain: Stolo, Lateranus, and Genucius bound their bills attacking patricians' political supremacy with debt-relief measures. As
6240-460: The Boii ambushed the army of the consul-elect for 215, L. Postumius Albinus , who died with all his army of 25,000 men in the Battle of Silva Litana . These disasters triggered a wave of defection among Roman allies, with the rebellions of the Samnites, Oscans, Lucanians, and Greek cities of Southern Italy. In Macedonia, Philip V also made an alliance with Hannibal in order to take Illyria and
6370-512: The Conqueror and Bloody Mary . The word epithet also may refer to an abusive, defamatory, or derogatory word or phrase. This use is criticized by Martin Manser and other proponents of linguistic prescription . H. W. Fowler noted in 1926 that " epithet is suffering a vulgarization that is giving it an abusive imputation." Epithets are sometimes attached to a person's name or appear in place of their name, as what might be described as
6500-549: The Great , he was eager to build an empire for himself in the western Mediterranean and saw Tarentum's plea as a perfect opportunity. Pyrrhus and his army of 25,500 men (with 20 war elephants) landed in Italy in 280 BC. The Romans were defeated at Heraclea , as their cavalry were afraid of Pyrrhus's elephants. Pyrrhus then marched on Rome, but the Romans concluded a peace in the north and moved south with reinforcements, placing Pyrrhus in danger of being flanked by two consular armies; Pyrrhus withdrew to Tarentum. In 279 BC, Pyrrhus met
6630-514: The Heavenly & Zeus the Protector of Guests" all the way to " Johnny Football & King James". American comic books tend to give epithets to superheroes , such as The Phantom being "The Ghost Who Walks", Superman called "The Man of Steel", and "The Dynamic Duo" Batman and Robin , who are individually known as "The Dark Knight" and "The Boy Wonder". Additionally, epíteto ,
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#17327872018096760-541: The Imperial period. The earliest known example is Felicitas Publica on a dupondius issued under Galba . Felicitas Temporum ("Prosperity of the Times"), reflecting a Golden Age ideology, was among the innovative virtues that began to appear during the reigns of Trajan and Antoninus Pius . Septimius Severus , whose reign followed the exceedingly brief tenure of Pertinax and unsatisfactory conditions under Commodus , used coinage to express his efforts toward restoring
6890-611: The Latin term epitheton necessarium , as they are required to distinguish the bearers, as an alternative to numbers after a prince's name—such as Richard the Lionheart ( Richard I of England ), or Charles the Fat alongside Charles the Bald . The same epithet can be used repeatedly joined to different names, such as Alexander the Great as well as Constantine the Great . Other epithets can easily be omitted without serious risk of confusion and are therefore known as epitheton ornans . Thus,
7020-476: The Macedonians had ever been, because they controlled much of the former Persian Empire and had almost entirely reassembled Alexander the Great's former empire. Fearing the worst, the Romans began a major mobilization, all but pulling out of recently conquered Spain and Gaul. This fear was shared by Rome's Greek allies, who now followed Rome again for the first time since that war. A major Roman-Greek force
7150-640: The Olympian Gods with Zeus . But in specific cults there may be a different equation, based on one specific aspect of the divinity. Thus, the Greek word Trismegistos ("thrice grand") was first used as a Greek name for the Egyptian god of science and invention, Thoth , later as an epitheton for the Greek Hermes and, finally, the fully equated Roman Mercurius Mercury (both were messenger of
7280-455: The Punic army—and confronted Hannibal, who was encamped at Cannae , in Apulia . Despite his numerical disadvantage, Hannibal used his heavier cavalry to rout the Roman wings and envelop their infantry, which he annihilated. In terms of casualties, the Battle of Cannae was the worst defeat in Roman history: only 14,500 soldiers escaped, and Paullus was killed as well as 80 senators. Soon after,
7410-712: The Rhone, sent his elder brother Gnaeus with the main part of his army in Hispania according to the initial plan, and went back to Italy with the rest to resist Hannibal in Italy, but he was defeated and wounded near the Ticino river . Hannibal then marched south and won three outstanding victories. The first one was on the banks of the Trebia in December 218, where he defeated the other consul Ti. Sempronius Longus. More than half
