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CHAPTER 31 -
Such was the constitution which they drew
up for the time to come, but for the immediate
present they devised the following scheme.
There should be a Council of Four Hundred,
as in the ancient constitution, forty from
each tribe, chosen out of candidates of more
than thirty years of age, selected by the
members of the tribes. This Council should
appoint the magistrates and draw up the form
of oath which they were to take; and in all
that concerned the laws, in the examination
of official accounts, and in other matters
generally, they might act according to their
discretion. They must, however, observe the
laws that might be enacted with reference
to the constitution of the state, and had
no power to alter them nor to pass others.
The generals should be provisionally elected
from the whole body of the Five Thousand,
but so soon as the Council came into existence
it was to hold an examination of military
equipments, and thereon elect ten persons,
together with a secretary, and the persons
thus elected should hold office during the
coming year with full powers, and should
have the right, whenever they desired it,
of joining in the deliberations of the Council.
The Five Thousand was also to elect a single
Hipparch and ten Phylarchs; but for the future
the Council was to elect these officers according
to the regulations above laid down. No office,
except those of member of the Council and
of general, might be held more than once,
either by the first occupants or by their
successors. With reference to the future
distribution of the Four Hundred into the
four successive sections, the hundred commissioners
must divide them whenever the time comes
for the citizens to join in the Council along
with the rest.
CHAPTER 32 -
The hundred commissioners appointed by the
Five Thousand drew up the constitution as
just stated; and after it had been ratified
by the people, under the presidency of Aristomachus,
the existing Council, that of the year of
Callias, was dissolved before it had completed
its term of office. It was dissolved on the
fourteenth day of the month Thargelion, and
the Four Hundred entered into office on the
twenty-first; whereas the regular Council,
elected by lot, ought to have entered into
office on the fourteenth of Scirophorion.
Thus was the oligarchy established, in the
archonship of Callias, just about a hundred
years after the expulsion of the tyrants.
The chief promoters of the revolution were
Pisander, Antiphon, and Theramenes, all of
them men of good birth and with high reputations
for ability and judgement. When, however,
this constitution had been established, the
Five Thousand were only nominally selected,
and the Four Hundred, together with the ten
officers on whom full powers had been conferred,
occupied the Council-house and really administered
the government. They began by sending ambassadors
to the Lacedaemonians proposing a cessation
of the war on the basis of the existing position;
but as the Lacedaemonians refused to listen
to them unless they would also abandon the
command of the sea, they broke off the negotiations.
CHAPTER 33 -
For about four months the constitution of
the Four Hundred lasted, and Mnasilochus
held office as Archon of their nomination
for two months of the year of Theopompus,
who was Archon for the remaining ten. On
the loss of the naval battle of Eretria,
however, and the revolt of the whole of Euboea
except Oreum, the indignation of the people
was greater than at any of the earlier disasters,
since they drew far more supplies at this
time from Euboea than from Attica itself.
Accordingly they deposed the Four Hundred
and committed the management of affairs to
the Five Thousand, consisting of persons
possessing a military equipment. At the same
time they voted that pay should not be given
for any public office. The persons chiefly
responsible for the revolution were Aristocrates
and Theramenes, who disapproved of the action
of the Four Hundred in retaining the direction
of affairs entirely in their own hands, and
referring nothing to the Five Thousand. During
this period the constitution of the state
seems to have been admirable, since it was
a time of war and the franchise was in the
hands of those who possessed a military equipment.
CHAPTER 34 -
The people, however, in a very short time
deprived the Five Thousand of their monopoly
of the government. Then, six years after
the overthrow of the Four Hundred, in the
archonship of Callias of Angele, the battle
of Arginusae took place, of which the results
were, first, that the ten generals who had
gained the victory were all condemned by
a single decision, owing to the people being
led astray by persons who aroused their indignation;
though, as a matter of fact, some of the
generals had actually taken no part in the
battle, and others were
themselves picked up by other vessels. Secondly,
when the Lacedaemonians proposed to evacuate
Decelea and make peace on the basis of the
existing position, although some of the Athenians
supported this proposal, the majority refused
to listen to them. In this they were led
astray by Cleophon, who appeared in the Assembly
drunk and wearing his breastplate, and prevented
peace being made, declaring that he would
never accept peace unless the Lacedaemonians
abandoned their claims on all the cities
allied with them. They mismanaged their opportunity
then, and in a very short time they learnt
their mistake. The next year, in the archonship
of Alexias, they suffered the disaster of
Aegospotami, the consequence of which was
that Lysander became master of the city,
and set up the Thirty as its governors. He
did so in the following manner. One of the
terms of peace stipulated that the state
should be governed according to 'the ancient
constitution'. Accordingly the popular party
tried to preserve the democracy, while that
part of the upper class which belonged to
the political clubs, together with the exiles
who had returned since the peace, aimed at
an oligarchy, and those who were not members
of any club, though in other respects they
considered themselves as good as any other
citizens, were anxious to restore the ancient
constitution. The latter class included Archinus,
Anytus, Cleitophon, Phormisius, and many
others, but their most prominent leader was
Theramenes. Lysander, however, threw his
influence on the side of the oligarchical
party, and the popular Assembly was compelled
by sheer intimidation to pass a vote establishing
the oligarchy. The motion to this effect
was proposed by Dracontides of Aphidna.
CHAPTER 35 -
In this way were the Thirty established in
power, in the archonship of Pythodorus. As
soon, however, as they were masters of the
city, they ignored all the resolutions which
had been passed relating to the organization
of the constitution, but after appointing
a Council of Five Hundred and the other magistrates
out of a thousand selected candidates, and
associating with themselves ten Archons in
Piraeus, eleven superintendents of the prison,
and three hundred 'lash-bearers' as attendants,
with the help of these they kept the city
under their own control. At first, indeed,
they behaved with moderation towards the
citizens and pretended to administer the
state according to the ancient constitution.
In pursuance of this policy they took down
from the hill of Areopagus the laws of Ephialtes
and Archestratus relating to the Areopagite
Council; they also repealed such of the statutes
of Solon as were obscure, and abolished the
supreme power of the law-courts. In this
they claimed to be restoring the constitution
and freeing it from obscurities; as, for
instance, by making the testator free once
for all to leave his property as he pleased,
and abolishing the existing limitations in
cases of insanity, old age, and undue female
influence, in order that no opening might
be left for professional accusers. In other
matters also their conduct was similar. At
first, then, they acted on these lines, and
they destroyed the professional accusers
and those mischievous and evil-minded persons
who, to the great detriment of the democracy,
had attached themselves to it in order to
curry favour with it. With all of this the
city was much pleased, and thought that the
Thirty were doing it with the best of motives.
But so soon as they had got a firmer hold
on the city, they spared no class of citizens,
but put to death any persons who were eminent
for wealth or birth or character. Herein
they aimed at removing all whom they had
reason to fear, while they also wished to
lay hands on their possessions; and in a
short time they put to death not less than
fifteen hundred persons.
CHAPTER 36 -
Theramenes, however, seeing the city thus
falling into ruin, was displeased with their
proceedings, and counselled them to cease
such unprincipled conduct and let the better
classes have a share in the government. At
first they resisted his advice, but when
his proposals came to be known abroad, and
the masses began to associate themselves
with him, they were seized with alarm lest
he should make himself the leader of the
people and destroy their despotic power.
Accordingly they drew up a list of three
thousand citizens, to whom they announced
that they would give a share in the constitution.
Theramenes, however, criticized this scheme
also, first on the ground that, while proposing
to give all respectable citizens a share
in the constitution, they were actually giving
it only to three thousand persons, as though
all merit were confined within that number;
and secondly because they were doing two
inconsistent things, since they made the
government rest on the basis of force, and
yet made the governors inferior in strength
to the governed. However, they took no notice
of his criticisms, and for a long time put
off the publication of the list of the Three
Thousand and kept to themselves the names
of those who had been placed upon it; and
every time they did decide to publish it
they proceeded to strike out some of those
who had been included in it, and insert others
who had been omitted.
