DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13851#0095
OF THE CIVIL UOVEENMENT OK ATHtlVS.
73
*anu the people that met in the public assemblies, was called by this name.
There is a law mentioned by Demosthenes (1)/whereby this money was
commanded, when the necessary expences of the war could not otherwise
be provided for, to be applied to that use. This Eubulus (to ingratiate
himself with the commonalty, who were generally more concerned to
maintain the public shows and festivals than the most necessary war)
caused to be abrogated, and at the same time to be declared a capita!
crime for any man to propound that the ©&wgix« ^g^cw-a, should be ap-
plied for the service of the war (2).
Tx^ixg rijs ^ioiy.r/ieugK otherwise called E^»,u=V/;T5jg T«y xoivw* ^oifstSav,
was the principal treasurer, being far superior lo all the rest in honour
and power, created by the people, and continued in his office for five
years ; after which, if he had behaved himself with honesty and integri-
ty, it was an usual thing for him to be elected a second and third time.
AvrifgaQsus Aieix^dsug, seems to have been one that kept a counter-
part of the chief treasurer's accounts, to preserve them from being falsi-
fied, or corrupted.
Tafjwas twv 2T£es<nw<nxwv, was the paymaster-general of the army.
Tof/,/a£ rQy Qi&gixaiv, or 'o titi ©£w£ix&>, had the disposal of the ©siugix^
^ij'lActTa, for the uses above mentioned. But the greatest and most trou-
blesome part of this office consisted in distributing them to the poor citi-
zens, to buy seats in the theatre : which custom was first begun and
enacted into a law by Pericles, to ingratiate himself with the common-
alty (3) ; for, as Libanius observes, in the primitive ages of the common-
wealth, when the theatres were composed of wood, the people being
eager of getting places, used to quarrel among themselves, and sometimes
beat and wound one another ; to prevent which inconvenience, it was or-
dered that every one, before he entered into the theatre, should pay two
oboli, or a drachm, according to Harpocration, for admittance ; and lest
by this means the poorer sort should be deprived of the pleasure of seeing,
every man was allowed to demand that sum of the public exchequer (4),
CHAP XV.
OF THE ATHENIAN MAGISTRATES/
2IT£lNAl, were so called from their office, which was to lay in corn for
the use of the city ; and to this end the T«fju'«£ fiotxvdeas, was to fur-
nish them with as much money as they had occasion for. Athens was
seated in a barren and unfruitful country, which was not able to furnish its
own inhabitants with necessary provisions, whereby they were forced to
fetch corn from foreign nations', and supply their own wants by the
superfluities of others : and this it was that caused them to institute this
office.
SiTo<pv\ecxss, were fifteen in number, ten of whom officiated in the city,
and five in the Piraeus ; their business was to take care that corn and
(1) Orat. id Neasram.
(2) Ulpiaous in O'ynthiac, i.
(3) Plutarch. Pericle,
(4) InObrnthiae,
10
73
*anu the people that met in the public assemblies, was called by this name.
There is a law mentioned by Demosthenes (1)/whereby this money was
commanded, when the necessary expences of the war could not otherwise
be provided for, to be applied to that use. This Eubulus (to ingratiate
himself with the commonalty, who were generally more concerned to
maintain the public shows and festivals than the most necessary war)
caused to be abrogated, and at the same time to be declared a capita!
crime for any man to propound that the ©&wgix« ^g^cw-a, should be ap-
plied for the service of the war (2).
Tx^ixg rijs ^ioiy.r/ieugK otherwise called E^»,u=V/;T5jg T«y xoivw* ^oifstSav,
was the principal treasurer, being far superior lo all the rest in honour
and power, created by the people, and continued in his office for five
years ; after which, if he had behaved himself with honesty and integri-
ty, it was an usual thing for him to be elected a second and third time.
AvrifgaQsus Aieix^dsug, seems to have been one that kept a counter-
part of the chief treasurer's accounts, to preserve them from being falsi-
fied, or corrupted.
Tafjwas twv 2T£es<nw<nxwv, was the paymaster-general of the army.
Tof/,/a£ rQy Qi&gixaiv, or 'o titi ©£w£ix&>, had the disposal of the ©siugix^
^ij'lActTa, for the uses above mentioned. But the greatest and most trou-
blesome part of this office consisted in distributing them to the poor citi-
zens, to buy seats in the theatre : which custom was first begun and
enacted into a law by Pericles, to ingratiate himself with the common-
alty (3) ; for, as Libanius observes, in the primitive ages of the common-
wealth, when the theatres were composed of wood, the people being
eager of getting places, used to quarrel among themselves, and sometimes
beat and wound one another ; to prevent which inconvenience, it was or-
dered that every one, before he entered into the theatre, should pay two
oboli, or a drachm, according to Harpocration, for admittance ; and lest
by this means the poorer sort should be deprived of the pleasure of seeing,
every man was allowed to demand that sum of the public exchequer (4),
CHAP XV.
OF THE ATHENIAN MAGISTRATES/
2IT£lNAl, were so called from their office, which was to lay in corn for
the use of the city ; and to this end the T«fju'«£ fiotxvdeas, was to fur-
nish them with as much money as they had occasion for. Athens was
seated in a barren and unfruitful country, which was not able to furnish its
own inhabitants with necessary provisions, whereby they were forced to
fetch corn from foreign nations', and supply their own wants by the
superfluities of others : and this it was that caused them to institute this
office.
SiTo<pv\ecxss, were fifteen in number, ten of whom officiated in the city,
and five in the Piraeus ; their business was to take care that corn and
(1) Orat. id Neasram.
(2) Ulpiaous in O'ynthiac, i.
(3) Plutarch. Pericle,
(4) InObrnthiae,
10