Chapter XV: Part II: The Middle Ages and the Reformation. A.D. 1381-1593 (14)

ECCLĒSĬA (ἐκκλησία), the name of the general assembly of the citizens at Athens, in which they met to discuss and determine upon matters of public interest, and which was therefore the sovereign power in the state. These assemblies were either _ordinary_ (νόμιμοι or κυρίαι), and held four times in each prytany, or _extraordinary_, that is, specially convened, upon any sudden emergency, and therefore called σύγκλητοι. The place in which they were anciently held was the _agora_. Afterwards they were transferred to the Pnyx, and at last to the great theatre of Dionysus, and other places. The most usual place, however, was the Pnyx, which was situated to the west of the Areiopagus, on a slope connected with Mount Lycabettus, and partly at least within the walls of the city. It was semicircular in form, with a boundary wall part rock and part masonry, and an area of about 12,000 square yards. On the north the ground was filled up and paved with large stones, so as to get a level surface on the slope. Towards this side, and close to the wall, was the _bema_ (βῆμα), a stone platform or hustings ten or eleven feet high, with an ascent of steps. The position of the _bema_ was such as to command a view of the sea from behind, and of the Propylaea and Parthenon in front, and we may be sure that the Athenian orators would often rouse the national feelings of their hearers by pointing to the assemblage of magnificent edifices, “monuments of Athenian gratitude and glory,” which they had in view from the Pnyx.--The right of convening the people was generally vested in the prytanes or presidents of the council of Five Hundred [see BOULÉ], but in cases of sudden emergency, and especially during wars, the strategi also had the power of calling extraordinary meetings, for which, however, the consent of the senate appears to have been necessary. The prytanes not only gave a previous notice of the day of assembly, and published a programme of the subjects to be discussed, but also, it appears, sent a crier round to collect the citizens. All persons who did not obey the call were subject to a fine, and six magistrates called lexiarchs were appointed, whose duty it was to take care that the people attended the meetings, and to levy fines on those who refused to do so. With a view to this, whenever an assembly was to be held, certain public slaves (Σκύθαι or τοξόται) were sent round to sweep the agora, and other places of public resort, with a rope coloured with vermilion. The different persons whom these ropemen met, were driven by them towards the ecclesia, and those who refused to go were marked by the rope and fined. An additional inducement to attend, with the poorer classes, was the μισθὸς ἐκκλησιαστικός, or pay which they received for it. The payment was originally an obolus, but was afterwards raised to three. The right of attending was enjoyed by all legitimate citizens who were of the proper age (generally supposed to be twenty, certainly not less than eighteen), and not labouring under any _atimia_, or loss of civil rights.--In the article BOULÉ it is explained who the prytanes and the proedri were; and we may here remark, that it was the duty of the proedri of the same tribe, under the presidency of their chairman (ὁ ἐπιστάτης), to lay before the people the subjects to be discussed; to read, or cause to be read, the previous bill (τὸ προβούλευμα) of the senate, without which no measure could be brought before the ecclesia, and to give permission to the speakers to address the people. The officers who acted under them, were the crier (ὁ κήρυξ), and the Scythian bowmen.--Previous, however, to the commencement of any business, the place was purified by the offering of sacrifices, and then the gods were implored in a prayer to bless the proceedings of the meeting. The privilege of addressing the assembly was not confined to any class or age among those who had the right to be present: all, without any distinction, were invited to do so by the proclamation, Τίς ἀγορεύειν βούλεται, which was made by the crier after the proedri had gone through the necessary preliminaries, and laid the subject of discussion before the meeting; for though, according to the institutions of Solon, those persons who were above fifty years of age ought to have been called upon to speak first, this regulation had in later times become quite obsolete. The speakers are sometimes simply called οἱ παρίοντες, and appear to have worn a crown of myrtle on their heads while addressing the assembly. The most influential and practised speakers of the assembly were generally distinguished by the name of ῥήτορες. After the speakers had concluded, any one was at liberty to propose a decree, whether drawn up beforehand or framed in the meeting, which, however, it was necessary to present to the proedri, that they might see, in conjunction with the _nomophylaces_, whether there was contained in it anything injurious to the state, or contrary to the existing laws. If not, it was read by the crier; though, even after the reading, the chairman could prevent it being put to the vote, unless his opposition was overborne by threats and clamours. Private individuals also could do the same, by engaging upon oath (ὑπωμοσία) to bring against the author of any measure they might object to, an accusation called a γραφὴ παράνομων. If, however, the chairman refused to submit any question to the decision of the people, he might be proceeded against by _endeixis_; and if he allowed the people to vote upon a proposal which was contrary to existing constitutional laws, he was in some cases liable to _atimia_. If, on the contrary, no opposition of this sort was offered to a proposed decree, the votes of the people were taken, by the permission of the chairman and with the consent of the rest of the proedri. The decision of the people was given either by show of hands, or by ballot, _i.e._ by casting pebbles into urns (καδίσκοι); the former was expressed by the word χειροτονεῖν, the latter by ψηφίζεσθαι, although the two terms are frequently confounded. The more usual method of voting was by show of hands, as being more expeditious and convenient (χειροτονία). Vote by ballot, on the other hand, was only used in a few special cases determined by law; as, for instance, when a proposition was made for allowing those who had suffered _atimia_ to appeal to the people for restitution of their former rights; or for inflicting extraordinary punishments on atrocious offenders, and generally, upon any matter which affected private persons. In cases of this sort it was settled by law, that a decree should not be valid unless six thousand citizens at least voted in favour of it. This was by far the majority of those citizens who were in the habit of attending; for, in time of war, the number never amounted to five thousand, and in time of peace seldom to ten thousand.--The determination or decree of the people was called a ψήφισμα, which properly signifies a law proposed to an assembly, and approved of by the people. Respecting the form for drawing up a ψήφισμα, see BOULÉ.--When the business was over, the order for the dismissal of the assembly was given by the prytanes, through the proclamation of the crier; and as it was not customary to continue meetings, which usually began early in the morning, till after sunset, if one day were not sufficient for the completion of any business, it was adjourned to the next. But an assembly was sometimes broken up, if any one, whether a magistrate or private individual, declared that he saw an unfavourable omen, or perceived thunder and lightning. The sudden appearance of rain also, or the shock of an earthquake, or any natural phenomenon of the kind called διοσημίαι, was a sufficient reason for the hasty adjournment of an assembly.