CHAPTER 37 -
Now when winter had set in, Thrasybulus and
the exiles occupied Phyle, and the force
which the Thirty led out to attack them met
with a reverse. Thereupon the Thirty decided
to disarm the bulk of the population and
to get rid of Theramenes; which they did
in the following way. They introduced two
laws into the Council, which they commanded
it to pass; the first of them gave the Thirty
absolute power to put to death any citizen
who was not included in the list of the Three
Thousand, while the second disqualified all
persons from participation in the franchise
who should have assisted in the demolition
of the fort of Eetioneia, or have acted in
any way against the Four Hundred who had
organized the previous oligarchy. Theramenes
had done both, and accordingly, when these
laws were ratified, he became excluded from
the franchise and the Thirty had full power
to put him to death. Theramenes having been
thus removed, they disarmed all the people
except the Three Thousand, and in every respect
showed a great advance in cruelty and crime.
They also sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon
to blacken the character of Theramenes and
to ask for help; and the Lacedaemonians,
in answer to their appeal, sent Callibius
as military governor with about seven hundred
troops, who came and occupied the Acropolis.
CHAPTER 38 -
These events were followed by the occupation
of Munichia by the exiles from Phyle, and
their victory over the Thirty and their partisans.
After the fight the party of the city retreated,
and next day they held a meeting in the market-place
and deposed the Thirty, and elected ten citizens
with full powers to bring the war to a termination.
When, however, the Ten had taken over the
government they did nothing towards the object
for which they were elected, but sent envoys
to Lacedaemon to ask for help and to borrow
money. Further, finding that the citizens
who possessed the franchise were displeased
at their proceedings, they were afraid lest
they should be deposed, and consequently,
in order to strike terror into them (in which
design they succeeded), they arrested Demaretus,
one of the most eminent citizens, and put
him to death. This gave them a firm hold
on the government, and they also had the
support of Callibius and his Peloponnesians,
together with several of the Knights; for
some of the members of this class were the
most zealous among the citizens to prevent
the return of the exiles from Phyle. When,
however, the party in Piraeus and Munichia
began to gain the upper hand in the war,
through the defection of the whole populace
to them, the party in the city deposed the
original Ten, and elected another Ten, consisting
of men of the highest repute. Under their
administration, and with their active and
zealous co-operation, the treaty of reconciliation
was made and the populace returned to the
city. The most prominent members of this
board were Rhinon of Paeania and Phayllus
of Acherdus, who, even before the arrival
of Pausanias, opened negotiations with the
party in Piraeus, and after his arrival seconded
his efforts to bring about the return of
the exiles. For it was Pausanias, the king
of the Lacedaemonians, who brought the peace
and reconciliation to a fulfillment, in conjunction
with the ten commissioners of arbitration
who arrived later from Lacedaemon, at his
own earnest request. Rhinon and his colleagues
received a vote of thanks for the goodwill
shown by them to the people, and though they
received their charge under an oligarchy
and handed in their accounts under a democracy,
no one, either of the party that had stayed
in the city or of the exiles that had returned
from the Piraeus, brought any complaint against
them. On the contrary, Rhinon was immediately
elected general on account of his conduct
in this office.
CHAPTER 39 -
This reconciliation was effected in the archonship
of Eucleides, on the following terms. All
persons who, having remained in the city
during the troubles, were now anxious to
leave it, were to be free to settle at Eleusis,
retaining their civil rights and possessing
full and independent powers of self-government,
and with the free enjoyment of their own
personal property. The temple at Eleusis
should be common ground for both parties,
and should be under the superintendence of
the Ceryces, and the Eumolpidae, according
to primitive custom. The settlers at Eleusis
should not be allowed to enter Athens, nor
the people of Athens to enter Eleusis, except
at the season of the mysteries, when both
parties should be free from these restrictions.
The secessionists should pay their share
to the fund for the common defence out of
their revenues, just like all the other Athenians.
If any of the seceding party wished to take
a house in Eleusis, the people would help
them to obtain the consent of the owner;
but if they could not come to terms, they
should appoint three valuers on either side,
and the owner should receive whatever price
they should appoint. Of the inhabitants of
Eleusis, those whom the secessionists wished
to remain should be allowed to do so. The
list of those who desired to secede should
be made up within ten days after the taking
of the oaths in the case of persons already
in the country, and their actual departure
should take place within twenty days; persons
at present out of the country should have
the same terms allowed to them after their
return. No one who settled at Eleusis should
be capable of holding any office in Athens
until he should again register himself on
the roll as a resident in the city. Trials
for homicide, including all cases in which
one party had either killed or wounded another,
should be conducted according to ancestral
practice. There should be a general amnesty
concerning past events towards all persons
except the Thirty, the Ten, the Eleven, and
the magistrates in Piraeus; and these too
should be included if they should submit
their accounts in the usual way. Such accounts
should be given by the magistrates in Piraeus
before a court of citizens rated in Piraeus,
and by the magistrates in the city before
a court of those rated in the city. On these
terms those who wished to do so might secede.
Each party was to repay separately the money
which it had borrowed for the war.
CHAPTER 40 -
When the reconciliation had taken place on
these terms, those who had fought on the
side of the Thirty felt considerable apprehensions,
and a large number intended to secede. But
as they put off entering their names till
the last moment, as people will do, Archinus,
observing their numbers, and being anxious
to retain them as citizens, cut off the remaining
days during which the list should have remained
open; and in this way many persons were compelled
to remain, though they did so very unwillingly
until they recovered confidence. This is
one point in which Archinus appears to have
acted in a most statesmanlike manner, and
another was his subsequent prosecution of
Thrasybulus on the charge of illegality,
for a motion by which he proposed to confer
the franchise on all who had taken part in
the return from Piraeus, although some of
them were notoriously slaves. And yet a third
such action was when one of the returned
exiles began to violate the amnesty, whereupon
Archinus haled him to the Council and persuaded
them to execute him without trial, telling
them that now they would have to show whether
they wished to preserve the democracy and
abide by the oaths they had taken; for if
they let this man escape they would encourage
others to imitate him, while if they executed
him they would make an example for all to
learn by. And this was exactly what happened;
for after this man had been put to death
no one ever again broke the amnesty. On the
contrary, the Athenians seem, both in public
and in private, to have behaved in the most
unprecedentedly admirable and public-spirited
way with reference to the preceding troubles.
Not only did they blot out all memory of
former offences, but they even repaid to
the Lacedaemonians out of the public purse
the money which the Thirty had borrowed for
the war, although the treaty required each
party, the party of the city and the party
of Piraeus, to pay its own debts separately.
This they did because they thought it was
a necessary first step in the direction of
restoring harmony; but in other states, so
far from the democratic parties making advances
from their own possessions, they are rather
in the habit of making a general redistribution
of the land. A final reconciliation was made
with the secessionists at Eleusis two years
after the secession, in the archonship of
Xenaenetus.
CHAPTER 41 -
This, however, took place at a later date;
at the time of which we are speaking the
people, having secured the control of the
state, established the constitution which
exists at the present day. Pythodorus was
Archon at the time, but the democracy seems
to have assumed the supreme power with perfect
justice, since it had effected its own return
by its own exertions. This was the eleventh
change which had taken place in the constitution
of Athens. The first modification of the
primaeval condition of things was when Ion
and his companions brought the people together
into a community, for then the people was
first divided into the four tribes, and the
tribe-kings were created. Next, and first
after this, having now some semblance of
a constitution, was that which took place
in the reign of Theseus, consisting in a
slight deviation from absolute monarchy.
