十個鮮爲人知的古羅馬傳統(多圖)

Depending on your personal view, ancient Rome was responsible for giving the Modern world a number of traditions, including various legal ideas, democracy, and some of our religious celebrations. However, there are still many ancient Roman traditions that are slightly obscure, mostly relegated to the dustbin of history. Here are some lesser known ones.
從您個人的角度來看，古羅馬負責給現代世界留下許多傳統，其中包括各種法律觀念，民主主義以及一些宗教慶典。然而，仍舊有許多古羅馬的傳統略顯晦澀，這些大多都被扔進了歷史的垃圾堆裏。這裏就有一些鮮爲人知的。

10、Mos Maiorum
祖先之法

The mos maiorum was an unwritten code pertaining to behavioral customs mostly derived from the traditions of the Romans’ ancestors. Much like the Jews in the first song in Fiddler on the Roof, the Romans loved tradition and felt that moral decay would occur if they strayed too far from the ideals of the past. Therefore, obedience to the mos maiorum was seen as tantamount to maintaining a proper civilized Rome and was almost given legal standing.
祖先之法是一條關於行爲習俗的不成文的法則，大體上源自於羅馬人祖先的傳統。就像猶太人在《屋頂上的小提琴手》中所唱的開篇序曲那樣，羅馬人熱愛傳統並且認爲如果太過於偏離過去的思想，那將會導致道德的淪喪。因此，遵循祖先之法被視爲無異於維持羅馬文明的一種方式，甚至幾乎擁有法律地位。

There were occasions where breaking tradition was seen as subversive; in the case of legislation, it was considered customary to bring proposals before the Senate. Any magistrate who neglected to perform this duty ran the risk of being labeled a traitor. Even with the strict punishment handed down for certain offenses, it was still considered unwritten. As such, the transmission of the mos maiorum from one generation to the next was said to be the duty of the family, especially the paterfamilias (head of the household).
有一些打破傳統的場合被視作是顛覆性的；在法律上，被認作是參議院提案的慣例。任何忽略履行這項職責的法官，都冒着被當作是叛徒的風險。即便對於某些罪行有嚴厲的懲罰手段，但這仍舊被看作是不成文的規定。因此，祖先之法的代代相傳被當做是家庭的責任，尤其是家長（即戶主）的責任。

9、Ludi
競技慶典

The ludi were public games that were normally held in conjunction with religious festivals, though there were occasional events which were secular in nature. Many of them were annual events, especially the religious ones, andthe most famous was the Ludi Romani, which honored Jupiter and was held each September. (It’s the oldest of the ludi and was the only one held in Rome for 300 years after it first began.)
雖然競技慶典中偶爾也存在一些世俗性的節目，但通常都是在宗教節日的時候舉行的公開競技。其中許多都是一年一度的項目，尤其是那些與宗教相關的，在那之中最有名的就是“羅馬節”了，這是爲了表達對朱庇特（羅馬神話中的宙斯大帝）的尊敬而在每年九月舉行的盛典。（這是競技慶典中最古老的節目，同時也是唯一一項在初次創立之後，時隔300年又在羅馬舉行的節目。）

Ludi normally consisted of chariot races, as well as animal hunts. Later editions incorporated gladiatorial combat and there were even special ludi, which were strictly theatrical performances. The ludi with the largest gap in celebration was probably the Ludi Saeculares, or Secular Games. Held in honor of a saeculum, or the longest estimated human lifespan, the Ludi Saeculares were held once every 110 years. (Historian Zosimus actually blames the fall of the Roman Empire on the Romans neglecting to honor this ancient festival.)
競技慶典一般來說包括戰車競技和動物狩獵。再後來也加入了角鬥甚至是一些特殊的競技項目，那些節目完全屬於戲劇性的表演。競技慶典與普通的慶祝活動最大的不同可能在於羅馬百年祭，也稱爲百年大祭。爲了紀念一個百年，或者是估計的人類最長的壽命，羅馬百年祭每110年舉行一次。（實際上歷史學家佐西穆斯將羅馬帝國的衰落歸咎爲羅馬人忽視了對這個古老的節日的紀念。）

