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[German version] I. Egypt and Ancient Orient The boundaries between games and  sport are fluid; here only relaxation games ( Board games) are treated that are very well known e.g. for Egypt as originals from tomb contexts and pictorial representations e.g. the Senet board game ( znt) was popular. The position regarding the sources for the Ancient Orient is very limited for climatic reasons (wood barely preserved). We can make only assumptions about the rules of games. In addition to the game boards there are game stones, astragaloi ( Astragalos [2]), dice and little dice rods tha…

[German version] ( sporta, sportella). Roman basket (Isid. Orig. 20,9,10; Petron. Sat. 40) used for shopping (Apul. Met. 1,24 and 25), the term is also used for a  basket which held money or food for clients (Petron. 40;  Juv. 1,95 f.; Salutatio ). Hence sportula denoted a feeding of the public (cf. Suet. Claudius 21,4) or a fee due to the magistrates for their official activities. In the 4th and 5th cents. AD, the fees that were charged by court magistrates for their services were also called sportula (Cod. Iust. 3,2). Donativum Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography H. A. Cahn et al., …

[German version] [1] Dish of clay or metal for meals Dish of clay or metal for meals (fish, meat, desserts). Vessel for the kitchen and cooking, for sacrificial offerings and for melting metals; identified by graffiti probably as the vessel forms Dragendorff 31 and 32 ( Clay vessels). Bowls (  acetabulum ) were also called catinus.  Terra sigillata;  Clay vessels Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography G. Hilgers, Lat. names of vessels, BJ 31. Supplement 1969, 48f., 142-144 F. Fless, Opferdiener und Kultmusiker auf stadtröm. histor. Reliefs, 1995, 19f. [German version] [2] Meltin…

[German version] According to ancient literature (Poll. 5,18; 7,85-94; 10,49; Herodas 7,54 ff.), there was a great multiplicity of varieties of sandals and boots; only in a small number of cases is it possible to identify footwear mentioned by name with that represented in monumental art or with surviving originals (e.g. calceus ). From Classical Greece alone we have 82 words for footwear, named after origin, people, shape, colour, material or use: many kinds of footwear were adopted from other countries and given the name of their country of origin, e.g. 'Persian shoes', Περσικαί/ Pe…

[German version] Apulian voluted crater from  Canosa (found in 1851) in Naples (NM, Inv. 81947 [H 3,253], H 130cm, [1]), known as the eponymous work of the  Darius Painter named after it. The main face has the crown council of Darius in the centre [1] I., with paymasters and tribute bearers below and Athena with Hellas before Zeus and Apate before Asia above. Archaeological study interprets this as a representation of the victories of  Alexander' [4] the Great in Persia or an echo of contemporary …

[German version] (φενάκη/ phenákē, πηνήκη/ pēnḗkē, Latin capillamentum, galerus). The use of wigs apparently began in Greece at the end of the 6th cent. BC; late Archaic korai show hairstyles that are inconceivable without added hairpieces. In the theatre, too, people made use of wigs in the 5th cent. BC (Aristoph. Thesm. 258) and also used false beards (Aristoph. Eccl.25), musicians and conjurers similarly wore wigs and hairpieces (Ael. VH 1,26; Lucian Alexandros 3). The use of wigs and hairpieces was extremely popular i…

[German version] (ἀσκός/ askós; Lat. culleus, uter). For transporting solid (Thuc. 4,26) and liquid foods (Hom. Il. 3,247; Hom. Od. 5,265; 9,196), apart from barrels, people also used animal (ox, sheep, goat; in the Arab lands also camel, Hdt. 3,9) skins sewn together, a leg of the animal serving as inlet and outlet. Representations of wineskins are common in ancient art in transportation scenes; a wineskin-carrying silen is a fixed feature of the iconography of Dionysian scenes (Dionysus). In myths, …

[German version] (ἐπίβλημα; epíblēma). Greek term for  blanket, cloth, coat (Poll. 7,49f.). In modern-day archaeological terminology, epiblema denotes the shoulder-covering of Daedalic female statues, esp. those from Crete. As a rule the epiblema is fastened at the breast, but also across the neck and collarbone; the upper edge is occasionally decorated. The epiblema is frequently depicted on 7th-cent. BC monuments. Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography C. Davaras, Die Statue aus Astritsi, 8. Beih. AK, 1972, 26-27, 59-64.

