Roman Professions:

Accountant
(Ratiocinator) Responsible for keeping the books, either for the State or for private individuals. A very skilled job; it is very difficult to add, subtract, multiply and divide using Roman numerals with only an abacus to help. Romans invented double entry bookkeeping, and used it to keep multiple sets of books (for tax purposes).

Actor
(Histrio; in comedy, comoedus; in tragedy, tragoedus; actress: mima) Acting was a profession traditionally held in contempt by the Romans. Actors were often considered lecherous and a source of moral corruption. Most acting companies (greges) consisted of freedmen and even slaves. The head of the company had to buy the texts of the plays from the authors, and make his actors memorize them and perform. Few actors managed to achieve respectability on the strength of their outstanding professional gifts.

Aedile
(Aedilis) A Roman magistrate charged with the supervision of public buildings, games, and markets. The aedile in charge of the corn supply was very important magistrate.

Architect
(Architectus) In Ancient Rome, architects usually were Greeks who learned their craft in Athens or Alexandria, as did Hadrian's favorite architect, Apollodorus of Damascus. But they also could have been native Roman engineers, presumably, of middle or upper middle class origin, such as Severus and Celer who constructed Nero's Golden House. It was a respectable and profitable profession, especially if one could receive an Imperial commission. (Architect and Engineer usually were joint professions.)

Archivist/Librarian
(Librarius) Responsible for keeping the scrolls in proper order. Library rules: (1) No talking above a murmur. (2) Scrolls must be returned no later than the last date shown. (3) Do not interfere with the nature of causality. Shh!

Artist
(Artifex, pictor) We do not know much of the professional artist's status in Roman society. Apparently, those whose work was commissioned by the Emperor, did very well. It may be presumed that most of them were of Greek extraction, and there is evidence that some of them were women. As for others not that prominent, they had to be satisfied with work from lesser employers, painting frescoes on the walls, decorating the interiors of their houses, producing their sculpted portraits, funeral monuments and so on. Indeed, there existed upper class dilettantes engaged in art for art's sake (among them Emperor Hadrian), but they were the exception rather than the rule.

Astrologer
(Astrologus) Under the Empire, astrology was a questionable profession. It was legally equated with magic and any consultation with an astrologer could have been construed as an inquiry into the fate of the Emperor and thus treason. On several occasions masses of astrologers were expelled from Italy on the Imperial order, except for the few who were granted a special permission to practice their trade. With luck, one could become a personal astrologer to the Emperor and enjoy both power and wealth. Most of the astrologers were Greeks. Some pretended to be Chaldeans from Babylon due to the belief that astrology originated and flourished there.

Baker
(Pistor) One who bakes bread, cakes, or pastries, especially commercially.

Banker/Money Lender
(Argentarius) A money changer who issued loans, often at high interest rates. Might also act as a broker in monetary transactions for others.

Barbarian
(Barbarus) In the Roman world, a Barbarian was anyone who did not speak Latin or Greek. The word Barbarian was usually applied to people living North of Italy, first to the Gauls and later to the Germans; it could also refer to Thracians (inhabiting modern Bulgaria), Dacians (modern Rumania), Scythians or Sarmatians (Southern Russia) as well as to the Celtic tribes of Spain and Britain. Many "barbarians" served as gladiators or enlisted as rank-and-file in the Roman army with the promise of citizenship upon the term of service.

Barber / Hairstylist
(Tonsor) Barbers and hairstylists were responsible for cutting and styling hair as well as shaving and trimming beards.

Bathhouse Staff
(Balneator) In charge of assisting bathers by applying and later scraping off olive oil, making sure the hypocaust was in order, and trying to keep thieves from stealing the tunics of the bathers.

Bookie
(Aleator) A gambler or gamester, who probably was part of a gang and therefore either was or was subject to a grassator.

Brewer
(Cervesarius) A person who brewed beer. Why one would drink beer in Rome when wine is perfectly available is a mystery.

Builder
(Aedificator, structor) A person who contracts for and supervises the construction of a building.

Burglar
(Fur) A thief who enters a building with intent to steal.

Butcher

(Lanius) Slaughters and prepares meats for market.

Carpenter
(Faber) A skilled worker who makes, finishes, and repairs wooden objects and structures.