After this came the constitution formed under
Draco, when the first code of laws was drawn
up. The third was that which followed the
civil war, in the time of Solon; from this
the democracy took its rise. The fourth was
the tyranny of Pisistratus; the fifth the
constitution of Cleisthenes, after the overthrow
of the tyrants, of a more democratic character
than that of Solon. The sixth was that which
followed on the Persian wars, when the Council
of Areopagus had the direction of the state.
The seventh, succeeding this, was the constitution
which Aristides sketched out, and which Ephialtes
brought to completion by overthrowing the
Areopagite Council; under this the nation,
misled by the demagogues, made the most serious
mistakes in the interest of its maritime
empire. The eighth was the establishment
of the Four Hundred, followed by the ninth,
the restored democracy. The tenth was the
tyranny of the Thirty and the Ten. The eleventh
was that which followed the return from Phyle
and Piraeus; and this has continued from
that day to this, with continual accretions
of power to the masses. The democracy has
made itself master of everything and administers
everything by its votes in the Assembly and
by the law-courts, in which it holds the
supreme power. Even the jurisdiction of the
Council has passed into the hands of the
people at large; and this appears to be a
judicious change, since small bodies are
more open to corruption, whether by actual
money or influence, than large ones. At first
they refused to allow payment for attendance
at the Assembly; but the result was that
people did not attend. Consequently, after
the Prytanes had tried many devices in vain
in order to induce the populace to come and
ratify the votes, Agyrrhius, in the first
instance, made a provision of one obol a
day, which Heracleides of Clazomenae, nicknamed
'the king', increased to two obols, and Agyrrhius
again to three.
CHAPTER 42 -
The present state of the constitution is
as follows. The franchise is open to all
who are of citizen birth by both parents.
They are enrolled among the demesmen at the
age of eighteen. On the occasion of their
enrollment the demesmen give their votes
on oath, first whether the candidates appear
to be of the age prescribed by the law (if
not, they are dismissed back into the ranks
of the boys), and secondly whether the candidate
is free born and of such parentage as the
laws require. Then if they decide that he
is not a free man, he appeals to the law-courts,
and the demesmen appoint five of their own
number to act as accusers; if the court decides
that he has no right to be enrolled, he is
sold by the state as a slave, but if he wins
his case he has a right to be enrolled among
the demesmen without further question. After
this the Council examines those who have
been enrolled, and if it comes to the conclusion
that any of them is less than eighteen years
of age, it fines the demesmen who enrolled
him. When the youths
(Ephebi) have passed this examination, their
fathers meet by their tribes, and appoint
on oath three of their fellow tribesmen,
over forty years of age, who, in their opinion,
are the best and most suitable persons to
have charge of the youths; and of these the
Assembly elects one from each tribe as guardian,
together with a director, chosen from the
general body of Athenians, to control the
while. Under the charge of these persons
the youths first of all make the circuit
of the temples; then they proceed to Piraeus,
and some of them garrison Munichia and some
the south shore. The Assembly also elects
two trainers, with subordinate instructors,
who teach them to fight in heavy armour,
to use the bow and javelin, and to discharge
a catapult. The guardians receive from the
state a drachma apiece for their keep, and
the youths four obols apiece. Each guardian
receives the allowance for all the members
of his tribe and buys the necessary provisions
for the common stock (they mess together
by tribes), and generally superintends everything.
In this way they spend the first year. The
next year, after giving a public display
of their military evolutions, on the occasion
when the Assembly meets in the theatre, they
receive a shield and spear from the state;
after which they patrol the country and spend
their time in the forts. For these two years
they are on garrison duty, and wear the military
cloak, and during this time they are exempt
from all taxes. They also can neither bring
an action at law, nor have one brought against
them, in order that they may have no excuse
for requiring leave of absence; though exception
is made in cases of actions concerning inheritances
and wards of state, or of any sacrificial
ceremony connected with the family. When
the two years have elapsed they thereupon
take their position among the other citizens.
Such is the manner of the enrollment of the
citizens and the training of the youths.
CHAPTER 43 -
All the magistrates that are concerned with
the ordinary routine of administration are
elected by lot, except the Military Treasurer,
the Commissioners of the Theoric fund, and
the Superintendent of Springs. These are
elected by vote, and hold office from one
Panathenaic festival to the next. All military
officers are also elected by vote.
The Council of Five Hundred is elected by
lot, fifty from each tribe. Each tribe holds
the office of Prytanes in turn, the order
being determined by lot; the first four serve
for thirty-six days each, the last six for
thirty-five, since the reckoning is by lunar
years. The Prytanes for the time being, in
the first place, mess together in the Tholus,
and receive a sum of money from the state
for their maintenance; and, secondly, they
convene the meetings of the Council and the
Assembly. The Council they convene every
day, unless it is a holiday, the Assembly
four times in each prytany. It is also their
duty to draw up the programme of the business
of the Council and to decide what subjects
are to be dealt with on each particular day,
and where the sitting is to be held. They
also draw up the programme for the meetings
of the Assembly. One of these in each prytany
is called the 'sovereign' Assembly; in this
the people have to ratify the continuance
of the magistrates in office, if they are
performing their duties properly, and to
consider the supply of corn and the defence
of the country. On this day, too, impeachments
are introduced by those who wish to do so,
the lists of property confiscated by the
state are read, and also applications for
inheritances and wards of state, so that
nothing may pass unclaimed without the cognizance
of any person concerned. In the sixth prytany,
in addition to the business already stated,
the question is put to the vote whether it
is desirable to hold a vote of ostracism
or not; and complaints against professional
accusers, whether Athenian or aliens domiciled
in Athens, are received, to the number of
not more than three of either class, together
with cases in which an individual has made
some promise to the people and has not performed
it. Another Assembly in each prytany is assigned
to the hearing of petitions, and at this
meeting any one is free, on depositing the
petitioner's olive-branch, to speak to the
people concerning any matter, public or private.
The two remaining meetings are devoted to
all other subjects, and the laws require
them to deal with three questions connected
with religion, three connected with heralds
and embassies, and three on secular subjects.
Sometimes questions are brought forward without
a preliminary vote of the Assembly to take
them into consideration.
Heralds and envoys appear first before the
Prytanes, and the bearers of dispatches also
deliver them to the same officials.
CHAPTER 44
There is a single President of the Prytanes,
elected by lot, who presides for a night
and a day; he may not hold the office for
more than that time, nor may the same individual
hold it twice. He keeps the keys of the sanctuaries
in which the treasures and public records
of the state are preserved, and also the
public seal; and he is bound to remain in
the Tholus, together with one-third of the
Prytanes, named by himself. Whenever the
Prytanes convene a meeting of the Council
or Assembly, he appoints by lot nine Proedri,
one from each tribe except that which holds
the office of Prytanes for the time being;
and out of these nine he similarly appoints
one as President, and hands over the programme
for the meeting to them. They take it and
see to the preservation of order, put forward
the various subjects which are to be considered,
decide the results of the votings, and direct
the proceedings generally. They also have
power to dismiss the meeting. No one may
act as President more than once in the year,
but he may be a Proedrus once in each prytany.
Elections to the offices of General and Hipparch
and all other military commands are held
in the Assembly, in such manner as the people
decide; they are held after the sixth prytany
by the first board of Prytanes in whose term
of office the omens are favourable. There
has, however, to be a preliminary consideration
by the Council in this case also.
CHAPTER 45 -
In former times the Council had full powers
to inflict fines and imprisonment and death;
but when it had consigned Lysimachus to the
executioner, and he was sitting in the immediate
expectation of death, Eumelides of Alopece
rescued him from its hands, maintaining that
no citizen ought to be put to death except
on the decision of a court of law. Accordingly
a trial was held in a law-court, and Lysimachus
was acquitted, receiving henceforth the nickname
of 'the man from the drum-head'; and the
people deprived the Council thenceforward
of the power to inflict death or imprisonment
or fine, passing a law that if the Council
condemn any person for an offence or inflict
a fine, the Thesmothetae shall bring the
sentence or fine before the law-court, and
the decision of the jurors shall be the final
judgement in the matter.
