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    "title": "ACILLEUS",
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    "verified_text": "acilleus, and beneath it a bas-relief of the martyr, with his hands bound, receiving his death-blow from the executioner. the base of a similar column has only feet in the same attitude, and probably bore the name nereus. in a grave in the apse was found a large fragment of an inscription, composed by pope damasus, but set up by his successor siricius, which, from the note-book of a salzburg pilgrim of the 8th century, can be completed thus:-- ------ militiae nomen dederant saevum / q \\ ue gerebant officium pariter spectantes juss | aiyr \\ anni praeceptis pulsante metu servi | re par \\ ati mira fides rerum subito posue | re fvrore \\ m conversi fugiunt ducis impia castr | a relinqvvni \\ projiciunt clypeos faleras tel | aq. crvenia | confessi gaudent christi portar | e irivmfos | credite per damasum possit quid | gloria christi | ------------------ nereus (see rom. xvi. 15) and achilleus, said to have been baptized by st peter, refused to do the bidding of domitian as praetorians, and entering the service of flavia domitilla, suffered martyrdom with their mistress petronilla, of the aurelian family closely connected with the flavii, and the spiritual daughter of st peter, who was buried in a sarcophagus with the inscription:-- avreliae . petronillae . fil . dvlcissimae this is now in st peter's, but was probably originally behind the apse of this basilica, for there is a fresco of her in an arcosolium, with a matron named veneranda. the original entrance to the cemetery leads directly into a spacious corridor with no _loculi_, but recesses for sarcophagi, and decorations of the classical style of the 2nd century. from this a wide staircase leads directly down to a chamber, discovered in march 1881, of a very early date. within an arcosolium is a tablet set up by \"aurelius ampliatus and his son gordian, to aurelia bonifatia, his incomparable wife, a woman of true chastity, who lived 25 years, 2 months, 4 days, and 2 hours.\" the letters are of the 2nd century; but above the arcosolium was found a stone with great letters, 5 or 6 in. high: \"ampliati, the tomb of ampliatus.\" now ampliatus is a servile name: how comes it to be set up with such distinction in the sepulchre of the flavii? romans xvi. 8 supplies the answer: \"salute ampliatus, most beloved to me in the lord.\" de rossi thinks the identification well grounded (_bullettino_, 1881, p. 74). epitaphs of members of the flavian family have been found here, and others stating that they are put up \"ex indulgentia flaviae domitillae vespasiani neptis.\" so that de rossi did not hesitate to complete an inscription on a broken stone thus:-- ----- sepulc / rvm | flavi / orvm | / | | --v------ de rossi began his excavations in the cemetery of santa priscilla in 1851, but for thirty years nothing but what had been described by bosio came to light. in 1880 he unearthed a portion near the cappella greca, and found galleries that had not been touched since they were filled in during the diocletian persecution. the _loculi_ were intact and the epitaphs still in their places, so that \"they form a kind of museum, in which the development, the formulae, and the symbolic figures of christian epigraphy, from its origin to the end of the 3rd or 4th century, can be notified and contemplated, not in artificial specimens as in the lateran, but in the genuine and living reality of their original condition.\" (_bullett._, 1884, p. 68). many of the names mentioned in st paul's epistles are found here: phoebe, prisca, aquilius, felix ampliatus, epenetus, olympias, onesimus, philemon, asyncritus, lucius, julia, caius, timotheus, tychicus, crescens, urbanus, hermogenes, tryphaena and trypho(sa) on the same stone. petrus, a very rare name in the catacombs, is found here several times, both in greek and in latin. the neighbouring _coemeterium ostrianum_ was anciently known as \"_fons s. petri_,\" \"_ubi petrus baptizavit_,\" \"_ubi petrus prius sedit_.\" this cemetery derives its name from priscilla, mother of pudens, who is said to have given hospitality to st peter the apostle. we are reminded of st paul, and of his friends aquila and prisca, by a monument erected by an imperial freedman who was praepositvs tabernacvlorvm--chief tentmaker. in 1888 a corridor was discovered which had at one time been isolated from the rest of the cemetery. it had no _loculi_, but recesses in the wall to receive sarcophagi. at the end of the corridor there was a large chamber, 23 ft. by 13 ft., once lined with marble and the ceiling covered with mosaic, a few fragments of which still remain. the only tomb here was a sarcophagus, of which the broken front bears the letters which show it to have been the epitaph of one of the acilian family:-- acilio glabrioni filio in the vicinity are fragments of the epitaphs of manius acilius and priscilla, of quintus acilius and caia acilia in greek, another greek inscription \"acilius rufinus mayest thou live in god.