[German version] (ὅλμος/ hólmos, ἴγδις/ ígdis, θύεια/ thýeia, ὕπερον/ hýperon, Latin mortarium, pistillum, pila). Mortars and pestles of various materials were among the household utensils (Plaut. Aul. 94-95; Household equipment) necessary for kneading dough, grinding corn, chopping and mixing fruits, vegetables, etc. Mortars were also used for preparing cosmetics and drugs, pigments and metal alloys. Mortars included smaller grinding bowls (with or without a lip and round grinding stone, called a coticula in Latin, Plin. HN 34,106; made of granite for eye ointment…

[German version] (λάρναξ; lárnax). Box, case, chest, then especially the treasure chest of wood or metal-jointed wood in the atrium (Juv. 11,26; 14,259 and passim), of which there are known examples or remains of examples in Pompeii. Arca was the term used for a large number of sacred, state and private treasures, e.g. the one of the virgines vestales. The arca could be large enough for a person to hide inside (App. B Civ. 4,44). Small arcae are preserved from late antiquity which were given to one's wife as a present with congratulatory messages and their metal fitting…

[German version] Attic vase painter of the geometric period (Late Geometric I, mid 8th cent. BC;  Geometric vase painting), named after the cemetery at the Dipylon Gate in Athens, where most of his works were found. The Dipylon Painter (DP) and the other painters of his workshop created about 20 monumental vases (kraters; amphorae), which were placed on tombs as receptacles for offerings ( Burial); of these, the amphora Athens, NM 804, with a height of 155 cm (the stand has been replaced and thus …

[German version] [1] Seat Roman high seat with foot-, arm- and backrest, throne; the solium was the seat of kings (Ov. Fast. 3,358; 6,353) and, presumably as early as in Etruria, the symbolic seat of a pater familias . It was inherited from father to son, selling it was considered shameful ( Salutatio ). Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography F. Prayon, Frühetrurische Grab- und Hausarchitektur, 1975, 111 f.  Th. Schäfer, Imperii Insignia. Sella curulis und Fasces. 29. Ergänzungsheft MDAI(R), 1989, 26 f. [German version] [2] Bathtub Roman bathtub for one (Mart. 2,42; Vitr. 9 …

[German version] ‘Nail’, in the context of  clothing: ‘stripes’. The decoration of a  tunic with purple clavi extending from the shoulder to the lower seam at the front and back, served to denote rank in Rome. Senators, their sons (since Augustus) and officials wore a tunic with broad stripes ( lati clavi), equestrians one with small stripes ( angusti clavi). The clavi could be woven in or sewn on, cf.  Dalmatica. Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography H. R. Goette, Studien zu röm. Togadarstellungen, 1990, 8-9 J. Bergemann, Röm. Reiterstatuen, 1990, 23-24 B. Levick, A Note on the …

[German version] Generic term for lower Italian black-glazed pottery ( Relief ware), evident from the second half of the 4th cent. to the 2nd cent. BC. The term Calenian Pottery (CP) (askoi, bowls, omphalos phialae, gutti) is commonly used for this group of vessels, yet they were undoubtedly also produced in other regions (Paestum, Sicily, Tarentum). Particularly well-known are bowls with medallions, worked in a medium relief (‘Arethusa bowls’); their origin from Cales (Calenus) or rather Campania…

[German version] A type of ‘Italian’ vase, also called trozella, which was adopted by Lucanian vase painting in the 5th cent. and by Apulian vase painting only around the middle of the 4th cent. BC. The nestoris appears to have been taken on from Messapian vase art. It is known in various forms; typical is its ovoid body with side handles and strap handles (which rise up from the shoulder of the vessel and connect to its lip) which are often decorated with discs (rotellae) [1. 11 fig. 3]. In vase …

[German version] (also pileus). Close-fitting half-spherical or ball-shaped head covering made of fur, felt, leather or wool; adopted by the Romans from the Etruscans (cf. Liv. 34,7). In Rome the pilleus was the mark of a free citizen and was given a slave (Petron. Sat. 41), prisoner of war, or gladiator (Tert. De spectaculis 21) upon manumission. Thus the pilleus libertatis, together with the vindicta , is the attribute of Libertas, who holds them in her hands on Roman coins. P illeus can be used synonymously as an expression for freedom (Mart. 2,68; Suet. Nero 57, cf. Plau…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient Furniture can be documented for the Ancient Orient since the 6th millennium BC, in the form of a sculpture of a feminine figure from Çatal Hüyük that is enthroned on a chair flanked by felines. More substantial statements, however, are not possible until the 3rd millennium BC, as written sources are added. Of the furniture made mostly of wood, reed, woven textiles or leather, scarcely anything is preserved due to the aggressive climate in the Near East. Valuable ind…

[German version] (χιτών; chitón). Greek undergarment, originally of linen, then wool; probably of Semitic origin ( Clothing). Frequent occurrences in Homer (e.g. Il. 2,42; 262; 416; 3,359; Od. 14,72; 19,242), show that the chiton was already a part of Greek costume in early times, and a favoured garment for men. The chiton came into fashion for women during the 1st half of the 6th cent. BC, and later replaced the  peplos (vase paintings, sculptures). The chiton consists of two rectangular lengths of material ( ptéryges, wings), 150-180 cm wide and of varying length, sewn toget…

[German version] The first time the Roman boy donned the toga virilis, he wore the ( tunica) recta as an undergarment; for the sons of equestrians and senators, it was furnished with the insignia of rank ( latus clavus). The long, white tunica with tight upper sleeves which the Roman bride donned on the eve of her wedding, which she slept in and wore on her wedding day was called recta or regilla (Plin. HN 8,194). Clothing; Toga Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) Bibliography Blümner, PrAlt., 336, 350 f.  C. M. Wilson, The Clothing of the Ancient Romans, 1938, 138-145  D. Balsdon, Die Frau in der röm…

[German version] FE means the expressive motions of the entire face (moods) or parts of it that spontaneously indicate a momentary human mood or are deliberately assumed with the intention of making a particular expression. FE's are often situation-related and supplemented by  gestures ( Gestus) or even only become comprehensible through the latter. On the stage individual characters were shown with differing FE's ( Masks,  Mimos). FE's were also a means of providing a person (e.g. a philosopher, …

[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.

[German version] (πέτασος; pétasos). Greek hat made of felt with a wide brim, also referred to as a 'Thessalian hat' because of its origin (Soph. OC 313); it was worn by women and men who spent a lot of time outdoors (fishermen, herdsmen/women, hunters) or who were travelling; amongst the most best-known mythological petasos wearers were Hermes, Peleus, Perseus, Oedipus and Theseus. Additional wearers are - more rarely - chariot riders (Athen. 5,200f.), horsemen (e.g. on the Parthenon freeze) and the Attic ephebes ( ephēbeía ). The petasos was firmly retained by a strap that was p…

(Ἑλικών; Helikṓn). [German version] [1] Mountain range in central Greece Mountain range in central Greece, dividing the Copais Basin and the upper Cephissos Valley from the Gulf of Corinth (cf. Str. 9,2,25; Paus. 9,28,1-31,7). The western part of the H. belonged to Phocis and the eastern part to Boeotia. The highest elevation is the peak of the Palaiovouno (1,748 m). Few passes lead over the H., which is rich in springs and forests and was famed for its herbs. The H. has large areas that were used in anti…