Centurion
(Centurio) A Centurion was the principal professional Roman military officer, in charge of a century (in actuality 60 to 80 men). The rank has been compared to the modern day rank of captain. In principle, he commanded a hundred men, but in reality often less. Promotion to Centurion from the rank and file usually occurred by merit, but it rarely led to a distinguished career which, generally speaking, was only available to members of the upper class.

Charioteer
(Auriga) The driver of a chariot in the Roman circus. The two-wheeled chariot was very light and in racing one of the main jobs of the charioteer was to stand and balance the chariot, especially when rounding a corner. These vehicles usually had two, three, or four horses, but on special occasions might be seen with up to ten horses. Often charioteers were killed; because the reins were tied around the waist of the charioteer he had mere seconds to cut himself free if the chariot wrecked before he would be dragged to death. However, if they were good, they might become popular heroes.

Client
(Cliens) Roman society was based on the patron-client relationship. This resulted in a social hierarchy in which the client was supposed to serve the political and financial interests of the patron, and the patron was supposed to protect his client against any abuse by the powerful. Clients could be freeborn men as well as freedmen; furthermore, an equestrian could be a client of a senator, and even a less important senator could be a client of a more important colleague. In the final analysis, the Emperor was the supreme patron of all.

Colonus
(Colonus) (1) a tenant farmer on an imperial estate; (2) similarly, the operator of a mine on government contract.

Consul
(Consularis) After the expulsion of the kings two magistrates were created and equally entrusted with royal powers. Initially they were called Praetors, since they preceded all other magistrates. Later when other praetors were created the top two magistrates became known as Consuls, from their consultative functions. In the field they held supreme military power, and they acted jointly as the chief executives of the Roman Republic, and they gave their names to the year they served. After the rise of the Empire the functions of the office faded but it remained a highly sought after honor; many served during the same year, each man only holding office for a month or two. Although initially the facade of elections continued, consuls were appointed by the Emperor. The title of Consul continued into the Early Byzantine Empire. Consuls were entitled to be preceded by twelve lictors.

Contractor
(Publicanus) One that agrees to furnish materials or perform services at a specified price, especially for construction work. The Romans applied the term to both public works contractors and to tax collectors. This caused confusion then, and still does.

Courier
(Tabellarius [postal-courier]) Imperial postal riders carried messages and letters on many routes, throughout the empire.

Courtesan
(Paelex or pellex -licis f. [a mistress , concubine]): This woman is not to be confused with a common prostitute. She had a protector who paid her for her services, as well as giving her extras in the form of lavish gifts. Unlike a prostitute, a courtesan only took one lover for a contracted period of time. She had her own home and control over her own finances. Once she climbed the ladder of success and was in higher demand, she could also choose the protector she wanted.

Decurion
(Decurio) Member of a local senate of a Roman municipality

Drone
(Fucus) Drone!! You don't want to be a drone! Go back and choose another occupation!

Duovir
(Duovir) Member of a two- man board. Most commonly duoviri iure dicundo, "two-man board with judical power," the two chief magistrates of Roman municipalities

Engineer
(Machinator) (Joint with architect) Builders of roads, bridges, tunnels, aqueducts, and more, engineers created the infrastructure upon which Rome was built. Construction was so carefully planned and executed that many examples of Roman works survive--and are still in use!--even today.

Equestrian
(Eques) originally "cavalrymen" or "knights." The equestrians formed the business class of Rome. The equestrian order was both a social and an economic class in Rome, Italy, and the provinces, second in status to the senatorial order. It consisted of men who had achieved a certain financial status but who did not belong to the Senate. Members of this class, for which a minimum of 400,000 sesterces was required, served as army officers of intermediate rank and staffed important posts in the imperial civil service. They could engage in the whole spectrum of occupations, from banking to tax farming. They could also have a career in the Imperial civil and military service. As a general matter, they filled lesser offices (such as procurator) with the senators taking the more important positions. There was one major exception: only an equestrian could be appointed praetorian prefect or prefect of Egypt.

Escort
(Satelles -itis) A guard , attendant; an accomplice; plur. an escort, suite, train. Perhaps also or alternatively (comes -itis) c. a fellow-traveller; hence a companion , comrade; sometimes attendant; in plural, (comites), retinue.

Farmer
(Agricola) One who works on or operates a farm. In the early Republic these small farmers formed the backbone of the legions, supplying their own arms and armor, and hence were the backbone of the Roman Republic. However the long periods of time these farmer-soldiers spent away from home during and after the Second Punic War led to a slow process by which the small farms were bought out, taken over by the wealthy, and turned into vast latifundia. This in turn led to a decline in available manpower for the legions, which led to Gaius Marius to arm the Capiti Censi. This action by Marius indirectly shifted loyalty of the legionaries from the State to their General.

