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

PES. PETAURUM. 893
modern. Very little needs to be added to what
has been said of the Greek and Roman feet under
4.'"4, MRENSURA.:-.,~..,~'l'he Romans applied the uncial division [As] to
the foot, which thus contained 12 unciae, whence
or inches; and many of the words used to express
certain numbers of unciae are applied to the parts
/~ b XXj of the foot. (Veget. de Re Mlilit. i. 5; Plin. H. N.
~~~~~u~ -xxvii. 5. s. 11, xiii. 15.) It was also divided into'- jj 1''se 16 uiigiti (finger-breadths): this mode of division
was used especially by architects and land-sur~. fs,; veyors, and is found on all the foot-measures that
have come down to us. Pollex (the thumb), which
in the ancient writers, but Pliny (H.N. xxvii. 9,
i i xv. 24, xiii. 23) uses the adjective poll/icaris (of a
thumb's breadth or thickness).
From the analogy of the as, we ha ve also dupondeium for 2 feet (Colum. iii. 15, &c.), and pes.sesterwig, aid that Roscius Gallus, about the year 100 ties for 2 — feet. (Leg. XII. Tab.. Tab. v1iii.) The
a. c., was the first who introduced the use of masks. chief subdivisions and multiples of the foot will be
It should, however, be remembered that masks had found mentioned under MENSURA, and more fully
been used long before that time in the Atellanae described in their proper places. (See also the
(Fest. s. v. PersonZta), so that the innovation of Tables.) One itinerary measure, which has been
Roscius must have been confined to the regular omitted in its proper place, is the Leuga, or Leuca,
drama, tliat is, to tragedy and comedy. As for the which was a Gallic measure - 1500 passus or 11
forms of Roman masks, it may be presumed that, mile. (Ammian. Marc. xvi. 1'2; Iin. Antonoinm.)
being introduced from Greece at so late a period, Stones are still found on the roads in France with
they had the same defects as those used in Greece distances marked on them inl Leqyae. [MILLIARE.]
at the time when the arts were in their decline, The square foot (pes qnacdateus) is called by
and this supposition is confirmed by all works of Frontinus constratzs, and by Boethils contactus.
art, nld the paintings of Herculaneum and Pompeii, Frontinus applies the term qcadratus to the cubic
in which masks are represented; for the masks foot, and the same, as a measure of capacity, was
appear unnaturally distorted and the mouth always called QUADPRANTAL.
wide open. The expressions of Roman writers Certain peculiar foot-measures, differing from the
also support this supposition. (Gellius, v. 7; Juv. ordinary ones, are mentioned by ancient writers.
iii. 175.) We may mention here that some of the The Samiain, which was the same as the Egyptian
oldest MSS. of Terence contain representations of foot, is known from the length of the Egyptian
Roman masks, and from these MSS. they have cubit as derived fron the Nilometer (namely,
been copied in several modern editions of that poet, 17-742785176inches) to haveconitained 11'82852384
as in the edition published at Urbino in 1726, fol., inches, or more than 1 3 inches. A larger foot
and in that of Dacier. The cut annexed contains than the common staldard seems to have been
representations of four of these masks prefixed to used in Asia Minor. Heron (de llenls. p. 368)
the Andria. names the Royal or Philaeterian foot as being 16
finger-breadths, and the Italian as 13 2, and he also,( i~ f \ 4mentions a mile (/A1Xov) of 5400 Italian or 4500
___'< tX\,I9, 4 royal feet. Ideler supposes that the Italian foot
r 11 );i K2)'/II( (tbi foot larger than the common standard, correspond-, j )i),/ )(Il'' Ij~,\l(\0 /e)o9' ing to the stadium of 7 to the mile, which had.K,: -'f':.,i), been introduced before Heron's time, namely,
\\'; 4(t~ (; ~ - l the tenth century. The Pes Drussiamts or foot of
Drusus, contained 1 31 Roman inches - 13'1.058
AWhen actors at Rome displeased their audience English inches. It was used beyond the boundand were hissed, they were obliged to take off their aries of Italy for measuring land, and was the
masks; but, those who acted in the Atellanae were standard among the Tungri in Lower Germany.
not obliged to do so. (Fest. s. v. Pe-sonztalfibzlae; (Hussey, on Ancient WTeights, &c., Appendix;
NMacrob. Sat. ii. 7.) The Roman mimes never wore Wurm, de Pond. chaps. 6 and 7; Bockh's AiMetroloq.
masks. [MImus.] (Compare Fr. De Ficoroni, Untersuchl. pp. 196, &c.; Ideler, Lingcen mnid Flii.
Dissertatio de Laruvis scenicis et Fiquris com1icis ant. chenmnasse; Frdret, Observations scur le Ral.Ipport cles
RIos2., Rome 1736 and 1750, 4to; Fr. Stieve, Disser — Misures Geecques et des JIssures Romnaines, Md1n.
tatio de reiscenzicae apud R eoncnos Origize.) [L. S.] de l'Acad. d'Inscrip. t. xxiv. pp. 551, &c. [P.S.]
PE'RTICA, the pole, used by the AGRIMsEN- PESSI (mrefof). [LATRUTNCULI.]
SOaRES, was also called DECEsMPEDA because it was PE'SSULUS. [JANUA, p. 626, b.]
ten feet long. Ons account of its use in assigning PETALISMUS (7rse-aAo/s). LEXSI[ExsLIUM
h]ads to the members of a colony, it is sometimes p. 515, a.]
represented on medals by the side of the augurial PE'TASUS. [PILEUS.]
plough. (Propert. iv. 1. 30.) [J. Y.] PETAURISTAE. [PETAURUM.]
PES (rovs), a foot, the standard measure of PETAURUM (7rre'avpov, VrE'evpov) is said by
length among the Greeks and Romans, as well as the Greek grammarians to have been a pole or board,
almolng nearly all other nations, both ancient and on which fowls roosted. (Hesych. s. v.; Pollux, x.