"in red-hot tombs. Beyond are rings of those who were violent—to others, to themselves (suicides), to God (blasphemers), to art (usurers), and to nature (sexual perverts). Beyond the ruins of Dis are the frauds and corruptors, and finally the traitors. In ancient Roman mythology, Dis Pater (""Father Dis"") is the ruler of the underworld and is named as such in the sixth book of Virgil's ""Aeneid"", one of the principal influences on Dante in his depiction of Hell (the god was also known as Pluto, a name not used by Virgil in the ""Aeneid""). The hero Aeneas enters the ""desolate"
"the ""dii parentes"" (deified ancestors) and the mythic apotheosis of Rome's founders. A deceased emperor granted apotheosis by his successor and the Senate became an official State ""divus"" (divinity). Members of the Imperial family could be granted similar honours and cult; an Emperor's deceased wife, sister or daughter could be promoted to ""diva"" (female divinity). The first and last Roman known as a living ""divus"" was Julius Caesar, who seems to have aspired to divine monarchy; he was murdered soon after. Greek allies had their own traditional cults to rulers as divine benefactors, and offered similar cult to Caesar's successor,"
"Res divina In ancient Rome, res divinae, singular res divina (Latin for ""divine matters,"" that is, the service of the gods), were the laws that pertained to the religious duties of the state and its officials. Roman law was divided into the ""res divina"" and ""res publica"", the divine and public or political spheres, the latter phrase being the origin of the English word ""republic."" ""Res divina"" also means, as a technical term, ritual sacrifice. In the Roman system of belief, ""religio"" was the acknowledgement of superiors through ""honores"" (honours). ""Caelestes honores"" (""heavenly honours"") were offered to the gods, and"
"Enraged""), in which Father Dis, the Roman counterpart of Pluto, uses a three-pronged spear to drive off Hercules as he attempts to invade the underworld. Seneca calls Dis the ""Infernal Jove"" or the ""dire Jove"" (the Jove who gives dire or ill omens, ""dirae)"", just as in the Greek tradition, ""Plouton"" is sometimes identified as a ""chthonic Zeus."" That the trident and bident might be somewhat interchangeable is suggested by a Byzantine scholiast, who mentions Poseidon being armed with a bident. In the Middle Ages, classical underworld figures began to be depicted with a pitchfork. Early Christian writers had identified"
"Decimus (praenomen) Decimus (; ) is a Latin ""praenomen"", or personal name, usually abbreviated D. Although never especially common, Decimus was used throughout Roman history from the earliest times to the end of the Western Empire and beyond, surviving into modern times. The feminine form is ""Decima"". The name also gave rise to the patronymic ""gens Decimia"". Decimus was especially favored by the plebeian ""gens Junia"", which may originally have been patrician. However, the name does not seem to have been used regularly by any other patrician family. It was widespread amongst the plebeians, and resisted the general trend of"
"that each of these was a tenth son, or even a tenth child. A similar case could be made for the many generations of certain families, such as the Fabii, who made extensive use of the praenomen ""Quintus"", or the Julii with respect to the praenomen ""Sextus"". The Oscan praenomen ""Decius"" or ""Deciis"" is derived from the same root, and gave rise to the patronymic ""gens Decia"". Decimus (praenomen) Decimus (; ) is a Latin ""praenomen"", or personal name, usually abbreviated D. Although never especially common, Decimus was used throughout Roman history from the earliest times to the end of"
"Dīs Pater Dīs Pater (pronounced ) was a Roman god of the underworld. Dis was originally associated with fertile agricultural land and mineral wealth, and since those minerals came from underground, he was later equated with the chthonic deities Pluto (Hades) and Orcus. ""Dīs Pater"" was commonly shortened to simply Dīs and this name has since become an alternative name for the underworld or a part of the underworld, such as the City of Dis of Dante's ""The Divine Comedy"", which comprises Lower Hell. It is often thought that Dīs Pater was also a Celtic god. This confusion arises from"
"himself and gain popularity with the people. The upper-class did not always take part in the imperial cult, and some privately ridiculed the apotheosis of inept and feeble emperors, as in the satire ""The Pumpkinification of (the Divine) Claudius"", usually attributed to Seneca. At the height of the imperial cult during the Roman Empire, sometimes the emperor's deceased loved ones—heirs, empresses, or lovers, as Hadrian's Antinous—were deified as well. Deified people were awarded posthumously the title ""Divus"" (""Diva"" if women) to their names to signify their divinity. Traditional Roman religion distinguished between a ""deus"" (god) and a ""divus"" (a mortal"