ECCLETI. [HOMOEI.]

ECDĬCUS (ἔκδικος), the name of an officer in many of the towns of Asia Minor during the Roman dominion, whose principal duty was the care of the public money, and the prosecution of all parties who owed money to the state.

ECMARTȲRĬA (ἐκμαρτυρία), signifies the deposition of a witness at Athens, who, by reason of absence abroad, or illness, was unable to attend in court. His statement was taken down in writing, in the presence of persons expressly appointed to receive it, and afterwards, upon their swearing to its identity, was read as evidence in the cause.

ĒDICTUM. The _Jus Edicendi_, or power of making edicts, belonged to the higher _magistratus populi Romani_, but it was principally exercised by the two praetors, the praetor urbanus, and the praetor peregrinus, whose jurisdiction was exercised in the provinces by the praeses. The curule aediles likewise made many edicts; and tribunes, censors, and pontifices also promulgated edicts relating to the matters of their respective jurisdictions. The edicta were among the sources of Roman law. The edictum may be described generally as a rule promulgated by a magistratus on entering on his office, which was done by writing it on an album and exhibiting it in a conspicuous place. As the office of a magistratus was annual, the rules promulgated by a predecessor were not binding on a successor, but he might confirm or adopt the rules of his predecessor, and introduce them into his own edict, and hence such adopted rules were called _edictum ralatitium_, or _vetus_, as opposed to _edictum novum_. A _repentinum edictum_ was that rule which was made (_prout res incidit_) for the occasion. A _perpetuum edictum_ was that rule which was made by the magistratus on entering upon office, and which was intended to apply to all cases to which it was applicable during the year of his office: hence it was sometimes called also _annua lex_. Until it became the practice for magistratus to adopt the edicta of their predecessors, the edicta could not form a body of permanent binding rules; but when this practice became common, the edicta (_edictum tralatitium_) soon constituted a large body of law, which was practically of as much importance as any other part of the law.

EICOSTĒ (εἰκοστή), a tax or duty of one-twentieth (five per cent.) upon all commodities exported or imported by sea in the states of the allies subject to Athens. This tax was first imposed B.C. 413, in the place of the direct tribute which had up to this time been paid by the subject allies; and the change was made with the hope of raising a greater revenue. This tax, like all others, was farmed, and the farmers of it were called εἰκοστολόγοι.

EIRĒN or ĪRĒN (εἴρην or ἴρην), the name given to the Spartan youth when he attained the age of twenty. At the age of eighteen he emerged from childhood, and was called μελλείρην. When he had attained his twentieth year, he began to exercise a direct influence over his juniors, and was entrusted with the command of troops in battle. The word appears to have originally signified a commander. The ἰρένες mentioned in Herodotus, in connection with the battle of Plataeae, were certainly not youths, but commanders.

EISANGĔLĬA (εἰσαγγελία), signifies, in its primary and most general sense, a denunciation of any kind, but, much more usually, an information laid before the council or the assembly of the people, and the consequent impeachment and trial of state criminals at Athens under novel or extraordinary circumstances. Among these were the occasions upon which manifest crimes were alleged to have been committed, and yet of such a nature as the existing laws had failed to anticipate, or at least describe specifically (ἄγραφα ἀδικήματα), the result of which omission would have been, but for the enactment by which the accusations in question might be preferred (νόμος εἰσαγγελτικός), that a prosecutor would not have known to what magistrate to apply; that a magistrate, if applied to, could not with safety have accepted the indictment or brought it into court; and that, in short, there would have been a total failure of justice.

EISITĒRĬA (εἰσιτήρια, _scil._ ἱερά), sacrifices offered at Athens by the senate before the session began, in honour of the Θεοὶ Βουλαῖοι, _i.e._ Zeus and Athena.

