balteus
- Lit., a girdle, belt; esp. a swordbelt, or the band passing over the shoulder (cf. Quint. 11, 3, 140; Dict. of Antiq.): baltea, Att. ap. Non. p. 194, 21; Varr. ib.: infelix umero cum apparuit alto Balteus, Verg. A. 12, 942: lato quam circumplectitur auro Balteus, id. ib. 5, 313 Serv.; 12, 274: verutum in balteo defigitur, Caes. B. G. 5, 44: aurata baltea illis erant, Liv. H. ap. Non. p. 194, 21: gregarius miles viatica sua et balteos phalerasque loco pecuniae tradebant, Tac. H. 1, 57 fin.; Vulg. Exod. 28, 39: regum, ib. Job, 12, 18.—
- B Poet., like ζωστήρ, a woman’s girdle; so of that of Amazonian queens at Thermodon, Ov. M. 9, 189; the girdle of the wife of Cato, Luc. 2, 362; of Venus, Mart. 14, 207.—
- C The girdle of the Jewish high-priest, Vulg. Exod. 28, 4.—
- D The girdle or belly-band of a horse, = cingula, Claud. Epigr. 21, 2; Ap. Met. 10, 18, 21.—
- II Transf., that which surrounds like a girdle, a border, rim, edge, circle.
- A The belt of the heavens, the zodiac: stellatus balteus, Manil. 1, 677; 3, 334.—
- B The edge, the crust of a cake, Cato R. R. 76, 3, and 78.—
- C The bark of the willow, Plin. 16, 37, 68, § 174.—
- D = praecinctio, and Gr. διάζωμα, the vacant space between the seats in the amphitheatre, Calp. Ecl. 4, 47; Tert. Spect. 3.—
- E Baltei pulvinorum, in architecture, the broad bands by which the cushions upon Ionic capitals are, as it were, held together, Vitr. 3, 5, 7.—
- F A strapping, blow with a belt: quoties rumoribus ulciscantur Baltea, Juv. 9, 112.
~eum, lorum
baltheus bullifer et diadema regni ac diversa ornamentorum gloria
superhumerale strictum erat baltheo
vestes sacerdotis sint ibi ‥ cingulum, sive tropbeum, sive zona, sive ~eum
pro uno baltheo serico vendito
in baltheo empto pro vexillo S. Cutbberti portando
totius jocunditatis ~eo desideramus accingi
carnalis insolentie motus ‥ cilicio et jugis continentie ~eo cohibere
de x balistis ligneis viij balth’ ‥ et aliis appendiciis suis
quem [Ethelstanum ] ‥ premature militem feceret, donatum chlamyde coccinea, gemmato baltheo
ipsum dominus rex cum aliis commilitonibus baltheo militari insignivit
quidam comes ‥ Willelmum [le Waleis ] militari ~eo precinxit, faciens de predone militem, tanquam de corvo cygnum
degradatus est‥: et sic vicissim discinctus est ~eo militari
➳ pl. baltei Tac. H. 1, 57 || n. balteum Varro L. 5, 116 ; pl. -ea Prop. 4, 10, 22 ; Plin. 33, 152 ; Non. 194, 21.
- 1. gordel, schouderriem;
- 2. riem om wapens aan te bevestigen: draagriem, koppel(riem);
- 3. (poët.) gordel v. Venus;
- 4. (Juv.) (meton.) plur. baltea, ōrum n slagen met de gordel of riem.
- plur.poet.
BAL´TEUSin the plural baltea (πελαμών, ἀορτήρ), a belt, is sometimes used in poetry to denote a woman's girdle (Ovid, ZYYOv. Met. 9.189; Lucan (Luc. 2.362; Mart. 14.207), but more properly in the following senses:--
1. A shoulder-belt, and most frequently the sword-belt. Among the Greeks, as the sword commonly hung beside the left hip, its belt was supported by the right shoulder, and passed obliquely over the breast, as is seen in the cameo here introduced from the Florentine Museum. We also read in Homer of broad belts (Il. 5.796) used to support the shield; for as Herodotus tells us (1.171), until the Carians invented the ὄχανον or shield-holder, all who made use of shields managed them by means of leather belts, which they passed round the neck and the left shoulder. Thus the sword-belt and the shield-belt crossed over the breast. (Il. 14.404-6.) The shield-belt is occasionally represented on ancient vases, as in the figure in the next column of a charioteer from Gerhard, Vasenbilder, pl. ccviii. Belts were generally made of leather, and the belts of the Homeric heroes are ornamented with silver and gold (Il. 11.31; 18.480, 597), which were sometimes wrought with elaborate devices (Il. 11.38) or representations of scenes (Od. 11.609-14). These may have been embossed on a plate of the metal, or embroidered on some fabric [CAELATURA]. (Cf. Verg. A. 10.495-500.) Belts were also employed to support the quiver or the γωρυτός [PHARETRA]. (Cf. Verg. A. 5.312-4; Nemes. Cyneg. 91.)
