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

PENESTAE.

289

PEPLUM.

shield, from which those who bore it took
the name of peltastae. It consisted princi-
pally of a frame of wood or ■wicker-work,
covered with skin or leather.

PENESTAE (irei/e'orai), a class of serfs in
Thessaly, who stood in nearly the same rela-
tion to their Thessalian lords as the helots of
Laconia did to the Dorian Spartans, although
their condition seems to have been on the
whole superior. They were the descendants
of the old Pelasgic or Aeolian inhabitants of
Thessaly Proper. They occupied an inter-
mediate position between freemen and pur-
chased slaves, and they cultivated the land
/or their masters, paying by way of rent a
portion of the produce of it. The Penestae
sometimes accompanied their masters to bat-
tle, and fought on horseback as their vassals :
a circumstance which need not excite surprise,
as Thessaly was so famous for cavalry. There
were Penestae among the Macedonians also.
PENETEALE. [Templum.]
PENICILLUS. [Picttjra, p. 295 nr.]
PENTACOSIOMEDJMNI. [Census.]
PENTATHLON (jrivTaBkov, quinquertium),
was next to the pancratium the most beau-
tiful of all athletic performances. The per-
sons engaged in it were called Pcntathli (n-eV-
TaflAoi). The pentathlon consisted of five
distinct kinds of games, viz. leaping (aAju.a),
the foot-race (Spd/xos), the throwing of the
discus (Si'o-kos), the throwing of the spear
(aiyvvvos or okovtiov), and wrestling (VaA?j),
which were all performed in one day and in a
certain order, one after the other, by the
same athletae. The pentathlon was intro-
duced in the Olympic games in 01. 18.

PENTECOSTE (Trei/nj/coo-TTj), a duty of two
per cent, levied upon all exports and imports

at Athens. The money was collected by pei-
sons called jremjicocrToAoyo!.. The merchant
who paid the duty was said nwnjieoireiJeaflcu.
All the customs appear to have been let to
farm, and probably from year to year. They
were let to the highest bidders by the ten
Poletae, acting under the authority of the
senate. The farmers were called reAuvat,
and were said uiveicrOat rqv TrevrrjKoa-rriv.

PEPLUM or PEPLUS (ttcVAos), an outer
garment or shawl, strictly worn by females,
and thus corresponding to the himation or
pallium, the outer garment worn by men.
Like all other pieces of cloth used for the
Amictus, it was often fastened by means of a
brooch. It was, however, frequently worn
without a brooch. The shawl was also often
worn so as to cover the head while it enve-
loped the body, and more especially on occa-
sion of a funeral or of a marriage, when a
very splendid shawl (Traoro?) was worn by
the bride. The following woodcut may be
supposed to represent the moment when the
bride, so veiled, is delivered to her husband
at the door of the nuptial chamber. He
wears the Pallium only ; she has a long
shift beneath her shawl, and is supported by
the pronuba. Of all the productions of the
loom, pepli were those on which the greatest
skill and labour were bestowed. So various
and tasteful were the subjects which they re-
presented, that poets delighted to describe
them. The art of weaving them was entirely
oriental; and those of the most splendid
dyes and curious workmanship were imported
from Tyre and Sidon. They often constituted
a very important part of the treasures of a
temple, having been pi-esented to the divinity
by suppliants and devotees.

Pejilum (Bartoli, 1 Admir. Uono. Ant.,' pi. 57 »>