The Council passes judgement on nearly all
magistrates, especially those who have the
control of money; its judgement, however,
is not final, but is subject to an appeal
to the law-courts. Private individuals, also,
may lay an information against any magistrate
they please for not obeying the laws, but
here too there is an appeal to the law-courts
if the Council declare the charge proved.
The Council also examines those who are to
be its members for the ensuing year, and
likewise the nine Archons. Formerly the Council
had full power to reject candidates for office
as unsuitable, but now they have an appeal
to the law-courts. In all these matters,
therefore, the Council has no final jurisdiction.
It takes, however, preliminary cognizance
of all matters brought before the Assembly,
and the Assembly cannot vote on any question
unless it has first been considered by the
Council and placed on the programme by the
Prytanes; since a person who carries a motion
in the Assembly is liable to an action for
illegal proposal on these grounds.
CHAPTER 46 -
The Council also superintends the triremes
that are already in existence, with their
tackle and sheds, and builds new triremes
or quadriremes, whichever the Assembly votes,
with tackle and sheds to match. The Assembly
appoints master-builders for the ships by
vote; and if they do not hand them over completed
to the next Council, the old Council cannot
receive the customary donation- that being
normally given to it during its successor's
term of office. For the building of the triremes
it appoints ten commissioners, chosen from
its own members. The Council also inspects
all public buildings, and if it is of opinion
that the state is being defrauded, it reports
the culprit to the Assembly, and on condemnation
hands him over to the law-courts.
CHAPTER 47 -
The Council also co-operates with other magistrates
in most of their duties. First there are
the treasurers of Athena, ten in number,
elected by lot, one from each tribe. According
to the law of Solon- which is still in force-
they must be Pentacosiomedimni, but in point
of fact the person on whom the lot falls
holds the office even though he be quite
a poor man. These officers take over charge
of the statue of Athena, the figures of Victory,
and all the other ornaments of the temple,
together with the money, in the presence
of the Council. Then there are the Commissioners
for Public Contracts (Poletae), ten in number,
one chosen by lot from each tribe, who farm
out the public contracts. They lease the
mines and taxes, in conjunction with the
Military Treasurer and the Commissioners
of the Theoric fund, in the presence of the
Council, and grant, to the persons indicated
by the vote of the Council, the mines which
are let out by the state, including both
the workable ones, which are let for three
years, and those which are let under special
agreements for [ten?] years. They also sell,
in the presence of the Council, the property
of those who have gone into exile from the
court of the Areopagus, and of others whose
goods have been confiscated, and the nine
Archons ratify the contracts. They also hand
over to the Council lists of the taxes which
are farmed out for the year, entering on
whitened tablets the name of the lessee and
the amount paid. They make separate lists,
first of those who have to pay their instalments
in each prytany, on ten several tablets,
next of those who pay thrice in the year,
with a separate tablet for each instalment,
and finally of those who pay in the ninth
prytany. They also draw up a list of farms
and dwellings which have been confiscated
and sold by order of the courts; for these
too come within their province. In the case
of dwellings the value must be paid up in
five years, and in that of farms, in ten.
The instalments are paid in the ninth prytany.
Further, the King-archon brings before the
Council the leases of the sacred enclosures,
written on whitened tablets. These too are
leased for ten years, and the instalments
are paid in the [ninth] prytany; consequently
it is in this prytany that the greatest amount
of money is collected. The tablets containing
the lists of the instalments are carried
into the Council, and the public clerk takes
charge of them. Whenever a payment of instalments
is to be made he takes from the pigeon-holes
the precise list of the sums which are to
be paid and struck off on that day, and delivers
it to the Receivers-General. The rest are
kept apart, in order that no sum may be struck
off before it is paid.
CHAPTER 48 -
There are ten Receivers-General (Apodectae),
elected by lot, one from each tribe. These
officers receive the tablets, and strike
off the instalments as they are paid, in
the presence of the Council in the Council-chamber,
and give the tablets back to the public clerk.
If any one fails to pay his instalment, a
note is made of it on the tablet; and he
is bound to pay double the amount of the
deficiency,
or, in default, to be imprisoned. The Council
has full power by the laws to exact these
payments and to inflict this imprisonment.
They receive all the instalments, therefore,
on one day, and portion the money out among
the magistrates; and on the next day they
bring up the report of the apportionment,
written on a wooden notice-board, and read
it out in the Council-chamber, after which
they ask publicly in the Council whether
any one knows of any malpractice in reference
to the apportionment, on the part of either
a magistrate or a private individual, and
if any one is charged with malpractice they
take a vote on it.
The Council also elects ten Auditors (Logistae)
by lot from its own members, to audit the
accounts of the magistrates for each prytany.
They also elect one Examiner of Accounts
(Euthunus) by lot from each tribe, with two
assessors (Paredri) for each examiner, whose
duty it is to sit at the ordinary market
hours, each opposite the statue of the eponymous
hero of his tribe; and if any one wishes
to prefer a charge, on either public or private
grounds, against any magistrate who has passed
his audit before the law-courts, within three
days of his having so passed, he enters on
a whitened tablet his own name and that of
the magistrate prosecuted, together with
the malpractice that is alleged against him.
He also appends his claim for a penalty of
such amount as seems to him fitting, and
gives in the record to the Examiner. The
latter takes it, and if after reading it
he considers it proved he hands it over,
if a private case, to the local justices
who introduce cases for the tribe concerned,
while if it is a public case he enters it
on the register of the Thesmothetae. Then,
if the Thesmothetae accept it, they bring
the accounts of this magistrate once more
before the law-court, and the decision of
the jury stands as the final judgement.
CHAPTER 49 -
The Council also inspects the horses belonging
to the state. If a man who has a good horse
is found to keep it in bad condition, he
is mulcted in his allowance of corn; while
those which cannot keep up or which shy and
will not stand steady, it brands with a wheel
on the jaw, and the horse so marked is disqualified
for service. It also inspects those who appear
to be fit for service as scouts, and any
one whom it rejects is deprived of his horse.
It also examines the infantry who serve among
the cavalry, and any one whom it rejects
ceases to receive his pay. The roll of the
cavalry is drawn up by the Commissioners
of Enrolment (Catalogeis), ten in number,
elected by the Assembly by open vote. They
hand over to the Hipparchs and Phylarchs
the list of those whom they have enrolled,
and these officers take it and bring it up
before the Council, and there open the sealed
tablet containing the names of the cavalry.
If any of those who have been on the roll
previously make affidavit that they are physically
incapable of cavalry service, they strike
them out; then they call up the persons newly
enrolled, and if any one makes affidavit
that he is either physically or pecuniarily
incapable of cavalry service they dismiss
him, but if no such affidavit is made the
Council vote whether the individual in question
is suitable for the purpose or not. If they
vote in the affirmative his name is entered
on the tablet; if not, he is dismissed with
the others.
Formerly the Council used to decide on the
plans for public buildings and the contract
for making the robe of Athena; but now this
work is done by a jury in the law-courts
appointed by lot, since the Council was considered
to have shown favouritism in its decisions.
The Council also shares with the Military
Treasurer the superintendence of the manufacture
of the images of Victory and the prizes at
the Panathenaic festival.
The Council also examines infirm paupers;
for there is a law which provides that persons
possessing less than three minas, who are
so crippled as to be unable to do any work,
are, after examination by the Council, to
receive two obols a day from the state for
their support. A treasurer is appointed by
lot to attend to them.
The Council also, speaking broadly, co-operates
in most of the duties of all the other magistrates;
and this ends the list of the functions of
that body.
CHAPTER 50 -
There are ten Commissioners for Repairs of
Temples, elected by lot, who receive a sum
of thirty minas from the Receivers-General,
and therewith carry out the most necessary
repairs in the temples.
There are also ten City Commissioners (Astynomi),
of whom five hold office in Piraeus and five
in the city. Their duty is to see that female
flute- and harp- and lute-players are not
hired at more than two drachmas, and if more
than one person is anxious to hire the same
girl, they cast lots and hire her out to
the person to whom the lot falls. They also
provide that no collector of sewage shall
shoot any of his sewage within ten stradia
of the walls; they prevent people from blocking
up the streets by building, or stretching
barriers across them, or making drain-pipes
in mid-air with a discharge into the street,
or having doors which open outwards; they
also remove the corpses of those who die
in the streets, for which purpose they have
a body of state slaves assigned to them.
CHAPTER 51 -
Market Commissioners (Agoranomi) are elected
by lot, five for Piraeus, five for the city.
Their statutory duty is to see that all articles
offered for sale in the market are pure and
unadulterated.
Commissioners of Weights and Measures (Metronomi)
are elected by lot, five for the city, and
five for Piraeus. They see that sellers use
fair weights and measures.
Formerly there were ten Corn Commissioners
(Sitophylaces), elected by lot, five for
Piraeus, and five for the city; but now there
are twenty for the city and fifteen for Piraeus.
Their duties are, first, to see that the
unprepared corn in the market is offered
for sale at reasonable prices, and secondly,
to see that the millers sell barley meal
at a price proportionate to that of barley,
and that the bakers sell their loaves at
a price proportionate to that of wheat, and
of such weight as the Commissioners may appoint;
for the law requires them to fix the standard
weight.
There are ten Superintendents of the Mart,
elected by lot, whose duty is to superintend
the Mart, and to compel merchants to bring
up into the city two-thirds of the corn which
is brought by sea to the Corn Mart.
CHAPTER 52 -
The Eleven also are appointed by lot to take
care of the prisoners in the state gaol.
Thieves, kidnappers, and pickpockets are
brought to them, and if they plead guilty
they are executed, but if they deny the charge
the Eleven bring the case before the law-courts;
if the prisoners are acquitted, they release
them, but if not, they then execute them.
They also bring up before the law-courts
the list of farms and houses claimed as state-property;
and if it is decided that they are so, they
deliver them to the Commissioners for Public
Contracts. The Eleven also bring up informations
laid against magistrates alleged to be disqualified;
this function comes within their province,
but some such cases are brought up by the
Thesmothetae.
There are also five Introducers of Cases
(Eisagogeis), elected by lot, one for each
pair of tribes, who bring up the 'monthly'
cases to the law-courts. 'Monthly' cases
are these: refusal to pay up a dowry where
a party is bound to do so, refusal to pay
interest on money borrowed at 12 per cent.,
or where a man desirous of setting up business
in the market has borrowed from another man
capital to start with; also cases of slander,
cases arising out of friendly loans or partnerships,
and cases concerned with slaves, cattle,
and the office of trierarch, or with banks.
These are brought up as 'monthly' cases and
are introduced by these officers; but the
Receivers-General perform the same function
in cases for or against the farmers of taxes.
Those in which the sum concerned is not more
than ten drachmas they can decide summarily,
but all above that amount they bring into
the law-courts as 'monthly' cases.
CHAPTER 53 -
The Forty are also elected by lot, four from
each tribe, before whom suitors bring all
other cases. Formerly they were thirty in
number, and they went on circuit through
the demes to hear causes; but after the oligarchy
of the Thirty they were increased to forty.
They have full powers to decide cases in
which the amount at issue does not exceed
ten drachmas, but anything beyond that value
they hand over to the Arbitrators. The Arbitrators
take up the case, and, if they cannot bring
the parties to an agreement, they give a
decision. If their decision satisfies both
parties, and they abide by it, the case is
at an end; but if either of the parties appeals
to the law-courts, the Arbitrators enclose
the evidence, the pleadings, and the laws
quoted in the case in two urns, those of
the plaintiff in the one, and those of the
defendant in the other. These they seal up
and, having attached to them the decision
of the arbitrator, written out on a tablet,
place them in the custody of the four justices
whose function it is to introduce cases on
behalf of the tribe of the defendant. These
officers take them and bring up the case
before the law-court, to a jury of two hundred
and one members in cases up to the value
of a thousand drachmas, or to one of four
hundred and one in cases above that value.
No laws or pleadings or evidence may be used
except those which were adduced before the
Arbitrator, and have been enclosed in the
urns.
The Arbitrators are persons in the sixtieth
year of their age; this appears from the
schedule of the Archons and the Eponymi.
There are two classes of Eponymi, the ten
who give their names to the tribes, and the
forty-two of the years of service. The youths,
on being enrolled among the citizens, were
formerly registered upon whitened tablets,
and the names were appended of the Archon
in whose year they were enrolled, and of
the Eponymus who had been in course in the
preceding year; at the present day they are
written on a bronze pillar, which stands
in front of the Council-chamber, near the
Eponymi of the tribes. Then the Forty take
the last of the Eponymi of the years of service,
and assign the arbitrations to the persons
belonging to that year, casting lots to determine
which arbitrations each shall undertake;
and every one is compelled to carry through
the arbitrations which the lot assigns to
him. The law enacts that any one who does
not serve as Arbitrator when he has arrived
at the necessary age shall lose his civil
rights, unless he happens to be holding some
other office during that year, or to be out
of the country. These are the only persons
who escape the duty. Any one who suffers
injustice at the hands of the Arbitrator
may appeal to the whole board of Arbitrators,
and if they find the magistrate guilty, the
law enacts that he shall lose his civil rights.
The persons thus condemned have, however,
in their turn an appeal. The Eponymi are
also used in reference to military expeditions;
when the men of military age are despatched
on service, a notice is put up stating that
the men from such-and-such an Archon and
Eponymus to such-and-such another Archon
and Eponymus are to go on the expedition.
CHAPTER 54 -
The following magistrates also are elected
by lot: Five Commissioners of Roads (Hodopoei),
who, with an assigned body of public slaves,
are required to keep the roads in order:
and ten Auditors, with ten assistants, to
whom all persons who have held any office
must give in their accounts. These are the
only officers who audit the accounts of those
who are subject to examination, and who bring
them up for examination before the law-courts.
If they detect any magistrate in embezzlement,
the jury condemn him for theft, and he is
obliged to repay tenfold the sum he is declared
to have misappropriated. If they charge a
magistrate with accepting bribes and the
jury convict him, they fine him for corruption,
and this sum too is repaid tenfold. Or if
they convict him of unfair dealing, he is
fined on that charge, and the sum assessed
is paid without increase, if payment is made
before the ninth prytany, but otherwise it
is doubled. A tenfold fine is not doubled.
The Clerk of the prytany, as he is called,
is also elected by lot. He has the charge
of all public documents, and keeps the resolutions
which are passed by the Assembly, and checks
the transcripts of all other official papers
and attends at the sessions of the Council.
Formerly he was elected by open vote, and
the most distinguished and trustworthy persons
were elected to the post, as is known from
the fact that the name of this officer is
appended on the pillars recording treaties
of alliance and grants of consulship and
citizenship. Now, however, he is elected
by lot. There is, in addition, a Clerk of
the Laws, elected by lot, who attends at
the sessions of the Council; and he too checks
the transcript of all the laws. The Assembly
also elects by open vote a clerk to read
documents to it and to the Council; but he
has no other duty except that of reading
aloud.
The Assembly also elects by lot the Commissioners
of Public Worship (Hieropoei) known as the
Commissioners for Sacrifices, who offer the
sacrifices appointed by oracle, and, in conjunction
with the seers, take the auspices whenever
there is occasion. It also elects by lot
ten others, known as Annual Commissioners,
who offer certain sacrifices and administer
all the quadrennial festivals except the
Panathenaea. There are the following quadrennial
festivals: first that of Delos (where there
is also a sexennial festival), secondly the
Brauronia, thirdly the Heracleia, fourthly
the Eleusinia, and fifthly the Panathenaea;
and no two of these are celebrated in the
same place. To these the Hephaestia has now
been added, in the archonship of Cephisophon.
An Archon is also elected by lot for Salamis,
and a Demarch for Piraeus. These officers
celebrate the Dionysia in these two places,
and appoint Choregi. In Salamis, moreover,
the name of the Archon is publicly recorded.
CHAPTER 55 -
All the foregoing magistrates are elected
by lot, and their powers are those which
have been stated. To pass on to the nine
Archons, as they are called, the manner of
their appointment from the earliest times
has been described already. At the present
day six Thesmothetae are elected by lot,
together with their clerk, and in addition
to these an Archon, a King, and a Polemarch.
One is elected from each tribe. They are
examined first of all by the Council of Five
Hundred, with the exception of the clerk.
The latter is examined only in the law-court,
like other magistrates (for all magistrates,
whether elected by lot or by open vote, are
examined before entering on their offices);
but the nine Archons are examined both in
the Council and again in the law-court. Formerly
no one could hold the office if the Council
rejected him, but now there is an appeal
to the law-court, which is the final authority
in the matter of the examination. When they
are examined, they are asked, first, 'Who
is your father, and of what deme? who is
your father's father? who is your mother?
who is your mother's father, and of what
deme?' Then the candidate is asked whether
he possesses an ancestral Apollo and a household
Zeus, and where their sanctuaries are; next
if he possesses a family tomb, and where;
then if he treats his parents well, and pays
his taxes, and has served on the required
military expeditions. When the examiner has
put these questions, he proceeds, 'Call the
witnesses to these facts'; and when the candidate
has produced his witnesses, he next asks,
'Does any one wish to make any accusation
against this man?' If an accuser appears,
he gives the parties an opportunity of making
their accusation and defence, and then puts
it to the Council to pass the candidate or
not, and to the law-court to give the final
vote. If no one wishes to make an accusation,
he proceeds at once to the vote. Formerly
a single individual gave the vote, but now
all the members are obliged to vote on the
candidates, so that if any unprincipled candidate
has managed to get rid of his accusers, it
may still be possible for him to be disqualified
before the law-court. When the examination
has been thus completed, they proceed to
the stone on which are the pieces of the
victims, and on which the Arbitrators take
oath before declaring their decisions, and
witnesses swear to their testimony. On this
stone the Archons stand, and swear to execute
their office uprightly and according to the
laws, and not to receive presents in respect
of the performance of their duties, or, if
they do, to dedicate a golden statue. When
they have taken this oath they proceed to
the Acropolis, and there they repeat it;
after this they enter upon their office.
CHAPTER 56 -
The Archon, the King, and the Polemarch have
each two assessors, nominated by themselves.
These officers are examined in the law-court
before they begin to act, and give in accounts
on each occasion of their acting.
As soon as the Archon enters office, he begins
by issuing a proclamation that whatever any
one possessed before he entered into office,
that he shall possess and hold until the
end of his term. Next he assigns Choregi
to the tragic poets, choosing three of the
richest persons out of the whole body of
Athenians. Formerly he used also to assign
five Choregi to the comic poets, but now
the tribes provide the Choregi for them.
Then he receives the Choregi who have been
appointed by the tribes for the men's and
boys' choruses and the comic poets at the
Dionysia, and for the men's and boys' choruses
at the Thargelia (at the Dionysia there is
a chorus for each tribe, but at the Thargelia
one between two tribes, each tribe bearing
its share in providing it); he transacts
the exchanges of properties for them, and
reports any excuses that are tendered, if
any one says that he has already borne this
burden, or that he is exempt because he has
borne a similar burden and the period of
his exemption has not yet expired, or that
he is not of the required age; since the
Choregus of a boys' chorus must be over forty
years of age. He also appoints Choregi for
the festival at Delos, and a chief of the
mission for the thirty-oar boat which conveys
the youths thither. He also superintends
sacred processions, both that in honour of
Asclepius, when the initiated keep house,
and that of the great Dionysia- the latter
in conjunction with the Superintendents of
that festival. These officers, ten in number,
were formerly elected by open vote in the
Assembly, and used to provide for the expenses
of the procession out of their private means;
but now one is elected by lot from each tribe,
and the state contributes a hundred minas
for the expenses. The Archon also superintends
the procession at the Thargelia, and that
in honour of Zeus the Saviour. He also manages
the contests at the Dionysia and the Thargelia.
These, then, are the festivals which he superintends.
The suits and indictments which come before
him, and which he, after a preliminary inquiry,
brings up before the law-courts, are as follows.
Injury to parents (for bringing these actions
the prosecutor cannot suffer any penalty);
injury to orphans (these actions lie against
their guardians); injury to a ward of state
(these lie against their guardians or their
husbands), injury to an orphan's estate (these
too lie against the guardians); mental derangement,
where a party charges another with destroying
his own property through unsoundness of mind;
for appointment of liquidators, where a party
refuses to divide property in which others
have a share; for constituting a wardship;
for determining between rival claims to a
wardship; for granting inspection of property
to which another party lays claim; for appointing
oneself as guardian; and for determining
disputes as to inheritances and wards of
state. The Archon also has the care of orphans
and wards of state, and of women who, on
the death of their husbands, declare themselves
to be with child; and he has power to inflict
a fine on those who offend against the persons
under his charge, or to bring the case before
the law-courts. He also leases the houses
of orphans and wards of state until they
reach the age of fourteen, and takes mortgages
on them; and if the guardians fail to provide
the necessary food for the children under
their charge, he exacts it from them. Such
are the duties of the Archon.
CHAPTER 57 -
The King in the first place superintends
the mysteries, in conjunction with the Superintendents
of Mysteries. The latter are elected in the
Assembly by open vote, two from the general
body of Athenians, one from the Eumolpidae,
and one from the Ceryces. Next, he superintends
the Lenaean Dionysia, which consists of a
procession and a contest. The procession
is ordered by the King and the Superintendents
in conjunction; but the contest is managed
by the King alone. He also manages all the
contests of the torch-race; and to speak
broadly, he administers all the ancestral
sacrifices. Indictments for impiety come
before him, or any disputes between parties
concerning priestly rites; and he also determines
all controversies concerning sacred rites
for the ancient families and the priests.
All actions for homicide come before him,
and it is he that makes the proclamation
requiring polluted persons to keep away from
sacred ceremonies. Actions for homicide and
wounding are heard, if the homicide or wounding
be willful, in the Areopagus; so also in
cases of killing by poison, and of arson.
These are the only cases heard by that Council.
Cases of unintentional homicide, or of intent
to kill, or of killing a slave or a resident
alien or a foreigner, are heard by the court
of Palladium. When the homicide is acknowledged,
but legal justification is pleaded, as when
a man takes an adulterer in the act, or kills
another by mistake in battle, or in an athletic
contest, the prisoner is tried in the court
of Delphinium. If a man who is in banishment
for a homicide which admits of reconciliation
incurs a further charge of killing or wounding,
he is tried in Phreatto, and he makes his
defence from a boat moored near the shore.
All these cases, except those which are heard
in the Areopagus, are tried by the Ephetae
on whom the lot falls. The King introduces
them, and the hearing is held within sacred
precincts and in the open air. Whenever the
King hears a case he takes off his crown.
The person who is charged with homicide is
at all other times excluded from the temples,
nor is it even lawful for him to enter the
market-place; but on the occasion of his
trial he enters the temple and makes his
defence. If the actual offender is unknown,
the writ runs against 'the doer of the deed'.
The King and the tribe-kings also hear the
cases in which the guilt rests on inanimate
objects and the lower animals.
