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[German version] (παλίμψηστος/ palímpsēstos [βίβλος/ bíblos or χάρτης/ chártēs], lat. codex rescriptus). A 're-scraped' book, papyrus or parchment leaf, prepared for renewed writing after its first text was scraped off. The first text was either wiped off with a sponge or scraped away with pumice stone. This method was already used in Egypt (e.g. PBerlin 3024, 12th dynasty, from c. 2000 BC), and was also standard practice in later periods, out of thrift (Cic. Fam. 7,18,2) or lack of virgin papyrus or parchment (cf. Catull. 22,5). Plutarch (Mor. 779c, 50…

Roman family name (also Offellius, Offillius etc.), probably from the Oscan praenomen Of(f)ellus, which also appears as a cognomen (a landowner in Venusia: Hor. Sat. 2,2,2f.; 53f.; 112ff.). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [1] O. Tribunus militum, 36 BC Tribunus militum in 36 BC, mocked rewards handed out by Octavian (Augustus) as paltry, whereupon according to Appian he vanished without trace (App. B Civ. 5,532f.). Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) [German version] [2] O., A. Roman jurist Jurist, see Ofilius Eck, Werner (Cologne) [German version] [2a] O. Ferus, C. Campanian …

[German version] (ἀντυξ; ántyx) Raised metal rim of the Greek shield (Hom. Il. 6,118; 15,645; 18,479 and passim); also refers to a hoop-like railing or ledge of the Greek racing and war chariot (archaic vase paintings [1.524 fig. 44]), which could be used to hold on to when stepping in or out (Hom. Il. 5,728 f.; 16,406). Evidently made of wood (Hom. Il. 21,38). When the chariot was not in motion, one could wrap the reins around the antyx (Hom. Il. 5,262). Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography 1 C. Weiss, M. Boss, Original und Restaurierung, in: AA 1992, 522-528. J. Wiesner, Fahren und Reit…

[German version] (τύλη/ týlē; Latin culcita, torus). Mattresses were laid on the Greek and Roman kline (lying on the supporting straps of the kline, Petron. Sat. 97,4) or were spread out directly on the floor (Ath. 15,675a; Alci. 4,13,14; χαμεύνη/ chameúnē: Theoc. 7,133; 13, 33). Mattresses were filled with wool, straw, reeds, sea grass, hay, hair, feathers; the feathers of Germanic geese being especially valued (Plin. HN 10,54, compare Ov. Met. 8,655 on rushes). There also was the κνέφαλλον/ knéphallon (Poll. 10,42) and the τυλεῖον/ tyleíon, the fine underbed made of wool cut a…

[German version] A piece of jewellery or a toy, usually metal, for small children in Rome. Besides the bulla ( Ages), children wore several such miniatures as an  amulet, strung on a chain and worn around the neck or over the shoulder. The crepundia were also used to identify abandoned children and were kept in a cistella (little chest) together with other children's items (Plaut. Cist. 634ff., Plaut. Rud. 1151ff.).  Amulet;  Jewellery Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography E. Schmidt, Spielzeug und Spiele im klass. Altertum, 1971, 18-21 incl. fig. 1.

I. Gestures of greeting [German version] A. Handshake According to Greek and Roman custom, one would shake the right hand of guests, family members, close acquaintances or friends and squeeze it firmly (Hom. Il. 10,542 et passim; Xen. Cyr. 3,2,14; Aristoph. Nub. 81; Plut. Cicero 879; Plut. Antonius 952; Plut. De amicorum multitudine 94b), both as a greeting (according to Plut. Caesar 708 more a form of affability) and to say good-bye. Shaking hands was seen as a sign of friendship and trust (Xen. Cyr. 3…

[German version] (Greek κανοῦν; kanoûn). Flat wicker basket; it served as a fruit basket (Ov. Met. 8,675) and was used in agriculture (Verg. G. 4,280). Canistra of sturdy materials (clay, silver, gold) were used as receptacles for liquid substances, e.g. honey and oil. The canistrum was also a device for sacrifices (Tib. 1,10,27; Ov. Met. 2,713 and more); often represented in Roman art in this role, the canistrum contained incense, fruits and offering-cakes. The silver saucers for drinking vessels were called canistra siccaria (Serv. Aen. 1,706).  Kanoun Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bi…

[German version] Roman shoe or half-boot made of leather that was probably adopted from the Etruscans and was part of the clothing ( vestis forensis) of the noble Roman citizen. If a member of the nobility dressed in other shoes in public, he would be criticized (Suet.Tib. 13; an exception was the dress for the banquet at which people wore the solla; Hor. Sat. 2,8,77; Mart. 3,50,3; Suet. Vit. 2). In Roman literature and art the calceus was represented in many ways; three variants can be distinguished that at the same time served to differentiate between social ranks. Th…

[German version] Sculptor of the archaic period, famous for the family group with his signature in the Heraion on  Samos (560-550 BC). The group consists of the reclining figure of the founder ...ιλάρχος, three standing girls (unknown name, Philippe, Ornithe), the fragments of a young man, and the enthroned mother Phileia; apart from Ornithe (Berlin, SM, Inv. 1739), all the figures are on Samos (Vathy, Mus. Inv. 768). G. proves himself a master of Ionian sculpture because of the minute detail to w…

[German version] Type of  Apulian vases, between c. 350 and 300 BC, probably made exclusively for use in graves. Their distinguishing feature is their decoration in a variety of water-soluble pigments (blue, red/pink, yellow, pale purple, brown) on a white background. Preferred  vessel forms are the volute-krater, cantharus, oinochoe, and askos, whose main bodies were frequently decorated with figures of women on small pedestals and with three-dimensional decor (winged heads, gorgoneia et al.). The gre…

