Thermopolium, R. (θερμο-πώλιον). A refreshment-room, in which warm drinks were sold, such as mulled wine, mead, &c.
Thermulæ (dimin. of thermæ). Baths on a small scale.
Thesaurus, Gr. A treasure-house. In the monuments of the heroic period many subterranean buildings of great extent and peculiar construction have been attributed to this purpose; but they may more probably have been sepulchral. In historical times the public treasures were in the agoræ or the temples. (See Ærarium.)
Fig. 650. Part of the Frieze of the Temple of Theseus, Athens.
Theseum. An Athenian temple built in the 5th century B.C., to receive the bones of Theseus. It was richly ornamented with statuary and sculpture. The former has been destroyed; but some metopes and sculptured friezes in high relief remain, of which castings exist in the British Museum. Our illustration represents an incident of the “Battle of the gods and the giants,” and is remarkable for anatomical precision. In these sculptures Greek art has entirely emerged from the archaic stage, and they were doubtless the inspiring models for Pheidias and his contemporaries, and the forerunners of the Parthenon sculptures. (See Elgin Marbles.)
Thesmo-phoria. Greek festivals of women and maidens in honour of Demeter, in commemoration of the traditions of civilized life. The solemnities opened with processions of women bearing on their heads the books of the sacred laws (ascribed to Demeter). On the second day, of fasting and mourning, the women remained all day grouped round the statue of Demeter in the temple, taking no other food than cakes of sesame and honey, and in the afternoon walked barefoot in procession behind a waggon on which baskets with mystical symbols were borne to the thesmophorion. On the third day they commemorated the smiles of Demeter, under the epithet of καλλιγένεια.
Thibet Cloth. A fabric of goat’s hair; called also camlet.
Thick-pleached, O. E. Thickly interwoven. (Shakspeare.)
Thieves’ Vinegar. A kind of aromatic vinegar for a sick-room, consisting of the dried tops of rosemary, sage-leaves, lavender-flowers, and bruised cloves, steeped in acetic acid and boiling water. It derives its name and popularity from a story that thieves who plundered the dead bodies during the plague with perfect security, attributed their impunity to the use of this disinfectant. (Simmonds’ Commercial Dictionary.)