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

ECCLETI.

148

EISPHORA.

the order for the dismissal of the assembly
was given by the prytanes, through the pro-
clamation of the crier ; and as it was not cus-
tomary to continue meetings, which usually
began early in the morning, till after sunset,
if one day were not sufficient for the com-
pletion 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
Sio<rr)jiiat, was a sufficient reason for the
hasty adjournment of an assembly.

ECCLETI. [IIomoei.]

ECDlCUS (c/cSikos), the name of an officer
in many of the towns of Asia Minor during
the Koman dominion, whose principal duty
was the care of the public money, and the
prosecution of all parties who owed money
to the state.

ECMARTYRIA (t/cuaprupi'a), 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.

EDICTUM. The Jus Edicendi, or power of
making edicts, belonged to the higher magis-
trates poptM Somam, 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 praescs. The curule aediles likewise
made many edicts ; and tribunes, censors,
and pontitices also promulgated edicts relating
to the matters of their respective jurisdic-
tions. The edicta were among the sources
of Koman law. The edictum may be de-
scribed 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 bind-
ing on a successor, but he might confirm or
adopt the rules of his predecessor, and intro-
duce them into his own edict, and hence
such adopted rules were called edictum rala-
titium, or vctus, 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 tratatitium) soon constituted
a large body of law, which was practically of as
much importance as any other part of the law.

EICOSTE (ei/cooTrj), a tax or duty of one-
twentieth (five per cent.) upon all commo-
dities 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 wyere
called etKocTToAo-yoi.

ETREN or IREN (ttpiji' or "i-pw), 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
fieWeipriv. "When he had attained his twen-
tieth year, he began to exercise a direct in-
fluence over his juniors, and was entrusted
with the command of troops in battle. The
word appears to have originally signified a
commander. The JpeVes mentioned in Hero-
dotus, in connection with the battle of Pla-
taeae, were certainly not youths, but com-
manders.

EISANGELIA (elcrayyeAi'a), signifies, in its
primary and most general sense, a denuncia-
tion 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 circum-
stances. 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
(aypacpa a6iK^p.aTa), the result of which omis-
sion would have been, but for the enactment
by which the accusations in question might
be preferred (Vop.o; eicrayyeATi/ids), that a pro-
secutor would not have known to what ma-
gistrate to apply; that a magistrate, if
applied to, could not with safety have ac-
cepted the indictment or brought it into
court; and that, in short, there would have
been a total failure of justice.

EISITERIA (eio-mjpia, scil. iepd), sacrifices
offered at Athens by the senate before the
session began, in honour of the ©eoi BovAaioi,
i. e. Zeus and Athena.

EISPHORA (eio-^opd), an extraordinary
tax on property, raised at Athens, whenever
the means of the state were not sufficient to