Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

BIDENTAL.: BLABES DIKE. 203
libraries on the capitol (Suet. Donm. 20), in the vi. 587; compare Orelli, Inscr. vol. i. p. 431. No.
temple of Peace (Gell. xvi. 8), in the palace of 2482); he further consecrated the spot by sacriTiberius (Gell. xiii. 18), besides the Ulpian library, ficing a two-year-old sheep (bidess), whence the
which was the most famous, founded by Trajan name of the place and of the priest, and also
(Gell. xi. 17; Dion Cass. lxviii. 16), called Ulpian erected an altar, and surrounded it with a wall or
from his own name,:Ulpius. This library was fence. It was not allowable to tread on the place
attached by Diocletian, as an ornament, to his (Persius, ii. 27), or to touch it, or even to look at
thermae. (Vopisc. Prob. 2.) it. (Atmm. Marc. xxiii. 5.) Solmetimes a bidental
Private collections of books were made at Rome which had nearly fallen to decay from length of
soon after the second Punic war. The zeal of time was restored and renovated (Orelli, lascr.
Cicero, Atticus, and others in increasing their No. 2483); but to renlove the bounds of one
libraries is well known. (Cic. Ad Att. i. 7, 10, (movere bidental), or in any way to violate its
iv. 5; Ad Quiv2t. Fr. iii. 4.) The library of Lu- sacred precincts, was considered as sacrilege. (Heor.
callus was very extensive, and he allowed the Art. Poet. 471.) From the passage in Horace, it
public free access to it. (Plut. Lsucull. 42.) To- appears to have been believed that a person who
wards the end of the republic it became, in fact, was guilty of profaning a bidental, would be puthe fashion to have a. room elegantly furnished as nished by the gods with frenzy; and Seneca (Nlt.
a library, and reserved for that purpose. However Quaest. ii. 53) mentions another belief of a similar
ignorant or unstudious a person might be, it was kind, that wine which had been struck by lightning
fashionable to appear learned by having a library, would produce in any one who drank it death or
though he might never even read the titles of the madness. Persons who had been struck by lightbooks. Seneca (De Tranq. An. 9) condemns the ning (fedgluriti) were not removed, but were buried
rage for mere book-collecting, and rallies those who on the spot. (Pers. Sat. ii. 27; Plin. H. N.
were more pleased with the outside than the in- ii. 54; Hartung, Religion der Rismer, vol. ii. p.
side. Lucian wrote a separate piece to expose 13.) [A. A.]
this common folly (7rpos a'7sraMEuSoT Kal 7roAAt BIDIAEI (Bola0om), called in inscriptions
BdAeixa.'sopfveov). 3LaEoL or iLsUotL, were magistrates in Sparta, whose
A library generally had an eastern aspect. business was to inspect the gymnastic exercises.
(Vitruv. vi. 7.) In Herculaneum a library fully Their house of meeting (&pX eov) was in the
furnished was discovered. Round the walls it had market-place. (Paus. iii. 11. ~ 2.) They were
cases containing the books in rolls [LIBER]; these either five (Paus. 1. c.) or six in number (Bickh,
cases were numbered. It was a very small room; Corp. Ia2scrip. nr. 1271. 1364), and had a presiso small that a person by stretching out his arms dent who is called in inscriptions 7rper'evs 3,LE'wv.
could touch both sides of it. The cases were (Bickh, Corp. Inscrip. vol. i. p. 611.) Biickh concalled either acrmaria (Plin. Ep. ii. 17; Vopisc. jectures that fi8E1oL or i8sotL is the Laconian form
_7cbit. 8), or loczldsmenta (Seneca, De Tranq. An. for'ivoe or FiLooL, and signifies witnesses and
9), or/brsuli (Juv. Sat. iii. 219), or nidi (Mart. i. judges amnong the youth. (Comp. Miller, Doricans,
118; 15, vii. 17. 5). Asinius Pollio had set the iii. 7. ~ 8.) Valckenaer (ad Hlerod. vi. 57) supfashion in his public library of adorning the room poses that the bidiaei were the same as the vO/GOwith the portraits and busts of celebrated men, as (pxatces; but the inscriptions given by Bbckh
well as statues of Minerva and the Muses. This show that the bidiaei and voeoupiXaecEs were two
example was soon followed in the private labraries separate classes of officers.
of the rich. (Juv. iii. 219; Plin. Ep. iii. 7, iv. BIGA or BIGAE. [CURRUS.]
28; Cic. ad Farn. vii. 23; Plin. H. N. xxxv. 2; BIGAiTUS. [DENARIUS.]
Suet. Tib. 70; Mart. ix. Ep. ad Turasn.; Lipsius, BIPA'LIUM. [PALA.]
De Bibliot/secisS kyntcjaeu, in Opera, vol. iii.; Becker, BIPENNIS. [SEcuRIS.]
Gallus, vol. i. p. 160, &c.) [A. A.] BIREMIS. [NAVIS.]
BICOS (bircos), the name of an earthen vessel BIRRUS (Bhippos), a cape or hood, which was
in common use among the Greeks. (Pollux, vi. worn out of doors over the shoulders, and was
14, vii. 162, x. 73.) Hesychius (s.v.) defines it sometimes elevated so as to cover the head. On the
as a rcd~u/os with handles. It was used for former account it is classed by an ancient gram..
holding wine (Xen. Anab. i. 9. ~ 25), asld salted mnarian with the lacerna, and on the latter with the.
meat and fish. (Athen. iii. p. 116, f.) Herodotus cowl, or cuculus. It had a long nap, which was
(i. 194) speak-s of L/3KCos polsmum'c7ovs KaTry-Vous commonly of sheep's wool, mere rarely of beaver's
oYPou vrAeovs, which some commentators interpret wool. It probably derived its name from the red
by " vessels made of the wood of the palm tree full colour (7r/ppos) of the wool of which it was made.
of wine." But as Eustathius (isn Od. p. 1445) It is only mentioned by the later writers. (Vopisc.
speaks of oa/ov s epolm'vov,ikcos, we ought pro- Carin. 20; Claudian, Epigyr. 37.)
bably to read in Herodotus Bfouvs powlmscni'ov, ic. T. BISE'LLI1UM. [SELLA.]
A., "vessels fill of palm wine." BISSEXTUM. [CAL ENDARIUM.]
BIDENS. [RAsTRUaIv.] BLABES DIKE' (3ace1qs &K10). This action
~BIDENTAL, the name given to a place where was available in all cases in which one person had
any one had been struck by lightning (Festus, sustained a loss by the conduct of another; and
s. v. fulguritum), or where any one had been killed from the instances that are extant, it seems that
by lightning and buried. Such a place was con- whether the injury originated in a fault of omission
sidered sacred. Priests, who were called biden- or commission, or impaired the actual fortune of the
tales (i. e. scordates), collected the earth which plaintiff, or his prospective advantage, the action
had been torn up by the ligishtning, and everything would lie, and might be maintained, against the
that had been scorched, and burnt it in the ground defendant. It is of course impossible to enumerate
with a sorrowful murmur. (Lucan, i. (06.) The all the particular cases upon which it would arise,
officiatin priest was said colderefliyZur (JLL. Sat. but the two great classes into which /Adas, ili;ay