Much has been written on the subject of madness in the ancient world. Historians of science have discussed the prevalence of mental diseases, their classification, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as the explanations of them put forward by the adherents of different philosophical and physiological doctrines. The representations of madness in literature and the popular attitude toward it have been analyzed, while the controversies in regard to some details of the Roman law on the matter are apparently not yet settled. To the question however of the Greek or Latin vocabulary describing madness, little attention has been paid. It is from this point of view that the present study has been undertaken.