Sacranae acies The Sacrani were an ancient people of Latium. Sacrator An Etruscan warrior. He appears only once in the Aeneid, when he kills the Trojan Hydaspes. Sagaris A Trojan, servant of Aeneas, slain in battle by Turnus. Salamis An island off the coast of Attica. Salii A college of Roman priests. Salius A follower of Aeneas, originally from Acarnania in western Greece. Salius A Rutulian warrior slain in battle by the Trojan Nealces. Sallentini campi A part of Calabria in the extreme southeastern part of Italy. Salmoneus A Thessalian king, the son of Aeolus. He drove his chariot while brandishing torches as if they were lightning and making a great deal of noise like thunder, in imitation of Jupiter, who in retaliation blasted him with a real lightning bolt. He is often included among the legendary sinners punished in the underworld. Same An old name for the island of Cephallenia (or Cephalenia; modern Cephalonia), the largest island in the Ionian Sea, opposite the Gulf of Corinth. Samothracia Samothrace, an island in the northeastern Aegean sea. Samus An island off the coast of Asia Minor. It was in ancient times the site of an important cult of Juno. Herodotus calls her temple there "the largest of all that I have seen" (3.60) and just as noteworthy as the temple of Diana at Ephesus (2.148), which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sardonius From the island of Sardinia (ancient Sardo). "Sardonian herbs" refers to a kind of celery, the bitterness of which was thought to produce the "sardonic smile" of the island's inhabitants (Pausanias 10.17.13). Sarnus A river (the modern Sarno) in Campania between Naples and Salerno. Sarpedon A Lycian king, the son of Jupiter. One of the greatest of the Trojans' allies against the Greeks, he was slain in battle by Patroclus (Iliad 16) Sarranus "Tyrian," from Sarra, the old Latin equivalent of "Tsor," the Hebrew name for Tyre. Sarrastes A Pelasgian tribe who settled in Campania along the banks of the river Sarnus, from which they take their name. Saticulus Also Saticulanus; from the town of Saticula in Samnium near the border of Campania. Satura Also the Saturae palus, a swamp in southern in Latium lying between Cisterna at the foot of the Volscian mountains and Terracina on the sea, thus covering an area of about 30 miles in length by eight in breadth; more commonly known as the Pomptine or Pontine marshes (Pomptinae paludes; modern Paludi Pontine). Saturnus Saturn, An ancient Italian divinity whom the Romans likened to the Titan Cronus of Greek mythology. After Jupiter overthrew him and took his place as king of the gods, Saturn hid in Latium (cf. lateo, late_re, "to hide") where his regime was identified with the Golden Age. Satyri Satyrs, rustic creatures who are human from the waist up, goat from the waist down. In Greek mythology they are followers of Dionysus; in Roman mythology they are often identified with fauns (fauni), a type of woodland spirit. Scaeae portae The main gates of the city of Troy. Servius (in Aen. 2.13, 2.241) records a tradition that, so long as the gates remained secure, the city could not fall. Scipiadae "The sons of [the house of] Scipio," namely, P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of Hannibal in the Second Punic War, and P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (also known as Africanus Minor), who presided over the total destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War. Scorpios The constellation Scorpio, the eighth sign of the zodiac. Scyllaceum A town of the Bruttii in southern Italy. Scylla 1 Daughter of Nisus, king of Megara. Nisus had a magic lock of purple hair: as long as it remained intact, his city could not be taken. But when Minos of Crete was beseiging Megara, Scylla spotted him from the city walls, fell in love with him, cut the lock from Nisus' head, and thus betrayed her father and her city. When Minos nevertheless rejected her advances, she suffered metammorphosis into a bird called in Latin the "ciris," while her father was changed into the sparrow-hawk, and in this form eternally pursues her. The story is told by Ovid, Metamophoses 8.1-151. Poets often conflate the Scylla of this tale, deliberately or not, with Scylla the sea monster. Scylla 2 A sea monster having a form of a beautiful woman from the waist up, but of a beast encircled by yelping hounds from the waist down. She haunted the Straits of Messina between Italy and Sicily, standing across from the whirlpool Charybdis. Her earliest appearances in literature is in Homer (Odyssey 12). The story of her transformation from a beautiful nymph into a monster in told by Ovid (Metamorphoses 13). Poets often conflate the Scylla of this tale, deliberately or not, with Scylla the daughter of Nisus. Scylla 3 The name of a ship captained by the Trojan Cloanthus. Scyrius From or native to Scyros (modern Skyro), an island in the Aegean Sea opposite Euboea. It was here that Thetis hid Achilles at the court of the king Lycomedes in order to avoid his having to fight at Troy. While he was in hiding there, Achilles fell in love with Lycomede's daughter Deiodamia, who bore Achilles his son Pyrrhus (also known as Neoptolemus). Scythia Used generally by ancient authors to denote a vast territory in eastern Europe and western and central Asia. Its precise frame of reference varies from author to author. For Vergil, Scythia represents a place very far and very different from Italy. Sebethis A nymph, daughter of the river god Sebethos (cf. Statius, Silvae 1.2.263) and mother of Oebalus, an ally of Turnus against Aeneas. The river Sebethos (modern Fiume della Maddalena) empties into the Bay of Naples, flowing past the city of Naples itself, just to the east. Selinus One of the most important cities of ancient Sicily and the westernmost of the Greek colonies on that island. Selinus was a joint colony of Sicilian Megara (Megara Hyblaea) and its parent city, Megara. It was situated on the southwest coast of the island near a river of the same name, which means "parsley"; its ruins are near the modern town of Torre dei Pulci. Senectus "Old Age" personified. Septentrio The constellation of Ursa major, the Big Dipper. The etymology of the name is septem triones, "the seven plow-oxen," for the number of stars in the constellation, which were thought to be pulling a wagon (Ursa minor, the Little Dipper). Seres The inhabitants of Serica, a region of eastern Asia bounded by Scythia to the west, India to the south, and by the Sinae (Chinese) or else by the Pacific Ocean to the east. Knowledge of this area was very imprecise in Vergil's day, and it is unlikely that he or his readers regarded it is other than a strange and faraway place. Serestus A Trojan leader. Sergestus A Trojan leader, the eponymous ancestor of the Roman gens Sergia. Sergius The nomen gentilicium of the gens Sergia. The most famous bearer of this name was L. Sergius Catilina (known in English as Catiline), the leader of an attempted coup d'etat in 63 BC. The revolution was suppressed by M. Tullius Cicero, the consul of that year, whose account of the episode is contained in his four Catilinarian orations. The affair is also the subject of Sallust's de Catilinae coniuratione. Serranus A young Rutulian warrior slain in battle by the Trojan Nisus. Serranus M. Attilius Regulus, consul of 257. A hero of the First Punic War. After winning several important vistories over the Carthaginians, he was finally captured. According to legend, he was allowed to return to Rome to advise the Senate against negotiating with the Carthaginians for an exchange of prisoners or for terms of peace, and then volutarily returned to Carthage and a brutal execution. This episode is the subject of Horace's "Regulus ode" (carmen 3.5). The agnomen Serranus was thought in antiquity to derive from the verb sero, serere "to sow" (hence Vergil's depiction of him as serentem "sowing") and to have been given because he was sowing crops when he was summoned to the consulship (in the manner of Cincinnatus). The story is told by Cicero (pro Roscio Amerino 50, pro Sestio 72), by Pliny the Elder (NH 18.20), and by Valerius Maximus (4.4.5). It is more likely, however, that the agnomen derives from the Umbrian town of Saranum. Seuerus A mountain in Sabine territory mentioned only