7540-447: The Roman Empire, throughout the republican era Rome was in a state of near-perpetual war. Its first enemies were its Latin and Etruscan neighbours, as well as the Gauls , who sacked Rome in 387 BC. After the Gallic sack, Rome conquered the whole Italian Peninsula in a century and thus became a major power in the Mediterranean. Its greatest strategic rival was Carthage , against which it waged three wars . Rome defeated Carthage at
7670-425: The Roman army was lost. Hannibal then ravaged the country around Arretium to lure the new consul C. Flaminius into a trap at Lake Trasimene . This clever ambush resulted in the death of the consul and the complete destruction of his army of 30,000 men. In 216, the new consuls L. Aemilius Paullus and C. Terentius Varro mustered the biggest army possible, with eight legions—some 80,000 soldiers, twice as many as
7800-415: The Romans' inability to conceive of plausible alternatives to the traditional republican system in a "crisis without alternative". The second instead stresses the continuity of the republic: until its disruption by Caesar's civil war and the following two decades of civil war created conditions for autocratic rule and made return to republican politics impossible: and, per Erich S. Gruen , "civil war caused
7930-412: The Sicilians; some cities even defected to Carthage. In 275 BC, Pyrrhus left the island before he had to face a full-scale rebellion. He returned to Italy, where his Samnite allies were on the verge of losing the war. Pyrrhus again met the Romans at the Battle of Beneventum . This time, the consul Manius Dentatus was victorious and even captured eight elephants. Pyrrhus then withdrew from Italy, but left
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#17327872018098060-433: The Spanish version of epithet, is commonly used throughout poems in Castilian literature. In many polytheistic religions, such as those of ancient India and Iran (the most ancient of which go back to a common Indo-Iranian period), Greece and Rome, a deity's epithets generally reflected a particular aspect of that god's essence and role, for which their influence may be obtained for a specific occasion: Apollo Musagetes
8190-458: The Spartan Carneian festival . Often the epithet is the result of fusion of the Olympian divinity with an older one. Poseidon Erechtheus and Artemis Orthia reflect intercultural equations of a divinity with an older one that is generally considered its pendan. Thus, most Roman gods and goddesses, especially the Twelve Olympians , had traditional counterparts in Greek, Etruscan, and most other Mediterranean pantheons, such as Jupiter as head of
8320-487: The Spartan general marched on Regulus, crushing the Roman infantry on the Bagradas plain ; only 2,000 soldiers escaped, and Regulus was captured. The consuls for 255 nonetheless won a naval victory at Cape Hermaeum, where they captured 114 warships. This success was spoilt by a storm that annihilated the victorious navy: 184 ships of 264 sank, 25,000 soldiers and 75,000 rowers drowned. The corvus considerably hindered ships' navigation and made them vulnerable during tempest. It
8450-464: The abusive treatment of plebeian debtors by the wealthy during a famine. The patrician Senate was compelled to give them direct access to the written civil and religious laws and to the electoral and political process. To represent their interests, the plebs elected tribunes , who were personally sacrosanct, immune to arbitrary arrest by any magistrate, and had veto power over legislation. By 390 BC, several Gallic tribes were invading Italy from
8580-407: The aftermath of the Social War. In the winter of 138–137 BC, a first slave uprising, known as the First Servile War , broke out in Sicily. After initial successes, the slaves led by Eunus and Cleon were defeated by Marcus Perperna and Publius Rupilius in 132 BC. In this context, Tiberius Gracchus was elected plebeian tribune in 133 BC. He attempted to enact a law to limit
8710-423: The agreement when Philip's emissaries were captured by a Roman fleet. The First Macedonian War saw the Romans involved directly in only limited land operations, but they achieved their objective of occupying Philip and preventing him from aiding Hannibal. The past century had seen the Greek world dominated by the three primary successor kingdoms of Alexander the Great 's empire: Ptolemaic Egypt , Macedonia and
