CARCER (_kerker_, German; γοργύρα, Greek), a prison, is connected with ἕρκος and εἵργω, the guttural being interchanged with the aspirate. (1) GREEK. Imprisonment was seldom used amongst the Greeks as a legal punishment for offences; they preferred banishment to the expense of keeping prisoners in confinement. The prisons in different countries were called by different names; thus there was the _Ceadas_ (Κεάδας), at Sparta; and, among the Ionians, the _Gorgyra_ (γοργύρα), as at Samos. The prison at Athens was in former times called _Desmoterion_ (δεσμωτήριον), and afterwards, by a sort of euphemism, οἴκημα. It was chiefly used as a guard-house or place of execution, and was under the charge of the public officers called the Eleven.--(2) ROMAN. A prison was first built at Rome by Ancus Martius, overhanging the forum. This was enlarged by Servius Tullius, who added to it a souterrain, or dungeon, called from him the _Tullianum_. Sallust describes this as being twelve feet under ground, walled on each side, and arched over with stone work. For a long time this was the only prison at Rome, being, in fact, the “Tower,” or state prison of the city, which was sometimes doubly guarded in times of alarm, and was the chief object of attack in many conspiracies. There were, however, other prisons besides this, though, as we might expect, the words of Roman historians generally refer to this alone. In the _Tullianum_ prisoners were generally executed, and this part of the prison was also called _robur_. CARCĔRES. [CIRCUS.] CARCHĒSĬUM (καρχήσιον). (1) A beaker or drinking-cup, which was used by the Greeks in very early times. It was slightly contracted in the middle, and its two handles extended from the top to the bottom. It was much employed in libations of wine, milk, and honey.--(2) The upper part of the mast of a ship. [NAVIS.] CARMENTĀLĬA, a festival celebrated in honour of Carmenta or Carmentis, who is fabled to have been the mother of Evander, who came from Pallantium in Arcadia, and settled in Latium: he was said to have brought with him a knowledge of the arts, and the Latin alphabetical characters as distinguished from the Etruscan. This festival was celebrated annually on the 11th of January. A temple was erected to the same goddess, at the foot of the Capitoline hill, near the Porta Carmentalis, afterwards called Scelerata. The name Carmenta is said to have been given to her from her prophetic character, carmens or carmentis being synonymous with vates. The word is, of course, connected with _carmen_, as prophecies were generally delivered in verse.