A dictionary of Greek and Roman . ium to his house (, ii. 43 ; Floras, iv. 2 ; Plut. Caes. 81 ; ), that is, a portico and pedimenttowards the street like that of a temple. [A. R.] FAUCES. [Domus, p. 428, a.] FAX (cl>av6s), a torch. The descriptions ofpoets and mycologists, and the works of ancientart, represent the torch as carried by Diana, Ceres,Bellona, Hymen (woodcut, p. 238), Phosphorus,by females in Bacchanalian processions (p. 288),and, in an inverted position, by Sleep and the annexed woodcut, the female figure in themiddle is copied fro
A dictionary of Greek and Roman . ium to his house (, ii. 43 ; Floras, iv. 2 ; Plut. Caes. 81 ; ), that is, a portico and pedimenttowards the street like that of a temple. [A. R.] FAUCES. [Domus, p. 428, a.] FAX (cl>av6s), a torch. The descriptions ofpoets and mycologists, and the works of ancientart, represent the torch as carried by Diana, Ceres,Bellona, Hymen (woodcut, p. 238), Phosphorus,by females in Bacchanalian processions (p. 288),and, in an inverted position, by Sleep and the annexed woodcut, the female figure in themiddle is copied from a fictile vase. The wingedfigure on the left hand, asleep and leaning on atorch, is from a funeral monument at Rome: theword Somnus is inscribed beside it. The otherwinged figure, also with the torch inverted, istaken from an antique gem, and represents Cupidunder the character of Avaepws (Serv. in Virg. 520) or Lethaeus Amor (Ovid, Rem. ). In ancient marbles the torch is sometimesmore ornamented than in the examples now pro-. duced ; but it appears to be formed of woodenstaves or twigs, either bound by a rope drawnround them in a spiral form, as in the above middlefigure, or surrounded by circular bands at equaldistances, as in the two exterior figures. The in-side of the torch may be supposed to have beenfilled with flax, tow, or other vegetable fibres, thewhole being abundantly impregnated with pitch,rosin, wax, oil, and other inflammable the principal use of torches was to give light tothose who went abroad after sunset, the portion ofthe Roman day immediately succeeding sun-setwas called fax or prima fax. (Gell. iii. 2 ; Ma-crob. Sat. i. 2.) Torches, as now described, ap-pear to have been more common among the Romansthan the Greeks. The use of torches after sun-set,and the practice of celebrating marriages at thattime, probably led to the consideration of the torchas one of the necessary accompaniments and sym-bols of marriage. Among the Rom
Size: 1817px × 1375px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorsmithwilliam18131893, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840
