Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

NUPTIAE.

273

OLLA.

the plebeians at the comitia eenturiata. The
subjects to be laid before the comitia, whether
they were proposals for new laws, or the
appointment of officers, were announced to
the people three nundinae beforehand (tri-
nundino die proponere). Instead of nundinae
the form nundinum is sometimes used, but
only when it is preceded by a numeral, as in
trinundinum, or frinum nundinum.
NUPTIAE. [Matrimonii™.]

0BOLUS. [Drachma.]
OCIIEA (kvtj/xi's), a greave, a leggin. A
pair of greaves (Kirj/uiSes) was one of the six
articles of armour which formed the complete
equipment of a Greek warrior [Arma], and
likewise of a Roman soldier as fixed by Ser-
vius Tullius. ThejT were made of various
metals, with a lining probably of leather,
felt, or cloth. Their form is shown in the
accompanying cut. The figure is that of a
fallen warrior, and in consequence of the
bending of the knees, the greaves are seen to
project a little above them. This statue also
shows the ankle-rings (e77i<r$i;'pla), which
were used to fasten the greaves immediately
above the feet.

Ocreae, Greaves. (From the Aeginetan Marbles.)

when driven out of the theatre by rain, and
also as a place in which the chorus could be
prepared. Another Odeum was built at Athens
by Herodes Atticus, and was the most mag-
nificent edifice of the sort in the whole empire.
The length of its largest diameter was 248
feet, and it is calculated to have furnished
accommodation for about 8000 persons.
There were also Odea in other Greek townc.
The first Odeum, properly so called, at Rome,
was built by Domitian, and the second by
Trajan. There are ruins of such buildings in
the villa of Hadrian at Tivoli, at Pompeii,
and at Catana.

OLEA, OLIVA (dAata) ; OLEUM, OLI-
VUM (eAatoi/). The importance of the olive
was recognised from the most remote period
of antiquity in all civilised countries where
the temperature admitted of its cultivation :
and it was widely adopted as an emblem
of industry and peace. Hence the honour
paid to it at Athens, and hence the title
of " prima omnium arborum," bestowed upon
it by Columella. The fruit (bacca) of the
olive was for the most part employed for
one of two purposes. 1. It was eaten as a
fruit, either fresh, piekled, or preserved in
various ways. 2. It was pressed so as to
yield the oil and other juices which it con-
tained. And again, the oil was employed for
a variety of purposes, but chiefly 1. As an
article of food. 2. For anointing the body, and
in this case was frequently made a vehicle
for perfumes (unyuenta). 3. For burning in
lamps.

OLIGARCHIA (oAiyapv'i), the govern-
ment of a few : a term applied to that per-
version (7rape'/</3ucris) of an Aristocratia into
which the latter passed, when, owing to the rise
of the demus [Dkmocratia], and the vanishing
of those substantial grounds of pre-eminence
which rendered an Aristocratia not unjust,
the rule of the dominant portion of the com-
munity became the ascendancy of a faction,
whose efforts were directed chiefly towards
their own aggrandisement. The preservation
of power under such circumstances of course
depended chiefly upon the possession of supe-
rior wealth and the other appliances of
wealth which were its concomitants. Thus
it came to be regarded as essentially charac-
teristic of an oligarchy, that the main dis-
tinction between the dominant faction and
the subject portion of the community was
the possession of greater wealth on the part
of the former. Hence the term Oligarehia
would not have been applied, if a small sec-
tion of the community, consisting of poor
persons, by any means got the reins of go-
vernment into their hands.

OLLA (ac'/St);, vvTpos), a vessel of any ma-

ODEUM (oiSeu»<), a species of public build-
ing for contests in vocal and instrumental
music. In its general form and arrangements
it was very similar to the theatre; and it is
sometimes called Biarpov. There were,
however, some characteristic differences : the
Odeum was much smaller than the theatre;
and it was roofed over, in order to retain the
sound. The earliest building of this kind
was that erected by Pericles at Athens, for
the purpose of celebrating the musical con-
tests at the Panathenaea. Its proximity to
the theatre suggested some of the uses made
of it, namely, a» a refuge for the audience