EISPHŎRA (εἰσφορά), an extraordinary tax on property, raised at Athens, whenever the means of the state were not sufficient to carry on a war. It is not quite certain when this property-tax was introduced; but it seems to have come first into general use about B.C. 428. It could never be raised without a decree of the people, who also assigned the amount required; and the _strategi_, or generals, superintended its collection, and presided in the courts where disputes connected with, or arising from, the levying of the tax were settled. The usual expressions for paying this property-tax are: εἰσφέρειν χρήματα, εἰσφέρειν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον, εἰς τὴν σωτηρίαν τῆς πόλεως, εἰσφορὰς εἰσφέρειν, and those who paid it were called οἱ εἰσφέροντες. The census of Solon was at first the standard according to which the _eisphora_ was raised, until in B.C. 377 a new census was instituted, in which the people, for the purpose of fixing the rates of the property-tax, were divided into a number of symmoriae (συμμορίαι) or classes, similar to those which were afterwards made for the trierarchy. Each of the ten tribes or phylae, appointed 120 of its wealthier citizens; and the whole number of persons included in the symmoriae was thus 1200, who were considered as the representatives of the whole republic. This body of 1200 was divided into four classes, each consisting of 300. The first class, or the richest, were the leaders of the symmoriae (ἡγεμόνες συμμοριῶν), and are often called the three hundred. They probably conducted the proceedings of the symmoriae, and they, or, which is more likely, the demarchs, had to value the taxable property. Other officers were appointed to make out the lists of the rates, and were called ἐπιγραφεῖς, διαγραφεῖς or ἐκλογεῖς. When the wants of the state were pressing, the 300 leaders advanced the money to the others, who paid it back to the 300 at the regular time. The first class probably consisted of persons who possessed property from 12 talents upwards; the second class, of persons who possessed property from 6 talents and upwards, but under 12; the third class, of persons who possessed property from 2 talents upwards, but under 6; the fourth class, of persons who possessed property from 25 minae upwards, but under 2 talents. The rate of taxation was higher or lower according to the wants of the republic at the time; we have accounts of rates of a 12th, a 50th, a 100th, and a 500th part of the taxable property. If any one thought that his property was taxed higher than that of another man on whom juster claims could be made, he had the right to call upon this person to take the office in his stead, or to submit to a complete exchange of property. [ANTIDOSIS.] No Athenian, on the other hand, if belonging to the tax-paying classes, could be exempt from the _eisphora_, not even the descendants of Harmodius and Aristogeiton.

ĒLECTRUM (ἤλεκτρος and ἤλεκτρον), is used by the ancient writers in two different senses, either for _amber_ or for a mixture of metals composed of gold and silver. In Homer and Hesiod, it has, in all probability, the former meaning. The earliest passage of any Greek writer, in which the word is _certainly_ used for the metal, is in the _Antigone_ of Sophocles (1038). This alludes to _native electrum_; but the compound was also made artificially. Pliny states that when gold contains a fifth part of silver, it is called _electrum_; that it is found in veins of gold; and that it is also made by art: if, he adds, it contains more than a fifth of silver, it becomes too brittle to be malleable. But Isidorus mentions electrum composed of _three_ parts gold, and _one_ of silver. Electrum was used for plate, and the other similar purposes for which gold and silver were employed. It was also used as a material for money. Lampridius tells us, that Alexander Severus struck coins of it; and coins are in existence, of this metal, struck by the kings of Bosporus, by Syracuse, and by other Greek states.

