Compes
πέδη
Compes (πέδη), a fetter or shackle for the ankles. These were sometimes so constructed as to deprive the prisoner almost or entirely of the power of walking (Aesch. Prom. 6), the shackles being attached by means of a chain to a wall or post, or joined together by a small plate of metal. A variety in more common use left the fettered person free to work, but impeded his flight, as is seen in the following illustrations, the first of a Cupid from a gem, the second from a statue in the Villa Borghese (Claud. Eutrop. ii. prol. 3). Such fetters, the effect of which was simply to interfere with the free action of the legs, were especially worn by the slaves who cultivated so large a portion of the soil of Italy (Cato, Cat. Agr. 57; Col. 1.6; Plin. Nat. 18.21; Ov. ex Pont. 1.6, 31; Juv. 11.80; cf. Athen. 6.272 e), as well as those to whom heavier tasks, such as quarrying, were assigned by way of punishment (Plaut. Capt. 3.5, 76; 5.1, 24). Sometimes the fetters were worn round the calf (Plaut. Pseud. 4.7, 80). Statues of Saturn were fitted with compedes, which were taken off in the month of December (Stat. Silv. 1.6, 4). Πέδαι were also used for hobbling horses (Hom. Il. 13.36).
Compes sometimes denotes the ornamental anklet worn by women (Plin. Nat. 33.152; Petron. Sat. 67). [PERISCELIS]
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.