by Vergil and otherwise unidentified. Sibylla A sibyl: originally either a word (apparently Greek, but possibly borrowed by the Greeks from another language) meaning "prophetess" or a proper name that came to be used of many prophetic women. There existed in antiquity various lists of the sibyls who were associated with specific places existed in antiquity; among those with which Vergil must have been familiar was that of M. Terentius Varro, which appears in his work on religion (Res Divinae) and includes the Cumaean Sibyl, who appears in Aeneid 6. According to legend, the Roman king tarquinius Priscus purchased three books of oracles from the Cumaean Sibyl and established a board of fifteen priests, the Quindemimviri Sacris Faciundis (literally "the fifteen men for performing sacred functions"), whose purpose was to consult these oracles when ordered by the Senate to do so and to interpret them in time of national emergency. These texts were housed in the temple of Capitoline Jupiter, and the extant texts were lost when that temple burned in 83 BC. A new collection of Sibylline oracles was compiled, and later moved by Augustus to the temple of Palatine Apollo. Various collections of Sibylline oracles continued to be consulted until late antiquity, and legends about the sibylls of antiquity survived through the Middle Ages into the Renaissance and were an important subject in the visual arts. Sicania Sicily. Sicanius From or native to Sicania (Sicily). A Greek loan word used in Latin mainly by poets. Sicani The inhabitants of Sicania (Sicily). Originally a people of ancient Italy who lived along the Tiber, part of whom migrated to Sicily and settled there. Sicanus From or native to Sicania (Sicily). A Greek loan word used in Latin mainly by poets. Sicelides "Sicilian," from the Greek Sikelis, "a woman of Sicily." The phrase "Sicleides Musae" refers to the Muses who inspired Theocritus, the first and most important of the Greek bucolic poets and Vergil's chief model in the Eclogues. Theocritus was born in Syracuse on Sicily, and his bucolic poetry was set in the Sicilian countryside. Siculus "Sicilian," from the Greek "Sikelos." Sicyonius From or native to Sicyon, a Greek city of the Pelponnese near the Isthmus of Corinth (modern Vasiliko). Pausanias mentions a legend about a spring at Sicyon that flowed with olive oil (2.6.3) and compares the quality of Sicyonian oil to that of Attica (10.32.19). Sidicina aequora The Sidicini were an ancient Italian people whose territory lay between Samnium and Campania. By Vergil's time they were no longer distinct from the other inhabitants of Campania, though his designation of the Sidicina aequora or "Sidicine plains" is paralleled by references to the "Sidicinus ager" in Livy (10.14, 26.9), and the Campanian city of Teanum (modern Teano) continued to be associated with them down into the empire. Sidon An ancient Phoenician city, the parent city of Tyre, which was in turn the parent city of Carthage. Sidonius From or native to Sidon. By extension, Carthaginian, because the Carthaginians were ultimately descended from the people of Sidon. Sigeus Pertaining or belonging to Sigeum, a promontory near Troy where Achilles was thought to be buried (modern Yenishehr). Sila A mountain in the territory of the Bruttii. Silarus A river in Lucania. Silenus Traditionally the father of all the satyrs and a companion of Bacchus. Siluanus An ancient Italian woodland divinity (cf. Silva, silvae "woods"). Siluia Daughter of Tyrrhus. Ascanius accidently kills her pet deer, enraging the people of Latium and setting in motion the war between the Trojans and the Italians. Siluius 6.763 Son of Aeneas and Lavinia. Silvius 6.769 Silvius Aeneas or Aeneas Silvius was one of the kings of Alba Longa. Simois 1.100, 618; 5.261, 634, 803; 6.88; 10.60; 11.257 One of the rivers near the city of Troy. Simois 3.302 One of the rivers near the city of Troy. In the new Troy that Helenus and Andromache create in Buthrotum, one there is a stream to which they give the name Simois in memory of the original. Sinon A Greek warrior who convinces the Trojans to accept the Trojan horse into their