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

822 OCREA. ODEUJM.
citizens, who were thus tempted to adopt as one his minuteness in describing some of their parts,
of their ordinary avocations, that lwhich they would especially the ankle-rings, which were sometimes
otherwise have left in more suitable hands. (Polyb. of silver. (Hom. II. iii. 331, xi. 18.) The modern
vi. 4; Plunt. de ]Monareh. &c., c. 3; Thirlwall, Greeks and Albanians wear greaves, in form reHist. of Greece, c. x. vol. i. p. 410.) [C. P. M.] sembling those of their ancestors, but made of
O'CREA (K'cv/eS), a greave, a leggin. A pair softer materials, such as velvet, ornamented with
of greaves (icvtrne7es) was one of the six articles of gold, and fastened with hooks and eyes.
armour which formed the complete equipment of a Among the Romans, greaves made of bronze,
Greek or Etruscan warrior [ARM.A], and likewise and richly embossed, were worn by the gladiators.
of a Roman soldier as fixed by Servius Tullius. Some such have been found at Pompeii. [See
(Liv. i. 43.) They were made of bronze (Alcaeus, woodcut, p. 576. It appears that in the time of
Frag. i. ed. Matthiae), of brass (Hes. Scut. 122), the emperors, greaves were not entirely laid aside
of tin (Hom. II. xviii. 612, xxi. 592), or of silver as part of the armour of the soldiers. (Lamprid.
and gold (Virg. Aen. vii. 634, viii. 624, xi. 488), Al. Sever. 40.) At an earlier period, the heavywith a lining probably of leather, felt, or cloth. armed wore a single greave on the right leg.
Another method of fitting them to the leg so as not (Veget. de Re 2Mkil. i. 20.) Leggins of ox-hide or
to hurt it, was by the interposition of that kind of strong leather, probably of the form already desponge which was also used for the lining of scribed and designated by the same names both in
helmets [GALEA], and which Aristotle describes Greek and Latin, were worn by agricultural laas being remarkable for thinness, density, and firm- bourers (Hom. Od. xxiv. 228; Plin. I. N. xix. 7
ness. The greaves, lined with these materials, as Pallad. de Re Rust. i. 43) and by huntsmen. (Her.
they were fitted with great exactness to the leg, Sat. ii. 3. 234.) [J. Y.]
probably required, in many cases, no other fasten- OCTASTY'LOS. [TExIPLUuM.]
ing than their own elasticity. Often, nevertheless, OCTA'VAE. [VECTriALIA.]
they were further secured by two straps, as may OCTOBER EQUUS. [PALII.IA.]
be seen in the woodcut at p. 135. Their form and OCTO'PHORON. [LEcTICA.]
appearance will be best understood from the ac- ODE'UM (3beorv), a species of public buildcompanying woodcut. The upper figure is that of ing, which was first erected during the flourishing
a fallen warrior represented among the sculptures, epoch of Greek art in the fifth century P. c., for
now at Munich, belonging to the temple in Aegina. contests in vocal and instrumental music (roeros
In consequence of the bending of the knees, the'v 1 oi PIa/cplol cal o' KOLap.lol leyYCV10VTe0,
greaves are seen to project a little above them. Hesych. s. v., comp. Suid. s. v.). In its gen ral
This statue also shows very distinctly the ankle- form and arrangements it was very simnilar to the
rings (4i7ritmpta), which were used to fasten the theatre; and it is sometimes called iEarpov.'
greaves immediately above the feet. The lower (Paus. i. 8, ii. 3; Philostr. Vit. Sobph. ii. 1. p.
portion of the same woodcut represents the interior 549.) There were, however, some characteristic
view of a bronze shield and a pair of bronze greaves, differences: the Odeum was much smaller than
which were found by Signor Campanari in the the theatre; and it was roofed over, in order
to retain the sound. (Vitruv. v. 9.) The comparatively small size of the Odeum is easily accounted for, not only because the space required
in the theatre for the evolutions of the Chorus Wias
not wanted here; but also because it appears to
have been originally designed chiefly for musical
rehearsals, in subordination to the great choral
performances in the theatre, and consequently a
much smaller space was required for the audience.
Unfortunately we have no detailed description
of this class of buildings. Vitruvius (I. c.) manues
a passing mention of the Odeum of Pericles, but
states no particulars respecting its construction, except that it was adorned with stone pillars, and
roofed over with the masts and yards of the captured Persian ships, a statement which has led
some writers into the mistake of referring the
building to the time of Themistocles. From the
statement of Pausanias (i. 20. ~ 4) that, when the
Odeum was rebuilt, after its burning in the captu lre of Athens by Sulla, it was made of a:form
which was said to be in imitation of the tent of
Xerxes, it may perhaps be inferred that the original building was actually covered with that tent.
At all events, this statement proves that the roof
must have been conical. Accordingly Plutarch,
who states that the original buildings was an
tomb of an Etruscan warrior, and which are now imitation of the king's tent, describes its roof as
preserved in the British Museum. These greaves
are made right and left. * See, respecting the precise meaning of the
That the Greeks took great delight in handsome words, the note on p. 83, a.
and convenient greaves may be inferred from the + Perhaps he confounded it with the one which
epithet ehc,3/ye76eS, as used by Homer, and from was standing in his time.