ĔLEUSĪNĬA (ἐλευσίνια), a festival and mysteries, originally celebrated only at Eleusis in Attica, in honour of Demeter and Persephone. The Eleusinian mysteries, or _the_ mysteries, as they were sometimes called, were the holiest and most venerable of all that were celebrated in Greece. Various traditions were current among the Greeks respecting the author of these mysteries: for, while some considered Eumolpus or Musaeus to be their founder, others stated that they had been introduced from Egypt by Erechtheus, who at a time of scarcity provided his country with corn from Egypt, and imported from the same quarter the sacred rites and mysteries of Eleusis. A third tradition attributed the institution to Demeter herself, who, when wandering about in search of her daughter, Persephone, was believed to have come to Attica, in the reign of Erechtheus, to have supplied its inhabitants with corn, and to have instituted the mysteries at Eleusis. This last opinion seems to have been the most common among the ancients, and in subsequent times a stone was shown near the well Callichoros at Eleusis, on which the goddess, overwhelmed with grief and fatigue, was believed to have rested on her arrival in Attica. All the accounts and allusions in ancient writers seem to warrant the conclusion, that the legends concerning the introduction of the Eleusinia are descriptions of a period when the inhabitants of Attica were becoming acquainted with the benefits of agriculture, and of a regularly constituted form of society.--In the reign of Erechtheus a war is said to have broken out between the Athenians and Eleusinians; and when the latter were defeated, they acknowledged the supremacy of Athens in everything except the mysteries, which they wished to conduct and regulate for themselves. Thus the superintendence remained with the descendants of Eumolpus [EUMOLPIDAE], the daughters of the Eleusinian king Celeus, and a third class of priests, the Ceryces, who seem likewise to have been connected with the family of Eumolpus, though they themselves traced their origin to Hermes and Aglauros.--At the time when the local governments of the several townships of Attica were concentrated at Athens, the capital became also the centre of religion, and several deities who had hitherto only enjoyed a local worship, were now raised to the rank of national gods. This seems also to have been the case with the Eleusinian goddess, for in the reign of Theseus we find mention of a temple at Athens, called Eleusinion, probably the new and national sanctuary of Demeter. Her priests and priestesses now became naturally attached to the national temple of the capital, though her original place of worship at Eleusis, with which so many sacred associations were connected, still retained its importance and its special share in the celebration of the national solemnities.--We must distinguish between the greater Eleusinia, which were celebrated at Athens and Eleusis, and the lesser, which were held at Agrae on the Ilissus. The lesser Eleusinia were only a preparation (προκάθαρσις or προάγνευσις) for the real mysteries. They were held every year in the month of Anthesterion, and, according to some accounts, in honour of Persephone alone. Those who were initiated in them bore the name of _Mystae_ (μύσται), and had to wait at least another year before they could be admitted to the great mysteries. The principal rites of this first stage of initiation consisted in the sacrifice of a sow, which the mystae seem to have first washed in the Cantharus, and in the purification by a priest, who bore the name of _Hydranos_ (Ὑδρανός). The mystae had also to take an oath of secrecy, which was administered to them by the _Mystagogus_ (μυσταγωγός, also called ἱεροφάντης or προφήτης), and they received some kind of preparatory instruction, which enabled them afterwards to understand the mysteries which were revealed to them in the great Eleusinia.--The great mysteries were celebrated every year in the month of Boedromion, during nine days, from the 15th to the 23rd, both at Athens and Eleusis. The initiated were called ἐπόπται or ἔφυροι. On the first day, those who had been initiated in the lesser Eleusinia, assembled at Athens. On the second day the mystae went in solemn procession to the sea-coast, where they underwent a purification. Of the third day scarcely anything is known with certainty; we are only told that it was a day of fasting, and that in the evening a frugal meal was taken, which consisted of cakes made of sesame and honey. On the fourth day the καλάθος κάθοδος seems to have taken place. This was a procession with a basket containing pomegranates and poppy-seeds; it was carried on a waggon drawn by oxen, and women followed with small mystic cases in their hands. On the fifth day, which appears to have been called the torch day (ἡ τῶν λαμπάδων ἡμέρα), the mystae, led by the δᾳδοῦχος, went in the evening with torches to the temple of Demeter at Eleusis, where they seem to have remained during the following night. This rite was probably a symbolical representation of Demeter wandering about in search of Persephone. The sixth day, called _Iacchos_, was the most solemn of all. The statue of Iacchos, son of Demeter, adorned with a garland of myrtle and bearing a torch in his hand, was carried along the sacred road amidst joyous shouts and songs, from the Cerameicus to Eleusis. This solemn procession was accompanied by great numbers of followers and spectators. During the night from the sixth to the seventh day the mystae remained at Eleusis, and were initiated into the last mysteries (ἐποπτεία). Those who were neither ἐπόπται nor μύσται were sent away by a herald. The mystae now repeated the oath of secrecy which had been administered to them at the lesser Eleusinia, underwent a new purification, and then they were led by the mystagogus in the darkness of night into the lighted interior of the sanctuary (φωταγωγία), and were allowed to see (αὐτοψία) what none except the epoptae ever beheld. The awful and horrible manner in which the initiation is described by later, especially Christian writers, seems partly to proceed from their ignorance of its real character, partly from their horror of and aversion to these pagan rites. The more ancient writers always abstained from entering upon any description of the subject. Each individual, after his initiation, is said to have been dismissed by the words κόγξ, ὄμπαξ, in order to make room for other mystae. On the seventh day the initiated returned to Athens amid various kinds of raillery and jests, especially at the bridge over the Cephisus, where they sat down to rest, and poured forth their ridicule on those who passed by. Hence the words γεφυρίζειν and γεφυρισμός. These σκώμματα seem, like the procession with torches to Eleusis, to have been dramatical and symbolical representations of the jests by which, according to the ancient legend, Iambe or Baubo had dispelled the grief of the goddess and made her smile. We may here observe, that probably the whole history of Demeter and Persephone was in some way or other symbolically represented at the Eleusinia. The eighth day, called _Epidauria_ (Ἐπιδαύρια), was a kind of additional day for those who by some accident had come too late, or had been prevented from being initiated on the sixth day. It was said to have been added to the original number of days, when Asclepius, coming over from Epidaurus to be initiated, arrived too late, and the Athenians, not to disappoint the god, added an eighth day. The ninth and last day bore the name of πλημοχοαί, from a peculiar kind of vessel called πλημοχοή, which is described as a small kind of κότυλος. Two of these vessels were on this day filled with water or wine, and the contents of the one thrown to the east, and those of the other to the west, while those who performed this rite uttered some mystical words.--The Eleusinian mysteries long survived the independence of Greece. Attempts to suppress them were made by the emperor Valentinian, but he met with strong opposition, and they seem to have continued down to the time of the elder Theodosius. Respecting the secret doctrines which were revealed in them to the initiated, nothing certain is known. The general belief of the ancients was, that they opened to man a comforting prospect of a future state. But this feature does not seem to have been originally connected with these mysteries, and was probably added to them at the period which followed the opening of a regular intercourse between Greece and Egypt, when some of the speculative doctrines of the latter country, and of the East, may have been introduced into the mysteries, and hallowed by the names of the venerable bards of the mythical age. This supposition would also account, in some measure, for the legend of their introduction from Egypt. In modern times many attempts have been made to discover the nature of the mysteries revealed to the initiated, but the results have been as various and as fanciful as might be expected. The most sober and probable view is that, according to which, “they were the remains of a worship which preceded the rise of the Hellenic mythology and its attendant rites, grounded on a view of nature, less fanciful, more earnest, and better fitted to awaken both philosophical thought and religious feeling.”

