optio (pl. optiones): the officer who ranked immediately below a centurion; the second-in-command of a century.
Orcus: the god of the underworld. Also known as Pluto or Hades, he was believed to be Jupiter’s brother, and was greatly feared.
papaverum: the drug morphine. Made from the flowers of the opium plant, its use has been documented from at least 1000 BC. Roman doctors used it to allow them to perform prolonged operations on patients. Its use as a painkiller is my extension of that.
Periplus (of the Erythraean Sea): a priceless historical document from approximately the first century AD. Clearly written by someone familiar with the area, the Periplus describes the navigation and trading opportunities along the entire coast of the Red Sea to eastern Africa and as far east as India. It details safe harbours, dangerous areas and the best places to buy valuable goods such as tortoiseshell, ivory and spices. I have changed its origins and contents slightly to fit in with the story.
phalera (pl. phalerae): a sculpted disc-like decoration for bravery which was worn on a chest harness, over a Roman soldier’s armour. Phalerae were commonly made of bronze, but could be made of more precious metals as well. Torques, arm rings and bracelets were also awarded.
pilum (pl. pila): the Roman javelin. It consisted of a wooden shaft approximately 1.2 m (4 ft) long, joined to a thin iron shank approximately 0.6 m (2 ft) long, and was topped by a small pyramidal point. The javelin was heavy and, when launched, all of its weight was concentrated behind the head, giving it tremendous penetrative force. It could strike through a shield to injure the man carrying it, or lodge in the shield, making it impossible for the man to continue using it. The range of the pilum was about 30 m (100 ft), although the effective range was probably about half this distance.
Priapus: the god of gardens and fields, a symbol of fertility. Often pictured with a huge erect penis.
primus pilus: the senior centurion of the whole legion, and possibly – probably – the senior centurion of the first cohort. A position of immense importance, it would have been held by a veteran soldier, typically in his forties or fifties. On retiring, the primus pilus was entitled to admission to the equestrian class.
principia: the headquarters of a legion, to be found on the Via Praetoria. This was the beating heart of the legion in a marching camp or fort; it was where all the administration was carried out and where the unit’s standards, in particular the aquila or eagle, were kept. Its massive entrance opened on to a colonnaded and paved courtyard which was bordered on each side by offices. Behind this was a huge forehall with a high roof, which contained statues, the shrine for the standards, a vault for the legion’s pay and possibly more offices. It is likely that parades took place here, and that senior officers addressed their men in the hall.
proconsul: the governor of a Roman province, such as Spain or Cisalpine Gaul, of consular rank. Other provinces, e.g. Sicily and Sardinia, had slightly lower-ranking praetors to govern them. Such posts were held by those who had previously served as consuls or praetors in Rome.
pugio: a dagger. Some Roman soldiers carried this, an extra weapon. It was probably as useful in daily life (for eating and preparing food etc.) as when on campaign.
retiarius (pl. retiarii): the fisherman, or net and trident fighter, named after the rete, or net. Also an easily recognisable class of gladiator, the retiarius wore only a subligaria. His sole protection consisted of the galerus, a metal shoulder-guard, which was attached to the top edge of a manica on his left arm. His weapons were the weighted net, a trident and a dagger. With less equipment to weigh him down, the retiarius was far more mobile than many other gladiators and, lacking a helmet, was also instantly recognisable. This may have accounted for the low status of this class of fighter.
rudis: the wooden gladius which symbolised the freedom that could be granted to a gladiator who pleased a sponsor sufficiently, or who had earned enough victories in the arena to qualify for it. Not all gladiators were condemned to die in combat: prisoners of war and criminals usually were, but slaves who had committed a crime were granted the rudis if they survived for three years as a gladiator. After a further two years, they could be set free.
Samnite: a class of fighter based on the Samnite people who occupied the central Apennines, but were finally defeated by Rome in the third century BC. Some accounts describe them with triple-disc metal breastplates, but other depictions have the Samnites bare-chested. Plumed helmets and greaves were common, as was the typical wide gladiatorial belt. Carrying round or rectangular shields, they usually fought with spears.
scutum (pl. scuta): an elongated oval Roman army shield, about 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and 0.75 m (2 ft 6 in) wide. It was made from two layers of wood, the pieces laid at right angles to each other; it was then covered with linen or canvas, and leather. The scutum was heavy, weighing between 6 and 10 kgs (13-22 lbs). A large metal boss decorated its centre, with the horizontal grip placed behind this. Decorative designs were often painted on the front, and a leather cover was used to protect the shield when not in use, e.g. while marching.
scythicon: the poison used by Scythians on their arrows, the purported recipe for which has survived in the historical record. Small snakes were killed and left to decompose, while vessels full of human blood were buried in dung until the contents putrefied. Then the liquid from the jars was mixed with the substances from the rotted snakes to make a poison that, according to Ovid, when applied to a hooked arrowhead ‘promises a double death’.
secutor (pl secutores): the pursuer, or hunter class of gladiator. Also called the contraretiarius, the secutor fought the fisherman, the retiarius. Virtually the only difference between the secutor and the murmillo was the smooth-surfaced helmet, which was without a brim and had a small, plain crest, probably to make it more difficult for the retiarius’ net to catch and hold. Unlike other types of gladiator, the secutor’s helmet had small eyeholes, making it very difficult to see. This was possibly to reduce the chances of the heavily armoured fighter quickly overcoming the retiarius.
sestertius (pl. sestertii): a brass coin, it was worth four asses; or a quarter of a denarius; or one hundredth of an aureus. Its name, ‘two units and a half third one’, comes from its original value, two and a half asses. By the time of the late Roman Republic, its use was becoming more common.
signifer: a standard-bearer and junior officer. This was a position of high esteem, with one for every century in a legion. Often the signifer wore scale armour and an animal pelt over his helmet, which sometimes had a hinged decorative face piece, while he carried a small, round shield rather than a scutum. His signum, or standard, consisted of a wooden pole bearing a raised hand, or a spear tip surrounded by palm leaves. Below this was a crossbar from which hung metal decorations, or a piece of coloured cloth. The standard’s shaft was decorated with discs, half-moons, ships’ prows and crowns, records of the unit’s achievements and which may have distinguished one century from another.
stola: a long, loose tunic, with or without sleeves, worn by married women. Those who were unmarried wore other types of tunic, but to simplify things, I have mentioned only one garment, worn by all.