The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous ... - Cd3wd.com

426 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF
done in the temple of Feronia, who was the goddess cf freed-
men. In her temple at Tenacina was a stone seat, on which
was engraved the following verse :
" Benemeriti servi sedeant, surgent liberi."
In allusion to this practice it appears that the Romans, (hough
they did not commonly wear hats, put them on at the Saturna-
lia*. At the death of Nero, the common people to express their
joy went about the city in felt capst. In allusion to this cus-
tom the figure of Liberty on the coins of Antoninus Pius holds
the cap in her right hand. Figures 1 and 2 in Plate IX. are
examples selected from the collection in the British Museum,
and, as we learn from the legend, were struck when he was
made consul the fourth time, i. e. A. D. 145.
In contradistinction to the various forms of the felt cap now
described and represented, all of which were more or less elevated,
and many of which were pointed upwards, we have now
to consider those, which, though made of felt, and therefore
classed by the ancients under the general terms pile^is, rrXof,
&c.t, corresponded more nearly to our modern hat. The
Greek word rriracros, dim. reraaiov, derivcd from TTcrdvvvfia, extendo,
dilato, and adopted by the Latins in the form petasus, dim.
petasunculus, well expressed the distinctive form of these hats.
They were more or less broad and expanded. What was
taken from their height was added to their width. Those al-
ready mentioned had no brim ; the petasus of every variety
had a brim, which was either exactly or nearly circular, and
which varied greatly in its width. In some cases it seems to
be a mere circular disc without any crown at all. Of this we
have an example in a beautiful statue, which has, no doubt,
been meant for Endymion, in the Townley collection of the
British Museum. See Plate IX. Fig. 3. His right hand en-
circles his head, and his scarf is spread over a rock as described
* Pileata Roma. Martial, xi. 7 ; xiv. 1.
t Pk'bs pileata. Sueton. JVero, 57.
t Plutarch (Solon, 179) says that Solon, pretending to be mad and acting the
part of a herald from Salamis, tftTr/jJrjjsn els ti> dyopav dipi/(j wiXioc itepiOlfiavos,
Here KtXiov seems to mean the irtraaoc.