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

PERISCELIS.

291

PERSONA.

The Normans, on the contrary, of whatever
rank in their own country, were all nobles
and warriors, compared witb the conquered
Saxons, and for a long- time enjoyed exclu-
sively the civil and ecclesiastical administra-
tion of the land.

PERISCELIS (m-pio-KeAts), an anklet or

bangle, worn by the Orientals, the Greeks,
?.nd the Roman ladies also. It decorated the
leg in the same manner as the bracelet adorns
the wrist and the necklace the throat. The
word, however, is sometimes used in the
same sense as the Latin feminalia, that is,
drawers reaching from the navel to the knees.

.Pcri&cdis, Anklet, worn by a Nereid. (Museo IJorbonico, vol. vt. tav. 34.;
PERISTROMA, a coverlet large enough to masks to Thespis or Aeschylus, though the

hang round the sides of the bed or couch.

PERISTYLIUM. [Domus.]

PERO (ap/3u'Ai)), a low boot of untanned
hide worn by ploughmen [peronatus arator),
shepherds, and others employed in rural
occupations. The term apfiv\-q is applied to
an appendage to the Greek chariot. It seems
to have been a shoe fastened to the bottom
of the chariot, into which the driver inserted
his foot, to assist him in driving, and to
prevent him from being thrown out.

PERSONA (larva, npotroi-ov or 7rpocrw7reroi>),
a mask. Masks were worn by Greek and
Roman actors in nearly all dramatic repre-
sentations. This custom arose undoubtedly
from the practice of smearing the face with
certain juices and colours, and of appearing
in disguise, at the festivals of Dionysus.
[Dionysia.] Now, as the Greek drama arose
out of these festivals, it is highly probable
that some mode of disguising the face was as
old as the drama itself. Choerilus of Samos,
however, (about b.c. 500) is said to have
been the first who introduced regular masks.
Other writers attribute the invention of

latter had probably only the merit of perfect-

Comic Mask. (Statue of Davus in British Museum )

ing- and completing the whole theatrical ap-
paratus and costume. Some masks covered

Masks (From a Tomb at SMvma in Lrcia.)