of
logical exposition could do, and such an eminently practical thinker as
Aristotle was may not have been blind to these considerations.
A
gold ring figured by Gorius is thought by him to have been a gift from
an ardent Roman sportswoman to a victorious charioteer, to whose skill
she may perhaps have been indebted for some material gain, since
wagering in chariot races was as common in Roman times as betting on
horse races in our own day. This ring is engraved with a woman's head
and two heads of reined horses ; the name of the donor, Pomphonica,49 and the words amor and hospes, are
engraved on the circlet. " Love the Host," as these words may be read,
makes a slightly enigmatic inscription. Indeed, it may well be that
some fair Roman had the ring made as a memento for her own use and
wear. Another conjecture is that it was a man's ring executed as a
memento of what was dearest to him, his lady-love and his chariot
horses. It was in the Cabinet of the Tuscan grand duke Francis of
Lorraine, later Emperor of Germany and husband of Maria Theresa.50
A
Latin inscription, from Granada, Spain, mentions a ring, set with a
jasper, that was placed by a son upon the statue of his mother. The
value of the ring is given as 7000 sestertii, indicating that the stone
was engraved ; the design probably had a symbolic significance, as in
the case of most of the votive rings.51
49 Frederick William Fairholt, " Rambles of an Archaeologist," London, 1871, p. 86, with figure of ring.
60 J. P. Manette, " Traité des pierres gravées," Paris, 1750 vol. i, p. 18.
61 See Marshall, " Catalogue of the finger rings, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman, in the departments of antiquities, British Museum, London, 1907, p. xxvi, note.
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