Freedman
(Libertus) A household slave in the city of Rome could reasonably expect to be manumitted by the age of twenty and to be set up with some occupation as a client of his former master. His children would have been automatically enrolled as Roman citizens. The freedmen of the Emperor, depending on their loyalty and ability for intrigue, could reach very powerful positions at the court and exercise considerable influence on the conduct of government, but they would have been hated as upstarts by the senatorial aristocracy.

Fuller
(Fullo) A fuller is someone who cleans clothes, whitening them. Essentially they ran a laundry. Several substances were used in the process, including fuller's earth, a variety of clay, used in scouring and cleansing cloth, to imbibe grease; fuller's herb, used to remove stains from cloth; fuller's thistle or weed, whose burrs are used by fullers in dressing cloth; and human urine, which contains ammonia and is therefore useful as a bleach. The latter use led the Emperor Vespasian, a notorious miser, to place a tax on the sale of urine to fullers. When questioned about this, he famously replied that money had no smell.

Fisherman

(Piscator) Someone whose occupation is catching fish. Romans, living by the coast, ate a great deal of fish. Some Romans actually had fish farms, particularly in Campania around the Bay of Naples. A fisherman who caught a turbot could present it to the Emperor for great rewards.

Gangster
(Grassator) Roman gangs were well organized and highly successful. A gang member was a grassator, while an "enforcer" (killer) was called an interfector.

Gladiator
(Gladiator) In Rome one became a gladiator if one was a slave and sold to the special training school; or if one was a criminal and sentenced to it as a form of punishment. A freeborn man (and occasionally even an aristocrat in need of money) could turn gladiator-for-hire. It was a dangerous profession, but one that could lead to celebrity (not unlike that of bull-fighter in modern Spain). Socially despicable, some gladiators could nonetheless achieve influence at the Imperial court. Some Emperors were interested in their skills, and Commodus himself fought in the arena.

Glassblower
(Anhelator vitrum [lit. 'blower of glass']) Glass blowing was a great skill, allowing the craftsman to create cups, vases, windows, and even some artwork.

Government Clerk
(Scriba or Lector) For the most part a typical bureaucrat, writing and recording the activities of an empire-wide government. A lector was a law clerk, who would assist judges by researching the past law, and in drafting opinions.

Grammarian
(Grammaticus) The word "grammarian" applies both to a teacher in a school and a professional scholar engaged in the compilation of grammar books or the study of literature. In school, the study of grammar constituted the first stage of education (the second was study of rhetoric, and the third study of philosophy). The grammarians were largely responsible for the preservation of the classical literature that we now possess and their work is an important source of fragments from literature that is now lost.

Historian
(Historicus, rerum scriptor) A writer of history; a chronicler; an annalist. This was not a formal occupation in ancient times, but was often one taken up by retired Roman officials. Some famous Roman historians include Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Sextus Julius Frontinus, and Ammianus Marcellus.

Huckster
(Institor) Someone who uses aggressive, showy, and sometimes devious methods to promote or sell a product. Rome had plenty of such people, to prey on the unwary.

Insurance Agent
(Venditor fides de damno resarcinde interposito; venditor cautio) Romans did sell insurance, particularly with respect to sea traders. Storms and piracy were both great risks, and insurance allowed a merchant a chance to save himself from total bankruptcy. The Emperor Claudius provided the most famous example of insurance in the ancient world when he promulgated a law by which the Roman State would pay to replace any ship lost transporting grain to Rome.

Inventor
(Inventor) Someone who invents or finds out something new; a contriver; especially, one who invents mechanical devices. Such people were extremely rare, and inventing in general was a subset of philosophy. The most famous inventors of ancient times were Archimedes of Syracuse and Hiero of Alexandria, and both men were first and foremost philosophers.

Judge
(Recuperator) A member of a tribunal (usually of three or five) to try civil cases.

Lanista
(Lanista) The owner who contracted to provide his troop of gladiators for sale or hire to the producer of the show, the lanista was a reviled figure in Roman literature, compared by Martial with libellous informers and liars. Like the gladiators in whom he traded for profit, the lanista was infamis, and regarded as both a butcher (lanius) and a pimp (leno). A lanista would also supply exotic beasts for the games for use in the venatio or for the execution of criminals.

