PUPA
PUPA (
κόρη,
νύμφη), a doll. Greek and Roman children commonly had dolls,
made often of terra-cotta, but also of other substances,--wood, ivory, wax,
&c. Wax dolls were by no means uncommon, and for these the Greeks
had special names,
δάγυνον or
δαγὺς and
πλαγγών (Phot. s. v.
πλαγγών:
Schol.
ad Theocr. 2.110). They were frequently
made with movable limbs, as in the example given by Baumeister
(
Denkm. p. 778) from the Crimea. The Greek girls before
their marriage dedicated their dolls to Artemis (
Anth. Pal.
6.280); at Rome girls dedicated their dolls to the Lares, as boys did their
bullae, or to Venus (Pers. 2.70): but if
they died as children, the dolls were buried with them; many have been found
in tombs. Those whose limbs were moved by strings were called
νευρόσπαστα, and figures so constructed were
exhibited as regular marionettes on a stage, or for entertainment in private
houses. (
Xen. Symp. 4.5. 5;
Athen. 1.19; cf. Hor.
Sat. 2.7, 82.) [Becq de Fouquières,
Jeux des Anciens, p. 27 ff.; Becker-Göll,
Charikles, 1.282;
Gallus,
2.34; Blümner,
Technologie, 2.123.]
[
G.E.M]
