ĀMĂNŬENSIS, or AD MĂNUM SERVUS, a slave, or freedman, whose office it was to write letters and other things under his master’s direction. The amanuenses must not be confounded with another sort of slaves, also called ad manum servi, who were always kept ready to be employed in any business.
ĂMĂRYNTHĬA, or ĂMĂRYSĬA (ἀμαρύνθια or ἀμαρύσια), a festival of Artemis Amarynthia or Amarysia, celebrated, as it seems, originally at Amarynthus in Euboea, with extraordinary splendour, but also solemnised in several places in Attica, such as Athmone.
AMBARVĀLIĂ. [[Arvales Fratres].]
AMBĬTUS, which literally signifies “a going about,” cannot, perhaps, be more nearly expressed than by our word canvassing. After the plebs had formed a distinct class at Rome, and when the whole body of the citizens had become very greatly increased, we frequently read, in the Roman writers, of the great efforts which it was necessary for candidates to make in order to secure the votes of the citizens. At Rome, as in every community into which the element of popular election enters, solicitation of votes, and open or secret influence and bribery, were among the means by which a candidate secured his election to the offices of state. The following are the principal terms occurring in the Roman writers in relation to the canvassing for the public offices:—A candidate was called petitor; and his opponent with reference to him competitor. A candidate (candidatus) was so called from his appearing in the public places, such as the fora and Campus Martius, before his fellow-citizens, in a whitened toga. On such occasions the candidate was attended by his friends (deductores), or followed by the poorer citizens (sectatores), who could in no other manner show their good will or give their assistance. The word assiduitas expressed both the continual presence of the candidate at Rome and his continual solicitations. The candidate, in going his rounds or taking his walk, was accompanied by a nomenclator, who gave him the names of such persons as he might meet; the candidate was thus enabled to address them by their name, an indirect compliment, which could not fail to be generally gratifying to the electors. The candidate accompanied his address with a shake of the hand (prensatio). The term benignitas comprehended generally any kind of treating, as shows, feasts, &c. The ambitus, which was the object of several penal enactments, taken as a generic term, comprehended the two species—ambitus and largitiones (bribery). Liberalitas and benignitas are opposed by Cicero, as things allowable, to ambitus and largitio, as things illegal. Money was paid for votes; and, in order to insure secrecy and secure the elector, persons called interpretes were employed to make the bargain, sequestres to hold the money till it was to be paid, and divisores to distribute it. The offence of ambitus was a matter which belonged to the judicia publica, and the enactments against it were numerous. One of the earliest, though not the earliest of all, the Lex Cornelia Baebia (B.C. 181) was specially directed against largitiones. Those convicted under it were incapacitated from being candidates for ten years. The Lex Cornelia Fulvia (B.C. 159) punished the offence with exile. The Lex Acilia Calpurnia (B.C. 67) imposed a fine on the offending party, with exclusion from the senate and all public offices. The Lex Tullia (B.C. 63), passed in the consulship of Cicero, in addition to the penalty of the Acilian law, inflicted ten years’ exsilium on the offender; and, among other things, forbade a person to exhibit gladiatorial shows (gladiatores dare) within any two years in which he was a candidate, unless he was required to do so, on a fixed day, by a testator’s will. Two years afterwards the Lex Aufidia was proposed, but not passed; by which, among other things, it was provided that, if a candidate promised (pronuntiavit) money to a tribe, and did not pay it, he should be unpunished; but, if he did pay the money, he should further pay to each tribe (annually?) 3000 sesterces as long as he lived. This absurd proposal occasioned the witticism of Cicero, who said that Clodius observed the law by anticipation; for he promised, but did not pay. The Lex Licinia (B.C. 55) was specially directed against the offence of sodalitium, or the wholesale bribery of a tribe by gifts and treating; and another lex, passed (B.C. 52) when Pompey was sole consul, had for its object the establishment of a speedier course of proceeding on trials for ambitus. All these enactments failed in completely accomplishing their object. That which no law could suppress, so long as the old popular forms retained any of their pristine vigour, was accomplished by the imperial usurpation. Caesar, when dictator, nominated some of the candidates for public offices: as to the consulship, he managed the appointments to that office just as he pleased. The popular forms of election were observed during the time of Augustus. Tiberius transferred the elections from the comitia to the senate, by which the offence of ambitus, in its proper sense, entirely disappeared. The trials for ambitus were numerous in the time of the republic. The oration of Cicero in defence of L. Murena, who was charged with ambitus, and that in defence of Cn. Plancius, who was charged with sodalitium, are both extant.
AMBRŎSĬA (ἀμβροσία), the food of the gods, which conferred upon them eternal youth and immortality, and was brought to Jupiter by pigeons. It was also used by the gods for anointing their body and hair; whence we read of the ambrosial locks of Jupiter.
AMBŪBAIAE (probably from the Syriac abub aubub, a pipe), Eastern dancing girls, who frequented chiefly the Circus at Rome, and obtained their living by prostitution and lascivious songs and dances.
AMBURBĬUM, a sacrifice which was performed at Rome for the purification of the city.
AMENTUM. [[Hasta].]
ĂMICTŌRĬUM. [[Strophium].]
ĂMICTUS. The verb amicire is commonly opposed to induere, the former being applied to the putting on of the outer garment, the pallium, laena, or toga (ἱμάτιον, φᾶρος); the latter, to the putting on of the inner garment, the tunic (χιτών). In consequence of this distinction, the verbal nouns amictus and indutus, even without any further denomination of the dress being added, indicate respectively the outer and inner clothing. In Greek amicire is expressed by ἀμφιέννυσθαι, ἀμπέχεσθαι, ἐπιβάλλεσθαι, περιβάλλεσθαι: and induere by ἐνδύνειν. Hence came ἀμπεχόνη, ἐπίβλημα, and ἐπιβόλαιον, περίβλημα, and περιβόλαιον, an outer garment, a cloak, a shawl; and ἔνδυμα, an inner garment, a tunic, a shirt.