(ψίαθος/psíathos). Mat or coarse cover made of rushes and straw, in Egypt also of papyrus (cf. Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,8,4). It served as bedding on the floor for farmers, travellers and the poor; in an Attic inscription it is also listed as part of the furnishings of a house [1]. According to Augustine (Contra Faustum 5,5) he who sleeps on a matta is the follower of a doctrine that preaches a frugal life (mattarius). A sleeping-mat could also be called χαμεύνη/chameúnē (Poll. 6,11).
Bibliography
1Hesperia 5, 1936, 382 no. 6 A.