8840-427: The amount of land anyone could own and establish a commission to distribute public lands to poor rural plebs. The aristocrats, who stood to lose an enormous amount of money, bitterly opposed this proposal. Tiberius submitted this law to the Plebeian Council , but it was vetoed by fellow tribune Marcus Octavius . Tiberius induced the plebs to depose Octavius from his office on the grounds that Octavius acted contrary to
8970-500: The area around Epidamnus , occupied by Rome. His attack on Apollonia started the First Macedonian War . In 215, Hiero II of Syracuse died of old age, and his young grandson Hieronymus broke the long alliance with Rome to side with Carthage. At this desperate point, the aggressive strategy against Hannibal the Scipiones advocated was abandoned in favour of a slow reconquest of the lost territories, since Hannibal could not be everywhere to defend them. Although he remained invincible on
9100-549: The argument had been stated at length." With persuasion being a key component of rhetoric, it is rational to use epithets. The use of persuasive wording gives leverage to one's arguments. Knowledge along with descriptive words or phrases can be a powerful tool. This is supported in Bryan Short's article when he states, "The New Rhetoric derives its empiricist flavor from a pervasive respect for clarity and directness of language." Rhetoricians use epithets to direct their audience to see their point of view, using verbal forms of imagery as
9230-408: The battlefield, defeating all the Roman armies on his way, he could not prevent Claudius Marcellus from taking Syracuse in 212 after a long siege , nor the fall of his bases of Capua and Tarentum in 211 and 209 . In Hispania, Publius and Gnaeus Scipio won the battles of Cissa in 218, soon after Hannibal's departure, and Dertosa against his brother Hasdrubal in 215, which enabled them to conquer
9360-403: The butler" and "Richard the bald" are identified with an occupational or a personally descriptive byname. Some of the individuals, such as Richard Basset , made use of what would now be recognized as a surname. The distinction between a byname and a surname is that the byname is not usually heritable, and may change for any given person as his circumstances change. Richard the Bald, for example,
9490-407: The city of Rome itself, but he legitimated his authority by claiming that the mere fact of his victory was proof he was felix and enjoyed the divine favor of the gods. Republican precedent was to regard a victory as belonging to the Roman people as a whole, as represented by the triumphal procession at which the honored general submitted public offerings at the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus at
9620-546: The classical Roman author Virgil systematically called his main hero pius Aeneas , the epithet being pius , meaning religiously observant, humble and wholesome, as well as calling the armsbearer of Aeneas fidus Achates , the epithet being fidus , which means faithful or loyal. Epithets are characteristic of the style of ancient epic poetry , notably in that of Homer or the northern European sagas (see above, as well as epithets in Homer ). When James Joyce uses
9750-464: The consuls Publius Decius Mus and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio at the Battle of Asculum , which remained undecided for two days. Finally, Pyrrhus personally charged into the melee and won the battle but at the cost of an important part of his troops ; he allegedly said, "if we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined." He escaped the Italian deadlock by answering
9880-727: The dominant military powers of the Mediterranean : Carthage and the Greek kingdoms. In 282, several Roman warships entered the harbour of Tarentum , triggering a violent reaction from the Tarentine democrats, who sank some. The Roman embassy sent to investigate the affair was insulted and war was promptly declared. Facing a hopeless situation, the Tarentines (together with the Lucanians and Samnites) appealed to Pyrrhus , king of Epirus , for military aid. A cousin of Alexander
10010-439: The early Republic, the plebs (or plebeians) emerged as a self-organised, culturally distinct group of commoners, with its own internal hierarchy, laws, customs, and interests. Plebeians had no access to high religious and civil office. For the poorest, one of the few effective political tools was their withdrawal of labour and services, in a " secessio plebis "; the first such secession occurred in 494 BC, in protest at
10140-683: The eastern coast of Hispania. But in 211, Hasdrubal and Mago Barca successfully turned the Celtiberian tribes that supported the Scipiones, and attacked them simultaneously at the Battle of the Upper Baetis , in which the Scipiones died. Publius's son, the future Scipio Africanus , was then elected with a special proconsulship to lead the Hispanic campaign, winning a series of battles with ingenious tactics. In 209, he took Carthago Nova ,
