[1809] M. Deville is of opinion that these portraits were made in relief upon plates of metal, perhaps bronze, and coloured with minium, a red tint much esteemed by the Romans.
[1810] “Clypei.” These were shields or escutcheons of metal, with the features of the deceased person represented either in painting or in relief.
[1811] Hardouin informs us that there are some Greek inscriptions given by Gruter, p. 441, and p. 476, from which it appears that public festivals were celebrated on occasions of this kind.—B.
[1812] A.U.C. 671.—B. See B. vii. c. 54.
[1814] It is scarcely necessary to refer to the well-known description of the shield of Achilles, in the Iliad, B. xviii. l. 478 et seq., and of that of Æneas, Æn. B. viii. l. 626, et seq.—B.
[1815] He implies that the word is derived from the Greek γλύφειν, “to carve” or “emboss” and not from the old Latin “cluo,” “to be famous.” Ajasson suggests the Greek καλύπτω “to cover.”
[1816] Cneius and Publius Scipio, who had been slain by Hasdrubal.—B. As to L. Marcius, see B. ii. c. 3.
[1818] “Lustrations.” Periods at the end of the census, made by the censors every five years. The censors were the guardians of the temples, and consequently these bucklers would come under their supervision.