Aeculanum (Aeclanum)>: (mod. Le Grotte, near Mirabella Eclano (AV)). Ancient town of the Hirpini, in Samnium. It was situated on the Via Appia, to the ESE of Beneventum.
Aedile: A Roman magistrate who oversaw the running of the public games, public places, and the grain supply for the city of Rome. Four aediles were elected each year, two of which were required to be plebians. The two others, known as curule aediles, might be either plebians or patricians. The aediles were charged with a number of detailed duties. They saw to the general welfare of Rome and its inhabitants, keeping the peace, overseeing public works (buildings, aqueducts, baths, etc) and procuring the necessary food and other provisions for Rome. They were also changed with regulation of weights and measures.
The title of aedile derived from the Latin word aedes (=building), an apparent reference to their original function as overseers of public works. As Roman culture and government spread throughout Italy, aediles were elected in all of the municipal towns.
Aeeae: One of the Aegadian Islands.
Aegadian Islands: See Aegates.
Aegates (>Aegades, Aegusae, Aegadian) Islands >(=>goat islands) (TP): Ancient name for the Isole Egadi, a group of small, rocky islands off the W coast of Sicily. Total area: 70 square miles. They consist of three principal islands: Aegusa (mod. Favignana), Phorbantia (or Bucinna; mod. Levanzo), and Hiera (or Maretima; mod. Marettimo); and two lesser ones, Formica and Marsone. They are now under the jurisdiction of the province of Trapani. The archipelago’s ancient Greek name means “Goat Islands”, so-called for the wild goats found there. In 241 BC the Roman fleet under Lutatius Catulus achieved an important naval victory over the Carthaginians under Hanno in the waters off these islands. This victory brought an end to the First Punic War, leaving Sicily in Roman hands as their first overseas province. In 1874, the Florio family of Palermo purchased the islands from the Genoese family Pallavicini-Rusconi for the sum of 2 million lire. (Also see Egadi, Isole d’). In the early 20th century the islands were the site of the best tuna fisheries in Italy. They were often used as a favorite site for quail-hunting, being on the great migration route of that bird. They would fly north over Levanzo during their summer flight, while passing south over Favignana as winter approached.
According to Virgil, Anchises, the father of Aeneas died on the Aegates.
Aegesta: See Segesta.
Aegestanum emporium: an ancient port in Sicily, situated at the mouth of the river Simois. It served as the port for the city of Segesta, in western Sicily.
Aegestes: See Acetes.
Aegetini: The inhabitants of ancient Azerium (or Netium), in Peucetia (Apulia).
Aegimius: See Aegimus.
Aegimus (Aegimius): (b. Velia; fl. 5th century BC). Physician. Galen credited him with being the first physician to write a treatise (De Palpitationibus) on the pulse.
aegis: a sash or breastplate associated with both Athena and Zeus. It was said to bear the head of a gorgon. The aegis was made from goat skin, its name deriving from aisk, the Greek word for “goat.”
Aegithallus (Acellum)>: An ancient fortress situated on the Aegithallus promontorium of W Sicily. In 249 BC, during the First Punic War, it was occupied by the Romans under the command of Lucius Junius, as part of the operations against Lilybaeum. It was soon retaken by the Carthaginians under Carthalo and Junius was taken prisoner. Diodorus Siculus called it Acellum.
Aegithallus promontorium (Aegitharsus) (TP): Ancient name for Capo di S. Teodoro, a promontory on the W coast of Sicily between Marsala and Trapani. Later called Acellus, it was near ancient Lilybaeum.
Aegusa (sometimes Aethusa) (TP): Ancient name for the island of Favignana, off the W coast of Sicily. It lay at the far E point of the archipelago, the closest of the islands to ancient Lilybaeum. It is sometimes identified as the Aeeae mentioned by Homer. Mod. Favignana.