10270-457: The end of the war, the consuls for 256 BC decided to carry the operations to Africa, on Carthage's homeland. The consul Marcus Atilius Regulus landed on the Cap Bon peninsula with about 18,000 soldiers. He captured the city of Aspis , repulsed Carthage's counterattack at Adys , and took Tunis . The Carthaginians hired Spartan mercenaries, led by Xanthippus , to command their troops. In 255,
10400-525: The fall of the republic, not vice versa". A core cause of the Republic's eventual demise was the loss of elite's cohesion from c. 133 BC : the ancient sources called this moral decay from wealth and the hubris of Rome's domination of the Mediterranean. Modern sources have proposed multiple reasons why the elite lost cohesion, including wealth inequality and a growing willingness by aristocrats to transgress political norms, especially in
10530-471: The first time a Roman army had ever entered Asia . The decisive engagement was fought at the Battle of Magnesia , resulting in complete Roman victory. The Seleucids sued for peace, and Rome forced them to give up their recent Greek conquests. Rome again withdrew from Greece, assuming (or hoping) that the lack of a major Greek power would ensure a stable peace. In fact, it did the opposite. In 179, Philip died. His talented and ambitious son, Perseus , took
10660-515: The following three years Rome had been plagued by a number of ill omens and prodigies ( prodigia ) , such as severe storms, pestilence, and "showers of blood," which had required a series of expiations ( supplicationes ) . The speech Cato gave to justify himself is known as the Oratio de lustri sui felicitate , "Speech on the Felicitas of his Lustrum ", and survives only as a possible quotation by
10790-475: The foundation of the imperial Roman propaganda, legitimized power or a claimant's right to rule through victory in the absence of traditional institutions. It held that earthly authority depended on heavenly accord and that the successful conquest projected felicitas and excessive virtus indicating divine sanction of sovereignty and authority. Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( Latin : Res publica Romana [ˈreːs ˈpuːblɪka roːˈmaːna] )
10920-508: The gods). Among the Greeks, T.H. Price notes that the nurturing power of Kourotrophos might be invoked in sacrifices and recorded in inscription, without specifically identifying Hera or Demeter . Some epithets were applied to several deities of the same pantheon rather accidentally if they had a common characteristic, or deliberately, emphasizing their blood or other ties. Thus, in pagan Rome, several divinities gods and heroes were given
11050-535: The infantry, as Hannibal had done at Cannae. Defeated for the first time, Hannibal convinced the Carthaginian Senate to pay the war indemnity, which was even harsher than that of 241: 10,000 talents in 50 instalments. Carthage also had to give up all its elephants, all its fleet but ten triremes , and all its possessions outside its core territory in Africa (what is now Tunisia ), and it could not declare war without Roman authorisation. In effect, Carthage
11180-437: The last vestiges of Etruscan power in the region. In the 4th century, plebeians gradually obtained political equality with patricians. The first plebeian consular tribunes were elected in 400. The reason behind this sudden gain is unknown, but it was limited as patrician tribunes retained preeminence over their plebeian colleagues. In 385 BC, the former consul and saviour of the besieged capital, Marcus Manlius Capitolinus ,
11310-592: The later Empire of Nicaea adopted many Hellenic traditions including a version of the prosperity feast day Felicitanalia allegedly described by Ovid in the missing 11th book of the Fasti (poem) . Felicitas Perpetua Saeculi ("Perpetual Blessedness of the Age") appears on a coin issued under Constantine , the first emperor to convert to Christianity. Felicitas was also the basis of the Roman theology of victory adopted during Augustus' reign. The concept, which constituted
11440-507: The league's surrender. Rome decided to divide Macedonia into two new, directly administered Roman provinces, Achaea and Macedonia . For Carthage, the Third Punic War was a simple punitive mission after the neighbouring Numidians allied to Rome robbed and attacked Carthaginian merchants. Treaties had forbidden any war with Roman allies; viewing defence against banditry as "war action", Rome decided to annihilate Carthage. Carthage