Lawyer
(Advocatus) "A good man skilled in speaking." Most Roman boys of good families had to learn to defend a friend or client, prosecute a rival or enemy.

Legate
(Legatus) (1) commander of an army; (2) lieutenant to a general or a provincial governor; (3) envoy or member of an embassy.

Lictor
(Lictor) An attendant who carried the fasces before a Roman magistrate invested with imperium and who served as his apparitor; praetors were accompanied by six lictors, consuls by twelve, dictators by twenty-four

Magician
(Magus) Most of the magicians were considered to be shady characters who engaged in illegal activities. The derived largely from the east, and were suspect on that basis. Magic was prohibited by the late Republic and the law was repeatedly enforced by the Emperors. The belief in magic, however, permeated all echelons of the society and its practice must have been lucrative enough to make it a popular, if dangerous, occupation.

Mariner
(Nauta) A sailor, adventurer, or seafaring man in the commercial trades in the Mediterranean. Seamen from the navy were stationed in Rome in order to work the elaborate rigging for the Flavian Amphitheater's retractable canvas sunscreen.

Matrona

(Matrona) The family is the basis of Roman society and the matrona is the center of the family. The ideal wife and mother combines Juno, Venus, Minerva, Diana, Vesta, Ceres, Atalanta, and all three Graces. She oversees the food, clothing, and shelter of all members of the household, is the nurturer and first teacher of the children, cares for the sick, dispenses hospitality to guests, and may assist her husband in his livelihood. Her opinions on politics, arts, and religion will be influential in the public life from which custom bars her formal participation. (Original description submitted by FeAudrey Pinguinus.)

Merchant
(Mercator) Traders and shopkeepers bought and sold goods throughout the Roman empire and beyond, with trade routes that extended to China, deep into Africa, far north to the Russian steppe, and west to distant Ireland.

Metalworker
(Faber) Working with metal was a greatly prized skill. There were many types of smiths. Iron smiths could make swords and plowshares; coppersmiths made useful pins, spoons, and canteens; silversmiths fine mirrors, bowls, and the most prized Saturnalia gifts; goldsmiths delicate jewelry. Each metal that was forged, be it iron, copper, silver, or gold, required specialized skills, and there were separate smiths for each.

Midwife
(Obstetrix) Literally a woman who stands in front of the baby, assisting other women with childbirth. Almost every classical birth was accompanied by a midwife. If a physician was required it meant the birth was in great trouble and the loss of the mother, as well as the child, was certain.

Mime
(Mima) From the Roman perspective, mimes were considered among the lowest of all possible occupations. Professional mimes, for the most part slaves and freedmen, were stigmatized as trespassing against common decency. Their performances were popular because they were graphic and often very crude. However, they sometimes caused civic disturbances and were prohibited by the authorities.

Minter
(III viri aere argento auro flando feriundo) "three men (responsible) for the casting (and) striking of bronze, silver, (and) gold coins." The position of mint magistrate was an extremely important one. During the Republic, a mint magistrate could put his name on coins, giving himself and his family a lot of good publicity. Also, there was a strict order of offices, called the cursus honorum, that the politically ambitious man must hold after serving in the army. The first step was to hold one of the 20 offices in the Vigintivirate, of which the mint magistrate was one. During the empire, the most successful politicians began their careers as mint magistrates.

Mosaicist
(Tessellator) A skilled artist who created pictures or decorative designs made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.

Musician
(Musicus) Like actors and dancers, professional musicians did not enjoy much social respect in Rome. Their job usually required some sort of performance at private banquets, and frequently involved various degrees of prostitution. Those who were fortunate enough to be introduced to the court, might achieve intimacy with an Emperor and his circle. While financially remunerative, this did not improve their social ranking.

Painter
(Pictor) A painter of wall frescos did not merely have to be a good artist, but they had to be a fast one. In order to properly paint a fresco the paint needs to be applied while the plaster is still damp. If the painting is not complete when the plaster dries, the whole wall would need to be torn out and replastered, a lengthy and expensive process not likely to create repeat business!

Philosopher
(Philosophus) Professional philosophers were almost exclusively Greek. Depending on their teaching and life-style, they could enjoy different degrees of respectability - from admiration on the part of high society to the contempt accorded to street preachers. The Romans were, by and large, suspicious of philosophy as a Greek invention. Too much interest in the subject was thought unbecoming for a senatorial aristocrat. Only a small minority of dissidents or eccentrics made any serious study of philosophy.

Physician
(Medicus) Doctors in Rome were often Greeks or Romans who had trained in military hospitals. They usually treated illnesses such as stomach ulcers and asthma with herbal medicines. They operated on patients using both wine and rhododendron honey as anesthetics.

Pilot
(Gubernator) From classical times until the fifteenth century navigation was a sketchy process, with no tools and little way to know where a ship was without detailed knowledge of the land, currents, reefs, and winds. A classical ship captain was literally the pilot, the man who controlled the steering oar. The pilot would therefore have to be a master seaman, knowing the hazards and proper course by heart.

Pimp
(Leno/lena) Someone who procures customers for prostitutes. The lowest would control streetwalkers, while the highest would be brothel owners. There was no stigma for a man to use the services of a prostitute and many brothels were well furnished and offered many amenities.

Pirate
(Praedo) robber, pirate, burgler… the scope is vast.

Plumber
(Plumbarius) A plumber works with water pipes, usually made from lead (very rarely from ceramic), with lead solder for the joints. The name comes from the latin word for lead, plumbum.

Poet
(Poeta m. poetria f.) Under the Empire, a person of any social status, from a slave to an Emperor, could, and did, write poetry. Professional poets, however, mostly belonged to the middle or lower-middle classes and were often in the role of client to some important individual. No doubt, for some of them poetry was the main source of income in the form either of royalties for their work or cash subsidies from their patron.

Police (more properly, Urban Cohorts)
(Cohortes urbanae) The cohortes urbanae differed from the legionaries in that they were provided with their equipment by the imperial fiscus rather than having to buy their own. They were commanded by the Urban Praetor (praetor urbanus) and were closer to 'military police' than a modern civil peacekeeping authority.

Potter
(Figulus) One whose occupation is to make earthen vessels, who hawks crockery or earthenware, or who pots meats or other comestibles.

Prefect
(Praefectus): (1) the title of an army officer commanding any of several military units ; (2) the holder of one of three top-echelon equestrian administrative posts created by Augustus: prefect of Egypt, of the grain supply, and of Rome's night watch. Of the types of praefectus, the Praefectus Castrorum was charged with the organization of the Legion. The Praefectus Fabrum served as an aide to a General, the Praefectus Equitum commanded cavalry, and the Praefectus Classis commanded fleets .

Praetor
(Praetor, praetorius) Originally Praetors were the two magistrates created to replace the function of the deposed king, so called because they preceded before all other magistrates. Later as the Republic grew two more were created, the Praetor Urbanus who ran the city and the Praetor Peregrinus who dealt with matters involving non-citizens. When these offices were created the first praetors became known as Consuls. As the Republic grew further additional praetors were appointed to govern the newly acquired provinces. The Emperors substituted legates they appointed in place of the praetors as provincial governors, except with respect to the province of Africa. The Urban and Foreign Praetors retained their functions, but became Imperial appointees and were further reduced in authority by the creation of the praetorian guard and vigiles, both of whom was commanded by a prefect who reported to the Emperor. The Urban Cohorts were commanded by the Urban Praetor, who under the Empire functioned more or less as the mayor of Rome.

Priest
(Sacerdos; [especial] flamen; [high] pontifex) To become a priest within the framework of the state religion, one had to be of noble origin and have some special knowledge of ritual and divination, such as reading omens by observing the behavior of the sacred birds or by examining the entrails of sacrificial animals. Some minor priestly offices, especially relating to the cult of the Emperors, could be filled by members of the lower classes and even by freedmen.

Prison Guard
(Custos) Under the Republic there were no prison guards. A citizen could walk out of the Carcer, the only prison, and imprisonment was ordered only for non-citizens. Citizens were subject to either fines, exile or death, as a citizen's freedom of movement could not be infringed. In very rare circumstances a lictor might be appointed to keep a citizen from walking out. Under the Empire imprisonment became more standard, but those who guarded the prisoners were very low-class types.

Procurator
(Procurator) A Roman government agent, especially in the financial services.

Prostitute
(Meretrix) One who engages in the act of sexual intercourse with a varied clientele in return for money or gifts.