city. Sirenes Mythical creatures with the bodies of birds and the faces and voices of beautiful women. Their singing caused sailors to lose interest in anything else and attracted them to sail close to the rocks on which they sat and sang, rocks that were surrounded with the bones of their victims. Odysseus by stopping his men's ears with wax and having himself bound to the mast of his ship mamages both to hear their song and to avoid losing his homecoming (Homer, Odyssey 12). Sirius The "dog star". Sithoniae niues in Thracia E. 10.66 Thracian. Sol The Sun. Sol Cf. Oriens Sol Cf. Phaethon Sol Cf. Phoebus Sol Cf. Titan Somnia Dreams personified. Somnus Sleep personified. Sophocleus Sophocles was traditionally regarded as the greatest of the Athenian tragic poets. Sopor Sluggishness personified. Soracte A mountain in Etruria but within sight of Rome. On it was a temple to Apollo. Sparta A Greek city of the Peloponnese, famous for its stern morality, military discipline, and (by ancient standards) sexual equality. Spartanus From or native to Sparta. Cf. Lacedaemon Spercheos A river in Thessaly. Spio A nymph, one of the Nereids (daughters of Nereus). Steropes One of the Cyclopes. Sthenelus 2.261 A Greek warrior concealed in the Trojan horse. He appears in Homer as Diomedes' charioteer (Iliad 5.108). Sthenelus 12.341 A Trojan warrior slain in battle by Turnus. Sthenius A Rutulian warrior slain in battle by Pallas. Stimichon A shepherd. Strophades A group of small islands in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Acarnania. They were inhabited by the Harpies. Strymon A large river in Western Thrace. Strymonius 1 From or native to the region around the Strymon, a river in Thrace; Thracian. Strymonius 2 A Trojan warrior slain in battle by Halaesus. Styx In Greek mythology, one of the rivers of the mythical underworld; the river of hate (from the Greek stygein "to hate"). Stygius Of or pertaining to the river Styx (in Greek mythology, one of the rivers of the underworld); infernal, hellish. Sucro A Rutulian warrior slain in battle by Aeneas. Sulmo 9.412 A Rutulian warrior slain in battle by Nisus. Sulmo (modern Sulmona) is also the name of a town in the Abruzzi, and was the birthplace of Ovid. Sybaris A Trojan warrior clain in battle by Turnus. Sychaeus The husband of Dido, murdered treacherously by her brother Pygmalion. Symaethia The Symaethus is a river in eastern Sicily near Mt. Etna. Syracosius From or native to Syracuse, a city in Sicily. The phrase "Syracosio versu" refers to the poetry of Theocritus, the first and most important of the Greek bucolic poets and Vergil's chief model in the Eclogues. Theocritus was born in Syracuse, and his bucolic poetry was set in the Sicilian countryside. Syrius Syrian. Syrtis The coastal regions facing the Syrtes. Syrtes The word "syrtis" generally means "sandbank" or "shoal," but as a proper name Syrtes refers to a pair of particularly dangerous sandbanks off the coast of north Africa, the so-called Greater Syrtis off Tripoli and the Lesser Syrtis off Tunis. Taburnus A mountain range in Campania. Taenariae Taenarus or Taenarum is a promontory (modern Cape Matapan) and a town in Laconia. A cave in the vicinity was thought to be an entrance to the underworld. Tagus A Rutulian warrior, slain in battle by Nisus. Talos A Rutulian warrior, slain in battle by Aeneas. Tanager A river in Lucania, the modern Tenagro, a tributary of the Silarus It rises in the mountains near Lago Negro, flows above ground for about thirty miles, goes underground at La Polla, and resurfaces at La Pertusa. The fact that its stream goes underground is what leads Vergil to speak of it as "dry". Tanais The modern Don, a river in Sarmatia that is the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia. Tanais A Rutulian warrior, slain in battle by Aeneas. Tarcho An Etruscan leader from the city of Agylla (which was later called Caere; modern Cervetri); an ally of Aeneas in the Italian war. Tarentum An important city (the modern Taranto) of Calabria in southern Italy. Tarentum Cf. Oebalius Tarpeia 1 Tarpeia arx is the Capitoline hill. The mons Capitolinus was also known as