[German version] PW first developed in around 360 BC when immigrant artists from Sicily founded a new workshop in the southern Italian city of Paestum (Poseidonia), the leading masters of which were the vase painters Asteas and Python. Both are the only vase painters in southern Italy whose signatures are known on vases. The Paestan vase painters favoured bell craters, neck amphorae, hydrias, lebetes gamikoi (nuptial cauldrons depicting mostly wedding but also funeral scenes), lekanides (cosmetic/trinket containers), lekythoi (one-handled flasks for perfumed oil) and jug…

[German version] (σάκκος/ sákkos). Closed bonnet, esp. popular as a headdress of Greek women in the 5th and 4th cents. BC. The evidence from Attic vase paintings and tomb reliefs shows the sákkos worn mainly by female servants, whereas in southern Italian art it appears as the headdress of any woman. Sákkoi frequently had a loop on the calotte for hanging them up and often tassels hanging down. Some sákkoi were unadorned or decorated with simple lines, while others were richly decorated with ornaments of meanders, waves, scrolls and similar. The sákkos was not necessarily the only hea…

[German version] (τιάρα/ tiára). Head covering of Near Eastern peoples (Armenians, Assyrians, Sagae, especially Persians; Hdt. 3,12; 7,61; 7,64 et passim), similar to a turban; also a tall tiara, decorated with stars and rising to a point, which among the Persians was fit only for the king, his relatives and holders of high office (Xen. An. 2,5,23; Xen. Cyr. 8,3,13). In Greek sources, the tiara is also called a kyrbasía or a kíd(t)aris (e.g. Aristoph. Av. 487). The tiara as a head covering for Middle Eastern aristocrats was also common in the Roman period (Suet. Ner…

[German version] (τρίβων/ tríbōn, τριβώνιον/ tribṓnion). A coat ( himátion, cf. pallium ) of 'bristly' wollen material, worn by Cretans (Str. 10,4,20) and Spartans (Plut. Lycurgus 30; Plut. Agesilaus 30; Ael. VH 7,13); later also common in Athens (Thuc. 1,6,3). It was part of the clothing of simple people (Aristoph. Eccl. 850; Aristoph. Vesp. 1131), farmers (Aristoph. Ach. 184; 343) and lakōnizóntes ('imitators of Spartan customs', Dem. Or. 54,34). From the time of Socrates (Pl. Symp. 219b; Pl. Prt. 335d; Xen. Mem. 1,6,2) the tribon was also the typ…

('torque'; Lat. also torquis; Gr. στρεπτόν/ streptón, 'twisted'). [German version] I. Classical Antiquity Helically twisted collar of bronze, gold or silver with open but almost touching ends, which were thickened or figure-shaped and could sometimes be turned outwards. Torques are known from the Bronze Age onwards and numerous examples survive. The Greeks learned of torques from the Medes and Persians, where they were worn by people of high status (Hdt. 8,113,1; 9,80,4; Xen. Cyr. 1,3,2-3; cf. Curt. 3,3,13),…

[German version] General Latin term for board (Plin. HN 31,128; 33,76; 36,114; Ov. Met. 11,428), then for 'game board' ( tabula lusoria, Games, Board games, Dice (game)), 'painted panel' ( tabula picta, Plin. HN 35,20-28), 'votive tablet' ( tabula votiva, Hor. Carm. 1,5,13; Pers. 6,33). In a special sense, tabula is the term for writing tablets, used for writing and calculating, of wood, whitewashed or with a layer of wax, or metal tablets (Writing materials, Codex ), as were already common among the Greeks. Tabulae were used in the public domain, e.g. as tablets of law ( Tabulae duodecim …

[German version] Four-legged stool, generally with turned legs. A seat for gods and heroes (west frieze of the Siphnian treasury in Delphi; east frieze of the  Parthenon), as well as for common people in scenes from everyday life (geometric amphora Athens, NM Inv. no. 804: workshop scenes). They were made of simple wood or valuable ebony, the inventory lists of the Parthenon even record silver-footed diphroi. A special form is the folding stool (διφρος ὀκλαδίας; díphros okladías), whose legs end in claw-shaped feet.  Furniture;  Sella curulis Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography G…

[German version] Apulian vase painter working c. 340/320 BC, named after the main figure on the  Darius Crater. On the vessels he painted (including voluted craters, lutrophoroi, amphorae), some of which are monumental, he generally depicted scenes from classical tragedies (Euripides) and themes from Greek myth; some of these are only documented through his work. Other vases show scenes depicting weddings, women and Eros, as well as Dionysian motifs and rare sepulchral representations ( Naiskos vases). His tendency to name people and representations in inscriptions ( Persai, Pat…

[German version] (also penicillum). Duster, a stick with the hairy end of an animal's tail (Paul Fest. 208; 231 M.); used to wipe down tables (Plaut. Men. 77f.), polish shoes (Plaut. ibid. 391) or clean agricultural implements and vessels (Columella 12,18,5). The peniculus was also used as a brush to whitewash walls (Plin. HN 28,235) and as a paintbrush (Plin. HN 35,60f.; 103; 149). Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg)

[German version] Men's item of clothing to cover the abdomen (Varro, Ling. 6,21; Non. 29,17). Originally, it was probably worn under the Roman toga (Non. 29,17; Isid. Orig. 19,22,5) and was later replaced by the tunica . The subligar, on the other hand, is a cloth worn for special occasions, such as by actors (Juv. 6,70) and by women in the bath (Mart. 3,87,3), or generally by labourers (Plin. HN 12,59). Perizoma Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography M. Pausch, Neues zur Bekleidung im Mosaik der 'Bikini-Mädchen' von Piazza Armerina in Sizilien, in: Nikephoros 9, 1996, 171-173.