DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13855#0232
LEGIO.
224
LEMURIA
and who had been consuls or praetor?, or
were at least senators. These vicegerents of
the emperor were called Iryati migusti pro
praetore, Icy at i praetor ii, Iryati consulares, or
Dimply Iryati, and they, like the governors of
the provinces of the Roman people, had one
or three legati as their assistants. During
the lattei period of the republic it had become
customary for senators to obtain from the
senate the permission to travel through or
stay in any province at the expense of the
provincials, merely for the purpose of mana-
ging and conducting their own personal
affairs. There was no restraint as to the
length of time the senators were allowed to
avail themselves of this privilege, which was
a heavy burden upon the provincials. This
mode of sojourning in a province was called
legatio libera, because those who availed
themselves of it enjoyed all the privileges of
a public legatus or ambassador, without
having any of his duties to perform. At the
time of Cicero the privilege of legatio libera
was abused to a very great extent. Cicero,
therefore, in his consulship (b. c. 63) endea-
voured to put an end to it, but, owing to the
opposition of a tribune, he only succeeded in
limiting the time of its duration to one year.
Julius Caesar afterwards extended the time
during which a senator might avail himself
of the legatio libera to five years.
LEGIO. [Exercitus.]
LEITUEGIA (AeiT-oupyia, from Ion.
Ktiltov, i. e. Stj/xdcrioi', or, according to others,
npvTavelov), a liturgy, is the name of certain
personal services which, at Athens, every
citizen who possessed a certain amount of
property had to perform towards the state.
These personal services, which in all cases
were connected with considerable expenses,
were at first a natural consequence of the
greater political privileges enjoyed by the
wealthy, who, in return, had also to perform
heavier duties towards the republic ; but
when the Athenian democracy was at its
height the original character of these litur-
gies became changed, for, as every citizen
now enjoyed the same rights and privileges
as the wealthiest, they were simply a tax
upon property connected with personal labour
and exertion. All liturgies may be divided
into two classes: 1, ordinary or encyclic
liturgies (eyjcvjefaoi Aen-oupyuu) ; and 2, extra-
ordinary liturgies. The former were called
encyclic, because they recurred every year
at certain festive seasons, and comprised the
Chorcyia, (fymnasiarchia, Lampadarchia, Ar-
ch itheoria, and Hestiasis. Every Athenian
who possessed three talents and above was
subject to them, and they were undertaken
in turns by the members of every tribe who
possessed the property qualification just me
tioned, unless some one volunteered to u
dertake a liturgy for another person. Bi
the law did not allow any one to be co
pelled to undertake more than one litur
at a time, and he who had in one year pe
formed a liturgy was free for the next,
that legally a person had to perform a litur
only every other year. Those whose turn
was to undertake any of the ordinary liturgi
were always appointed by their own trib
The persons who were exempt from all kin
of liturgies were the nine archons, heiresse
and orphans until after the commenceme
of the second year of their coming of ag
Sometimes the exemption from liturgi
(aTeAei'a) was granted to persons for especi
merits towards the republic. The only ki
of extraordinary liturgy to which the nam
is properly applied is the tririarrhi
(rpt-qpapxia.) ■ in the earlier times, howeve
the service in the armies was in reality f
more than an extraordinary liturgy. [S
Eisphora and Trikrarchia.] In later time
during and after the Peloponnesian war,
when the expenses of a liturgy were found
too heavy for one person, we find that in
many instances two persons combined to
defray its expenses. Such was the case with
the ehoragia and the trierarchy.
LEMBUS, a skiff or small boat, uspd for
carrying a person from a ship to the shore.
The name was also given to the light boats
which were sent ahead of a fleet to obtain
information of the enemy's movements.
LEMNISCUS (Arj^n'oxos), a kind of co-
loured ribbon which hung down from crowns
or diadems at the back part of the head.
Coronae adorned with lemnisci were a greater
distinction than those without them. This
serves to explain an expression of Cicero
(palma lemniscata, pro Rose. Am. 35), where
palma means a victory, and the epithet lem-
niscata indicates the contrary of infamis, and
at the same time implies an honourable as
well as lucrative victor}-. Lemnisci were
also worn alone and without being connected
with crowns, especially by ladies, as an or-
nament for the head.
