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

PILA.

296

PILA.

the statement of Pliny, that they were more
valuable than the Murrhine vases. [Mur-
rhina Vasa.] The paintings on the vases,
considered as works of art, vary exceedingly
in the detail of the execution, although in
style of design they may be arranged in two
principal classes, the black and the yellow ;
for those which do not come strictly under
cither of these heads are either too few or
vary too slightly to require a distinct classi-
fication. The black are the most ancient, the
yellow the most common.—V. Mosaic, or
pictura de mnsivo, opus musivum, was very
general in Home in the time of the early
emperors. It was also common in Greece
and Asia Minor at an earlier period, but at
the time of the Roman empire it began to a
great extent even to supersede painting. It
was used chiefly for floors, but walls and also
ceilings were sometimes ornamented in the
same way. There are still many great mosaics
of the ancients extant. The most valuable is
the one discovered in Pompeii a few years
ago, which is supposed to represent the battle
of Issus. The composition is simple, forcible,
and beautiful, and the design exhibits in
many respects merits of the highest order.

PILA (<r<f>alpa), a ball. The game at ball
(onpcupto-TiKrj) was one of the most favourite
gymnastic exercises of the Greeks and Ro-
mans, from the earliest times to the fall of
the Roman empire. It is mentioned in the

Odyssey, where it is played by the Phaeacian
damsels to the sound of music, and also by
two celebrated performers at the court of
Alcinous in a most artistic manner accom-
panied with dancing. The various move-
ments of the body required in the game of
ball gave elasticity and grace to the figure ;
whence it was highly esteemed by the Greeks.
The Athenians set so high a value on it, that
they conferred upon Aristonicus of Carystus
the right of citizenship on account of his
skill in this game. It was equally esteemed
by the other states of Greece; the young
Spartans, when they were leaving the con-
dition of cphebi, were called <r<£cupet5, pro-
bably because their chief exercise was the
game at ball. Every complete gymnasium
had a room (o-<£aip«mjpicn>> o-i/ioc'pccrTpa) de-
voted to this exercise [Gymnasium], where a
special teacher (o-^aipurrixos) gave instruc-
tion in the art. Among the Romans the
game at ball was generally played at by
persons before taking the bath, in a room
[sphaerisferium) attached to the baths for
the purpose. Pila was used in a general
sense for any kind of ball : but the balls
among the Romans seem to have been of
three kinds ; the pila in its narrower sense,
a small ball; the fvllis, a great ball filled
with air; and the paganica, of which we
know scarcely anything, but which appears
to have been smaller than the follis and

Pita, Game at Ball. (From the Baths ul Titus.)