COSMĒTAE, a class of slaves among the Romans, whose duty it was to
dress and adorn ladies.
COSMI (κοσμοί), the supreme magistrates in Crete, were ten in number,
and were chosen, not from the body of the people, but from certain
γένη or houses, which were probably of more pure Doric or Achaean
descent than their neighbours. The first of them in rank was called
_protocosmus_, and gave his name to the year. They commanded in war,
and also conducted the business of the state with the representatives
and ambassadors of other cities. Their period of office was a year;
but any of them during that time might resign, and was also liable
to deposition by his colleagues. In some cases, too, they might be
indicted for neglect of their duties. On the whole, we may conclude
that they formed the executive and chief power in most of the cities
of Crete.
[Illustration: Cothurnus. (From Statues of Artemis--Diana.)]
CŎTHURNUS (κόθορνος), a boot. Its essential distinction was its
height; it rose above the middle of the leg, so as to surround
the calf, and sometimes it reached as high as the knees. It was
worn principally by horsemen, by hunters, and by men of rank and
authority. The sole of the cothurnus was commonly of the ordinary
thickness; but it was sometimes made much thicker than usual,
probably by the insertion of slices of cork. The object was, to add
to the apparent stature of the wearer; and this was done in the case
of the actors in Athenian tragedy, who had the soles made unusually
thick as one of the methods adopted in order to magnify their whole
appearance. Hence tragedy in general was called _cothurnus_. As the
cothurnus was commonly worn in hunting, it is represented as part of
the costume of Artemis (Diana).
COTTĂBUS (κότταβος), a social game which was introduced from Sicily
into Greece, where it became one of the favourite amusements of young
people after their repasts. The simplest way in which it originally
was played was this:--One of the company threw out of a goblet a
certain quantity of wine, at a certain distance, into a metal basin.
While he was doing this, he either thought of or pronounced the name
of his mistress; and if all the wine fell in the basin, and with a
full sound, it was a good sign for the lover. This simple amusement
soon assumed a variety of different characters, and became, in
some instances, a regular contest, with prizes for the victor. One
of the most celebrated modes in which it was carried on is called
δι’ ὀξυβάφων. A basin was filled with water, with small empty cups
(ὀξύβαφα) swimming upon it. Into these the young men, one after
another, threw the remnant of the wine from their goblets, and he who
had the good fortune to drown most of the bowls obtained the prize,
consisting either of simple cakes, sweetmeats, or sesame-cakes.
CŎTYTTĬA (κοττύτια), a festival which was originally celebrated by
the Edonians of Thrace, in honour of a goddess called Cotys, or
Cotytto. It was held at night. The worship of Cotys, together with
the festival of the Cotyttia, was adopted by several Greek states,
chiefly those which were induced by their commercial interest to
maintain friendly relations with Thrace. The festivals of this
goddess were notorious among the ancients for the dissolute manner
and the debaucheries with which they were celebrated.
CŎTỸLA (κοτύλη), a measure of capacity among the Romans and Greeks:
by the former it was also called _hemina_; by the latter, τρυβλίον
and ἡμίνα or ἡμίμνα. It was the half of the sextarius or ξέστης, and
contained 6 cyathi, or nearly half a pint English.
CŎVĪNUS (Celtic, _kowain_), a kind of car, the spokes of which were
armed with long sickles, and which was used as a scythe-chariot
chiefly by the ancient Belgians and Britons. The Romans designated,
by the name of covinus, a kind of travelling carriage, which seems
to have been covered on all sides with the exception of the front.
It had no seat for a driver, but was conducted by the traveller
himself, who sat inside. The _covinarii_ (this word occurs only in
Tacitus) seem to have constituted a regular and distinct part of a
British army. Compare ESSEDUM.
CRĀTER (κρατήρ, Ionic κρητήρ, from κεράννυμι, I mix), a vessel in
which the wine, according to the custom of the ancients, who very
seldom drank it pure, was mixed with water, and from which the cups
were filled. Craters were among the first things on the embellishment
of which the ancient artists exercised their skill; and the number of
craters dedicated in temples seems everywhere to have been very great.
CRĔPĬDA (κρηπίς), a slipper. Slippers were worn with the pallium, not
with the toga, and were properly characteristic of the Greeks, though
adopted from them by the Romans.
CRĪMEN. Though this word occurs so frequently, it is not easy to fix
its meaning. _Crimen_ is often equivalent to _accusatio_ (κατηγορία);
but it frequently means an act which is legally punishable. Those
delicta which were punishable according to special leges, senatus
consulta, and constitutiones, and were prosecuted in judicia publica
by an accusatio publica, were more especially called crimina; and
the penalties in case of conviction were loss of life, of freedom,
of civitas, and the consequent infamia, and sometimes pecuniary
penalties also.