Classics key terms

A burial room cut into a hillside, commonly reused for successive burials.

The ways a writer presents a character through description, speech, actions, relationships and others’ responses.

A light, horse-drawn vehicle, usually with two wheels, whose occupants stand on a platform.

The ferryman who, in ancient beliefs about the Underworld, transported the dead across its waters in return for payment.

Sexual purity or fidelity; in the portrayal of a Roman wife, faithfulness to her husband.

A wealthy citizen who sponsored the training and equipment of a chorus for a dramatic or choral production at an Athenian festival.

A group of performers in ancient Greek drama who comment on events and interact with the characters. In Euripides’ Medea, they represent Corinthian women.

Made using gold and ivory, as in the cult statues of Athena in the Parthenon and Zeus at Olympia.

A modern collection of Latin inscriptions. Its volume and entry numbers identify particular texts.

Rome’s largest chariot-racing venue, situated in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills.

A tank or chamber used to collect and store water, which can provide a protected supply during a siege.

A rectangular grave lined with stone slabs or mudbrick, generally intended for an individual burial.

A fortified stronghold, often occupying elevated ground and containing important buildings.

Membership of a political community, carrying a recognised position within it; its rights and obligations depended on the community and period.

An Athenian religious festival honouring Dionysus, including processions, choral contests and competitive dramatic performances.

A person who is not taking part in fighting, but may nevertheless suffer death, captivity, displacement or bereavement during war.

In the Odyssey, an ideal of ordered social life involving shared customs, respect for the gods and humane treatment of others; material wealth alone does not establish it.

A war between competing groups within the same state. The struggle between Octavian and Antony was a Roman civil war, although Octavian presented it as a war against Cleopatra.

An exceptional figure whose actions embody or test qualities valued by a community, such as courage, excellence, honour and duty. A classical literary hero need not be morally faultless or victorious.

Mercy shown by someone with the power to punish.

The queen of Egypt whose relationships and political alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony made her a major figure in Rome’s struggles for power.

A person attached to a patron through a relationship involving support, services and obligations.

A state with its own ruler which depends on, and is subordinate to, a more powerful state.

A decorative technique using thin metal strips to form compartments that hold contrasting materials.

A formal purchase-style legal ceremony through which a woman could enter her husband's manus.

One of the ten main infantry divisions of a Roman legion. An ordinary cohort contained six centuries; the first cohort was larger.

A row of columns supporting part of a building; a peripteral temple has an external colonnade surrounding it.