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[265] πῖλος, felt, one of the most rudimentary and primitive clothing products. The word is ‘proethnic,’ Schrader Sprachv. 401. Felt was used in Greece for both shoes and caps in Hesiod 's time (Hesiod Opp. 542 “πέδιλα .. πίλοις ἔντοσθε πυκάσσας”Hesiod Opp., 546 “κεφαλῆφι .. πῖλον ἔχειν ἀσκητόν”); in Thuk.iv. 34 for cuirasses, Herod. iv. 23, 73, 75 for Scythian tents and rugs. The felt cap, “πιλίον” or “πῖλος”, came from this passage to be the conventional mark of Odysseus in later (but not in archaic) Greek art; acc. to Pliny xxxv. 36 it was first introduced by the painter Nikomachos, acc. to Eust. by Apollodoros.

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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hide References (6 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (6):
    • Herodotus, Histories, 4.23
    • Herodotus, Histories, 4.73
    • Herodotus, Histories, 4.75
    • Hesiod, Works and Days, 542
    • Hesiod, Works and Days, 546
    • Thucydides, Histories, 4.34
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