ĔLEUTHĔRĬA (ἐλευθέρια), the feast of liberty, a festival which the Greeks, after the battle of Plataeae (479 B.C.), instituted in honour of Zeus Eleutherios (the deliverer). It was intended not merely to be a token of their gratitude to the god to whom they believed themselves to be indebted for their victory over the barbarians, but also as a bond of union among themselves; for, in an assembly of all the Greeks, Aristeides carried a decree that delegates (πρόβουλοι καὶ θεωροί) from all the Greek states should assemble every year at Plataeae for the celebration of the Eleutheria. The town itself was at the same time declared sacred and inviolable, as long as its citizens offered the annual sacrifices which were then instituted on behalf of Greece. Every fifth year these solemnities were celebrated with contests, in which the victors were rewarded with chaplets.

ELLŌTĬA or HELLŌTĬA (ἐλλώτια or ἑλλώτια), a festival with a torch race celebrated at Corinth in honour of Athena as a goddess of fire.

ĒMANCĬPĀTĬO, was an act by which the _patria potestas_ was dissolved in the lifetime of the parent, and it was so called because it was in the form of a sale (_mancipatio_). By the laws of the Twelve Tables it was necessary that a son should be sold three times in order to be released from the paternal power, or to be _sui juris_. In the case of daughters and grandchildren, one sale was sufficient. The father transferred the son by the form of a sale to another person, who manumitted him, upon which he returned into the power of the father. This was repeated, and with the like result. After a third sale, the paternal power was extinguished, but the son was re-sold to the parent, who then manumitted him, and so acquired the rights of a patron over his emancipated son, which would otherwise have belonged to the purchaser who gave him his final manumission.

EMBAS (ἐμβάς), a shoe worn by men, and which appears to have been the most common kind of shoe worn at Athens. Pollux says that it was invented by the Thracians, and that it was like the low cothurnus. The _embas_ was also worn by the Boeotians, and probably in other parts of Greece.

EMBĂTEIA (ἐμβατεία). In Attic law this word (like the corresponding English one, _entry_), was used to denote a formal taking possession of real property. Thus, when a son entered upon the land left him by his father, he was said ἐμβατεύειν or βαδίζειν εἰς τὰ πατρῳα, and thereupon he became _seised_, or possessed of his inheritance. If any one disturbed him in the enjoyment of this property, with an intention to dispute the title, he might maintain an action of ejectment, ἐξούλης δίκη. Before entry he could not maintain such action.

EMBLĒMA (ἔμβλημα, ἔμπαισμα), an inlaid ornament. The art of inlaying was employed in producing beautiful works of two descriptions, viz.;--1st, those which resembled our marquetry, buhl, and Florentine mosaics; and 2dly, those in which crusts (_crustae_), exquisitely wrought in bas-relief and of precious materials, were fastened upon the surface of vessels or other pieces of furniture. To the latter class of productions belonged the cups and plates which Verres obtained by violence from the Sicilians, and from which he removed the emblems for the purpose of having them set in gold instead of silver.

ĒMĔRĬTI, the name given to those Roman soldiers who had served out their time, and had exemption (_vacatio_) from military service. The usual time of service was twenty years for the legionary soldiers, and sixteen for the praetorians. At the end of their period of service they received a bounty or reward (_emeritum_), either in lands or money, or in both.

ĒMISSĀRĬUM (ὑπόνομος), a channel, natural or artificial, by which an outlet is formed to carry off any stagnant body of water. Such channels may be either open or underground; but the most remarkable works of the kind are of the latter description, as they carry off the waters of lakes surrounded by hills. In Greece, the most striking example is presented by the subterraneous channels which carry off the waters of the lake Copais in Boeotia, which were partly natural and partly artificial. Some works of this kind are among the most remarkable efforts of Roman ingenuity. Remains still exist to show that the lakes Trasimene, Albano, Nemi, and Fucino, were all drained by means of _emissaria_, the last of which is still nearly perfect, and open to inspection, having been partially cleared by the present king of Naples. Julius Caesar is said to have first conceived the idea of this stupendous undertaking, which was carried into effect by the Emperor Claudius.

EMMĒNI DĬKAE (ἔμμηνοι δίκαι), suits in the Athenian courts, which were not allowed to be pending above a month. This regulation was confined to those subjects which required a speedy decision; and of these the most important were disputes respecting commerce (ἐμπορικαὶ δίκαι). All causes relating to mines (μεταλλικαὶ δίκαι) were also ἔμμηνοι δίκαι, as well as those relating to ἔρανοι. [ERANI.]

EMPŎRĬUM (τὸ ἐμπόριον), a place for wholesale trade in commodities carried by sea. The name is sometimes applied to a sea-port town, but it properly signifies only a particular place in such a town. The word is derived from ἔμπορος, which signifies in Homer a person who sails as a passenger in a ship belonging to another person; but in later writers it signifies the merchant or wholesale dealer, and differs from κάπηλος, the retail dealer. The emporium at Athens was under the inspection of certain officers, who were elected annually (ἐπιμεληταὶ τοῦ ἐμπορίου).

ENCAUSTĬCA. [PICTURA.]

ENCTĒSIS (ἔγκτησις), the right of possessing landed property and houses (ἔγκτησις γῆς καὶ οἰκίας) in a foreign country, which was frequently granted by one Greek state to another, or to separate individuals of another state. Ἐγκτήματα were such possessions in a foreign country, or in a different δῆμος from that to which an Athenian belonged by birth.

