CUBICULA´RII
CUBICULA´RII were slaves who had the care of the
sleeping and dwelling rooms. Faithful slaves were always selected for this
office, as they had, to a certain extent, the care of their master's person.
When Julius Caesar was taken by the pirates, he dismissed all his other
slaves and attendants, only retaining with him a physician and two
cubicularii. (
Suet. Jul. 4.) It was the duty
of the cubicularii to introduce visitors to their master (
Cic. Att. 6.2, § 5;
in
Verr. 3.4); for which purpose they appear to have usually remained
in an ante-room (
Suet. Tib. 21,
Dom. 16). They were commonly divided into watches (
stationes) for day and night, and also into decuries
(Orelli, 4663, 6312; Wilmanns, 178, 179, 314, 406;
Suet. Dom. 17). Under the later emperors, the cubicularii
belonging to the palace were called
praepositi sacro
cubiculo, and were persons of high rank. (Cod. 42, tit. 5.)
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