the mons Tarpeius after Tarpeia, the daughter of one of Romulus' generals. During a war against the Sabines she tried to betray the citadel atop the Capitoline hill to the enemy general, Titus Tatius. Tarpeia 2 Tarpeiam sedem is a synonym for Capitolia in this line. The mons Capitolinus was also known as the mons Tarpeius after Tarpeia, the daughter of one of Romulus' generals During a war against the Sabines she tried to betray the citadel atop the Capitoline hill to the enemy general, Titus Tatius. Tarpeia 3 The daughter of one of Romulus' generals. During a war against the Sabines she tried to betray the citadel atop the Capitoline hill to the enemy general, Titus Tatius. Tarquinius 1 The nomen gentilicium of two of the early kings of Rome. Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, was traditionally thought to have ruled between 616 and 579 BC. He is credited with a number of important governmental reforms. Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome, was traditionally thought to have ruled from 534 to 510 BC, and was regarded as a vicious tyrant. Tarquinius 2 Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome, was traditionally thought to have ruled from 534 to 510 BC, and was regarded as a vicious tyrant. The story of his rise and fall is told by Livy. Tarquitus A Rutulian warrior slain in battle by Aeneas. He was the son of Faunus and Dryope. His name resembles the Etruscan personal names Tarchon and Tarquinius and the place name Tarquinii. Tartara The region of the underworld in which the greatest evildoers were punished. Tartarus The region of the underworld in which the greatest evildoers were punished. Tartareus From or native to Tartarus or to the underworld in general; infernal. Tatius Titus Tatius, king of the Sabine city of Cures. After the rape of the Sabine women, he led an attack on Rome seeking retribution; but according to legend the women themselves intervened in the battle and reconciled their captors with their avengers. Tatius and Romulus thereafter shared the kingship of the people of Rome and the people of Cures. Taurus The constellation Taurus, the second sign of the zodiac. Taygeta A mountain ridge in Laconia. Taygetus From or native to Taygete in Laconia; Laconian. Taygete A daughter of Atlas and Pleione; thus, one of the Pleiades, a constellation of seven stars (in Latin the Vergiliae). Here she stands by synecdoche for the entire constellation. The heliacal rising of the Pleiades occurs in early May. Tegeaeus From or native to Tegea, an ancient town of Arcadia; hence, Arcadian. Teleboae In Vergil, a people who occupied the island of Capri in the Bay of Naples. In Homer, pirates who live among the islands of Ionia. Tellus The goddess Earth, also known as Terra (in Greek Gaea). Telon King of the Teleboae and father of Oebalus, an ally of Turnus against Aeneas. Tempe A valley in Thessaly through which ran the river Peneus. Tempestates Storms or Seasons personified as divinities. Tenedos An island (modern Tenedo or Bogdsha-Adassi) about twelve miles from Cape Sigea near Troy. Tereus 1 King of Thrace, husband of Procne, the sister of Philomela. Their story is told by Ovid (Metamorphoses 6). Tereus 2 A Trojan warrior slain in battle by Camilla. Terra The goddess Earth, also known as Tellus (in Greek Gaea). Tethys A sea goddess, the wife of Oceanus. Tetrica A mountain in the central Apennine range within Sabine territory. It has not been specifically identified. Teucer Cf. Teucrus Teucria Troy. Teucri Trojans. Teucrus 1 The most ancient king of Troy, the son of Scamander and the nymph Idaea, and the eponymous hero of the Teucrian people. Teucrus 2 Son of Telamon, half-brother of Ajax, known for his archery. Upon his return to his home on Salamis after the Trojan War, his father accused him of complicity in Ajax's death and banished him. He then consulted an oracle and was directed to settle on Cyprus, where he founded a new Salamis with the support of Belus of Sidon. Teuthras A warrior on the side of Aeneas. In Homer, Teuthras is the name of a Greek warrior (Iliad 5.705). Teutonicus German. Thaemon A Lycian warrior allied to Aeneas, the