8、Dies Lustricus
淨化日

Just as it is in our society today, the birth of a new child was seen as a joyous event, one which brought with it a number of interesting traditions. The dies lustricus, or “day of purification,” was an eight- or nine-day period after birth, which carried with it special meaning for the newborn. Healthcare and technology being what they were back then, a large percentage of childrendidn’t make it past one week, and the Romans felt that a child wasn’t officially a part of the family until the dies lustricus had passed
正如如今的社會習慣，人們普遍認爲嬰兒出生是一件令人歡快的的大事，因此隨之而來的有些有趣的傳統習俗就這樣逐漸形成了。易招致死亡的日期或者說淨化日是指出生後八九天這段時期，他們認爲這幾天對新生的嬰兒是非常重要的。當時的醫療保健技術水平比較落後，大多數的嬰兒都活不過一週，所以羅馬人普遍認爲只有這個孩子經歷了淨化日這段時期後才能真正的將他們視爲家人。

Various rites were performed leading up the final day, including the laying of the baby on the ground and its subsequent raising to the sky by the father. (This was supposed to signify the father’s recognition of the child as one of his own.) At the conclusion of the dies lustricus, a baby was officially given a name, which is why babies who died early were left nameless. A special amulet—bulla for boys and lunula for girls—was also given to them during this period and it was meant to protect them from evil forces
淨化日的最後一天前各種儀式上演着，包括把嬰兒放在地面上然後孩子的父親把孩子高舉向天空。（據猜測這個習俗可能是檢測嬰兒的父親是否認同這個嬰兒是自己的。）在淨化日結束時，這個嬰兒纔會被正式的賜予名字，這就解釋了爲什麼早夭的嬰兒是沒有名字的。同時在儀式期間他們還被賜予了特殊的護身符——男孩兒的布拉式垂飾，女孩兒的新月形吊飾，這些護身符能夠保護他們免受惡魔的侵害。

7、Patria Potestas
父權主義

Warrior with a sword statue on the Vittorio Emanuel bridge (Rome Patria potestas, or “paternal power,” was one of the most prevalent traditions in ancient Rome. It greatly influenced the law of the time, as well asaffecting our laws today. The power of a father over his children was seen as the highest of the land, with the children unable to go against their father’s wishes. Social convention usually kept abuses of power from becoming too widespread, though it was still up to the father as to what he wanted to do, especially in regard to punishment. In addition, the father also had dominion over any of his grandchildren, or even his great-grandchildren. Although, in reality, many children were freed from patria potestas by the time they were in their mid-twenties, since the previous generation was normally dead already. One of the oldest traditions,patria potestas was said to have been granted by Romulus, and even gave a father control over his children’s possessions, which remained his until he died.
父權主義，或是“父權力量”，是古羅馬最普遍的一個傳統。它很大程度上影響了當時以及現在的法律制度。父親臨於孩子的權勢被看做是古羅馬最重要的部分，孩子們不能違背父親的意願。社會慣例總是防止權力濫用，儘管它仍然取決於父親的意願，特別是在懲罰這一方面。除此之外，父親在任何孫子甚至曾孫子面前，都有着絕對的統治權。然而，實際上，由於上一代的死亡，很多孩子在25歲左右就從父權主義中解放出來。作爲一個最古老的傳統，父權主義在羅穆盧斯（羅馬神話中的一個形象）的故事中已被視爲理所當然，甚至給了一個父親控制自己孩子財產的權利，直到父親死亡。

6、Concubinage
納妾制度

A concubine in ancient Rome was slightly different from that of the traditional variety. First off, a man could only have one concubine at a time, and was not allowed to have a concubine if he was already married. In addition, the relationship between a man and his concubine had legal standing and was considered a step below marriage, though there werespecific legal differences.
古羅馬的妾侍跟傳統的妾侍有一點細微的差別。首先，一個男人只能有一個妾侍，但是如果他已經結婚了的話，那麼他就不準再擁有妾侍了。除此之外，男人和妾侍這種關係是受法律承認的，而且人們普遍認爲這是婚姻的某一步驟，但是在法律方面還是截然不同的區別。

In fact, most women who became concubines were only not wives due to social standing, or a man’s wish not to complicate the inheritance of his wealth due to a previous marriage. Children born from concubinage were considered illegitimate; however, the father was still expected to provide for them while he was alive. Also, the concubine herself was not elevated to the same social status as the man—as opposed to a wife—and she was banned from worshiping Juno, the goddess of marriage.
事實上，大部分成爲妾侍的婦女不能成爲妻子，不僅僅是因爲社會地位，歸根結底還因爲男人不想要先前的這段婚姻來混淆他們子孫的繼承財產的權利。妾侍生下的孩子是不被法律承認的；然而，法律依舊希望父親要在孩子活着的時候撫養他。同時，妾侍自身不會提升到與男人擁有同等社會地位的妻位上，她將不再受到婚姻女神朱諾的保護。

