amulet: small, symbolic object endowed with protective powers worn both by the living and the dead

Amun: Egyptian god associated with the state and kingship during the New Kingdom period (1570–1070 B.C.); his cult center was in Thebes

Anatolia: also called Asia Minor; it is the Asian part of present-day Turkey

Antinous: favorite companion of Emperor Hadrian

Aphrodite: Greek goddess of love, beauty, and fertility; she was also widely worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; known as Venus to the Romans

Ares: Greek god of war, known as Mars by the Romans; lover of Aphrodite

Asclepius: Greek god of healing and medicine

Astarte: goddess of love and fertility worshipped in Phoenicia and elsewhere in the Near East

Athena: Greek goddess of wisdom, skills, and warfare, and patron of Athens; the ancient Romans knew her as Minerva

atrium: main room of a Roman house used for business and formal occasions