CŎTHURNUS (κόθορνος), a boot. Its essential distinction was its height; it rose above the middle of the leg, so as to surround the calf, and sometimes it reached as high as the knees. It was worn principally by horsemen, by hunters, and by men of rank and authority. The sole of the cothurnus was commonly of the ordinary thickness; but it was sometimes made much thicker than usual, probably by the insertion of slices of cork. The object was, to add to the apparent stature of the wearer; and this was done in the case of the actors in Athenian tragedy, who had the soles made unusually thick as one of the methods adopted in order to magnify their whole appearance. Hence tragedy in general was called _cothurnus_. As the cothurnus was commonly worn in hunting, it is represented as part of the costume of Artemis (Diana). COTTĂBUS (κότταβος), a social game which was introduced from Sicily into Greece, where it became one of the favourite amusements of young people after their repasts. The simplest way in which it originally was played was this:--One of the company threw out of a goblet a certain quantity of wine, at a certain distance, into a metal basin. While he was doing this, he either thought of or pronounced the name of his mistress; and if all the wine fell in the basin, and with a full sound, it was a good sign for the lover. This simple amusement soon assumed a variety of different characters, and became, in some instances, a regular contest, with prizes for the victor. One of the most celebrated modes in which it was carried on is called δι’ ὀξυβάφων. A basin was filled with water, with small empty cups (ὀξύβαφα) swimming upon it. Into these the young men, one after another, threw the remnant of the wine from their goblets, and he who had the good fortune to drown most of the bowls obtained the prize, consisting either of simple cakes, sweetmeats, or sesame-cakes. CŎTYTTĬA (κοττύτια), a festival which was originally celebrated by the Edonians of Thrace, in honour of a goddess called Cotys, or Cotytto. It was held at night. The worship of Cotys, together with the festival of the Cotyttia, was adopted by several Greek states, chiefly those which were induced by their commercial interest to maintain friendly relations with Thrace. The festivals of this goddess were notorious among the ancients for the dissolute manner and the debaucheries with which they were celebrated. CŎTỸLA (κοτύλη), a measure of capacity among the Romans and Greeks: by the former it was also called _hemina_; by the latter, τρυβλίον and ἡμίνα or ἡμίμνα. It was the half of the sextarius or ξέστης, and contained 6 cyathi, or nearly half a pint English.