Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Sistrum

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rich, Anthony (1849). The illustrated companion to the Latin dictionary, and Greek lexicon. p. vi. OCLC 894670115. https://archive.org/details/illustratedcompa00rich. 

SIS'TRUM (σεῖστρον). A sort of rattle, used by the Egyptians in the religious ceremonies of Isis (Ov. A. Am. iii. 635. Met. ix. 783.), and in war instead of the trumpet. (Virg. Aen. viii. 696. Prop. iii. 11. 43.) It consisted of a number of metal rods (virgulae) inserted into a thin oval frame (laminam angustam in modum baltei recurvatam) of the same material (Apul. Met. xi. p. 240.); to this a short handle was attached, by which it was held up and rapidly shaken, so as to make the rods give out a sharp and rattling noise. The example (Sistrum/1.1) is from an original of bronze.

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  Sistrum/1.1