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

IIEMERODROMI.

IIERAEA.

They cultivated the land, and paid to their
masters as rent a certain measure of corn, the
exact amount of which had been fixed at a
very early period, the raising of that amount
being forbidden under heavy imprecations.
Besides being engaged in the cultivation of
the land, the Helots attended on their mas-
ters at the public meal, and many of them
were no doubt employed by the state in pub-
lic works. In war the Helots served as
light-armed troops (i/<i'aoi), a certain number
of them attending every heavy-armed Spartan
to the field; at the battle of ITataeae there
were seven Helots to each Spartan. These
attendants were probably called aftTrrrrapes
(i. e. ajufJuoTai/Tes), and one of them in par-
ticular, the Bepdmov, or servant. The Helots
only served as hoplites in particular emer-
gencies ; and on such occasions they were
generally emancipated. The first instance
of this kind was in the expedition of Bra-
sidas, b. c. 424. The treatment to which
the Helots were subjected was marked by the
most wanton cruelty ; and they were regarded
by the Spartans with the greatest suspicion.
Occasionally the ephors selected young Spar-
tans for the secret service («pv7rTci'a) of wan-
dering over the country, in order to kill the
Helots. The Helots might be emancipated,
but there were several steps between them
and the free citizens, and it is doubtful
whether they were ever admitted to all the
privileges of citizenship. The following
classes of emancipated Helots are enume-
rated :—a</>eT<u', aSeciroTot., epUJCTvype?, 6ecr7ro-
<rioj'auTai, and ycoSajuajSei;. Of these the
aiperai were probably released from all ser-
vice ; the epvKTrjpes were those employed in
war; the Sea-Koa-ioi'avTM served on board the
fleet; and the i-eoSap-wSeis were those who
had been possessed of freedom for some time.
Besides these, there were the /id&ui'e; or
fxd#a/ces, who were domestic slaves, brought
up with the young Spartans, and then eman-
cipated. Upon being emancipated they
received permission to dwell where they
wished.

IIEMERODROMI Hp-epoSpc^oi.), couriers
in the Greek states, who could keep on run-
ning all day, and were often employed to
carry news of important events. They were
trained for the purpose, and could perform
the longest journeys in an almost incredibly
short space of time. Such couriers were in
times of danger stationed on some eminence
in order to observe anything of importance
that might happen, and carry the intelligence
witli speed to the proper quarter. Hence we
frequently find them called Hemcrescopi
(rjpepoo-KOTTOL).

ILEMICYCLITTM (rjnixuxAtoj'), a semicir-

cular seat, for the accommodation of persons
engaged in conversation; also the semicir-
cular seat round the tribunal in a basilica.

HEMIXA (^""0, the name of a Greek
and Roman measure, seems to be nothing
more than the dialectic form used by the
Sicilian and Italian Greeks for yip-icru. It
was therefore applied to the half of the
standard fluid measure, the feVnjs, which the
other Greeks called kotvA>j, and the word
passed into the Roman metrical system,
where it is used with exactly the same force,
namely for a measure which is half of the
sextarivs, and equal to the Greek cotyle.

HENDECA (oi evStKa), the Eleven, were
magistrates at Athens of considerable import-
ance. They were annually chosen by lot,
one from each of the ten tribes, and a secre-
tary (Lypap.p.aTev<;), who must properly be re-
garded as their servant (vmjpeTr]^), though he
formed one of their number. The principal
duty of the Eleven was the care and manage-
ment of the public prison (5ecrp.wn}pioi<),
which was entirely under their jurisdiction.
The prison, however, was seldom used by the
Athenians as a mere place of confinement,
serving generally for punishments and ex-
ecutions. When a person was condemned to
death lie was immediately given into the
custody of the Eleven, who were then bound
to carry the sentence into execution according
to the laws. The most common mode of
execution was by hemlock juice (Kwi'eiov),
which was drunk after sunset. The Eleven
had under them gaolers, executioners, and
torturers. When torture was inflicted in
causes affecting the state, it was either done
in the immediate presence of the Eleven, or
by their servant (6 Sijutos). The Eleven
usually had only to carry into execution the
sentence passed in the courts of law and the
public assemblies ; but in some cases they
possessed jurisdiction. This was the case in
those summary proceedings called apagoge,
ephegesis and endeixis, in which the penalty
was fixed by law, and might be inflicted by
the court on the confession or conviction of
the accused, without appealing to any of the
jury courts.

HEPHAESTEIA. [Lami'adephoria.]

HERAEA (rjpoua), the name of festivals
celebrated in honour of Hers in all the towns
of Greece where the worship of this divinity
was introduced. The original seat of her
worship was Argos ; whence her festivals in
other places were, more or less, imitations of
those which were celebrated at Argos. Her
service was performed by the most distin-
guished priestesses of the place ; one of them
was the high-priestess, and the Argives
counted their years by the date of her office.