The Romans either attached their swords to the cingulum, or suspended them by a balteus, which sometimes passed from the right shoulder to the left side (Caes. B. G. 5.44), but more usually from the left shoulder to the right side [ARMAfig. p. 190], as may be regularly observed in the military figures on the public monuments of imperial times. This arrangement was no doubt convenient enough for the short Spanish sword, but the long sword in use down to the end of the Second Punic War must surely have been worn on the left side in order to be easily drawn with the right hand. Figures on tombs, however, usually wear the sword attached to the cinqulum. [CINGULUM] The Roman sword-belts, like the Greek, were often richly ornamented, even with precious metals, in the form of bullae or more elaborate devices: thus we read (Tac. Hist. 1.57) of common soldiers having belts adorned with silver. The belts of the emperors were so magnificent that they were entrusted to a distinct officer--the baltearius --who had charge of them in the imperial palace. Hadrian was considered remarkably unostentatious because he did not wear a golden balteus; that of Gallienus was adorned with jewels. (Treb. Poll. Gallien. 16; Spart. Hadr. 10.)
The balteus was of course used for other than military purposes, for instance to support the lyre, as may be seen in statues of Apollo Citharoedus, or to carry amulets.
2. A belt or collar (μασχαλιστήρ, προστερνίδιον, προστηθίδιον), passing round a horse's neck and breast, used partly as a protection and partly as an ornament, especially for chariot-horses. It was often adorned with the same elaborateness and richness as the soldier's sword-belt, especially with phalerae and tintinnabula. See illustrations under these articles and Museo Bresciano, i. pl. liii. (Xen. Hippica, xii.; Poll. 5.16, 100.)
Claudian (Ep. xx.) uses balteus to express a horse's girth: so μασχαλιστήρ (Hdt. 1.215).
3. The belt on the celestial globe representing the sun's course, on which the signs of the zodiac are depicted (Manilius, 1.679; 3.334), as in the accompanying woodcut, from a painting at Pompeii.
4. The praecinctio (διάζωμα in the theatre [AMPHITHEATRUM, THEATRUM ]. (Calpurn. 7.47 ; Tertull. Spect. 3.)
5. In architecture of the Ionic style, a band, often covered with sculptured ornament, which encircles the pulvinus or bolster of the capital, and thus relieves it from the side view. (Vitr. 3.5, 7.) It was not always used by the Greek architects, but is found regularly in Roman buildings of this style. The accompanying Illustration is from the temple of Athene Polias. A similar ornament sometimes is used to divide the pulvinus of altars and sarcophagi.
[J.H.F](in the plural, baltea). A belt (in Gk. τελαμών), and sometimes a woman's girdle. (1) A shoulder-belt, and oftenest a sword-belt. Among the Greeks, as the sword usually hung by the left hip, its belt was supported by the right shoulder, passing obliquely over the breast, as shown in the cameo here given from the Florentine Museum.
The Romans, on the other hand, usually wore the balteus over the left shoulder, though not always. (See Caes. B. G. v. 44.) Shield-belts among the Greeks were worn in the reverse order from the sword-belt, the two crossing over the breast. Belts were generally made of leather, sometimes ornamented with silver and gold. They were often employed also to support the quiver. The belts of the Roman emperors were so magnificent that a special officer (baltearius) had charge of them. See cingulum; pharetra.
(2) A belt or collar passing round a horse's neck and breast, partly for protection, and partly for ornament. It was often decorated with embossed work, and sometimes carried bells. See Phalera; tintinnabulum.
(3) The belt on the celestial globe representing the sun's course and bearing the signs of the zodiac (Manilius, i. 679).
(4) The praecinctio (διάζωμα) of the theatre. See theatrum.
(5) In architecture (Ionic), an ornamental band which encircles the pulvinus, or bolster of the capital (Vitruv. iii. 5, 7).
A decorative band cinching the center of the pulvinus, thus giving it a concave profile.