dromus

English

Etymology

From Latin dromus, from Ancient Greek δρόμος (drómos, “running; racetrack; walkway”). Principally used in English in reference to structures mentioned in the Latin translation of Strabo's Geography.

Noun

dromus (plural dromuses or dromi)

1. (historical contexts, especially Ancient Egypt) Alternative form of dromos.
   • 1831, John Lempière, Bibliotheca Classica, s.v. "Æegyptus" § 18:

     ...there are some passages of Strabo, whose veracity, with respect to what he had seen, is undoubted... "At the entrance of the sacred enclosure," says this writer (lib. 17, p. 805, seqq. ed. Casaub.), "there is a paved area, about a hundred feet wide, or a little less, and three or four times as long, or sometimes even more: this area is called the dromus or course, as in the line of Callimachus, 'This sacred course the great Anubis claims.' On each side of the whole length of this area is a row of sphinxes of stone, at the distance of 30 feet, or a little more, from each other; one row on the right hand and another on the left. Beyond these is the first great propylaeon; then, as you advance, a second and a third; their number not being limited any more than that of the sphinxes, but both varying in various temples, as well as the length and breadth of the dromus... In the dromus of the temple of Vulcan it is usual to exhibit combats of bulls, the animals being fed for this express purpose..."

   • 1888, William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. XXIV, s.v. "Weights & Measures", p. 483:

     ...the standard volume of the apet was secured in the dromus of Anubis at Memphis...

   • 1899, W. Basil Worsfold, Redemption of Egypt, pages 258–9:

     As a point of departure I shall take Strabo's description of the Egyptian temple. The particular example which he takes is the long since destroyed temple of Re-Harmachis at Heliopolis; but it is evident that the account is intended to serve as a general description... "...This is called the dromus, or avenue, and the word is so used by Callimachus when he says, 'This is the holy avenue of Anubis.'"

Anagrams

• dorsum, dumsor