ENDEIXIS (ἔνδειξις), properly denotes a prosecution instituted against such persons as were alleged to have exercised rights or held offices while labouring under a peculiar disqualification. The same form of action was available against the chairman of the proedri (ἐπιστάτης), who wrongly refused to take the votes of the people in the assembly; against malefactors, especially murderers; traitors, ambassadors accused of malversation, and persons who furnished supplies to the enemy during war. The first step taken by the prosecutor was to lay his information in writing, also called _endeixis_, before the proper magistrate, who then arrested, or held to bail, the person criminated, and took the usual steps for bringing him to trial. There is great obscurity with respect to the punishment which followed condemnation. The accuser, if unsuccessful, was responsible for bringing a malicious charge (ψευδοῦς ἐνδείξεως ὑπεύθυνος).

ENDRŎMIS (ἐνδρομίς), a thick, coarse blanket, manufactured in Gaul, and called “endromis” because those who had been exercising in the stadium (ἐν δρόμῳ) threw it over them to obviate the effects of sudden exposure when they were heated. Notwithstanding its coarse and shaggy appearance, it was worn on other occasions as a protection from the cold by rich and fashionable persons at Rome.

ENSIS. [GLADIUS.]

ENTĂSIS (ἔντασις). The most ancient columns now existing, diminish immediately and regularly from the base to the neck, so that the edge forms a straight line--a mode of construction which is wanting in grace and apparent solidity. To correct this, a swelling outline, called _entasis_, was given to the shaft, which seems to have been the first step towards combining grace and grandeur in the Doric column.

EPANGĔLĬA (ἐπαγγελία). If a citizen of Athens had incurred _atimia_, the privilege of taking part or speaking in the public assembly was forfeited. But as it sometimes might happen that a person, though not formally declared _atimus_, had committed such crimes as would, on accusation, draw upon him this punishment, it was of course desirable that such individuals, like real _atimi_, should be excluded from the exercise of the rights of citizens. Whenever, therefore, such a person ventured to speak in the assembly, any Athenian citizen had the right to come forward in the assembly itself and demand of him to establish his right to speak by a trial or examination of his conduct (δοκιμασία τοῦ βίου), and this demand, denouncement, or threat, was called _epangelia_, or _epangelia docimasias_ (ἐπαγγελία δοκιμασίας). The impeached individual was then compelled to desist from speaking, and to submit to a scrutiny into his conduct, and, if he was convicted, a formal declaration of _atimia_ followed.

EPARITI (ἐπάριτοι), the name of the standing army in Arcadia, which was formed to preserve the independence of the Arcadian towns, when they became united as one state after the defeat of the Spartans at Leuctra. They were 5000 in number, and were paid by the state.

EPHĒBUS (ἔφηβος), the name of Athenian youths after they had attained the age of 18. The state of _ephebeia_ (ἐφηβεία) lasted for two years, till the youths had attained the age of 20, when they became men, and were admitted to share all the rights and duties of citizens, for which the law did not prescribe a more advanced age. Before a youth was enrolled among the ephebi, he had to undergo a _docimasia_ (δοκιμασία), the object of which was partly to ascertain whether he was the son of Athenian citizens, or adopted by a citizen, and partly whether his body was sufficiently developed and strong to undertake the duties which now devolved upon him. After the _docimasia_ the young men received in the assembly a shield and a lance; but those whose fathers had fallen in the defence of their country received a complete suit of armour in the theatre. It seems to have been on this occasion that the ephebi took an oath in the temple of Artemis Aglauros, by which they pledged themselves never to disgrace their arms or to desert their comrades; to fight to the last in the defence of their country, its altars and hearths; to leave their country not in a worse but in a better state than they found it; to obey the magistrates and the laws; to resist all attempts to subvert the institutions of Attica; and finally, to respect the religion of their forefathers. This solemnity took place towards the close of the year, and the festive season bore the name of _ephebia_ (ἐφήβια). The external distinction of the ephebi consisted in the chlamys and the petasus. During the two years of the ephebeia, which may be considered as a kind of apprenticeship in arms, and in which the young men prepared themselves for the higher duties of full citizens, they were generally sent into the country, under the name of _peripoli_ (περίπολοι), to keep watch in the towns and fortresses, on the coast and frontier, and to perform other duties which might be necessary for the protection of Attica.

ĔPHĒGĒSIS (ἐφήγησις), denotes the method of proceeding against such criminals as were liable to be summarily arrested by a private citizen [APAGOGE] when the prosecutor was unwilling to expose himself to personal risk in apprehending the offender. Under these circumstances he made an application to the proper magistrate, and conducted him and his officers to the spot where the capture was to be effected.

ĔPHĔTAE (ἐφέται), the name of certain judges at Athens, who tried cases of homicide. They were fifty-one in number, selected from noble families, and more than fifty years of age. They formed a tribunal of great antiquity, and were in existence before the legislation of Solon, but, as the state became more and more democratical, their duties became unimportant and almost antiquated. The Ephetae once sat in one or other of the five courts, according to the nature of the causes they had to try. In historical times, however, they sat in _four_ only, called respectively the court by the Palladium (τὸ ἐπὶ Παλλαδίῳ), by the Delphinium (τὸ ἐπὶ Δελφινίῳ), by the Prytaneium (τὸ ἐπὶ Πρυτανείῳ), and the court at Phreatto or Zea (τὸ ἐν Φρεαττοῖ). At the first of these courts they tried cases of unintentional, at the second, of intentional but justifiable homicide. At the Prytaneium, by a strange custom, somewhat analogous to the imposition of a deodand, they passed sentence upon the instrument of murder when the perpetrator of the act was not known. In the court at Phreatto, on the sea shore at the Peiraeeus, they tried such persons as were charged with wilful murder during a temporary exile for unintentional homicide.

