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

330 COI ES. COMITI4A.
pilles, caesarzes, crines, isciecinZCs, and C1-rus, the some presided over a particular lepartment, with
two last words being used to signify curled hair. a limited authority, as we should term them, cos.In early times the Romans wore their hair long, as msissioners; others were in-vested with all the
was represented in the oldest statues in the age of powers of the ancient proconsuls and practors.
Varro (De Re Rust. ii. 11. ~ 10), and hence the The names of the following officers explain
Rornmans of the Augustan age designated theii themselves:-Comes Orientis (of whom there seem
ancestors intoensi (Ov. Fast. ii. 30) and capillati to have been two, one the supericr of the other),
(Juv. vi. 30). But after the introduction of bar- comes Aegypti, comes Britanniae, comes Africae,
bers into Italy about B. c. 300, it became the comes rei militaris, comes porturnt, comes stabuli,
practice to wear their hair short. The women too comes domesticorum equitum, comes clibanarius,
originally dressed their hair with great simplicity, comes linteae vestis or vestiarii (master of the
but in the Augustan period a variety of different robes). In fact the emperor had as many comniles
lhead-dresses came into fashion, many of which are as he had duties: thus, comes consistorii, the elndescribed by Ovid (de Art. Amz. iii. 136, &c.). peror's privy-councillor; comes largitionum privaSometimes these head-dresses were raised to a tarum, an officer who managed the emperor's prigreat height by rows of false curls (Juv. Sat. vi. vate revenue, as the comes largitionum sacrarum
502). The dressing of the hair of a Roman lady did the public exchequer. The latter office united
at this period 8was a most important affair. So in a great measure the functions of the aedile and
much attention did the Roman ladies devote to it, quaestor. The four comites commerciorum, to
that they kept slaves especially for this purpose, whom the government granted the exclusive privicalled ornatrices, and had them instructed by a lege of trading in silk with barbarians, were under
master in the art (Ov. de Art. Am. iii. 239; Suet. his control. An account, however, of the duties
Claud. 40; Dig. 32. tit. 1. s. 65). Most of the and functions of the comites of the later empire
Greek head-dresses mentioned above were also does not fall within the scope of the present
worn by the Roman ladies; but the mitrae appear work. [B. J.]
to have been confined to prostitutes (Juv. iii. 66). COMISSA'TIO (from Ktcjos, Varr. De Liemg.
One of the simplest modes of wearing the hair Lat. vii. 89, ed. Muller), the name of a drinking
was allowing it to fall down in tresses behind, and entertainment, which took place after the coena,
only confining it by a band encircling the. head from which, however, it must be distinguished.
[VITTA]. Another favourite plan was platting the Thus Demetrius says to his guests, after they had
hair, and then fastening it behind with a large taken their coena in his own house, " Quin copin, as is shown in the figure on p. 14. missatum ad fratrem imus?" (Liv. xl. 7); and
Blonde hair was as much prized by the Romans when Habinnas comes to Trimalchio's house after
as by the Greeks, and hence the Roman ladies taking his coena elsewhere, it is said that " Comisused a kind of composition or wash to make it ap- sator intravit" (Petron. 65). It appears to have
pear this colour (spunza caustics, Mart. xiv. 26; been the custom to partake of some food at the
Plin. II. YT. xxviii. 12. s. 51). comissatio (Suet. Vitell. 13), but usually only as a
False hair or wigs (pEiKsschc, T7Y5K), galerus) kind of relish to the wine.
were worn both by Greeks and Romans. (See The comissatio was frequently prolonged to a
e. g. Juv. vi. 1.20.) Among both people likewise late hour at night (Suet. Tit. 7); whence the verb
in ancient times the hair was cut closs in mourn- comissari means " to revel" (Hor. Carne. iv. 1. 11),
ing [FuNus]; and among both the slaves had and the substantive coemissator a "' reveller" or
their hair cut close as a mark of servitude. " debauchee." Hence Cicero (AlAdAt. i. 16) calls
(A-ristoph. Aves, 911; Plant. Anmple. i. 1. 306; the supporters of Catiline's conspiracy comissatcres
Becker, Ciauricles, vol. ii. p. 380, &c.; Bbttiger, conjzuratios2is. (Becker, Gallus, vol. ii. p. 235.)
Sabina, vol. i. p. 138, &c.) COMI'TIA. This word is formed from co, cusm,
COMES, first signified a mere attendant or or con, and ire, and therefore comfitimem is a place of
companion, distinguished fiom socius, which always meeting, and coreitia the meeting itself, or the
implied some bond of union between the persons assembled people. In the Roman constitution the
mentioned. Hence arose several technical senses comitia were the ordinary and legal meetings or
of the word, the connection of which may be easily assemblies of the people, and distinct from the
traced. conciones and concilia; or, according to the still
It was applied to the attendants on magistrates, more strict definition of Messala (ap. Gell. xiii. 15),
in which sense it is used by Suetonius (Jul. Caes. comitia were those assemblies convened by a
42). In Horace's time (7Epist. i. 8. 2) it was cus- magistrate for the purpose of putting any subject to
tomnary for young men of family to go out as coetuber- their vote. This definition does not indeed comnales to governors of provinces and commanders-in- prehend all kinds of comitia, since in the coenitiaG
chief, under whose eye they learnt the arts of war calata no subjects were put to the vote of the
and peace. This seems to have led the way for people, certain things being only annolncel to
the introduction of the colzites at home, the main- them, or they being only witnesses to certain
tenance of whom was, in Horace's opinion (Sat. i. 6. solemn acts, but with this single exception the de1] 01), one of the miseries of wealth. Hence a person finition is satisfactory. The Greek writers on
in the suite of the emperor was termed conzes. As Roman affairs call the comitia at &pXatpeoa-ie,'r
all power was supposed to flow from the imperial apXaLtpEOa, tiKKc Xoia and o/qrpodeopfa.
will, the term was easily transferred to the various All the powers of government were divided a.t
oflices in the palace and in the provinces (coemites Rome between the senate, the magistrates, and
palatzis, provinciales). About the time of Con- the people in their assemblies. Properly speakstantine it became a regular honorary title, includ- ing, the people alone (the pop0ulus) was the real
ing various grades, answering to the comites ordinis sovereign by whom the power was delegated to
jpini, secundcli, tertii. The power of these officers, the magistrates and the senate; and the niagisespecially the provincial, varied with time and place; trates in particular could not perform any public