11570-530: The main Punic base in Hispania. The next year, he defeated Hasdrubal at the Battle of Baecula . After his defeat, Carthage ordered Hasdrubal to reinforce his brother in Italy. Since he could not use ships, he followed the same route as his brother through the Alps, but the consuls M. Livius Salinator and C. Claudius Nero were awaiting him and defeated him in the Battle of the Metaurus , where Hasdrubal died. It
11700-477: The manifest will of the people, a position that was unprecedented and constitutionally dubious. His law was enacted and took effect, but, when Tiberius ostentatiously stood for reelection to the tribunate, he was murdered by his enemies. Tiberius's brother Gaius was elected tribune ten years later in 123 and reelected for 122. He induced the plebs to reinforce rights of appeal to the people against capital extrajudicial punishments and institute reforms to improve
11830-452: The monarchy did not succeed. The first Roman republican wars were wars of expansion . One by one, Rome defeated both the persistent Sabines and the local cities. Rome defeated its rival Latin cities in the Battle of Lake Regillus in 496 BC, the Battle of Ariccia in 495 BC, the Battle of Mount Algidus in 458 BC, and the Battle of Corbio in 446 BC. But it suffered
11960-533: The most important cities in the Roman Empire. Views on the structural causes of the Republic's collapse differ. One enduring thesis is that Rome's expansion destabilized its social organization between conflicting interests; the Senate's policymaking, blinded by its own short-term self-interest, alienated large portions of society, who then joined powerful generals who sought to overthrow the system. Two other theses have challenged this view. The first blames
12090-422: The nearby Apennine hill tribes. Beginning with their revolt against Tarquin, and continuing through the early years of the Republic, Rome's patrician aristocrats were the dominant force in politics and society. They initially formed a closed group of about 50 large families, called gentes , who monopolised Rome's magistracies, state priesthoods, and senior military posts. The most prominent of these families were
12220-571: The north. The Romans met the Gauls in pitched battle at the Battle of Allia River around 390–387 BC. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tiber and Allia rivers, 11 Roman miles (10 mi or 16 km) north of Rome. The Romans were routed and subsequently Rome was sacked by the Senones . There is no destruction layer at Rome around this time, indicating that if a sack occurred, it
12350-473: The offices of praetor and curule aediles, both reserved to patricians. Lateranus became the first plebeian consul in 366 BC; Stolo followed in 361 BC. Soon after, plebeians were able to hold both the dictatorship and the censorship. The four-time consul Gaius Marcius Rutilus became the first plebeian dictator in 356 BC and censor in 351 BC. In 342 BC, the tribune of the plebs Lucius Genucius passed his leges Genuciae , which abolished interest on loans, in
12480-415: The old kingdom. The Romans swiftly defeated the Macedonians at the second battle of Pydna . The Achaean League , seeing the direction of Roman policy trending towards direct administration, met at Corinth and declared war "nominally against Sparta but in reality, against Rome". It was swiftly defeated: in 146, the same year as the destruction of Carthage , Corinth was besieged and destroyed , forcing
12610-521: The orator. "It will generally happen, that the Epithets employed by a skillful orator, will be found to be, in fact, so many abridged arguments, the force of which is sufficiently conveyed by a mere hint; e.g., if any one says, 'We ought to take warning from the bloody revolution of France,' the Epithet suggests one of the reasons for our being warned; and that, not less clearly, and more forcibly, than if
12740-485: The people's welfare. While ancient sources tend to "conceive Gracchus' legislation as an elaborate plot against the authority of the Senate... he showed no sign of wanting to replace the Senate in its normal functions". Amid wide-ranging and popular reforms to create grain subsidies, change jury pools, establish and require the Senate to assign provinces before elections, Gaius proposed a law that would grant citizenship rights to Rome's Italian allies. He stood for election to
12870-401: The phrase "the snot-green sea" he is playing Homer's familiar epithet "the wine-dark sea". The phrase "Discreet Telemachus " is also considered an epithet. The Greek term antonomasia , in rhetoric, means substituting any epithet or phrase for a proper name, as "Pelides", signifying the "son of Peleus", to identify Achilles . An opposite substitution of a proper name for some generic term
