Monīlé
（
ὅρμος, μάννος). A necklace. In Homer, necklaces of gold
and amber are mentioned (
Odyss. xv. 460; xviii. 295), and in later times
necklaces were in common use among both the Greeks and Romans, being worn by men as well as by
women, though for men to wear them was regarded as effeminate. They were especially in vogue
as bridal ornaments (Lucan, ii. 361). The simplest form was that of the bead necklace (
monile bacatum), in which small globes of gold, silver, amber, crystal, and
glass were strung together, often in rows. Very costly necklaces of exquisite workmanship were
also made for the wealthy, with pendants and clasps, often adorned with pearls, rubies, and
other precious stones. The ornamentation also included disks, rosettes, lozenges, lotusbuds,
heads of animals, ivy-leaves, etc. The hooks or fastenings at the back of the neck were called
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Necklaces. (Naples.)
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clusurae. See the articles
Armilla;
Caelatura (with illustration, p.
243);
Catena;
Gemma;
Torques. The name
monile is also applied to a collar or necklace placed about the neck of a horse or
other favourite animal (
Verg. Aen. vii. 278).
