School dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities . n, vt^/Uo) so produced waswound upon the spindle until the quantitywas as great as it would carry. The spindle was a stick, 10 or 12 incheslong, having at the top a slit or catch (dens,&yKi(TTpov) in which the thread was fixed, sothat the weight of the spindle might con-tinually carry down the thread as it wasformed. Its lower extremity was insertedinto a small wheel, called the whorl (vorti-ceUum), made of wood, stone, or metal (seewoodcut), the use of which was to keep thespindle more steady, and to promote itsrotation. The accompanying wood
School dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities . n, vt^/Uo) so produced waswound upon the spindle until the quantitywas as great as it would carry. The spindle was a stick, 10 or 12 incheslong, having at the top a slit or catch (dens,&yKi(TTpov) in which the thread was fixed, sothat the weight of the spindle might con-tinually carry down the thread as it wasformed. Its lower extremity was insertedinto a small wheel, called the whorl (vorti-ceUum), made of wood, stone, or metal (seewoodcut), the use of which was to keep thespindle more steady, and to promote itsrotation. The accompanying woodcut showsthe operation of spinning, at the momentwhen the woman has drawn out a sufficientlength of yarn to twist it by whirling thespindle with her right thumb and fore-finger, and previously to the act of takingit out of the slit to wind it upon the bobbin(TT-fiviov) already formed. It was usual to have a basket to hold thedistaff and spindle, with the balls of woolprepared for spinning, and the bobbins al-ready spun. [ 188 FOSUS, SPINDLE. The distaff and spindle, with the wooland thread upon them, were carried in hridalprocessions; and, without the wool andthread, they were often suspended by femalesas offerings of religious gratitude, especiallyin old age, or on relinquishing the constantuse of them. They were most frequentlydedicated to Pallas, the patroness of spin-ning, and of the arts connected with were exhibited in the representationsof the three Fates, who wei e conceived, bytheir spinning, to determine the life of everyman. G. GABFNUS CINCTUS. [Toga.]GAESUM {yataos), a term probably ofCeltic origin, denoting a kind of javelinwhich was used by the Gauls wherevertheir ramifications extended. It was aheavy weapon, the shaft being as thick as aman could grasp, and the iron head barbed,and of an extraordinary length comparedwith the shaft. GALEA (Kpdvos, poet. KSpvs, Trr^ATjl), ahelmet; a casque. The helmet was origi-nally made of skin or leathe
Size: 1374px × 1818px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectclassicaldictionarie
