Among the ornaments for the bosom we find the _Ægis_, evidently like the ægis of Athena, a sort of rich covering with two hemispherical caps to receive the breasts, such as we find worn by the Bayadères of the Dekkan. Extending from this on either side, or passing over its lower edge was the _Maschalister_, a broad belt which covered the armpits, though in Herodotus the word merely signifies a sword-belt.[209] Like all other delicate and luxurious women, the Grecian ladies displayed upon their fingers a profusion of rings, of which some were set with signets, others with jewels remarkable for their colour and brilliance. To each of these their copious language supplied a distinct name.[210] Other female ornaments are spoken of by the comic poets; but in their descriptions it is difficult to distinguish satire from information. Among these were the _Leroi_, golden drops attached to the tunic; the _Ochthoiboi_, which seem to have been a sort of rich tassels; the _Helleboroi_, ornaments shaped perhaps like the leaves or flowers of that plant; and the _Pompholuges_, which, though left unexplained by the commentators, probably signified a large clear kind of bead, as the word originally meant a “water-bubble,” which a transparent bead resembles.[211] ----- Footnote 209: Cf. Mus. Chiaram. pl. 14. pl. 18. Footnote 210: Poll. v. 101. Rhodig. vi. 12. Footnote 211: Poll. v. 101. Cf. Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 249. Bergler ad loc. renders it by _bulla_, which, among the Romans, signified “a golden ornament worn about the neck, or at the breast of children, fashioned like a heart, and hollow within, which they wore until they were fourteen years old, and then hung up to the household gods.”—Porphyr. in Horat. vid. et Fab. Thes. in v. ----- The Athenian ladies, likewise, displayed their taste for luxury and splendour in their shoes and sandals.[212] Like our own fashionable dames, they seldom contented themselves with articles of home manufacture, but imported whatever was considered most elegant or tasteful from the neighbouring countries. Sometimes, perhaps, the fashion only and the name were imported, as in the case of the Persian half-boot, fitting tight to the ankle.[213] The same thing may probably be said of the Sicyonian slipper. But there was an elegant sandal, ornamented with gold, which, down to a very late period, continued to be imported from Patara, in Lycia.[214] Snow-white slippers of fine linen, flowered with needlework, were occasionally worn; and from many ancient statues it would seem, that something very like stockings had been already introduced. Short women, desirous of adding, if not a cubit, at least a few inches to their stature, adopted the use of _baukides_ with high cork heels, and soles of great thickness.[215] ----- Footnote 212: