Galerus
Galerus or GALERUM, dim. GALERICULUM is probably connected with galea, and so with γαλέη (cf. the κτιδέην κυνέην of Hom. Il. 10.335). It was originally a cap of skin or fur, fitting close to the head, worn by rustics (Verg. Moret. 122), hunters (Grat. Cyneg. 340, where it is of badger-skin), gymnasts in the palaestra to keep the hair clean (Mart. 14.50), and by the old inhabitants of Latium instead of a helmet (Verg. A. 7.688; cf. CUDO). For the galerus worn by various priests, e. g. the Pontifices Salii and Flamines, and the albogalerus or albus galerus of the Dialis, see APEX, and compare Juv. 8.208; Apul. Apol. 22, p. 441; GelL 10.15 extr. The word is also applied to a wig, the empti capilli of Ovid (A. Am. 3.165; cf.. CALIENDRUM); worn not only from vanity or to conceal baldness (Suet. Oth. 12), but for the sake of disguise by profligates of both sexes in their nocturnal rambles (Suet. Nero 26=capillamentum, Id. Calig. 11; Juv. 6.120 with the. Schol.); and on the stage as part of the makeup (Guhl and Koner, ed. 5, p. 762). (Rich, s.v. Becker-Göll, Gallus, 3.240.)
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.