"the uniformity of Roman nomenclature, erroneous modern suppositions, and the unevenness of information across the generations. In addition the ""Dives"" cognomen of the Crassi Divites means rich or wealthy, and since Marcus Crassus, the subject here, was renowned for his enormous wealth, this has contributed to hasty assumptions that his family belonged to the Divites. But no ancient source accords him or his father the Dives cognomen; in fact, we are explicitly informed that his great wealth was acquired rather than inherited, and that he was raised in modest circumstances. Crassus' grandfather of the same name, Marcus Licinius Crassus (praetor"
"Dominus (title) Dominus is the Latin word for master or owner. As a title of sovereignty the term under the Roman Republic had all the associations of the Greek ""Tyrannos""; refused during the early principate, it finally became an official title of the Roman Emperors under Diocletian (this is where the term ""dominate"", used to describe a political system of Roman Empire in 284-476, is derived from). Dominus, the French equivalent being ""sieur"", was the Latin title of the feudal, superior and mesne, lords, and also an ecclesiastical and academical title. The ecclesiastical title was rendered in English ""sir"", which"
"would remark that his own favourite gods, Asclepius, Isis and Serapis, were widely revered in the Empire ""because"" of the favour shown them by Rome. Res divina In ancient Rome, res divinae, singular res divina (Latin for ""divine matters,"" that is, the service of the gods), were the laws that pertained to the religious duties of the state and its officials. Roman law was divided into the ""res divina"" and ""res publica"", the divine and public or political spheres, the latter phrase being the origin of the English word ""republic."" ""Res divina"" also means, as a technical term, ritual sacrifice."
"""disner"", meaning ""dine"", from the stem of Gallo-Romance ""desjunare"" (""to break one's fast""), from Latin ""dis-"" (which indicates the opposite of an action) + Late Latin ""ieiunare"" (""to fast""), from Latin ""ieiunus"" (""fasting, hungry""). The Romanian word ""dejun"" and the French ""déjeuner"" retain this etymology and to some extent the meaning (whereas the Spanish word ""desayuno"" and Portuguese ""desjejum"" are related but are exclusively used for breakfast). Eventually, the term shifted to referring to the heavy main meal of the day, even if it had been preceded by a breakfast meal (or even both breakfast and lunch). In Europe, the"
"Limes Originally the Latin noun līmes (; Latin """") had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any distinction or difference. The term was also commonly used after the 3rd century AD to denote a military district under the command of a ""dux limitis"". ""Limes"" has sometimes been adopted in modern times for a border defence or delimiting system of Ancient Rome marking the boundaries and provinces of the Roman Empire, but it was not used by the Romans"
"of the Latin Mass, as well as quotations from the Latin Vulgate. They are carefully reworded to create a parody of the Mass, with themes such as Bacchus, the god of wine, and Decius, the god of dice (Decius was also the name of a Roman emperor), replacing the ""Dominus"" and ""Deus"" (Lord and God) of the Mass. There is much imagery of dice being used in gambling, and of drinking cups, wine, and taverns, ending with losing all of one’s possessions, including clothes, through drinking and gambling. Drinkers Mass Drinkers Masses, to include Gamblers Masses (Latin: ""Missa Potatorum, Officium"
"calate assembly. ""Deus"", ""god""; ""dea"", ""goddess"", plural ""deae""; ""di"" or ""dii"", ""gods"", plural, or ""deities"", of mixed gender. The Greek equivalent is ""theos"", which the Romans translated with ""deus"". Servius says that ""deus"" or ""dea"" is a ""generic term"" ""(generale nomen)"" for all gods. In his lost work ""Antiquitates rerum divinarum"", assumed to have been based on pontifical doctrine, Varro classified ""dii"" as ""certi, incerti, praecipui"" or ""selecti"", i.e. ""deities whose function could be ascertained"", those whose function was unknown or indeterminate, main or selected gods. Compare ""divus"". For etymological discussion, see Deus and Dyeus. See also List of Roman"
"grove with an iron implement, which was forbidden, as well as after. The pig was a common victim for a ""piaculum"". The same divine agencies who caused disease or harm also had the power to avert it, and so might be placated in advance. Divine consideration might be sought to avoid the inconvenient delays of a journey, or encounters with banditry, piracy and shipwreck, with due gratitude to be rendered on safe arrival or return. In times of great crisis, the Senate could decree collective public rites, in which Rome's citizens, including women and children, moved in procession from one"
"Decimation (Roman army) Decimation (; ""decem"" = ""ten"") was a form of military discipline used by senior commanders in the Roman Army to punish units or large groups guilty of capital offences, such as mutiny or desertion. The word ""decimation"" is derived from Latin meaning ""removal of a tenth"". The procedure was a pragmatic attempt to balance the need to punish serious offences with the realities of managing a large group of offenders. A cohort (roughly 480 soldiers) selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten. Each group drew lots (sortition), and the soldier on whom the"