13000-461: The plebs, resulting in a stalemate. In 367 BC, they carried a bill creating the Decemviri sacris faciundis , a college of ten priests, of whom five had to be plebeians, thereby breaking patricians' monopoly on priesthoods. The resolution of the crisis came from the dictator Camillus , who made a compromise with the tribunes: he agreed to their bills, and they in return consented to the creation of
13130-639: The popular assemblies to get a favourable vote by promising plunder to the voters. After the assembly ratified an alliance with the Mamertines, Caudex was dispatched to cross the strait and lend aid. Messina fell under Roman control quickly. Syracuse and Carthage, at war for centuries, responded with an alliance to counter the invasion and blockaded Messina, but Caudex defeated Hiero and Carthage separately. His successor, Manius Valerius Maximus , landed with an army of 40,000 men and conquered eastern Sicily, which prompted Hiero to shift his allegiance and forge
13260-413: The power of the Senate, which was by now protected from the influence of the consuls and became the central organ of government. In 312 BC, following this law, the patrician censor Appius Claudius Caecus appointed many more senators to fill the new limit of 300, including descendants of freedmen, which was deemed scandalous. Caecus also launched a vast construction program, building the first aqueduct ,
13390-429: The purpose of dealing with names that were hard to pronounce or just unpleasant. It from there went to something that could be very significant assigned by elders or counterparts to represent one's position in the community, or it could be a representation of whomever one wanted to be or thought he was. The elegance of this movement was used throughout history and even modern day, with many examples ranging from "Aphrodite
13520-561: The quasi-mythological detailing of an aristocratic coup within Tarquin's own family or a consequence of an Etruscan occupation of Rome rather than a popular revolution. According to Rome's traditional histories, Tarquin made several attempts to retake the throne, including the Tarquinian conspiracy , which involved Brutus's own sons, the war with Veii and Tarquinii , and finally the war between Rome and Clusium . The attempts to restore
13650-472: The republican system was an elective oligarchy , not a democracy ; a small number of powerful families largely monopolised the magistracies. Roman institutions underwent considerable changes throughout the Republic to adapt to the difficulties it faced, such as the creation of promagistracies to rule its conquered provinces , and differences in the composition of the senate. Unlike the Pax Romana of
13780-506: The request, and Rome sent an army of Romans and Greek allies, beginning the Second Macedonian War . In 197, the Romans decisively defeated Philip at the Battle of Cynoscephalae , and Philip was forced to give up his recent Greek conquests. The Romans declared the "Peace of the Greeks", believing that Philip's defeat now meant that Greece would be stable, and pulled out of Greece entirely. With Egypt and Macedonia weakened,
13910-545: The saints (e.g., " Pope Saint John Paul the Great , Saint Theophan the Recluse "). " Our Lady of Lourdes " is essentially periphrasis , except where some aspect of the Virgin is invoked. An epithet is an adjective or adjectival phrase that characterizes a place, a thing, or a person that helps make the characteristics of this thing more prominent. These descriptive phrases can be used in a positive or negative way that benefits
14040-602: The scope of civil violence. Mass slavery also contributed to three Servile Wars . Tensions at home coupled with ambitions abroad led to further civil wars . The first involved Marius and Sulla . After a generation, the Republic fell into civil war again in 49 BC between Julius Caesar and Pompey . Despite his victory and appointment as dictator for life , Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Caesar's heir Octavian and lieutenant Mark Antony defeated Caesar's assassins in 42 BC, but they eventually split. Antony's defeat alongside his ally and lover Cleopatra at
14170-583: The sea. This plan was thwarted by Hannibal's bold move to Italy. In May 218, he crossed the Ebro with a large army of about 100,000 soldiers and 37 elephants. He passed in Gaul , crossed the Rhone , then the Alps , possibly through the Col de Clapier . This exploit cost him almost half of his troops, but he could now rely on the Boii and Insubres, still at war with Rome. Publius Scipio, who had failed to block Hannibal on
