Gehennum
Glossary for the Archaic Period
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- Assembly
- Legislative assembly of all the citizens of a city.
- Avatar
- A person who, by psychologically resembling an
exemplar, can perform miracles.
- Bethan
- A large city on the island of Bethany, noted for the
Spartan military tradition of its Iron Stone
Men.
- Bethany
- A very large island in the far east of Gehennum, considered frontiersy.
- Bethanian Helmet
- A helmet with hinged cheek-pieces and a nasal or small bill, like a Roman
helmet.
- Chancellor
- The (or the chief) judicial delegate of a monarch, and often a member of his
Council. Equivalent to a Minister for Justice or
Attorney-General.
- Cloak
- A square of cloth draped over the 'off' arm and pinned on the opposite
shoulder, like a Greek chlamys.
- Companions
- Warriors acting as retainers, bodyguards, and political
hatchet-men for a monarch or other important man. In monarchial states,
sometimes core of the army.
- Council
- Committee of senior officials in a republican state, acting as chief
executive.
- Committee of the chief advisors of a monarch. Usually consists of the
Primate, Chancellor,
Marshal, Treasurer,
and Herald.
- Demigod
- The child of a mortal and a geist.
- Diver
- Member of an amphibious human species.
- Dream-weaver
- A professional of the mystic discipline
of Dreaming, practising as an
entertainer or psychotherapist.
- Duke
- Monarch of a state that dominates other states, or ruler of a grandiose
amalgam of formerly independent states.
- Elmis
- A frontier city on Bethany, noted for alluvial gold
and gems.
- Ephebe
- A boy aged 18 or 19, undergoing compulsory military training and service.
- Exemplar
- A powerful archetypal denizen of the World of Dreams, core of multiple
legends.
- Falchion
- A short, heavy-pointed, single-edged sword, designed solely for chopping.
Gehennese falchions have a markedly concave edge, appearing positively crooked,
like a Greek 'machaira', Roman 'falcata', or Gurkha 'kukri'.
- Fathom
- A unit of length, supposedly the height of a man, varying from 160 to 200 cm.
- File Closer
- An experienced soldier placed at the back of a file to maintain order.
- File Leader
- An experienced soldier placed in the front rank to lead his file.
- Flute
- Recorder.
- Flyer
- Member of a species of winged humanoids, noted for pilfering and lechery.
- Forum
- The public square of a Gehennese city, used as a market, meeting place, and
place of assembly for official business.
- Four Lives
- The stages of a traditional career
of public service for a male Gehennese citizen: the Life of the Child
(learning), of the Warrior (serving), of the Magistrate (administrating), and
of the Priest (interceding with geists). Ideally, each
should last 20 years.
- Gaia
- The geist of the World.
- Gamelan
- A choir of tuned percussion instruments, core of a Gehennese orchestra.
- Geist
- The spirit of an inanimate object,
or of a place. Important geists receive sacrifices and the attention of cults.
- Gentry
- Families of good standing, and with the wealth and leisure to serve in public
office. They tend to dominate the state in democracies and republics.
- Greatsword
- A large two-edged sword with an oval guard, designed for use in one hand
or two.
- Gymnastics
- The physical half of a Gehennese education, consisting of athletics, dance,
and military drill.
- Gymnasium
- A public or private facility for gymnastics training,
athletic exercise, and such. It is usually an outdoor facility.
- Gynekeum
- The women's quarters of a Gehennese house.
- Helios
- The geist of the Sun.
- Herald
- A royal official, often a member of the Council. The
Herald conducts diplomacy (like a foreign minister or secretary of state) and sees
to the hospitality of the palace.
- Hoplite
- A heavy-armed infantryman, armed with a spear or pike and trained to fight in
close formation. Hoplites are named for their shields.
- Hoplon
- A large oval shield of laminated wood, covered with leather, and worn on the
forearm, covering its carrier from shoulder to knee.
- Iron Stone Man
- A full citizen of Bethan, and initiate of the cult of
the Iron Stone. Like a Spartiate.
- Justice
- A magistrate with judicial authority, usually in a
democratic or oligarchic state.
- Kukrim
- A game like volleyball using the skills of hacky-sack.
- Lictor
- A warrior attending on a
magistrate as his bodyguard, bailiff, and
executioner.
- Leshy
- [Member of] a beautiful and immortal human species. Leshy are uncommon, and
have no communities in Gehennum.
- Longsword
- A straight two-edged sword with an oval guard, designed for use in one hand:
cutting and thrusting around a shield.
- Lord
- A ruler without the dynastic right of a prince, but not
basing his claim explicitly on force like a tyrant.
Lords are generally the weakest monarchs, mere exaggerated squires.
