Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

NAVIS.

268

NAUTODICAE

ancients as early as the time of Homer had
various preparations raised above the edge
of a vessel, which were made of skins and
wicker-work, and which were intended as a
protection against high waves, and also to
serve as a kind of breast-work behind which
the men might be safe against the darts of
the enemy. These elevations of the bulwark
are called Trapappvp-ara. They were probably
fixed upon the edge on both sides of the
vessel, and were taken off when not wanted.
Each galley appears to have had several
Tva.pappvna.Ta, two made of hair and two
white ones, these four being regularly men-
tioned as belonging to one ship.—5. Sxoii/t'a
are the stronger and heavier kinds of ropes.
There were two kinds of these, viz. the
tr\owia ayKvpeia, to which the anchor was
attached, and (rxoivia kiriyva. or cn-i'-yeiix [reti-
nacula), by which the ship was fastened to
the shore or drawn upon the shore.—6. The
anchor (iy/cvpa, ancora). We have already
remarked that in the Homeric age anchors
were not known, and large stones (evcai.,

sleepers) used in their stead. "When anchors
came to be used, they were generally made
of iron, and their form resembled that of a
modern anchor. Such an anchor was often
termed bidens, 6t77Arj, ajx0t/3oA.os or ap-ipia-
rop-oi, because it had two teeth or flukes;
but sometimes it had only one, and was then
called eTepocrrd/ios. The technical expressions
_in the use of the anchor are : ancoram
solvere, ayxvpav x<*A<?"i to loose the anchor ;
ancoram jacerc, aynvpav /SaAAetv or pCirreiv,
to cast anchor ; and ancoram tollere, aynvptxv
alpav or avaCpeaSai, to weigh anchor, whence
dipetv by itself means " to set sail," ayxvpav
being understood. The following figure
shows the cable {funis), passing through a
hole in the prow (oculus). Each ship of
course had several anchors. The last or
most powerful anchor, " the last hope," was
called iepoL, sacra, and persons trying their
last hope were said sacram solvere.-—The
preceding account of the different parts of
the ship will be rendered still clearer by the
drawing on p. 263.

Birernis. (From a Marble at Rome.)

NAUMACHIA, the name given to the I dians and Sicilians, Persians and Athenians,
representation of a sea-fight among the Ro- | Corcyraeans and Corinthians, Athenians and

mans, and also to the place where such en-
gagements were exhibited. These fights
sometimes took place in the circus or amphi-
theatre, sufficient water being introduced to
float ships, but more generally in buildings
especially devoted to this purpose. The
combatants in these sea-fights, called JS'au-
machiarii, were usually captives, or crimi-
nals condemned to death, who fought as in

Syracusans, &c. These sea-fights were ex-
hibited with the same magnificence and lavish
expenditure of human life as characterised
the gladiatorial combats and other public
games of the Romans. In Nero's naumachia
there were sea-monsters swimming about in
the artificial lake. In the sea-fight exhibited
by Titus there were 3000 men engaged, and
in that exhibited by Domitian the ships were

gladiatorial combats, until one party was ; almost equal in number to two real fleets,
killed, unless preserved by the clemency of NAUTODICAE (vavTo&iicai), magistrates at
the emperor. The ships engaged in the sea Athens, who had jurisdiction in matters be-
fights were divided into two parties, called longing to navigation and commerce, and in
respectively by the names of different mari- matters concerning such persons as had en-
time nations, as Tyrians and Egyptians, Rho- tered their names as members of a phratria