LEMURIA, a festival for the souls of the
dt parted, which was celebrated at Rome
every year in the month of May. It was
said to have been instituted by Romulus to
appease the spirit of Renin.,, whom he had
slain, and to have been called originally
Remuria. It was celebrated at night and in
silence, and during three alternate days, that
is, on the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth of
May. During this season the temples of the
gods were closed, and it was thought un-
lucky for women to marry at this time and
224
LEMURIA
and who had been consuls or praetor?, or
were at least senators. These vicegerents of
the emperor were called Iryati migusti pro
praetore, Icy at i praetor ii, Iryati consulares, or
Dimply Iryati, and they, like the governors of
the provinces of the Roman people, had one
or three legati as their assistants. During
the lattei period of the republic it had become
customary for senators to obtain from the
senate the permission to travel through or
stay in any province at the expense of the
provincials, merely for the purpose of mana-
ging and conducting their own personal
affairs. There was no restraint as to the
length of time the senators were allowed to
avail themselves of this privilege, which was
a heavy burden upon the provincials. This
mode of sojourning in a province was called
legatio libera, because those who availed
themselves of it enjoyed all the privileges of
a public legatus or ambassador, without
having any of his duties to perform. At the
time of Cicero the privilege of legatio libera
was abused to a very great extent. Cicero,
therefore, in his consulship (b. c. 63) endea-
voured to put an end to it, but, owing to the
opposition of a tribune, he only succeeded in
limiting the time of its duration to one year.
Julius Caesar afterwards extended the time
during which a senator might avail himself
of the legatio libera to five years.
LEGIO. [Exercitus.]
LEITUEGIA (AeiT-oupyia, from Ion.
Ktiltov, i. e. Stj/xdcrioi', or, according to others,
npvTavelov), a liturgy, is the name of certain
personal services which, at Athens, every
citizen who possessed a certain amount of
property had to perform towards the state.
These personal services, which in all cases
were connected with considerable expenses,
were at first a natural consequence of the
greater political privileges enjoyed by the
wealthy, who, in return, had also to perform
heavier duties towards the republic ; but
when the Athenian democracy was at its
height the original character of these litur-
gies became changed, for, as every citizen
now enjoyed the same rights and privileges
as the wealthiest, they were simply a tax
upon property connected with personal labour
and exertion. All liturgies may be divided
into two classes: 1, ordinary or encyclic
liturgies (eyjcvjefaoi Aen-oupyuu) ; and 2, extra-
ordinary liturgies. The former were called
encyclic, because they recurred every year
at certain festive seasons, and comprised the
Chorcyia, (fymnasiarchia, Lampadarchia, Ar-
ch itheoria, and Hestiasis. Every Athenian
who possessed three talents and above was
subject to them, and they were undertaken
in turns by the members of every tribe who
possessed the property qualification just me
tioned, unless some one volunteered to u
dertake a liturgy for another person. Bi
the law did not allow any one to be co
pelled to undertake more than one litur
at a time, and he who had in one year pe
formed a liturgy was free for the next,
that legally a person had to perform a litur
only every other year. Those whose turn
was to undertake any of the ordinary liturgi
were always appointed by their own trib
The persons who were exempt from all kin
of liturgies were the nine archons, heiresse
and orphans until after the commenceme
of the second year of their coming of ag
Sometimes the exemption from liturgi
(aTeAei'a) was granted to persons for especi
merits towards the republic. The only ki
of extraordinary liturgy to which the nam
is properly applied is the tririarrhi
(rpt-qpapxia.) ■ in the earlier times, howeve
the service in the armies was in reality f
more than an extraordinary liturgy. [S
Eisphora and Trikrarchia.] In later time
during and after the Peloponnesian war,
when the expenses of a liturgy were found
too heavy for one person, we find that in
many instances two persons combined to
defray its expenses. Such was the case with
the ehoragia and the trierarchy.
LEMBUS, a skiff or small boat, uspd for
carrying a person from a ship to the shore.
The name was also given to the light boats
which were sent ahead of a fleet to obtain
information of the enemy's movements.
LEMNISCUS (Arj^n'oxos), a kind of co-
loured ribbon which hung down from crowns
or diadems at the back part of the head.
Coronae adorned with lemnisci were a greater
distinction than those without them. This
serves to explain an expression of Cicero
(palma lemniscata, pro Rose. Am. 35), where
palma means a victory, and the epithet lem-
niscata indicates the contrary of infamis, and
at the same time implies an honourable as
well as lucrative victor}-. Lemnisci were
also worn alone and without being connected
with crowns, especially by ladies, as an or-
nament for the head.
LEMURIA, a festival for the souls of the
dt parted, which was celebrated at Rome
every year in the month of May. It was
said to have been instituted by Romulus to
appease the spirit of Renin.,, whom he had
slain, and to have been called originally
Remuria. It was celebrated at night and in
silence, and during three alternate days, that
is, on the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth of
May. During this season the temples of the
gods were closed, and it was thought un-
lucky for women to marry at this time and