CHAPTER 58 -
The Polemarch performs the sacrifices to
Artemis the huntress and to Enyalius, and
arranges the contest at the funeral of those
who have fallen in war, and makes offerings
to the memory of Harmodius and Aristogeiton.
Only private actions come before him, namely
those in which resident aliens, both ordinary
and privileged, and agents of foreign states
are concerned. It is his duty to receive
these cases and divide them into ten groups,
and assign to each tribe the group which
comes to it by lot; after which the magistrates
who introduce cases for the tribe hand them
over to the Arbitrators. The Polemarch, however,
brings up in person cases in which an alien
is charged with deserting his patron or neglecting
to provide himself with one, and also of
inheritances and wards of state where aliens
are concerned; and in fact, generally, whatever
the Archon does for citizens, the Polemarch
does for aliens.
CHAPTER 59 -
The Thesmothetae in the first place have
the power of prescribing on what days the
law-courts are to sit, and next of assigning
them to the several magistrates; for the
latter must follow the arrangement which
the Thesmothetae assign. Moreover they introduce
impeachments before the Assembly, and bring
up all votes for removal from office, challenges
of a magistrate's conduct before the Assembly,
indictments for illegal proposals, or for
proposing a law which is contrary to the
interests of the state, complaints against
Proedri or their president for their conduct
in office, and the accounts presented by
the generals. All indictments also come before
them in which a deposit has to be made by
the prosecutor, namely, indictments for concealment
of foreign origin, for corrupt evasion of
foreign origin (when a man escapes the disqualification
by bribery), for blackmailing accusations,
bribery, false entry of another as a state
debtor, false testimony to the service of
a summons, conspiracy to enter a man as a
state debtor, corrupt removal from the list
of debtors, and adultery. They also bring
up the examinations of all magistrates, and
the rejections by the demes and the condemnations
by the Council. Moreover they bring up certain
private suits in cases of merchandise and
mines, or where a slave has slandered a free
man. It is they also who cast lots to assign
the courts to the various magistrates, whether
for private or public cases. They ratify
commercial treaties, and bring up the cases
which arise out of such treaties; and they
also bring up cases of perjury from the Areopagus.
The casting of lots for the jurors is conducted
by all the nine Archons, with the clerk to
the Thesmothetae as the tenth, each performing
the duty for his own tribe. Such are the
duties of the nine Archons.
CHAPTER 60 -
There are also ten Commissioners of Games
(Athlothetae), elected by lot, one from each
tribe. These officers, after passing an examination,
serve for four years; and they manage the
Panathenaic procession, the contest in music
and that in gymnastic, and the horse-race;
they also provide the robe of Athena and,
in conjunction with the Council, the vases,
and they present the oil to the athletes.
This oil is collected from the sacred olives.
The Archon requisitions it from the owners
of the farms on which the sacred olives grow,
at the rate of three-quarters of a pint from
each plant. Formerly the state used to sell
the fruit itself, and if any one dug up or
broke down one of the sacred olives, he was
tried by the Council of Areopagus, and if
he was condemned, the penalty was death.
Since, however, the oil has been paid by
the owner of the farm, the procedure has
lapsed, though the law remains; and the oil
is a state charge upon the property instead
of being taken from the individual plants.
When, then, the Archon has collected the
oil for his year of office, he hands it over
to the Treasurers to preserve in the Acropolis,
and he may not take his seat in the Areopagus
until he has paid over to the Treasurers
the full amount. The Treasurers keep it in
the Acropolis until the Panathenaea, when
they measure it out to the Commissioners
of Games, and they again to the victorious
competitors. The prizes for the victors in
the musical contest consist of silver and
gold, for the victors in manly vigour, of
shields, and for the victors in the gymnastic
contest and the horse-race, of oil.
CHAPTER 61 -
All officers connected with military service
are elected by open vote. In the first place,
ten Generals (Strategi), who were formerly
elected one from each tribe, but now are
chosen from the whole mass of citizens. Their
duties are assigned to them by open vote;
one is appointed to command the heavy infantry,
and leads them if they go out to war; one
to the defence of the country, who remains
on the defensive, and fights if there is
war within the borders of the country; two
to Piraeus, one of whom is assigned to Munichia,
and one to the south shore, and these have
charge of the defence of the Piraeus; and
one to superintend the symmories, who nominates
the trierarchs and arranges exchanges of
properties for them, and brings up actions
to decide on rival claims in connexion with
them. The rest are dispatched to whatever
business may be on hand at the moment. The
appointment of these officers is submitted
for confirmation in each prytany, when the
question is put whether they are considered
to be doing their duty. If any officer is
rejected on this vote, he is tried in the
law-court, and if he is found guilty the
people decide what punishment or fine shall
be inflicted on him; but if he is acquitted
he resumes his office. The Generals have
full power, when on active service, to arrest
any one for insubordination, or to cashier
him publicly, or to inflict a fine; the latter
is, however, unusual.
There are also ten Taxiarchs, one from each
tribe, elected by open vote; and each commands
his own tribesmen and appoints captains of
companies (Lochagi). There are also two Hipparchs,
elected by open vote from the whole mass
of the citizens, who command the cavalry,
each taking five tribes. They have the same
powers as the Generals have in respect of
the infantry, and their appointments are
also subject to confirmation. There are also
ten Phylarchs, elected by open vote, one
from each tribe, to command the cavalry,
as the Taxiarchs do the infantry. There is
also a Hipparch for Lemnos, elected by open
vote, who has charge of the cavalry in Lemnos.
There is also a treasurer of the Paralus,
and another of the Ammonias, similarly elected.
CHAPTER 62 -
Of the magistrates elected by lot, in former
times some including the nine Archons, were
elected out of the tribe as a whole, while
others, namely those who are now elected
in the Theseum, were apportioned among the
demes; but since the demes used to sell the
elections, these magistrates too are now
elected from the whole tribe, except the
members of the Council and the guards of
the dockyards, who are still left to the
demes.
Pay is received for the following services.
First the members of the Assembly receive
a drachma for the ordinary meetings, and
nine obols for the 'sovereign' meeting. Then
the jurors at the law-courts receive three
obols; and the members of the Council five
obols. The Prytanes receive an allowance
of an obol for their maintenance. The nine
Archons receive four obols apiece for maintenance,
and also keep a herald and a flute-player;
and the Archon for Salamis receives a drachma
a day. The Commissioners for Games dine in
the Prytaneum during the month of Hecatombaeon
in which the Panathenaic festival takes place,
from the fourteenth day onwards. The Amphictyonic
deputies to Delos receive a drachma a day
from the exchequer of Delos. Also all magistrates
sent to Samos, Scyros, Lemnos, or Imbros
receive an allowance for their maintenance.
The military offices may be held any number
of times, but none of the others more than
once, except the membership of the Council,
which may be held twice.
CHAPTER 63 -
The juries for the law-courts are chosen
by lot by the nine Archons, each for their
own tribe, and by the clerk to the Thesmothetae
for the tenth. There are ten entrances into
the courts, one for each tribe; twenty rooms
in which the lots are drawn, two for each
tribe; a hundred chests, ten for each tribe;
other chests, in which are placed the tickets
of the jurors on whom the lot falls; and
two vases. Further, staves, equal in number
to the jurors required, are placed by the
side of each entrance; and counters are put
into one vase, equal in number to the staves.
These are inscribed with letters of the alphabet
beginning with the eleventh (lambda), equal
in number to the courts which require to
be filled. All persons above thirty years
of age are qualified to serve as jurors,
provided they are not debtors to the state
and have not lost their civil rights. If
any unqualified person serves as juror, an
information is laid against him, and he is
brought before the court; and, if he is convicted,
the jurors assess the punishment or fine
which they consider him to deserve. If he
is condemned to a money fine, he must be
imprisoned until he has paid up both the
original debt, on account of which the information
was laid against him, and also the fine which
the court as imposed upon him. Each juror
has his ticket of boxwood, on which is inscribed
his name, with the name of his father and
his deme, and one of the letters of the alphabet
up to kappa; for the jurors in their several
tribes are divided into ten sections, with
approximately an equal number in each letter.