ĔPHIPPĬUM (ἀστράβη, ἐφίππιον, ἐφίππειον), a saddle. Although the Greeks occasionally rode without any saddle, yet they commonly used one, and from them the name, together with the thing, was borrowed by the Romans. The ancient saddles appear, indeed, to have been thus far different from ours, that the cover stretched upon the hard frame was probably of stuffed or padded cloth rather than leather, and that the saddle was, as it were, a cushion fitted to the horse’s back. Pendent cloths (στρώματα, _strata_) were always attached to it so as to cover the sides of the animal; but it was not provided with stirrups. The saddle with the pendent cloths is exhibited in the annexed coin. The term “Ephippium” was in later times in part supplanted by the word “sella,” and the more specific expression “sella equestris.”

ĔPHŎRI (ἔφοροι). Magistrates called _Ephori_ or overseers were common to many Dorian constitutions in times of remote antiquity; but the Ephori of Sparta are the most celebrated of them all. The origin of the Spartan ephori is quite uncertain, but their office in the historical times was a kind of counterpoise to the kings and council, and in that respect peculiar to Sparta alone of the Dorian states. Their number, five, appears to have been always the same, and was probably connected with the five divisions of the town of Sparta, namely, the four κῶμαι, Limnae, Mesoa, Pitana, Cynosura, and the Πόλις or city properly so called, around which the κῶμαι lay. They were elected from and by the people, without any qualification of age or property, and without undergoing any scrutiny; so that the people enjoyed through them a participation in the highest magistracy of the state. They entered upon office at the autumnal solstice, and the first in rank of the five gave his name to the year, which was called after him in all civil transactions. They possessed judicial authority in civil suits, and also a general superintendence over the morals and domestic economy of the nation, which in the hands of able men would soon prove an instrument of unlimited power. Their jurisdiction and power were still further increased by the privilege of instituting scrutinies (εὔθυναι) into the conduct of all the magistrates. Even the kings themselves could be brought before their tribunal (as Cleomenes was for bribery). In extreme cases, the ephors were also competent to lay an accusation against the kings as well as the other magistrates, and bring them to a capital trial before the great court of justice. In later times the power of the ephors was greatly increased; and this increase appears to have been principally owing to the fact, that they put themselves in connection with the assembly of the people, convened its meetings, laid measures before it, and were constituted its agents and representatives. When this connection arose is matter of conjecture. The power which such a connection gave would, more than anything else, enable them to encroach on the royal authority, and make themselves virtually supreme in the state. Accordingly, we find that they transacted business with foreign ambassadors; dismissed them from the state; decided upon the government of dependent cities; subscribed in the presence of other persons to treaties of peace; and in time of war sent out troops when they thought necessary. In all these capacities the ephors acted as the representatives of the nation, and the agents of the public assembly, being in fact the executive of the state. In course of time the kings became completely under their control. For example, they fined Agesilaus on the vague charge of trying to make himself popular, and interfered even with the domestic arrangements of other kings. In the field the kings were followed by two ephors, who belonged to the council of war; the three who remained at home received the booty in charge, and paid it into the treasury, which was under the superintendence of the whole College of Five. But the ephors had still another prerogative, based on a religious foundation, which enabled them to effect a temporary deposition of the kings. Once in eight years, as we are told, they chose a calm and cloudless night to observe the heavens, and if there was any appearance of a falling meteor, it was believed to be a sign that the gods were displeased with the kings, who were accordingly suspended from their functions until an oracle allowed of their restoration. The outward symbols of supreme authority also were assumed by the ephors; and they alone kept their seats while the kings passed; whereas it was not considered below the dignity of the kings to rise in honour of the ephors. When Agis and Cleomenes undertook to restore the old constitution, it was necessary for them to overthrow the ephoralty, and accordingly Cleomenes murdered the ephors for the time being, and abolished the office (B.C. 225); it was, however, restored under the Romans.

ĔPĬBĂTAE (ἐπιβάται), were soldiers or marines appointed to defend the vessels in the Athenian navy, and were entirely distinct from the rowers, and also from the land soldiers, such as hoplitae, peltasts, and cavalry. It appears that the ordinary number of epibatae on board a trireme was ten. The epibatae were usually taken from the thetes, or fourth class of Athenian citizens. The term is sometimes also applied by the Roman writers to the marines, but they are more usually called _classiarii milites_. The latter term, however, is also applied to the rowers or sailors as well as the marines.

ĔPĬBŎLĒ (ἐπιβολή), a fine imposed by a magistrate, or other official person or body, for a misdemeanour. The various magistrates at Athens had (each in his own department) a summary penal jurisdiction; _i.e._ for certain offences they might inflict a pecuniary mulct or fine, not exceeding a fixed amount; if the offender deserved further punishment, it was their duty to bring him before a judicial tribunal. These _epibolae_ are to be distinguished from the penalties awarded by a jury or court of law (τιμήματα) upon a formal prosecution.

