Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

COMITIA.

105

COMITIA.

the time of the Publilian law no decree of the
centuries could become law without this sanc-
tion. By the Publilian law (b.c. 339) it was
enacted that the curiae should give their
assent before the vote of the comitia centu-
riata ; so that the veto of the curiae was thus
virtually abolished. The comitia curiata thus
became a mere formality, and, instead of the
thirty curiae themselves giving their votes,
the ceremony was performed by thirty lictors.
The comitia of the curiae were also called
Cojiitia calata or " the summoned comi-
tia" (from calare, i.e. vocare), when sum-
moned for the purposes mentioned below :—
1. On the calends it was proclaimed to the
comitia calata on what day of the new
month the nones fell, and perhaps also the
ides as well as the nature of the other days,
namely, whether they were fasti or nefasti,
comitiales, feriae, &c, because all these things
were known in the early times to the pontiffs
exclusively. 2. The inauguration of the
flamines, and after the banishment of the
kings, also that of the rex sacrorum. 3. The
tcstamcnti factio, or the making of a will.
4. The detestatio sacrorum, which was in all
probability an act connected with the testa-
mcnti factio, that is, a solemn declaration, by
which the heir was enjoined to undertake the
sacra private of the testator along with the
reception of his property. The comitia calata
were summoned by the college of pontiffs,
who also presided in them.

(2) Comitia centuriata. The object ol the

According to Livy.
I. Classis. Census : 100,000 asses.
40 centuriac seniorum.
40 centuriae juniorum.
2 centuriae fabrum.
II. Classis. Census : 75,000 asses.
10 centuriae seniorum.
10 centuriae juniorum.

III. Classis. Census : 50,000 asses.
10 centuriae seniorum.

10 centuriae juniorum.

IV. Classis. Census : 25,000 asses.
10 centuriae seniorum.

1C centuriae juniorum.

V. Classis. Census : 11,000 asses.
15 centuriae seniorum.
15 centuriae juniorum.
3 centuriae accensorum, cornicinum,

tubicinum.
1 centuria capite censorum.

legislation of Servius Tullius was to unite the
different elements of which the Roman people
consisted, into one great political body, in which
power and influence were to be determined by
property and age. The whole people was con-
ceived as an army (excrcitus), and was there-
fore divided into two parts, the cavalry
(equites), and infantry ■ (pedites). The in-
fantry was divided into five classes, or, as
Dionysius has it, into six classes, for he re-
gards the whole body of people, whose pro-
perty did not come up to the census of the
fifth class, as a sixth. The class to which a
citizen belonged determined the tributum, or
war tax, he had to pay, as well as the kind
of service he had to perform in the army and
the armour in which he had to serve. But
for the purpose of voting in the comitia, each
class was subdivided into a number of cen-
turies (centuriae, probably because each was
conceived to contain 100 men, though the
centuries may have greatly differed in the
number of men they contained). Hence the
name of Comitia Centuriata. Each century
was divided into the seniores and the juniores.
Kach century, further, was counted as one
vote, so that a class had as many votes as it
contained centuries. In like manner, the
equites were divided into a number of cen-
turies or votes. The two principal authori-
ties on these subdivisions are Livy and Dio-
nysius. The annexed table will show the
census as well as the number of centuries or
votes assigned to each class.

According to Dionysius.
I. Classis. Census : 100 minae.
40 centuriae seniorum.
40 centuriae juniorum.

II. Classis. Census : 75 minae.
10 centuriae seniorum.
10 centuriae juniorum.
2 centuriae fabrum (one voting with
the seniores and the other with the
juniores).
III. Classis. Census : 50 minae.
10 centuriae seniorum.
10 centuriae juniorum.
TV. Classis. Census : 25 minae.
10 centuriae seniorum.
10 centuriae juniorum.
2 centuriae cornicinum and tubicinum
(one voting with the seniores, and
the other with the juniores).
\. Classis. Census : 12^ minae.
15 centuriae seniorum.
15 centuriae juniorum.
VI. Classis. Census : below 12h minae.
1 centuria capite censorum.