When the Thesmothetes has decided by lot
which letters are required to attend at the
courts, the servant puts up above each court
the letter which has been assigned to it
by the lot.
CHAPTER 64 -
The ten chests above mentioned are placed
in front of the entrance used by each tribe,
and are inscribed with the letters of the
alphabet from alpha to kappa. The jurors
cast in their tickets, each into the chest
on which is inscribed the letter which is
on his ticket; then the servant shakes them
all up, and the Archon draws one ticket from
each chest. The individual so selected is
called the Ticket-hanger (Empectes), and
his function is to hang up the tickets out
of his chest on the bar which bears the same
letter as that on the chest. He is chosen
by lot, lest, if the Ticket-hanger were always
the same person, he might tamper with the
results. There are five of these bars in
each of the rooms assigned for the lot-drawing.
Then the Archon casts in the dice and thereby
chooses the jurors from each tribe, room
by room. The dice are made of brass, coloured
black or white; and according to the number
of jurors required, so many white dice are
put in, one for each five tickets, while
the remainder are black, in the same proportion.
As the Archon draws out the dice, the crier
calls out the names of the individuals chosen.
The Ticket-hanger is included among those
selected. Each juror, as he is chosen and
answers to his name, draws a counter from
the vase, and holding it out with the letter
uppermost shows it first to the presiding
Archon; and he, when he has seen it, throws
the ticket of the juror into the chest on
which is inscribed the letter which is on
the counter, so that the juror must go into
the court assigned to him by lot, and not
into one chosen by himself, and that it may
be impossible for any one to collect the
jurors of his choice into any particular
court. For this purpose chests are placed
near the Archon, as many in number as there
are courts to be filled that day, bearing
the letters of the courts on which the lot
has fallen.
CHAPTER 65 -
The juror thereupon, after showing his counter
again to the attendant, passes through the
barrier into the court. The attendant gives
him a staff of the same colour as the court
bearing the letter which is on his counter,
so as to ensure his going into the court
assigned to him by lot; since, if he were
to go into any other, he would be betrayed
by the colour of his staff. Each court has
a certain colour painted on the lintel of
the entrance. Accordingly the juror, bearing
his staff, enters the court which has the
same colour as his staff, and the same letter
as his counter. As he enters, he receives
a voucher from the official to whom this
duty has been assigned by lot. So with their
counters and their staves the selected jurors
take their seats in the court, having thus
completed the process of admission. The unsuccessful
candidates receive back their tickets from
the Ticket-hangers. The public servants carry
the chests from each tribe, one to each court,
containing the names of the members of the
tribe who are in that court, and hand them
over to the officials assigned to the duty
of giving back their tickets to the jurors
in each court, so that these officials may
call them up by name and pay them their fee.
CHAPTER 66 -
When all the courts are full, two ballot
boxes are placed in the first court, and
a number of brazen dice, bearing the colours
of the several courts, and other dice inscribed
with the names of the presiding magistrates.
Then two of the Thesmothetae, selected by
lot, severally throw the dice with the colours
into one box, and those with the magistrates'
names into the other. The magistrate whose
name is first drawn is thereupon proclaimed
by the crier as assigned for duty in the
court which is first drawn, and the second
in the second, and similarly with the rest.
The object of this procedure is that no one
may know which court he will have, but that
each may take the court assigned to him by
lot.
When the jurors have come in, and have been
assigned to their respective courts, the
presiding magistrate in each court draws
one ticket out of each chest (making ten
in all, one out of each tribe), and throws
them into another empty chest. He then draws
out five of them, and assigns one to the
superintendence of the water-clock, and the
other four to the telling of the votes. This
is to prevent any tampering beforehand with
either the superintendent of the clock or
the tellers of the votes, and to secure that
there is no malpractice in these respects.
The five who have not been selected for these
duties receive from them a statement of the
order in which the jurors shall receive their
fees, and of the places where the several
tribes shall respectively gather in the court
for this purpose when their duties are completed;
the object being that the jurors may be broken
up into small groups for the reception of
their pay, and not all crowd together and
impede one another.
CHAPTER 67 -
These preliminaries being concluded, the
cases are called on. If it is a day for private
cases, the private litigants are called.
Four cases are taken in each of the categories
defined in the law, and the litigants swear
to confine their speeches to the point at
issue. If it is a day for public causes,
the public litigants are called, and only
one case is tried. Water-clocks are provided,
having small supply-tubes, into which the
water is poured by which the length of the
pleadings is regulated. Ten gallons are allowed
for a case in which an amount of more than
five thousand drachmas is involved, and three
for the second speech on each side. When
the amount is between one and five thousand
drachmas, seven gallons are allowed for the
first speech and two for the second; when
it is less than one thousand, five and two.
Six gallons are allowed for arbitrations
between rival claimants, in which there is
no second speech. The official chosen by
lot to superintend the water-clock places
his hand on the supply-tube whenever the
clerk is about to read a resolution or law
or affidavit or treaty. When, however, a
case is conducted according to a set measurement
of the day, he does not stop the supply,
but each party receives an equal allowance
of water. The standard of measurement is
the length of the days in the month Poseideon....
The measured day is employed in cases when
imprisonment, death, exile, loss of civil
rights, or confiscation of goods is assigned
as the penalty.
CHAPTER 68 -
Most of the courts consist of 500 members...;
and when it is necessary to bring public
cases before a jury of 1,000 members, two
courts combine for the purpose, [while the
most important cases of all are brought before]
1,500 jurors, or three courts. The ballot
balls are made of brass with stems running
through the centre, half of them having the
stem pierced and the other half solid. When
the speeches are concluded, the officials
assigned to the taking of the votes give
each juror two ballot balls, one pierced
and one solid. This is done in full view
of the rival litigants, to secure that no
one shall receive two pierced or two solid
balls. Then the official designated for the
purpose takes away the jurors' staves, in
return for which each one as he records his
vote receives a brass voucher market with
the numeral 3 (because he gets three obols
when he gives it up). This is to ensure that
all shall vote; since no one can get a voucher
unless he votes. Two urns, one of brass and
the other of wood, stand in the court, in
distinct spots so that no one may surreptitiously
insert ballot balls; in these the jurors
record their votes. The brazen urn is for
effective votes, the wooden for unused votes;
and the brazen urn has a lid pierced so as
to take only one ballot ball, in order that
no one may put in two at a time.
When the jurors are about to vote, the crier
demands first whether the litigants enter
a protest against any of the evidence; for
no protest can be received after the voting
has begun. Then he proclaims again, 'The
pierced ballot for the plaintiff, the solid
for the defendant'; and the juror, taking
his two ballot balls from the stand, with
his hand closed over the stem so as not to
show either the pierced or the solid ballot
to the litigants, casts the one which is
to count into the brazen urn, and the other
into the wooden urn.
CHAPTER 69 -
When all the jurors have voted, the attendants
take the urn containing the effective votes
and discharge them on to a reckoning board
having as many cavities as there are ballot
balls, so that the effective votes, whether
pierced or solid, may be plainly displayed
and easily counted. Then the officials assigned
to the taking of the votes tell them off
on the board, the solid in one place and
the pierced in another, and the crier announces
the numbers of the votes, the pierced ballots
being for the prosecutor and the solid for
the defendant. Whichever has the majority
is victorious; but if the votes are equal
the verdict is for the defendant.
Then, if damages have to be awarded, they
vote again in the same way, first returning
their pay-vouchers and receiving back their
staves. Half a gallon of water is allowed
to each party for the discussion of the damages.
Finally, when all has been completed in accordance
with the law, the jurors receive their pay
in the order assigned by the lot. - -
THE END
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