[German version] (also mastruga). Sardian word (Quint. Inst. 1,5) for a close-fitting garment made of (sheep)skin, sleeveless and reaching down to the upper thighs. The Romans considered those who wore it to be uncivilised (Cic. Scaur. 45d; Cic. Prov. cons. 15), thus Alaricus in: Prud. in Symm. 1,659f. In Plaut. Poen. 1310-1313 it is also used as a term of abuse. Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg)

[German version] I. Typology To create a typology of the kiss in antiquity seems rather difficult, given its many specifications, of which the erotic kiss represents no more than a single facet. Existing approaches barely go beyond collections of material [1; 2; 3]. As far as tradition permits, two main categories can be distinguished: formal kisses (in politics; client relations; cult, religion) and private kisses (in family, kinship, friendship; love relations). Within these main categories and th…

[German version] (πέταλον; pétalon). Ancient term uncommon in archaeological terminology; in Greek originally the ‘leaf or foliage of a tree’ (Hom. Il. 2,312; Od. 19,520), in Bacchyl. 5,186 the Olympian wreath of the wild olive, in the 2nd cent. BC at the latest considered to be the artificial metal leaves of a golden  wreath. In Roman sources brattea is used to describe a thin metal foil, mostly silver or gold for gilding objects, also veneers of precious wood (Plin. HN 16,232) or tortoiseshell (Mart. 9,59,9), but mostly gold leaf or gold foil is mea…

[German version] (Greek τὰ ἔπιπλα/ tà épipla, ἡ σκευή/ hē skeuḗ; Latin supellex, instrumentum). Household equipment (HE) comprises the objects that are needed in daily life and that constitute the majority of moveable belongings; this includes primarily  furniture, cooking utensils and kitchen crockery, lighting devices,  carpets,  blankets, and in a wider sense also  jewellery and  clothing, furthermore, according to current understanding, objects belonging to the sphere of immovables, e.g. the doors and ro…

[German version] Originally a Roman tray, then a stand or centrepiece used to arrange and serve food for a course (Petron. Sat. 33; 40; 49), introduced probably at the beginning of the 1st cent. BC as luxury tableware. The repositorium could have simple, round or rectangular form, but it could also have several levels and be of considerable height; it was also decorated with figures (Petron. Sat. 36), veneered with valuable woods and fitted with silver on the corners and edges (Plin. HN 33,146). Carrying away the repositorium while a guest was still drinking was considered a bad o…

[German version] Attic vase painter of the geometric period (late geometric I b, after 750 BC;  Geometric vase painting), named after Gustav Hirschfeld (1847-1897), who first described the main work excavated in 1870, the so-called Hirschfeld Krater (Athens, NM Inv. no. 990) [1; 2]. The Hirschfeld Painter (HP) and his workshop worked in the tradition of the  Dipylon Painter and had a preference for monumental kraters of which the eponymous krater and a further one in New York (MMA Inv. no. 14.130.…

[German version] (διάδημα; diádēma). The term was originally used to describe all bands worn round the head; different from  wreath. The diadema decorates, consecrates and raises its wearer above others; in this way diademata are symbols of dignity, particularly in cult; to this belong the ‘bust crowns’ or the ‘griffin diadema’ of the priests and deities; of a religious nature are also the ribbon-, gable- and rhomboid-shaped ‘ diademata of the dead’ that from the Mycenaean period onwards (shaft tomb IV, Mycenae) in many cases adorn the forehead of the deceased a…

[German version] (φορεῖον/ phoreîon; Latin lectica, sella sc. gestatoria, portatoria). The litter as a means of conveyance has been known in the Orient since earliest times; in Greece it is first mentioned in the 4th cent. BC (Din. 1,36); in Hellenism it is a luxury item (Ath. 5,195c; 212c; Diod. Sic. 31,8,12). We cannot determine when the litter was introduced to the Roman empire but it was in general use from the 2nd cent. BC (cf. Liv. 43,7,5; Gell. NA 10,3,51); its excessive utilization in Rome already compelled Caesar to limit its use in the …