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Amon Re : An ancient Egyptian god.
Auguries: Ritual observation of the flight of birds in the sky, which the Romans believed enabled them to tell whether the gods approved of a 'prospective' plan of action.
Aventine: One of the seven hills of Rome.
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Bacchus: The Roman god of wine, equivalent to the Greek god Dionysos.
Benefice: A benefit.
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Capitoline: One of the seven hills of ancient Rome, on which stood its most important temple, to the god Jupiter.
Centurion: An officer in the Roman army, with responsibility for a unit of roughly 80 men.
Chimera : Fire-breathing she-monster, a composite of a lion, a goat and a serpent.
Cincinnatus: A legendary Roman hero who was summoned from plowing his farm to help defeat an enemy tribe. He defeated them and promptly resigned his command and returned to his farm.
Consular: Anything associated with the role of consul, the most powerful political post in the Roman state-roughly equivalent to President.
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Denarii - Plural form of 'denarius,' a type of Roman coin central to the Roman currency.
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Domina : The latin word for the woman in charge of a household.
Drachma: Greek coin, roughly equivalent to a denarius.
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Echelon: A Greek word for a certain level in a hierarchy, such as a rank in the army.
Emetics: Anything consumed for the purpose of inducing vomiting.
Evocati: A specialist unit in the Roman army made up of distinguished former officers, brought out of retirement.
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Gaius: Very common Roman first name.
Gorgon: Monster from Greek mythology, turned anyone who looked on it into stone.
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Hieratic: Anything associated with a priesthood, from the Greek word for 'priest.'
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Insula: 'Island,' the Latin word for an apartment block, in which most Romans lived.
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Kalends: The first days of each month in the Roman calendar.
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Lyre - A stringed instrument, similar to a small harp.
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Lares: A set of gods that Romans believed protected the household.
Lampreys: A type of eel.
Lictors: Officials who accompanied important Roman politicians, such as consuls, while on official business.
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Mediolanum: Roman town in what is now Northern Italy, modern Milan.
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Peristyle - A series of columns surrounding a building or enclosing a court.
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Paean: A song of celebration.
Penates : Another set of gods that the Romans believed protected the household.
Plinth : A block or slab on which a pedestal, column or statue can be placed.
Prole : Word for an ordinary working-class Roman.
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Ravenna: A town on the coast of Northeast Italy, facing the Adriatic.
Rubicon : A river that formed the frontier between the provinces of Gaul and Northern Italy. Caesar famously crossed it in January, 49 BC, beginning a civil war.
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Satyrs: Mythological woodland creatures, who had the upper half of a man, but with the pointed ears, legs and short horns of a goat. Notoriously lecherous.
Sesterces: Plural form of 'sestercius,' a Roman coin. Four sesterces made up a denarius.
Stoic: A Greek school of philosophy, particularly popular with the Romans. It emphasized restraint, devotion to duty and the acceptance of one's fate.
Strigil: Instrument for scraping off oil after it had been applied to the body, the Roman way of bathing.
Symposium: Greek word for a drinking party.
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Tench: A species of Roman freshwater fish.
Triclinium: Dining area in a Roman house.
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