"the Sabine god Soranus. In southern Germany and the Balkans, Dīs Pater had a Celtic goddess, Aericura, as a consort. Dīs Pater was rarely associated with foreign deities in the shortened form of his name, ""Dis"". Dīs Pater Dīs Pater (pronounced ) was a Roman god of the underworld. Dis was originally associated with fertile agricultural land and mineral wealth, and since those minerals came from underground, he was later equated with the chthonic deities Pluto (Hades) and Orcus. ""Dīs Pater"" was commonly shortened to simply Dīs and this name has since become an alternative name for the underworld or"
"with his sons and grandsons in the Torre dei Gualandi. In March 1289, the Archbishop condemned the prisoners to death by starvation in the tower. Canto XXXIV In the very centre of Hell, condemned for committing the ultimate sin (personal treachery against God), is the Devil, referred to by Virgil as Dis (the Roman god of the underworld; the name ""Dis"" was often used for Pluto in antiquity, such as in Virgil's ""Aeneid""). The arch-traitor, Lucifer was once held by God to be fairest of the angels before his pride led him to rebel against God, resulting in his expulsion"
"BC. Under this law, Italian communities that had previously been denied could now gain citizenship. Domus In ancient Rome, the domus (plural ""domūs"", genitive ""domūs"" or ""domī"") was the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It could be found in almost all the throughout the Roman territories. The modern English word ""domestic"" comes from Latin ""domesticus"", which is derived from the word ""domus"". The word ""dom"" in modern Slavic languages means ""home"" and is a cognate of the Latin word, going back to Proto-Indo-European. Along with a ""domus"""
"womanizers or possessed of devastating sex appeal. Perhaps the most notorious incident of cross-dressing in ancient Rome occurred in 62 BC, when Clodius Pulcher intruded on annual rites of the Bona Dea that were restricted to women only. The rites were held at a senior magistrate's home, in this year that of Julius Caesar, nearing the end of his term as praetor and only recently invested as Pontifex Maximus. Clodius disguised himself as a female musician to gain entrance, as described in a ""verbal striptease"" by Cicero, who prosecuted him for sacrilege ""(incestum)"": Take away his saffron dress, his tiara,"
"a substantive, ""divus"" refers to a ""deified"" or divinized mortal. Both ""deus"" and ""divus"" derive from Indo-European ""*deywos"", Old Latin ""deivos"". Servius confirms that ""deus"" is used for ""perpetual deities"" ""(deos perpetuos)"", but ""divus"" for people who become divine ""(divos ex hominibus factos)"". While this distinction is useful in considering the theological foundations of Imperial cult, it sometimes vanishes in practice, particularly in Latin poetry; Vergil, for instance, mostly uses ""deus"" and ""divus"" interchangeably. Varro and Ateius, however, maintained that the definitions should be reversed. See also Imperial cult: ""Divus, deus"" and the ""numen"". The formula ""do ut des"" (""I"
"were exempt. Decius' edict appealed to whatever common ""mos maiores"" might reunite a politically and socially fractured Empire and its multitude of cults; no ancestral gods were specified by name. The fulfillment of sacrificial obligation by loyal subjects would define them and their gods as Roman. Apostasy was sought, rather than capital punishment. A year after its due deadline, the edict expired. Valerian singled out Christianity as a particularly self-interested and subversive foreign cult, outlawed its assemblies and urged Christians to sacrifice to Rome's traditional gods. In another edict, he described Christianity as a threat to Empire – not yet"
"Dis (Divine Comedy) In Dante Alighieri's ""The Divine Comedy"", the City of Dis ( ) encompasses the sixth through the ninth circles of Hell. Before the City is reached, in ninth canto, Dante encounters the unbaptised and then those who sinned by self-indulgence—the lustful, the gluttons, the misers and spendthrifts—and at the outskirts of the red-hot walls of City of Dis are the wrathful and those of ill-will. From this point on we find sinners who acted out of malice and wickedness. Immediately within the walls of the City are the Heretics, who, having disbelieved in immortality are forever imprisoned"
"Dux Dux (; plural: ""ducēs"") is Latin for ""leader"" (from the noun ""dux, ducis"", ""leader, general"") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic, ""dux"" could refer to anyone who commanded troops, including foreign leaders, but was not a formal military rank. In writing his commentaries on the Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar uses the term only for Celtic generals, with one exception for a Roman commander who held no official rank. Until the 3rd century, ""dux"" was not a formal expression of rank within the Roman military or administrative hierarchy. In the Roman"
