Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Baxa

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

BAX'A and BAX'EA. A light sort of slipper, or sandal, or shoe, made of fibres, leaves, or willow strips platted together by the Romans (Isidor. Orig. xix. 34. 6. and 13.), and of the palm leaf, or the papyrus, by the Egyptians. (Apul. Met. ii. 39.) They were worn on the Comic stage (Plaut. Men. ii. 3. 40.), and by philosophers who affected simplicity of dress. (Apul. Met. xi. p. 244.) The example (Baxa/1.1) is from an original of papyrus in the Berlin collection. They are sometimes indicated on the feet of Egyptian statues, and many originals have been discovered in the Egyptian tombs; some made with close sides and upper leather, like a shoe; others with a leaf forming a mere strap, like a clog, across the instep; and others, like the specimen here engraved, with a band across the instep, and another smaller leaf in the fore part of the sole, intended to pass the great toe through.

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  Baxa/1.1