BALTĔUS

( τελαμών ), a belt, a shoulder belt, was used to suspend the sword. See the figs. on p. 41 . In the Homeric times the Greeks used a belt to support the shield. The balteus was likewise employed to suspend the quiver, and sometimes together with it the bow. More commonly the belt, whether employed to support the sword, the shield, or the quiver, was made of leather, and was frequently ornamented with gold, silver, and precious stones. In a general sense balteus was applied not only to the belt which pa ed over the shoulder, but also to the girdle ( cingulum ), which encompa ed the waist. In architecture, Vitruvius applies the term Baltei to the bands surrounding the volute on each side of an Ionic capital. Other writers apply it to the praecinctiones of an amphitheatre. [ A mph i the at rum . ]