"P. Decius Mus is ""like"" a ""piaculum"" when he makes his vow to sacrifice himself in battle (see ""devotio""). The origin of the English word ""pious"", ""pius"" is found in Volscian as ""pihom estu"", Umbrian as ""pihaz"" (a past participle equivalent to Latin ""piatum"") and Oscan as ""pehed"", from the Proto-Indo-European root ""*q(u)ei-"". In Latin and other Italic languages, the word seems to have meant ""that which is in accord with divine law."" Later it was used to designate actions respectful of divine law and even people who acted with respect towards gods and godly rules. The ""pius"" person ""strictly"
"himself. See also sacer and sanctus. ""Res divinae"" were ""divine affairs,"" that is, the matters that pertained to the gods and the sphere of the divine in contrast to ""res humanae"", ""human affairs."" ""Rem divinam facere"", ""to do a divine thing,"" simply meant to do something that pertained to the divine sphere, such as perform a ceremony or rite. The equivalent Etruscan term is ""ais(u)na"". The distinction between human and divine ""res"" was explored in the multivolume ""Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum"", one of the chief works of Varro (1st century BC). It survives only in fragments but was a"
"Fiscus Fiscus, from which comes the English term ""fiscal,"" was the name of the personal chest of the emperors of Rome. The word is literally translated as ""basket"" or ""purse"" and was used to describe those forms of revenue collected from the provinces (specifically the imperial provinces), which were then granted to the emperor. Its existence pointed to the division of power in the early era of the Empire between the imperial court and the Senate. Augustus divided Rome’s territory between senatorial provinces, whose tributes ended up in the ""aerarium"" (the already existing state’s chest), and imperial provinces, whose incomes"
"punishment met him, and fell suppliant at his feet, he was respited for that day, similar to the right of sanctuary attached to the persons and dwellings of the papal cardinals. To counterbalance these high honours, the Dialis was subjected to many restrictions and privations, a long catalogue of which was compiled by Aulus Gellius from the works of Fabius Pictor and Masurius Sabinus, while Plutarch, in his ""Roman Questions"", endeavours to explain their import. Among these were the following: The object of these rules was clearly to make him literally ""Jovi adsiduum sacerdotem"" (the constant priest of Jove (Jupiter)),"
"Duumviri The duumviri (Latin for ""two men""), originally duoviri and also known in English as the duumvirs, were any of various joint magistrates of ancient Rome. Such pairs of magistrates were appointed at various periods of Roman history both in Rome itself and in the colonies and municipia. ""Duumviri iuri"" or ""iure dicundo"" were the highest judicial magistrates in the cities of Italy and its provinces. Their chief duties were concerned with the administration of justice. The activities of these individuals are described in the local statutes such as ""Lex Julia"", ""Lex Irnitana"", ""Lex Malacitana"", ""Lex Rubria"", ""Lex Coloniae"", and"
"dished (bowl-shaped) or flat. Roman artwork from the end of the 3rd century until the end of Antiquity show soldiers wielding oval or round shields. The word """"scutum"""" survived the Roman Empire and entered the military vocabulary of the Byzantine Empire. Even in the 11th century, the Byzantines called their armoured soldiers ""skutatoi"" (Grk. σκυτατοί). The ""scutum"" was a large rectangle curved shield made from three sheets of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather, usually with a spindle shaped boss along the vertical length of the shield. The best surviving example, from Dura-Europos in Syria, was high,"
"Delator Delator (plural Delatores) is Latin for a denouncer, i.e. who indicates to a court another as having committed a punishable deed. In Roman history, properly one who gave notice (""deferre"") to the treasury officials of monies that had become due to the imperial fisc. This special meaning was extended to those who lodged information as to punishable offences, and further, to those who brought a public accusation (whether true or not) against any person (especially with the object of getting money). Although the word ""delator"" itself, for ""common informer,"" is confined to imperial times, the right of public accusation"
"shared some characteristics with the goddess ""Victoria"". On coinage issued by Sulla the dictator, Cupid bears the palm branch, the most common attribute of Victory. ""Desire"" in Roman culture was often attached to power as well as to erotic attraction. Roman historians criticize ""cupido gloriae"", ""desire for glory,"" and ""cupido imperii"", ""desire for ruling power"". In Latin philosophical discourse, ""cupido"" is the equivalent of Greek ""pothos"", a focus of reflections on the meaning and burden of desire. In depicting the ""pious love"" ""(amor pius)"" of Nisus and Euryalus in the ""Aeneid,"" Vergil has Nisus wonder:Is it the gods who put"