CŎMA (κόμη, κουρά), the hair. (1) GREEK. In the earliest times the Greeks wore their hair long, and thus they are constantly called in Homer καρηκομόωντες Ἀχαιοί. The Spartan boys always had their hair cut quite short (ἐν χρῷ κείροντες); but as soon as they reached the age of puberty (ἔφηβοι), they let it grow long. Before going to battle they combed and dressed it with especial care. It seems that both Spartan men and women tied their hair in a knot over the crown of the head. The custom of the Athenians was different. They wore their hair long in childhood, and cut it off when they reached the age of puberty. The cutting off of the hair, which was always done when a boy became an ἔφηβος, was a solemn act, attended with religious ceremonies. A libation was first offered to Hercules, which was called οἰνιστήρια or οἰνιαστήρια, and the hair after being cut off was dedicated to some deity, usually a river-god. But when the Athenians passed into the age of manhood, they again let their hair grow. In ancient times at Athens the hair was rolled up into a kind of knot on the crown of the head, and fastened with golden clasps in the shape of grasshoppers. This fashion of wearing the hair was called κρωβύλος, and in the case of females κόρυμβος. The heads of females were frequently covered with a kind of band or a coif of net-work. Of these coiffures one was called σφενδόνη, which was a broad band across the forehead, sometimes made of metal, and sometimes of leather, adorned with gold. But the most common kind of head-dress for females was called by the general name of κεκρύφαλος, and this was divided into the three species of κεκρύφαλος, σάκκος, and μίτρα. The κεκρύφαλος, in its narrower sense, was a caul or coif of net-work, corresponding to the Latin _reticulum_. These hair-nets were frequently made of gold threads, sometimes of silk, or the Elean byssus, and probably of other materials. The σάκκος and the μίτρα were, on the contrary, made of close materials. The σάκκος covered the head entirely like a sack or bag; it was made of various materials, such as silk, byssus, and wool. The μίτρα was a broad band of cloth of different colours, which was wound round the hair, and was worn in various ways. It was originally an Eastern head-dress, and may, therefore, be compared to the modern turban. The Roman _calautica_ or _calvatica_ is said by Servius to have been the same as the _mitra_, but in a passage in the Digest they are mentioned as if they were distinct.--With respect to the colour of the hair, black was the most frequent, but _blonde_ (ξανθὴ κόμη) was the most prized. In Homer, Achilles, Ulysses, and other heroes are represented with blonde hair. At a later time it seems to have been not unfrequent to dye hair, so as to make it either black or blonde, and this was done by men as well as by women, especially when the hair was growing gray.--(2) ROMAN. Besides the generic _coma_ we also find