\" after careful examination of the nine acilii, who were consuls, de rossi concludes that this was the resting-place of that acilius glabrio, consul with trajan, a.d. 91, who in the year of his consulate was compelled by domitian to fight with beasts in the arena, and then banished and put to death in 95. the question of his christianity seems settled by the discovery of the sepulchre of these christian acilii. from this crypt a staircase led up to the basilica in which pope silvester was buried, and the whole plan of which was laid bare by de rossi. the tomb of st silvester could be identified, and that of pope siricius \"at his feet,\" as the pilgrim noted (_bullett._, 1890, pp. 106-119). just before de rossi's death, mgr. wilpert discovered in the cappella greca a painting of the \"fractio panis\" or eucharistic feast, which he cleansed from the dust with which it had been covered. the picture of the blessed virgin and child, which de rossi ascribed to the 2nd, if not to the 1st century, has received an unexpected proof of its antiquity. in 1890 the floor of the gallery in which it stands was excavated, and another floor was found to be 6 ft. below its supposed level. the _loculi_ in this lower portion were intact, with inscriptions of the 2nd century still in their places, proving that the niche in which that picture was painted must have been considerably older than the lowering of the floor. a flight of iron steps enables the visitor now to examine this venerable specimen of early christian art. after the death of de rossi, one of his pupils, h. stevenson, since dead, discovered in 1896 a small subterranean basilica in the catacomb of santi pietro e marcellino on the via labicana, with pious acclamations on the plaster similar to those in the papal crypt in st calixtus. near the well-known subterranean chapel in the _coemeterium ostrianum_ was discovered by mgr. crostarosa, in 1877, another chapel, in which signor armellini found traces of st emerentiana, foster-sister of st agnes. near this a whole region of galleries has been brought to light with _loculi_ intact. explorations conducted in the cemetery of domitilla in 1897-1898 brought to light a fine double crypt with frescoes representing christ seated between six male and female saints; also an inscription relating to a new saint (eulalius) in a cubiculum of the 3rd century. in 1899-1900 were discovered two opposite cubicula in the catacomb of santi pietro e marcellino. these were unknown to bosio, and are both covered with frescoes, the vault being in one case decorated with the scene which represents christ seated among the apostles and pronouncing sentence upon the defunct. an inscription discovered in 1900 on the site of the ancient cemetery of st ciriaca, and dating from a.d. 405, states that one euryalus bought a site _ad mensam beati martyris laurentii_ from a certain _fossor_ whose name has been erased. this is interesting as an example of what was known as _memoriae damnatio_ or the blotting out of a name on account of some dishonourable action. from the end of the 4th to the first half of the 5th century, the _fossores_ had the privilege of selling sites, which frequently led to grave abuses. in 1901-1902 excavations in the cemetery of santa priscilla, near the cappella greca, revealed a polygonal chamber. this may have originally been the _nymphaeum_ of the great villa of the acilii glabriones, the _hypogaeum_ of which was discovered by de rossi near this spot in 1888. it may have been used as a burial-place for martyrs, and professor marucchi is inclined to see in it the sepulchral chapel of pope marcellinus, who died in a.d. 304 during the persecutions of diocletian. in 1902, in that part of the via ardeatina which passes between the cemeteries of calixtus and domitilla, was discovered a crypt with frescoes and the sanctuary of a martyr: it is thought that this, rather than a neighbouring crypt brought to light in 1897, may prove to be the sepulchral crypt of ss. marcus and marcellianus. in a cubiculum leading out of a gallery in the vicinity there was also discovered an interesting impression in plaster of an inscription of the mother of pope damasus, beginning: hic damasi mater posvit lavren[tia membra]. in the same year building operations in the via di sant' onofrio revealed the presence of catacombs beneath the foundations: examination of the _loculi_ showed that no martyrs or illustrious persons were buried here. in 1903 a new cemetery with frescoes came to light on the via latina, considered by marucchi to have belonged to a heretical sect. in the same year the jewish cemetery on the via portuense, known to bosio but since forgotten, was rediscovered. the subterranean basilica of ss. felix and adauctus, discovered by boldetti and afterwards choked up with ruins, was cleared again: the crypt, begun by damasus and enlarged by siricius, contains frescoes of the 6th-7th centuries. a good plan of the catacombs at albano (at the 15th milestone of the appian way), discovered by boldetti and described by de rossi, has been published by marucchi (_nuovo bulletino di archeologia cristiana_, 1902, pp. 89 ff.). in 1904 a small subterranean cemetery was discovered at anagnia. catacombs have also been recently discovered on the site of hadrumetum near sousse in tunisia. (+ w. r. b.; o. m. d.) authorities.