5、Peregrini
自由民

Peregrini were people who were not citizens of Rome and the concept of theperegrini was vital to the success of the Roman Empire. Civil law, such as the ownership of property, was restricted in a lot of ways, but the harshest penalty for being a peregrini was that they were unable to marry a Roman citizen, unless extraordinary circumstances allowed for it. The Romans did, however, allow peregrini to retain the rights of their homeland. For example, Athenians were allowed to marry Athenians and be heirs to other Athenians.
自由民並不是真正的羅馬公民。自由民概念的提出也是羅馬帝國成功的關鍵。在法律上，自由民在許多方面受限，比如財產權。但是，最殘酷的地方還是在於他們不被允許與羅馬公民通婚，除非他們作出十分卓越的貢獻纔可以。然而，羅馬人曾向自由人承諾保留他們的家園，比如，雅典人之間可以通婚，也可以成爲其他雅典人的繼承人。

Over time, the rights of Roman citizens began to take over the day-to-day interactions between Romans and non-Romans, so much so that peregriniwere almost second-class citizens, barely better than a slave. However, this was all made moot in A.D. 212, when Emperor Caracalla declared all free men to be citizens of Rome, regardless of their place of birth.
隨着時間的推移，對羅馬公民權的重視開始逐漸取代了羅馬人與非羅馬人的日常交流，以至於後來自由民幾乎成爲了二等公民，僅僅好於奴隸。然而，在公元212年，羅馬皇帝卡拉卡拉宣佈所有的沒有束縛的人，無論他們出生在何方，都是羅馬的公民。這在當時引發了爭論。

4、Poena Cullei
（溺斃）

The Romans had laws for everything, many of which have been adopted by Western civilization into their own judicial systems. However, capital punishment was quite prevalent in ancient Rome, being used for a number of crimes that we would simply jail someone for today. Poena cullei was a special type of capital punishment, one which was reserved for a particular crime: parricide, or murder of a member of one’s family.
羅馬有很多法規，現在有一部分曾被西方司法系統所採用。然而，死罰在過羅馬非常流行，被應用在很多我們現在在最多判個監禁的犯罪上。溺斃（沉水刑）是一種非常特殊的死刑，專門懲罰一些特殊的犯罪，如：殺害雙親罪、活着謀殺親屬罪。

Once convicted, the murderer would have his face covered with a wolf’s skinand sandals were placed on his feet (presumably to keep him from defiling the air or the ground). He would now wait in prison until a sack was made for him. Once it was ready, a dog, monkey, snake, and rooster were placed in the sack, along with the murderer, and the sack was thrown into a river or the ocean.
一旦定罪，人們就會用狼皮把兇手的臉蒙起來，然後在他的腳上穿上涼鞋（據說這樣可以不讓罪犯褻瀆徒土地或者空氣）。他將呆在監牢裏，直到人們用麻袋把他裝起來。但這些準備工作做好了後，人們還會在麻袋裏放一隻狗，一隻猴子，一條蛇和一隻公雞，然後把裝着罪犯的麻袋扔進河裏活着海里。

3、Homo Sacer
（被詛咒的人）

Another traditional Roman punishment, the status of homo sacer was given to those who broke oaths. Homo sacer translates best as “man who is set apart.” Those punished with this title were not allowed to be ritually sacrificed, but they could be killed by anyone, with impunity. Some people were deemed homo sacer by a group of vigilantes, without any actual legal standing. (It is believed this may have occurred in early Rome, since they lacked the standing forces necessary to enforce the law, allowing people to take matters into their own hands on occasion.)
另一項傳統羅馬式懲罰，把背叛誓言者裁定爲“被詛咒的人”。“被詛咒的人”最適合翻譯成“被隔離的人”。得到這個稱號的人不允許被祭祀，而他們卻可以被任何人免於刑罰地殺死。有些人，不經過任何實質法律程序，就可以被一個治安委員會裁定爲“被詛咒的人”。（一般認爲這種現象可能發生在早期羅馬，因爲當時他們缺乏足夠人力執行法律，所以允許人們視情況自己決定爭端。）

In addition, any legal rights the convicted would have normally had, such as land ownership, were revoked, essentially ridding him of what made him a part of society. The Law of the Twelve Tables, the foundation of Roman law, specifically mentions homo sacer, making it the punishment for patrons who deceive their clients.
另外，被判此刑者被剝奪任何正常法律權利，例如土地所有權，實質上剝奪了他作爲社會一份子的基礎。十二銅表法，作爲羅馬法的根基，特別提到了“被詛咒的人”，使之成爲對贊助人欺騙客戶的懲罰。

2、Triumph
凱旋慶典

In ancient Rome, a triumph was an extraordinarily special ritual, a parade saved for a victorious general, and the highest honor that could be bestowed on a military man. (Although, the rite was abused in the later years of the Republic, with the aristocracy vying to outdo each other.) Various requirements, including a kill count, were set and the entire thing had to be approved, as well as paid for, by the Senate. When the Republic fell, all triumphs went to the Emperor, as he was seen as the commander-in-chief and all military honors went to him.
在古羅馬時期，慶祝勝利的儀式是一種十分特殊的典禮，是一場爲得勝歸來的將軍進行的遊行，也是授予一個軍人的最高榮譽。（然而，在古羅馬共和國的後期，由於貴族們相互之間的競爭，這種儀式被濫用了。）進行這種儀式必須要具備許多條件，包括殺敵數目；所有的事情必須由元老院批准、支付費用。當古羅馬崩潰之後，所有的慶祝儀式都被用於皇帝個人，因爲皇帝是總司令，所有的軍隊榮譽都歸於皇帝個人。

Basically, a long parade took place in Rome. Members of the Senate, musicians, sacrificial animals, and prisoners walked in front of the general, who had a gold crown held over his head by a slave. Bringing up the rear were his fellow soldiers, who traditionally sang songs poking fun at their commander; this was believed to ward off the evil eye. It culminated in the sacrifice of animals at the Temple of Jupiter, as well as the killing of the prisoners of war.
一般，在古羅馬一個遊行隊伍都很長。隊伍中元老院的成員、音樂家、用於祭祀的動物和囚犯們走在將軍的前面。將軍的金冠在他的頭頂上方由一個奴隸拿着。殿後的是將軍的士兵。按照傳統這些士兵唱着歌曲來作弄他們的指揮官，人們相信這樣做可以避開能傷害人的惡毒眼光（惡魔之眼）。儀式的最後，人們在朱庇特神廟裏用動物進行獻祭，同時殺掉戰俘。

1、Damnatio Memoriae
除憶之刑

A practice common with nearly every ancient culture, and even some today,damnatio memoriae was the ritualistic and symbolic removal of a person from history. Seen as the worst punishment imaginable, worse than execution, the damned’s name was scratched from inscriptions, frescos with his face were painted over, and any statue was defaced, as if it was really him. It was normally reserved for the worst emperors in Roman history; Caligula and Nero escaped this punishment by having powerful friends, even after death.
這是一種幾乎每個古老文明都有的，甚至在今天的某些地區依然存在的刑罰。除憶之刑是象徵性地、通過某種儀式將某人從歷史中移除，它被看作是世上最嚴重的懲罰，甚至比死刑還要嚴重。受刑的人的名字會從銘文中擦去去，壁畫中的他的頭像會被塗抹覆蓋，而他的雕塑則會被損壞醜化，好象那纔是真正的他。通常只有羅馬歷史上最昏庸無道的君主纔會被施加這種刑罰，即使是在他們死亡以後。而卡里古拉（Caligula）和尼祿（Nero）因爲有權力強大的朋友的幫助而逃過了該刑罰。

Only three emperors are known to have been officially given this punishment, including Maximian, whose friend and co-emperor Diocletian is said to have been so stricken with grief that he died shortly after hearing the news. Obviously, it didn’t work as well in practice as it did in theory; we still know about everyone who was the subject of damnatio memoriae. Some scholars feel it may have served a cathartic purpose for the public, enabling them to vent their frustration over the failures of their leaders.
目前已知的只有三位君主曾被正式地施以該刑罰，包括有馬克西米安（Maximian），據說他的朋友戴克裏先（Diocletian）聽到這個消息以後傷心過度，不久後就死去了。很明顯，這個刑罰實際並沒達到它理論上的效果，因爲我們仍然知曉那些受到除憶之刑的人。一些學者認爲除憶之刑能起到讓公衆泄憤的作用，讓他們發泄出對領導者的失敗的失意感。