in Roman antiquity, a kind of show which the Roman emperors frequently exhibited to the people. The word is formed from the Greek παρα, all, and σταφύλης, fruit. Whence the name was also given by the Athenians to a sacrifice wherein all kinds of fruits were offered. In this spectacle, the circus being all set over with large trees, represented a forest, into which the beasts being let from the dens under ground, the people, at a sign given by the emperor, pursued, shot, and killed all they could lay hold of, which they afterwards carried away, to regale upon at home. The beasts usually given on these occasions were boars, deer, oxen, and sheep.

Casaubon, Cujas, Pithou, &c. make the pancarpus and sylva the same thing; Salmasius will have them different. The sylva, according to him, was such a diversion as that above described; but the pancarpus a combat, wherein robust people, hired for that purpose, fought Pancarpus fought with wild beasts: which opinion he confirms from Cassian, Justinian, Claudian, Firmicus, Manilius, and Caffiodorus.