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

PARANOIAS GRAPHE.

284

PAREDRI.

which occasion the ship was adorned with
garlands by the priest of Apollo. Both
these vessels were quick-sailing triremes, and
were used for a variety of state purposes :
they conveyed theories, despatches, &c. from
Athens, carried treasures from subject coun-
tries to Athens, fetched state criminals from
foreign parts to Athens, and the like. In
battles they were frequently used as the ships
in which the admirals sailed. These vessels and
their crews were always kept in readiness to act,
in case of any necessity arising ; and the crew,
although they could not for the greater part of
the year be in actual service, received their re-
gular pay of four oboli per day all the year
round. The names of the two ships seem to
point to a very early period of the history of
Attica, when there was no navigation except
between Attica and Salamis, for which the Sala-
minia was used, and around the coast of Attica,
for which purpose the Paralus was destined.
In later times the names were retained, al-
though the destination of the ships was princi-
pally to serve the purposes of religion, whence
they arc frequently called the sacred ships.

PARANOIAS GKAPHE (vapavoutt ypa^-q).
This proceeding may be compared to our
commission of lunacy, or writ de lunatico
inquirendo. It was a suit at Athens that
might be instituted by a son or other rela'ion
against one who, by reason of madness or
mental imbecility, had become incapable of
managing his own affairs. If the complaint
■was well grounded, the court decreed that
the next heir should take possession of the
lunatic's property, and probably also made
some provision for his being put in confine-
ment, or under proper care and guardianship.
The celebrated tale of Iophon, the son of
Sophocles, accusing his father of lunacy, is
related in the life of Sophocles in the Classical
Dictionary.

PARANOMON GRAPHE (no.pav6iJ.uv ypa-
<pv), an indictment at Athens for propounding
an illegal, or rather unconstitutional measure
or law. In order to check rash and hasty
legislation, the mover of any law or decree,
though he succeeded in causing it to be
passed, was still amenable to criminal justice,
if his enactment was found to be inconsistent
with other laws that remained in force, or
with the public interest. Any person might
institute against him the ypoaprt napo.v6p.uiv
within a year from the passing of the law.
If he was convicted, not only did the
become void, but any punishment might be
inflicted on him, at the discretion of the
judges before whom he was tried. A person
thrice so convicted lost the right of proposing
laws in future. The cognizance of the cause
belonged to the Thesmothetae.

PARAPRESBEIA (irapaTvpea^eia), signifies
any corrupt conduct, misfeasance, or neglect
of duty on the part of an ambassador ; for
which he was liable to be called to account
and prosecuted on his return home. Demos-
thenes accused Aeschines of Parapresbeia on
account of his conduct in the embassy to
Philip.

PAKAPHERNA. [Dos.]

PA HASAN GA (6 7rapacrayy>)s), a Persian
measure of length, frequently mentioned by
the Greek writers. It is still used by the
Persians, who call it fersenr). According to
Herodotus the parasang was equal to 30
Greek stadia. Xenophon must also have
calculated it at the same, as he says that
16,050 stadia are equal to 535 parasangs.
(16,050 -r- 535 = 30.) Other ancient writers
give a different length for the parasang.
.Modern English travellers estimate it va-
riously at from 3£ to 4 English miles,
which nearly agrees with the calculation of
Herodotus.

PARASITI (TropacriTot) properly denotes
persons who dine with others. In the early
history of Greece the name had a very differ-
ent meaning, being given to distinguished
persons, who were appointed as assistants to
certain priests and to the highest magistrates.
Their services appear to have been rewarded
with a third of the victims sacrificed to their
respective gods. Such officers existed down
to a late period of Greek history. Solon in
his legislation called the act of giving public
meals to certain magistrates and foreign am-
bassadors in the prytaneum irapao-iTnlv, and it
may be that the parasites were connected
with this institution. The class of persons
whom we call parasites was very numerous
in ancient Greece, and appears to have ex-
isted from early times. The characteristic
features common to all parasites are impor-
tunity, love of sensual pleasures, and above
all the desire of getting a good dinner with-
out paying for it. During the time of the
Roman emperors a parasite seems to have
been a constant guest at the tables of the
wealthy.

PAREDRI (irdpeSpoi). Each of the three
superior archons was at liberty to have two
assessors (7rapeSpoi) chosen by himself, to
assist him by advice and otherwise in the
performance of his various duties. The
assessor, like the magistrate himself, had to
undergo a docimasia (SoKiixaaCa) in the Senate
of Five Hundred and before a judicial tribu-
nal, before he could be permitted to enter
upon his labours. He was also to render an
account (evBvvri) at the end of the year. The
duties of the archons, magisterial and judicial,
were so numerous, that one of the principa.