PĔDĬSĔQUI, a class of slaves, whose duty was to follow their master
when he went out of his house. There was a similar class of female
slaves, called _Pedisequae_.
PĔDUM (κορώνη), a shepherd’s crook. On account of its connection
with pastoral life, the crook is often seen in works of ancient art,
in the hands of Pan, Satyrs, Fauns, and shepherds. It was also the
usual attribute of Thalia, as the muse of pastoral poetry.
[Illustration: Pedum, Shepherd’s Crook. (From a Painting found at
Civita Vecchia.)]
PEGMA (πῆγμα), a pageant, _i.e._ an edifice of wood, consisting of
two or more stages (_tabulata_), which were raised or depressed at
pleasure by means of balance weights. These great machines were used
in the Roman amphitheatres, the gladiators who fought upon them
being called _pegmares_. They were supported upon wheels so as to
be drawn into the circus, glittering with silver and a profusion of
wealth. When Vespasian and Titus celebrated their triumph over the
Jews, the procession included pageants of extraordinary magnitude
and splendour, consisting of three or four stages above one another,
hung with rich tapestry, and inlaid with ivory and gold. By the aid
of various contrivances they represented battles and their numerous
incidents, and the attack and defence of the cities of Judaea. The
pegma was also used in sacrifices. A bull having been slain in one of
the stages, the high priest placed himself below in a cavern, so as
to receive the blood upon his person and his garments, and in this
state he was produced by the flamines before the worshippers.
PĔLĂTAE (πελάται), were free labourers working for hire, like the
_thetes_, in contra-distinction to the helots and penestae, who were
bondsmen or serfs. In the later Greek writers, such as Dionysius of
Halicarnassus, and Plutarch, the word is used for the Latin cliens,
though the relations expressed by the two terms are by no means
similar.
PELTA (πέλτη), a small shield. Iphicrates, observing that the ancient
CLIPEUS was cumbrous and inconvenient, introduced among the Greeks a
much smaller and lighter shield, from which those who bore it took
the name of _peltastae_. It consisted principally of a frame of wood
or wicker-work, covered with skin or leather.
PĔNESTAE (πενέσται), a class of serfs in Thessaly, who stood in
nearly the same relation to their Thessalian lords as the helots of
Laconia did to the Dorian Spartans, although their condition seems
to have been on the whole superior. They were the descendants of the
old Pelasgic or Aeolian inhabitants of Thessaly Proper. They occupied
an intermediate position between freemen and purchased slaves, and
they cultivated the land for their masters, paying by way of rent
a portion of the produce of it. The Penestae sometimes accompanied
their masters to battle, and fought on horseback as their vassals:
a circumstance which need not excite surprise, as Thessaly was so
famous for cavalry. There were Penestae among the Macedonians also.