Quattuorvir
(Quattuorvir) Member of a four-man board; especially the board of magistrates of Roman municipalities from 89 B.C., consisting of duoviri iure dicundo and two aediles

Rhetorician
(Rhetor, rhetoricus) Under the Empire rhetoric prospered and was a major component of education, although it became largely devoid of any practical purpose since political oratory virtually ceased to exist (except for the panegyrics of the Emperor) and forensic oratory lost its earlier glamour. In schools of rhetoric, students were required to produce all sorts of artificial arguments on a given theme, often entirely improbable and out of touch with the immediate concerns of the time.

Sailor
(Nauta) A sailor, adventurer, or seafaring man in the commercial trades in the Mediterranean. Seamen from the navy were stationed in Rome in order to work the elaborate rigging for the Flavian Amphitheater's retractable canvas sunscreen.

Senator

(Senator) Senators originally were the Patricians who advised the kings of Rome; later certain Plebeians were conscripted into the Senate, and hence the Senators assembled were referred to as Patres Conscripti. Senators were required to have at least one million sesterces worth of land. The Senate originally was an advisory council to the Roman kings, and then to the Republican magistrates who succeeded them. In addition, it exercised a certain supervision over legislation, since enactments of the popular assemblies usually were submitted to it for preliminary approval. Although it had no official or legislative power it was able by the end of the Punic Wars to extend its supervisory control of magistrates and the Roman people so that it became, in effect, the real policy-maker of the Roman Republic.
In later times, under the emperors, a senator was expected to collaborate with the Emperor and to attend the meetings of the Senate. To be a member of the Senate, one had to possess considerable property and be born into a senatorial family. If one lacked such ancestry, one could be appointed senator by the Emperor. The collaborators could aspire to some major political appointments, both in the military and in civil government (including old republican magistracies, such as consul). The dissidents, however, even if they tried to abstain from the affairs of state, could be persecuted and occasionally were executed.

Senile
(Senilis) It's when, um, I can't remember...

Shepherd
(Pastor) One who herds, guards, and tends sheep. Not generally considered a very high class job, but there are good promotion prospects; the Emperor Maximinus Thrax is supposed to have begun as a shepherd before entering the legions and working his way up to Lord of the World.

Slave
(Servus or Serva) A person employed in labor or other business for another in subjection or bondage, rendering menial service. Slaves were the lowest of the low in Roman society, frequently former prisoners of war; technically they were not people at all, but property. Slavery could be very bad, particularly for the field slaves on latifundia or those slaves who worked in brothels. Slaves could also be beaten or killed as their master wanted, and were certainly used sexually. However, house slaves could be well taken care of, particularly as the majority of Romans would be able to afford to only own one or two. They were also allowed to save up money to purchase their freedom, and were frequently manumitted; it was not unknown for masters to free their female slaves in order to marry them and make them their wives. Upon gaining their freedom former slaves became the clients of their former master, but their children would be full citizens. Slaves of the Imperial household also tended to be very powerful and influential. There was no particular stigma attached to being a slave; it was merely a risk one took in losing a war, and freed slaves could become very wealthy.

Soldier
(Miles) The average legionary. Intially farmer-soldiers, who were replaced by the Capiti Censi during the Consulship of Gaius Marius, the terms of enlistment became fixed under the Emperors. A legionary enlisted in his late teens, and served a twenty year tour. It could be hard, dangerous work, and there were no pensions for those invalided out. However soldiers got paid well, and ate regularly; strange to the modern military man, Roman soldiers never seem to have complained about the food they received. Upon retirement they got a pension sufficient to start a farm or open a business. In the later Empire the vast military budget overstrained the Empire and caused massive inflation. By the reign of Diocletian being a soldier was no longer a very good job at all, particularly since he cut salaries in order to replace quality with quantity.

Soothsayer
(Hariolus, haruspex) One who claims to be able to foretell events or predict the future; a seer. They were occasionally driven out of Rome by the aediles, but many Romans were superstitious and consulted them anyway. Etruscans were supposedly the best soothsayers. The Sybil was perhaps the most famous of all, save perhaps for the anonymous one who warned Caesar to beware the Ides of March.

Spy
(Speculator, explorator) In both the legions and in the praetorian camp speculatores were initially scouts but became bodyguards, couriers, law-enforcers, and sometimes executioners. Exploratores were tasked to keep watch on enemy movements in the field. Both occupations could require the wearing of 'plain clothes' and may therefore be deemed spies. To a certain extent (but only to an extent) speculatores may be deemed 'internal security' and exploratores 'external security.' However the Roman Empire lasted a very long time and various espionage units came and went throughout its' history.