--the classical work on the catacombs of rome is g.b. de rossi's _roma sotterranea_, on which most of the accounts in other languages than italian have been based. the fine volume by mgr. wilpert, _le pitture delle catacombe romane_ (rome, 1903), in which all the important frescoes are reproduced in colours, is to be regarded as an addition to the _roma sotterranea_. all new discoveries made by the active _commissione di archeologia sacra_ are chronicled with as little delay as possible in the _nuovo bulletino de archeologia cristiana_ published in rome. the most recent accounts of the catacombs are to be found in the following books:--armellini, _gli antichi cimiteri cristiani di roma e d' italia_ (rome, 1893); o. marucchi, _le catacombe romane_ (rome, 1903; also translated into french), _manuale di epigrafia cristiana _ (milan, 1904); m. besnier, _les catacombes de rome_ (paris, 1909). among the older works are: bosio, _roma sotterranea_, severano's edition (1632), and aringhi's edition (1651); boldetti, _osservazioni sopra i cimiteri dei santi martiri_ (rome, 1720); bottari, _sculture e pitture sagre, &c._ (rome, 1737-1754); seroux d'agincourt, _histoire de l'art par les monuments_ (paris, 1823; german ed., 1840); g. marchi, _monumenti delle arti cristiane primitive_ (rome, 1844); raoul rochette, _tableau des catacombes de rome_ (2nd ed., paris, 1853); perret, _les catacombes de rome_ (paris, 1855)--a sumptuous folio work, but not always accurate, roller, _les catacombes de rome_ (paris, 1881); v. schultze, _die katakomben_ (leipzig, 1882). works written in english are: northcote and brownlow, _roma sotterranea_ (london, 1869; based upon de rossi); wharton marriott, _the testimony of the catacombs_ (london, 1870); j.h. parker, _the archaeology of rome: the catacombs_; smith and cheetham, _dictionary of christian antiquities_, s.v. \"catacombs\"; r. lanciani, _pagan and christian rome_ (london, 1892); w. lowry, _christian art and archaeology_, ch. ii. (london, 1901; a useful introduction to the subject); h. gee, \"the church in the catacombs,\" in w. lefroy's _lectures in ecclesiastical history_ (1896); th. mommsen, in the _contemporary review_, may 1871. accounts of the catacombs will also be found in the encyclopaedias and manuals published under the following names: martigny, perate, f.x. kraus (_realencyklopadie_ and _geschichte der christlichen kunst_), reusens, v. schultze and c.m. kauffmann, and in the large new _dictionnaire d'archeologie chretienne et liturgie_, published at paris under the editorship of dom f. cabrol. the catacombs at naples are described in c.f. bellermann, _uber die altesten christlichen begrabnisstatten und besonders die katakomben zu neapel_ (hamburg, 1839); armellini, as above, and v. schultze, _die katakomben von san gennaro dei poveri in neapel_ (jena, 1877). for the catacombs in malta, a.a. caruana, _ancient pagan tombs and christian cemeteries in the islands of malta_ (malta, 1898), and a. mayr, \"die altchristlichen begrabnisstatten auf malta,\" in _romische quartalschrift_, vol. xv. pp. 216 and 352 (rome, 1901), may be consulted. the fullest account of the sicilian catacombs is given by j. fuhrer, _forschungen zur sicilia sotterranea_ (munich, 1897); and d.c. barrecca, _le catacombe di san giovanni in siracusa_ (syracuse, 1906). a catacomb of the 5th century, discovered at kertch in south russia, is described by j. kulakovsky in _materials for russian archaeology_ (st petersburg, 1896; a publication of the russian imperial archaeological commission), but it is written in russian, as also is the account by v. latyshev, in _vizantieski vremennik_, vol. vi. pp. 337 ff. (st petersburg, 1899). the catacombs at hadrumetum (sousse) are described by a.f. leynard, _les catacombes d'hadrumete, deuxieme campagne de fouilles_ (1904-1905). see also _revue tunisienne_ (1905), p. 250. for the catacombs of alexandria, neroutsos bey, _l'ancienne alexandrie_, may be consulted in addition to de rossi's article mentioned in the text. (o. m. d.) footnotes: [1] the most important of these lists are the two itineraries belonging to the first half of the 7th century, in the salzburg library. one still earlier, but less complete, appears in the _notitia urbis romae_, under the title _index coemeteriorum_. another itinerary, preserved at einsiedeln, printed by mabillon, dates from the latter half of the same century. that found in the works of william of malmesbury (hardy's ed. vol. ii. pp. 539-544) appears to be copied from it, or both may be from the same source. de rossi gives a comparative table of these itineraries and other similar lists. [2] hieron., _comment. in ezech._ lib xx. c. 40. the translation is dean burgon's. [3] in rome the three strata are known to geologists as _tufa litoide_, _tufa granolare_ and _pozzolana_. [4] cicero is our authority for the burial of marius, and for sulla's being the first member of the gens cornelia whose dead body was burnt (_de legg._ ii. 22). [5] mommsen's chosen example of an ancient burial-chamber, extending itself into a catacomb, or gathering subterranean additions round it till a catacomb was established, is that of the cemetery of st domitilla, traditionally identified with a granddaughter of vespasian, and the catacomb of santi nereo ed achilleo on the appian and ardeatine way. [6] parker's invaluable series of roman photographs may be seen at the library of the victoria and albert museum, at the ashmolean museum and the bodleian library, oxford. [7] _bulletino di archaeologia cristiana_, november 1864, august 1865. see also _authorities_, below. catafalque (a word of unknown origin, occurring in various forms in many european languages, meaning a funeral scaffold or temporary stage), a movable structure of wood sometimes richly decorated, erected temporarily at funeral ceremonies in a church to receive the coffin or effigy of the deceased; also an open hearse or funeral car.",
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