14300-464: The second made plebiscites binding on all citizens (including patricians), and the third required the Senate to give its prior approval to plebiscites before they became binding on all citizens. During the early Republic, consuls chose senators from among their supporters. Shortly before 312 BC, the lex Ovinia transferred this power to the censors, who could only remove senators for misconduct, thus appointing them for life. This law strongly increased
14430-480: The temple was finished by Lepidus on the site of the Curia Hostilia , which had been restored by Sulla, destroyed by fire in 52 BC, and demolished by Caesar in 44 BC. This temple seems not to have existed by the time of Hadrian . Its site probably lies under the church of Santi Luca e Martina . It has been suggested that an Ionic capital and a tufa wall uncovered at the site are the only known remains of
14560-511: The temple. Felicitas was a watchword used by Julius Caesar's troops at the Battle of Thapsus , the names of deities and divine personifications being often recorded for this purpose in the late Republic. Felicitas Iulia ("Julian Felicitas") was the name of a colony in Hispania that was refounded under Caesar and known also as Olisipo , present-day Lisbon , Portugal. During the Republic, only divine personifications known to have had
14690-471: The throne and showed a renewed interest in conquering Greece. With its Greek allies facing a major new threat, Rome declared war on Macedonia again, starting the Third Macedonian War . Perseus initially had some success against the Romans, but Rome responded by sending a stronger army which decisively defeated the Macedonians at the Battle of Pydna in 168. The Macedonians capitulated, ending
14820-503: The tribunes of the plebs Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus continued the plebeian agitation and pushed for an ambitious legislation, known as the Leges Liciniae Sextiae . The most important bill opened the consulship to plebeians. Other tribunes controlled by the patricians vetoed the bills, but Stolo and Lateranus retaliated by vetoing the elections for five years while being continuously reelected by
14950-443: The war. Convinced now that the Greeks (and therefore the rest of the region) would not have peace if left alone, Rome decided to establish its first permanent foothold in the Greek world, and divided Macedonia into four client republics. Yet Macedonian agitation continued. The Fourth Macedonian War , 150 to 148 BC, was fought against a Macedonian pretender to the throne who was again destabilizing Greece by trying to reestablish
15080-503: Was soundly defeated by Catulus. Exhausted and unable to bring supplies to Sicily, Carthage sued for peace. Carthage had to pay 1,000 talents immediately and 2,200 over ten years and evacuate Sicily. The fine was so high that Carthage could not pay Hamilcar's mercenaries, who had been shipped back to Africa. They revolted during the Mercenary War , which Carthage suppressed with enormous difficulty. Meanwhile, Rome took advantage of
15210-547: Was a regular complement to felicitas , which was not thought to attach to those who were unworthy. Cicero attributed felicitas particularly to Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") , and distinguished this felicitas even from the divine good luck enjoyed by successful generals such as Fabius Maximus , Marcellus , Scipio the Younger and Marius . The sayings (sententiae) of Publilius Syrus are often attached to divine qualities, including Felicitas: "The people's Felicitas
15340-431: Was abandoned after another similar catastrophe in 253 BC. These disasters prevented any significant campaign between 254 and 252 BC. Hostilities in Sicily resumed in 252 BC, with Rome's taking of Thermae. The next year, Carthage besieged Lucius Caecilius Metellus , who held Panormos (now Palermo). The consul had dug trenches to counter the elephants, which once hurt by missiles turned back on their own army, resulting in
15470-521: Was almost defenceless, and submitted when besieged. But the Romans demanded complete surrender and removal of the city into the desert hinterland, far from any coastal or harbour region; the Carthaginians refused. The city was besieged and completely destroyed . Rome acquired all of Carthage's North African and Iberian territories. The Romans rebuilt Carthage 100 years later as a Roman colony, by order of Julius Caesar. It flourished, becoming one of