brother of Sarpedon and Clarus. Thalea One of the nine Muses. Her name means "flourishing." Although individual Muses were not strictly associated with particular spheres in Vergil's day, Thalea was eventually associated with comedy, and the fact that Vergil invokes her in particular at Eclogue 6.2 is probably to be taken as a modest but dignified acknowledgement that pastoral is to be counted among the humbler genres in comparison with martial epic. Thalia A sea nymph who appears in the train of Neptune. In Homer, she is found among the nymphs who accompany Thetis on her second visit to Achilles (Iliad 18.39); in Hesiod, she is one of the Nereids (Theogony 245). Thamyrus A Trojan warrior slain in battle by Turnus. Thapsus A city on the eastern coast of Sicily. Thasius From or native to Thasus (modern Thaso), an island of the north Aegean Sea off the coase of Thrace. Thaumantias A patronymic: "the daughter of Thaumas." Here Iris is meant, but according to Hesiod (Theogony 266-67), the Harpies were also daughters of Thaumas and Electra. Theano Wife of the Trojan Amycus and mother of the warrior Mimas, who accompanies Aeneas to Italy. In Homer, Theano is the wife of Antenor (Iliad 5.70). Thebae Thebes, the main city of Boeotia in Greece. Thebanus From or native to Thebes. Themillas A warrior who fights on the side of Aeneas, wounding the Rutulian Privernus. The name is otherwise unknown. Thermodon A river in Cappadocia, often associated with the Amazons. Theron A Latin warrior slain in battle by Aeneas. Thersilochus 6.483 A Trojan warrior whom Aeneas sees in the underworld. The list in which his name appears reproduces exactly part of a list from Homer (Iliad 17.216). Thersilochus 12.363 A Trojan warrior slain in battle by Turnus. Homer names a Thersilochus in a catalogue of warriors whom Hector rallies for battle (17.216), and Vergil quotes this catalogue when he names Thersilochus among the Trojan warriors whom Aeneas sees in the underworld. Theseus One of the legendary kings of Athens. He made a descent to the underworld and attempted to carry off Persephone. Thesidae Patronymic: "the sons of Theseus," i.e. Athenians. Thessandrus A Greek warrior whom Vergil names among those that hid inside the Trojan Horse. According to Servius he was a son of Polynices. Apollodorus (epitome 3.17) states that Thessandrus died before arriving at Troy. Thestylis A shepherdess. In Theocritus, a magician's servant (Idyll 2). Thetis A sea goddess, the mother of Achilles. Thoas A Greek warrior whom Vergil names among those who hid inside the Trojan Horse. Homer names him among the Aetolian contingent in the Catalogue of Ships (Iliad 2.638) and Apollodorus (epitome 7.26) names him among the suitors of Penelope. A different Thoas was king of Lemnos and the father of Hypsipyle (Iliad 14.230, Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.621). Vergil also mentions a Trojan warrior of the same name. Thoas A Trojan warrior slain in battle by Halaesus. Vergil also mentions a Greek warrior of the same name. Thracia Thrace. Thraces Thracians, the people of Thrace. Thracius From or native to Thrace. Threicius Thracian Threissa A Thracian woman. Thronius A Trojan warrior slain in battle by the Italian Salius. In Homer Thronius is the name of a town in Locris (Iliad 2.533). Thule The name given by geographers to the land or island that lay farthest to the north. Proverbially, the "ends of the earth." Thybris An ancient king of the Tusci who gave his name to the Tiber. Thybris The Greek name for the Tiber. Thybrinus The Greek form of Tiberinus, "from, of, or having to do with the Tiber." Thyias A Bacchant or follower of Bacchus. Thymber A Rutulian warrior slain in battle by Pallas. His name recalls Thybris, the Greek name for Tiber. Thymbraeus A cult title of Apollo. It derives from Thymbra, a town near Troy where there was a temple to the god. According to Apollodorus (epitome 3.32) it was at this shrine that Achilles killed Troilus. Thymbraeus A Trojan warrior who slays Osiris in battle. In Homer, Thymbraeus is the name of a Trojan warrior slain in battle by Diomedes. The name derives from Thymbra, a town near Troy.