Pīlāni
The original name by which the soldiers composing the third line or division of the old
Roman legion were distinguished, because they alone at that time were armed with the heavy
javelin or
pilum, the other two using the spear or
hasta. But when the
pilum was adopted for all the three divisions,
the title of
triarii was substituted for that of
pilani, with which it becomes thenceforth synonymous (Varro,
L. L. v.
89; Paulus
ex Fest. s. v.; Ovid,
Fast. iii. 129). Subsequently, however, to this period, and towards the
close of the Republic, when the custom obtained of drawing up an army by lines in cohorts, the
distinctive character, as well as the name of
pilani or
triarii was abandoned, because it no longer represented any real distinction. See
Triarii.