15600-479: Was condemned to be a minor power, while Rome recovered from a desperate situation to dominate the western Mediterranean. Rome's preoccupation with its war with Carthage provided an opportunity for Philip V of Macedonia , in the north of the Greek peninsula , to attempt to extend his power westward. He sent ambassadors to Hannibal's camp in Italy, to negotiate an alliance as common enemies of Rome. But Rome discovered
15730-455: Was expelled from Rome in 509 BC because his son, Sextus Tarquinius , raped a noblewoman, Lucretia . The tradition asserted that the monarchy was abolished in a revolution led by the semi-mythical Lucius Junius Brutus and the king's powers were then transferred to two separate consuls elected to office for a term of one year; each was capable of checking his colleague by veto . Most modern scholarship describes these accounts as
15860-590: Was largely superficial. Second Samnite War Third Samnite War From 343 to 341 BC, Rome won two battles against its Samnite neighbours, but was unable to consolidate its gains, due to the outbreak of war with former Latin allies. In the Latin War (340–338 BC), Rome defeated a coalition of Latins at the battles of Vesuvius and the Trifanum . The Latins submitted to Roman rule. A Second Samnite War began in 327 BC. The war ended with Samnite defeat at
15990-530: Was mobilized under the command of the great hero of the Second Punic War, Scipio Africanus , and set out for Greece, beginning the Roman–Seleucid War . After initial fighting that revealed serious Seleucid weaknesses, the Seleucids tried to turn the Roman strength against them at the Battle of Thermopylae , but were forced to evacuate Greece. The Romans pursued the Seleucids by crossing the Hellespont ,
16120-455: Was presumably not always bald, and Richard of Brampton may not have always lived at Brampton. The use of bynames did not end with the adoption of surnames. In some cases, before the adoption of middle names, government records, such as taxes lists, included people with both the same given name and the same surname. This led to the use of bynames to further distinguish the person. For example, one "John Smith" might be described as "John Smith of
16250-531: Was primarily a cultural mix of Latin and Etruscan societies, as well as of Sabine, Oscan, and Greek cultural elements, which is especially visible in the Ancient Roman religion and its pantheon . Its political organization developed at around the same time as direct democracy in Ancient Greece , with collective and annual magistracies, overseen by a senate . There were annual elections, but
16380-434: Was simultaneously a divine gift, a quality that resided within an individual, and a contagious capacity for generating productive conditions outside oneself: it was a form of " charismatic authority". Cicero lists felicitas as one of the four virtues of the exemplary general, along with knowledge of military science (scientia rei militaris) , virtus (both "valor" and "virtue"), and auctoritas , "authority." Virtus
16510-511: Was the era of classical Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire following the War of Actium . During this period, Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world . Roman society at the time
16640-438: Was the first Roman to receive a naval triumph, which also included captive Carthaginians for the first time. Although Carthage was victorious on land at Thermae in Sicily, the corvus gave a strong advantage to Rome on the waters. The consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio (Asina's brother) captured Corsica in 259 BC; his successors won the naval battles of Sulci in 258, Tyndaris in 257 BC, and Cape Ecnomus in 256. To hasten
16770-409: Was the landing in Sicily of Hamilcar Barca in 247 BC, who harassed the Romans with a mercenary army from a citadel he built on Mt. Eryx . Unable to take the Punic fortresses in Sicily, Rome tried to decide the war at sea and built a new navy, thanks to a forced borrowing from the rich. In 242 BC, 200 quinqueremes under consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus blockaded Drepana. The rescue fleet from Carthage
16900-480: Was the turning point of the war. The campaign of attrition had worked well: Hannibal's troops were now depleted; he only had one elephant left ( Surus ) and retreated to Bruttium , on the defensive. In Greece, Rome contained Philip V without devoting too many forces by allying with the Aetolian League , Sparta , and Pergamon , which also prevented Philip from aiding Hannibal. The war with Macedon resulted in
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