anaxyrides (trousers)
Type of trousers. They were thought, by the ancient Greeks and Romans, as characteristic of the barbarians' attiré. Among many peoples (Persians, Scythians, Thracians) men used to wear leather-made, wide and comfortable trousers. The Amazons were portrayed wearing skin-tight trousers decorated with horizontal zig-zag lines.

black figure technique
Decorative technique of vase painting. It involves painting figures in black silhouette on the pale clay, while the anatomic details are given in incised lines.

exomis, the
1. Type of robe held on one shoulder with a clasp and revealing one breast.2. Clothe of the workers and in general of those involved in intense corporal exercise.

Nekyia, the
1) The eleventh rhapsody of the Odyssey, where Odusseus speaks with the dead at the entrance of Hades. The scene was represented by Polugnotos at the Lesche of the Knidians at Delphi. 2) The sacrifice offered to the dead for the purification of their souls.

pelte
A small and light shield, of elliptical or 8-like shape. It was often covered with leather. Initially it was used by the barbarian warriors but later it has been adopted by the Greeks (peltasts) and the Romans.

red figure technique, the
Decorative technique in pottery, in which the figures are represented in red colour on the vase's dark background, while the details of the clothes and of the anatomy are given with incised lines.

satrap, the
The title designated a representative of the Persian king, and was widely used in the Persian language. In ancient writers the term usually designates an official of the Persian empire who assumes highest political and military power within the limits of his satrapia, the division under his command. Alexander the Great introduced the institution to the administrative organisation of his empire in the East.In the Roman empire, the office of the satrap was hereditary for Armenian nobles who administered an Armenian klima (=canton, a historic-geographical unit); in the case of the Armenian territories inside the Roman Empire, the satrap yielded limited power under the suzerainty of the Roman emperor.

xoan, the
Primitive cult statue, crude and abstract. It was usually wooden but there were also stone and ivory ones. It was considered sacred after some legend or due to the ornaments that were hanged on it. Xoans are attested even in the Roman period.