- Magister
- The chief magistrate of certain cities, combining
administrative and judicial functions.
- Magistrate
- A public official in a judicial or administrative capacity, usually at least
40 years old. See Four Lives.
- Mantle
- A voluminous garment like a Roman toga or Greek himation (or, for that matter,
the 'robe' of a Buddhist monk).
- Marshal
- The magistrate in charge of military affairs in
a city, especially of the militia.
- Delegate of a monarch having charge of the armed forces.
In either case, Minister of War/Minister of the Army.
- Mentor
- An older man providing guidance and protection to a younger companion, his
protege.
- Metic
- A free person who is not a citizen. Immigrants and manumitted slaves become
metics, and the status is hereditary. In most cities, male metics aged 20-60
must pay shield money,and may not bear arms.
- Militia
- Non-permanent, non-professional armed force of a state, consisting of citizens
of warrior age, called up for duty and providing their
own armour and weapons. In some states, it is possible to commute militia
service by payment of shield-money.
- Oracle
- A geist providing advice to the public.
- Pankration
- A system of coping with adversity (especially opposition), including a martial
art, originated by the exemplar Persiflex.
- Pelau
- A very simple loincloth resembling a short sarong.
- Pelta
- A light shield of wicker and leather, usually carried by missile troops.
- Peltasts
- Light-armed skirmishers and javelin-missile troops, usually unarmoured, named
from their shields.
- Perizoma
- A very simple loincloth resembling a short sarong.
- Pipe
- Oboe (with no keys, just fingerholes).
- Pontus
- The geist of the Ocean.
- Priest
- A public official, usually 60-80 years old, representing a community to a
geist, and often managing the geist's temporal affairs.
See Four Lives.
- Primate
- A senior official, usually over 60, overseeing priests
and ensuring exact discharge of community religious commitments. In monarchies,
often a member of the council.
- Prince
- A monarch of a traditional dynasty, tracing his claim to a demigod or tribal
king, and conceived of as possessing a mystical or divine right to rule.
- Protege
- A young man learning 'character' from an older companion: his mentor.
- Sacred Band
- A prestigious military unit, consisting of pairs of homosexual lovers. The
most famous is that of Samariopolis.
- Samariopolis
- A large city on the island of Samarios, leader of a
powerful pro-democratic league, and noted for its
Sacred Band.
- Samarios
- A large island in central Gehennum, considered sophisticated and urbane.
- Samariosian Helm
- A large one-piece helm with exaggerated cheek-pieces and nasal, fully
protecting the face, like a Corinthian helmet.
- Scholastics
- The intellectual half of a Gehennese education, consisting of arithmetic,
geometry, dialectic, rhetoric, and music.
- Senate
- In certain states, a legislative and judicial assembly of ex-magistrates,
heads of notable families and such.
- In some leagues and hegemonies, a council of the rulers of the member
states.
- Shaman
- A professional of the mystic discipline of
Spiritualism, dealing with
geists, ghosts, fiends and demonic possession, for fees.
- Shield-money
- A payment sometimes permitted in lieu of service in the
militia, or required of metics.
- Ship-money
- A tax levied on wealth to enable the state to build warships.
- Shortsword
- A two-edged stabbing sword, designed for use in one hand, like a Roman gladius.
- Stadium
- A place for running races and archery contests. Usually a straight level
course of about 180 metres with a slope or bank on one side to
accommodate spectators.
- Also, a unit of distance equal to 100
fathoms (160-200 metres).
- Thekla
- A city on the island of Thelmond in western Gehennum,
noted for its earthenware. The princes of Thekla are
dukes of growing power.
- Theklan Bascinet
- A simple helmet made of one piece of metal with minimal shaping.
- Thelmond
- A large long island in western Gehennum, considered frontiersy and uncouth.
- Treasurer
- An important official in most states, often a member of the
Council.
- Tunic
- Either of two sleeveless garments of variable length, the Greek 'peplos' and
'chiton'.
- Tyrant
- A monarch (not always despotic or unpopular) whose title derives from a
revolution or coup d'etat.
- Warrior
- A man (usually aged 20-40) serving the community in the army or
militia. See Four Lives.
- World of Dreams
- A spiritual world including the denizens of myth and legend, and the
archetypes of the collective unconscious, visited during sleep and by
Dream-weavers.
- World of Isles
- The real world, as opposed to the World of Dreams
, the hypothetical World of Forms, etc.
- Zither
- Common stringed instrument, played on a table or the lap.
- Zoma
- An elaborate loincloth resembling an Aztec 'maxcatl'.
Copyright © 1988-2003 Brett Evill. All rights reserved.