{{Short description|Ancient Roman furniture}} {{For |the genus of moths |Stibadium (moth){{!}}''Stibadium'' (moth)}} {{Italic title}} [[File:Stibadium des Plinius Schinkel AA.jpg|thumb|''Stibadium'' of Plinius, reconstruction by Karl Friedrich Schinkel]] thumb|''Stibadium'' of Roman villa of Faragola with the water basin in the centre
The '''''stibadium''''' ({{plural form}}: ''stibadia'')<ref>Pliny Epistles 5, 6, 36</ref> is a later form of the ancient Roman ''lectus triclinaris'', the reclining seat used by diners in the ''triclinium''. Originally, the ''lecti'' were arranged in a group of three in a semi-circle. The ''stibadium'' was a single semi-circular couch, fitting up to a dozen people, which replaced the triple group of ''lecti'' in the dining-room, frequently in alcoves around the centre of the room. In large Roman villas ''stibadia'' often became very elaborate.
This furniture is also called '''sigma'''.<ref name="Romanbanquet">''The Roman banquet: images of conviviality'', Katherine Dunbabin, 2003, p. 166</ref> This name comes from the lunate sigma (upper case C, lower case ϲ) which resembles, but is not at all related to, the Latin letter C and was used in Eastern forms of Greek writing and in the Middle Ages.
The ''stibadium'' was originally an outdoor seat but was introduced indoors in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD because the shape was more convenient for entertaining and as ''triclinia'' became larger and more elaborate. [[File:Unswept floor mosaic in Chateau de Boudry.jpg|thumb|''Stibadium'' on a mosaic in Chateau de Boudry, 5th century]]
Films about ancient Roman ''convivia'' often feature a ''stibadium'' rather than a ''lectus''.
==Examples==
Roman villas with ''stibadia'' include the: *Roman villa of Faragola *Pliny's villa "in Tuscis"<ref>Pliny LII. To Domitius Apollinaris https://www.bartleby.com/9/4/1052.html</ref> * Villa El Ruedo (Spain) * Nymphaeum Utere Felix (Carthage)
==See also== * ''Accubitum'' * Ancient Roman cuisine * ''Klinē''
==Notes== <references/>
== External links == {{Commons category-inline|Stibadia}} * [http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism//Posts/00001227.html Rogue Classicism]
Category:Ancient Roman furniture Category:History of furniture