Student

(Discipulus) A person who is learning. They could be learning from a Rhetor, Grammarian, or a Philosopher.

Surveyor
(Finitor, metator) A finitor determines boundaries, and is a land surveyor; a metator is a measurer, one who marks out distances. A metator was probably more of the type of surveyor used during construction of buildings and roads, while a finitor laid out the boundries between farms, villages, cities, provinces, and so on.

Tailor
(Vestitor) Someone who makes, repairs, and alters garments, especially to specific requirements or measurements.

Tavern Keeper
(Caupo) Serves wine, probably heavily watered, and food, probably congealed and salty.

Tax Collector
(Publicanus [tax farmer] exactor [tax-collector]) Strictly speaking, a publicanus was any public contractor, but the term especially applied to tax farmers and collectors of public revenues. A tax-farmer has purchased the right to collect taxes. He guarantees a fixed payment to the State, and anything above that he keeps. A tax-farmer employs collectors, and it is amazing what they can find to tax, right up to "Looking At Me, Pal." (Imagine it like a protection racket. "You pay everything you can afford, or we come back here and haul you off to prison, confiscate your home, enslave your family" etc. So it's "pay 2 d for a fireplace, 5 d for each family member, 4 d for a roof, 1 d for a rug, 2 d for each bed, 5 d for having clothes, and 10 d for looking at me, pal.")

Teacher

(Grammaticus, Rhetor, or Philosophus) Romans had no generic word for teacher. One would be either a Grammarian, Rhetor, or Philosopher.

Tribune
(Tribunus) The first ten tribunes were either created by the plebeians when they seceded from the patricians to the Crustumerium sixteen years after the expulsion of the kings because at one time the whole body of citizens was divided into three parts, and one tribune was elected from each; or were created at that time from among the military tribunes for the purpose of defending the plebs. Tribunes therefore never had imperium but gained their power directly from the people. They could not be touched, because the plebs had sworn a sacred oath to lynch anyone who touched a tribune, that they could protect a pleb merely by standing between the pleb and a magistrate. They could not enter the Senate house, but sat outside the door listening, and could veto any they disapproved of. The power of Augustus and the early Emperors actually came from them being entrusted with the powers of the tribunate, although after the end of the Republic the tribunes themselves became unnecessary and the office effectively vanished beyond the formal grant of the powers of a tribune to the Emperor.

Military Tribune
(Tribunus militum) These were unpaid officers attached to Legions. Of the six tribunes, one served as Tribunus Laticlavius, acting as the senior Tribune. The other five held the title of Tribuni Angusticlavii, or junior military Tribunes.

Unemployed
(Otiosus) Times are tough in the Big City, but it is really not hard to find a job. One's career can start by looking at the different occupation available from the menu!

Used Chariot Salesman
(Venditor inanium currium) [lit. 'the seller of useless chariots] Would you buy a used chariot from this man? It was only used once (probably because the axle and wheels were rotten and broke the first time they were used).

Vestal Virgin
(Virgo Vestalis; the Chief Vestal was the Virgo Vestalis Maxima) The Vestal Virgins were the priestesses of the Goddess Vesta who presided over public safety and the household hearth. The Vestals were selected, between the ages of 6 and 10, from noble families. They had to take a vow of celibacy for the period of service which lasted 30 years. Thereafter, they could either stay on or retire and resume normal life. Their main duty was to tend the sacred fire of Vesta at the Atrium Vestae located in the Forum. The Vestals enjoyed an inordinate amount of public and legal respect, but those who violated their vow were punished by being scourged and buried alive.

Vigile
(Vigile, pl. vigiles) Firemen and night watchmen, vigiles had police powers only at night. Augustus organized the vigiles as a fire brigade originally composed of slaves. Later, the vigiles were staffed by freedmen and acquired quasi-military duties.

Vintner
(Vinarius) Someone who pressed grapes to produce grape juice and then aged it to produce wine.

Weaver
(Textor m. textrix f.) Someone who makes cloth by interlacing the threads of the weft and the warp on a loom. Although this could be to produce cloth for sale in the marketplace, it was the traditional Roman view of their women that proper wives and daughters should sit at home weaving cloth for the household. Whether this was actually the case at any time beyond the earliest days of Rome is probably doubtful.

Wine-bibber
(Vinosus) Someone who imbibes wine, probably in great quantities. Most likely an alcoholic; if found sprawled in an alleyway, a wino.