All About Jean

Whispering Oaks and The House of M. Lucretius

Novels by Liz L. Alexander and Jean M. Bratcher

Authors' Note and Glossary

Authors’ Note

The authors have attempted to present an accurate account of life in the first century Roman Empire. Descriptions of food, clothing, furnishings, transportation, funerals, weddings, entertainment, games, gladiatorial contests, and executions are representative of the time. Specific descriptions of the temples, businesses, streets, and homes in Pompeii are correct. The names of some of these places have been fictionalized for convenience and for credibility, as their current names have been modernized or the original name has been lost.

The names of some of the characters were taken from actual citizens of Pompeii, however their lives as presented are largely, if not completely fictitious. None of the other characters in this book is a real person.

The information regarding activities at the Villa of Mysteries, the Temple of Isis and the home of Loreius Tibertinus is fictitious.

The recipe for Pullum Frontonianum can be found here and was attributed to Micaela Pantke. Ideas for other foods served in this story came from this site as well.

Glossary

Angelica: a tall, herbaceous plant, all the parts of which produced a pleasant-smelling volatile oil used to promote menstrual flow and to induce an abortion. In higher doses it is extremely poisonous.

Asses: copper coins; the smallest coins used

Aureus(i): a gold coin weighing 8 grams; equal to 25 denarii.

Auspex: both the priest and the best man of the wedding ceremony

“Ave”: “Hail”

Bestiarius(i): type of gladiator who fought animals

Biga: a two-horse chariot used within the city

Bulla praetexta: the gold amulet worn all through childhood by both girls and boys to keep them from harm

Calamus: a reed; hence anything made of reed, e.g. a pen, a reed pipe, an arrow

Cardo(ines): the main streets of a city, running north and south

CE: abbreviation for Common Era, formerly written AD

Cella: the sanctuary of a temple where the statue of the god was displayed

Cena: the wedding breakfast paid for by the groom

Charon: ferryman for the dead to the underworld

Cingulum: girdle worn around bride’s waist, and tied in the elaborate Knot of Hercules which would keep her safe from bad luck throughout the day

Comitium: where municipal elections were held

Crines: locks of hair, specifically for a bride on her wedding day

Cubiculum: a small room or bedroom in a house

Curia: the building where the Senate met

“Curre!”: “Run/hurry/move/quickly!”

Decumanus Inferior: the second east-west main street of a city

Decumanus Major: the main street of a city, runs east and west

Decurion: a member of the senate of a city

Deductio in domum mariti: the bridal procession to the groom’s house

Denarius(i), (aka denars): a silver coin weighing 3.5 grams; equal to 100 sesterces. A laborer would be paid between 1/2 to 1 denar as a day's wage. With that he could acquire food and lodging for one day. For 3 denars per month he could rent a small room on the top floor of a tenement in Rome.

Denicales Feriae: the days of mourning and purification for the family after a funeral

Dominus Funeris: the director of funerals, equivalent to today’s funeral director

Domus: a private home, as opposed to an apartment building

Expulsim ludere: Roman version of handball played on a special court with one wall

Fauces: a grand entrance hall designed to look like a temple cella

Festival of Sol Invictus: the “unconquerable sun”, celebrated on December 25

Flagellum: a long, flexible whip such as a long reed or thin tree branch

Flammeum: the flame colored bridal veil

Forum Romanum: the Roman Forum, the oldest of the forums in the city of Rome

Fullones: the wool merchants and dry cleaners

Gladius: the short stabbing sword of the Roman soldiers. Gladiators took their name from these words.

“Habet, hoc habet!”: “You’ve got him!”

Harpastum: Roman ball game played with two teams, similar to Rugby

Hasta recurva: a bent iron spearhead used to part the bride’s hair when preparing her for the wedding ceremony

Horrea: the warehouses for storing oil and the old grain market

Humiliores: the public executions staged as part of the gladiatorial games

“Ilicet,” “You may go.”

Insulae: the apartment buildings constructed behind and above shops

Labrum, apodyterium, caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium: various rooms in a Roman bath

Lares: the family ancestors, minor gods, and protecting spirits

Lectus genialis: an elaborately decorated, miniature marriage bed, set up for the spirits of the couple in the atrium of the groom’s home

Lutei socci: the flame colored shoes of a bride

Macellum: the covered market, similar to a mall today, containing a variety of shops, mostly food

Matrona: a married woman

Mensa Ponderaria: where the standards for measurement were kept

“Mitte!”: “Release him!”

Natio: a swimming pool

Novendiale: sacrifice offered at end of formal mourning period

Odeum: small covered theater as opposed to a large amphitheater

Paganica: a floppy medicine ball oblong in shape

Palaestra: the athletic buildings and grounds of a city, often attached to the baths

Papilia: butterfly, from papilio(onis)

Pater familias: literally the father of the family, the male head of an extended family, the ultimate authority in any family

Patrimi et matrimi: three boys with both parents living; they act as escorts for the bride during the wedding procession

Peristyle: a large open area like a courtyard with columns, inside the house

Pillei: soft hats traditionally worn by freedmen, but worn by the upper classes during the Saturnalia

Pronaos: an entry porch on the front of a building

Pronuba: bride’s maid-of-honor, had to be a woman who had only been married once and was still married; acted as advisor to bride before wedding

Porticus: a porch

Puer: boy, often used to address a young male slave

Pullum Frontonianum: Chicken ala Fronto

Retarius(iari), Mirmillon: Thracian, and Samnite, traditional types of gladiators. Titles were based upon the style of armor and weapons they used.

Rostrum: the great speaking platform in the Roman Forum

Sacellum: a small altar

Saturnalia: the most popular festival of the Roman calendar, celebrated from December 17 through the 23

Satyricon: a satire written by Petronius about the misadventures of a young man and his friend

Sesterces: brass coins equal to 400 asses.

Sistrum(i): a brass rattle used in the worship of Isis

Sphaerista: the ball court where expulsim ludere was played at the palaestra

Spina Alba: a special wooden torch that had been lit from the bride’s family hearth

Strigil: a long, curved scraping tool used to remove oil from someone’s body in the baths

Stylus(i): the implement used for writing on wax tablets, similar to a pencil, without the lead in it.

Synthesis: a loose fitting robe worn during the Saturnalia

Tabern: a tavern

Tablinum: the big open room after the atrium, often contained shelves for scrolls, also used as a living room

Tabulae nuptiales: the marriage contract

Thermopolium: a shop selling hot drinks and food such as soups

Tholus: the small circular structure with a domed roof and water tank, that stood in the uncovered area at the center of the market

Toga praetexta: childhood toga

Triclinium: the dining room where three couches were set up in a horseshoe shape with an opening in the center for tables

Trigon: a game played with a hard, softball sized ball, similar to games of catch. Played with three players and three score keepers. Points were scored for dropped balls; the ball was either bounced or thrown into the air from inside a circle.

Tunica recta: a white muslin tunic worn only once by the bride for the wedding

Tyro(i): a beginner, a new trainee for gladiatorial combat

Umbilicus Urbis Romae: a column set up in the Roman Forum with the distance to every major city in the Empire from that point in Rome, literally means the Navel of the City of Rome

“Vade!”: “Go/rush/hurry!”

“Vale”:“Be strong.”

Venationes: the hunting and killing of animals as part of the gladiatorial games

Via(e): smaller side streets

Via Sacra: the Sacred Way, the road through the center of the Roman Forum along which many of the city’s major temples had been constructed.

Vigil(es): literally a watchman, the Roman equivalent of the local police, they were citizens who patrolled the neighborhoods and helped to keep the peace. It is the source of the word “vigilante.”