ĔPĬCLĒRUS (ἐπίκληρος, heiress), the name given to the daughter of an Athenian citizen, who had no son to inherit his estate. It was deemed an object of importance at Athens to preserve the family name and property of every citizen. This was effected, where a man had no child, by adoption (εἰσποίησις); if he had a daughter, the inheritance was transmitted through her to a grandson, who would take the name of the maternal ancestor. If the father died intestate, the heiress had not the choice of a husband, but was bound to marry her nearest relation, not in the ascending line. When there was but one daughter, she was called ἐπίκληρος ἐπὶ παντὶ τῷ οἴκῳ. If there were more, they inherited equally, like our co-parceners; and were severally married to relatives, the nearest having the first choice.

ĔPĬDŎSEIS (ἐπιδόσεις), voluntary contributions, either in money, arms, or ships, which were made by the Athenian citizens in order to meet the extraordinary demands of the state. When the expenses of the state were greater than its revenue, it was usual for the prytaneis to summon an assembly of the people, and after explaining the necessities of the state, to call upon the citizens to contribute according to their means. Those who were willing to contribute then rose and mentioned what they would give; while those who were unwilling to give any thing remained silent, or retired privately from the assembly.

ĔPĬMĔLĒTAE (ἐπιμεληταί), the names of various magistrates and functionaries at Athens.--(1) Ἐπιμελητὴς τῆς κοινῆς προσόδου, more usually called ταμίας, the treasurer or manager of the public revenue. [TAMIAS.]--(2) Ἐπιμεληταὶ τῶν μοριῶν Ἐλαιῶν, were persons chosen from among the Areopagites to take care of the sacred olive trees.--(3) Ἐπιμεληταὶ τοῦ Ἐμπορίου, were the overseers of the emporium. [EMPORIUM.] They were ten in number, and were elected yearly by lot. They had the entire management of the emporium, and had jurisdiction in all breaches of the commercial laws.--(4) Ἐπιμεληταὶ τῶν Μυστηρίων, were, in connection with the king archon, the managers of the Eleusinian mysteries. They were elected by open vote, and were four in number.--(5) Ἐπιμεληταὶ τῶν νεωρίων, the inspectors of the dockyards, were ten in number.--(6) Ἐπιμεληταὶ τῶν φυλῶν, the inspectors of the φυλαὶ or tribes. [TRIBUS.]

ĔPISCŎPI (ἐπίσκοποι), inspectors, who were sometimes sent by the Athenians to subject states. They were also called φύλακες. It appears that these Episcopi received a salary at the cost of the cities over which they presided.

ĔPISTĂTĒS (ἐπιστάτης).--(1) The chairman of the senate and assembly of the people, respecting whose duties see BOULÉ and ECCLESIA.--(2) The name of the directors of the public works. (Ἐπισταταὶ τῶν δημοσίων ἔργων).

ĔPISTŎLEUS (ἐπιστολεύς), the officer second in rank in the Spartan fleet, who succeeded to the command if any thing happened to the _navarchus_ (ναυάρχος) or admiral. When the Chians and the other allies of Sparta on the Asiatic coast sent to Sparta to request that Lysander might be again appointed to the command of the navy, he was sent with the title of epistoleus, because the laws of Sparta did not permit the same person to hold the office of navarchus twice.

ĔPISTȲLĬUM (ἐπιστύλιον), properly, as the name implies, the architrave, or lower member of an entablature, which lies immediately over the columns. The word is sometimes also used for the whole of the entablature.

ĔPĬTRŎPUS (ἐπίτροπος), the name at Athens of a guardian of orphan children. Of such guardians there were at Athens three kinds: first, those appointed in the will of the deceased father; secondly, the next of kin, whom the law designated as tutores legitimi in default of such appointment, and who required the authorization of the archon to enable them to act; and lastly, such persons as the archon selected if there were no next of kin living to undertake the office. The duties of the guardian comprehended the education, maintenance, and protection of the ward, the assertion of his rights, and the safe custody and profitable disposition of his inheritance during his minority, besides making a proper provision for the widow if she remained in the house of her late husband.

ĔPŌBĔLIA (ἐπωβελία), as its etymology implies, at the rate of one obolus for a drachma, or one in six, was payable on the assessment (τίμημα) of several private causes, and sometimes in a case of phasis, by the litigant that failed to obtain the votes of one-fifth of the dicasts.

ĔPŌNỸMUS. [ARCHON.]

ĔPOPTAE (ἐπόπται). [ELEUSINIA.]

ĔPŬLŌNES, who were originally three in number (_triumviri epulones_), were first created in B.C. 196, to attend to the Epulum Jovis, and the banquets given in honour of the other gods; which duty had originally belonged to the pontifices. Their number was afterwards increased to seven, and they were called septemviri epulones or septemviri epulonum. The epulones formed a collegium, and were one of the four great religious corporations at Rome; the other three were those of the Pontifices, Augures, and Quindecemviri.

ĔPŬLUM JŎVIS. [EPULONES.]

ĔQUĪRĬA, horse-races, which are said to have been instituted by Romulus in honour of Mars, and were celebrated in the Campus Martius. There were two festivals of this name; of which one was celebrated A.D. III. Cal. Mart., and the other prid. Id. Mart.