DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13855#0319
PROEDRI.
311
PROVINCIA.
important trust, such as a fleet, army, or
fortress, a desertion of post, a disobedience of
orders, or any other act of treachery, or breach
of duty in the public service. But not only
would overt acts of disobedience or treachery
amount to the crime of wpoSoa-ia, but also the
neglect to perform those active duties which
the Greeks in general expected of ever}' good
citizen. Cowardice in battle (SeiAi'a) would
be an instance of this kind ; so would any
breach of the oath taken by the e<p7j/3(H at
Athens ; or any line of conduct for which a
charge of disaffection to the people (jiio-o-
Siffxia) might be successfully maintained.
The regular punishment appointed by the
law for most kinds of treason appears to have
been death, which, no doubt, might be miti-
gated by decree of the people, as in the case
of Miltiades and many others. The goods of
traitors, who suffered death, were confiscated,
and their houses razed to the ground; nor
were they permitted to be buried in the
country, but had their bodies cast out in some
place on the confines of Attica and Megara.
Therefore it was that the bones of Themis-
tocles, who had been condemned for treason,
were brought over and buried secretly by his
friends. The posterity of a traitor became
annot, and those of a tyrant were liable to
share the fate of their ancestor.
PROEDRI. [Bottle.]
PROFESTI DIES. [Dies.]
PROLETARII. [CUpft.]
PROMETIIEI.Y (irpenTjfleta), a festival
celebrated at Athens in honour of Prome-
theus. It was one of the five Attic festivals,
which were held with a torch-race in the
Ceramicus [comp. Lampadephoria], for
which the gymnasiarchs had to supply the
youths from the gymnasia. Prometheus
himself was believed to have instituted this
torch-race, whence he was called the torch-
bearer.
PROMULSIS. [Coexa, p. 96, b.]
PROXUBAE, PRONUBI. [Matrimo-
nii:}!.]
PROPRAETOR. [Praetor.]
PROPYLAEA (Trpo-n-uKaia), the entrance to
a temple, or sacred enclosure, consisted of a
gateway flanked by buildings, whence the
plural form of the word. The Egyptian
temples generally had magnificent propylaea,
consisting of a pair of oblong truncated pyra-
mids of solid masonry, the faces of which
were sculptured with hieroglyphics. In
Greek, except when the Egyptian temples
are spoken of, the word is generally used to
signify the entrance to the Acropolis of
Athens, which was executed under the ad-
ministration of Pericles.
PROQUAESTOR. [Quaestor.]
PRORA. [Navis, p. 2fi3.]
PROSCENIUM. [Theatruii.]
PROSCRIPTIO. The verb proscribe™
properly signifies to exhibit a thing for sale
by means of a bill or advertisement. But
in the time of Sulla it assumed a very differ-
ent meaning, for he applied it to a measure
of his own invention (b.c. 82), namely, the
sale of the property of those who were put to
death at his command, and who were them-
selves called proscripti. After this examplc-
of a proscription had once been set, it was
readily adopted by those in power during the
civil commotions of subsequent years. In
the proscription of Antonius, Caesar, and Le-
pidus (b.c. 43), Cicero and some of the most
distinguished Romans were put to death.
PROSTATES Opoo-Tarr)<r). [Libertus.]
PROSTATES TOU DEMOU (jrpoorciTTjs toC
Srifjiov), a leader of the people, denoted at
Athens and in other demoeratieal states, a
person who by his character and eloquence
placed himself at the head of the people, and
whose opinion had the greatest sway amongst
them : such was Pericles. It appears, how-
ever, that n-poo-raTTjs toO Svjfxov was also the
title of a public officer in those Dorian states
in which the government was demoeratieal.
PROTIIESMIA (7rpo9eo-p.i'a), the term li-
mited for bringing actions and prosecutions
at Athens. The Athenian expression npoOea-
pu'as to|u.os corresponds to our statute of limit-
ations. The time for commencing actions to
recover debts, or compensation for injuries,
appears to have been limited to five years at
Athens.
PROVTN'CIA. This word is merely a
shortened form of providentia, and was fre-
quently used in the sense of "a duty" or
" matter entrusted to a person." But it is
ordinarily employed to denote a part of the
Roman dominion beyond Italy, which had a
regular organisation, and was under Roman
administration. Livy likewise uses the word
to denote a district or enemy's country,
which was assigned to a general as the field
of his operations, before the establishment of
any provincial governments.—The Roman
state in its complete development consisted
of two parts with a distinct organisation,
Italia and the Provinciae. There were no
Provinciae in this sense of the word till the
Romans had extended their conquests beyond
Italy; and Sicily was the first country that
was made a Roman province : Sardinia was
made a province b.c. 235. The Roman pro-
vince of Gallia Ulterior in the time of Caesar
was sometimes designated simply by the term
Provincia, a name which has been perpetuated
in the modern Provence. A conquered coun-
try received its provincial organisation either
311
PROVINCIA.
important trust, such as a fleet, army, or
fortress, a desertion of post, a disobedience of
orders, or any other act of treachery, or breach
of duty in the public service. But not only
would overt acts of disobedience or treachery
amount to the crime of wpoSoa-ia, but also the
neglect to perform those active duties which
the Greeks in general expected of ever}' good
citizen. Cowardice in battle (SeiAi'a) would
be an instance of this kind ; so would any
breach of the oath taken by the e<p7j/3(H at
Athens ; or any line of conduct for which a
charge of disaffection to the people (jiio-o-
Siffxia) might be successfully maintained.
The regular punishment appointed by the
law for most kinds of treason appears to have
been death, which, no doubt, might be miti-
gated by decree of the people, as in the case
of Miltiades and many others. The goods of
traitors, who suffered death, were confiscated,
and their houses razed to the ground; nor
were they permitted to be buried in the
country, but had their bodies cast out in some
place on the confines of Attica and Megara.
Therefore it was that the bones of Themis-
tocles, who had been condemned for treason,
were brought over and buried secretly by his
friends. The posterity of a traitor became
annot, and those of a tyrant were liable to
share the fate of their ancestor.
PROEDRI. [Bottle.]
PROFESTI DIES. [Dies.]
PROLETARII. [CUpft.]
PROMETIIEI.Y (irpenTjfleta), a festival
celebrated at Athens in honour of Prome-
theus. It was one of the five Attic festivals,
which were held with a torch-race in the
Ceramicus [comp. Lampadephoria], for
which the gymnasiarchs had to supply the
youths from the gymnasia. Prometheus
himself was believed to have instituted this
torch-race, whence he was called the torch-
bearer.
PROMULSIS. [Coexa, p. 96, b.]
PROXUBAE, PRONUBI. [Matrimo-
nii:}!.]
PROPRAETOR. [Praetor.]
PROPYLAEA (Trpo-n-uKaia), the entrance to
a temple, or sacred enclosure, consisted of a
gateway flanked by buildings, whence the
plural form of the word. The Egyptian
temples generally had magnificent propylaea,
consisting of a pair of oblong truncated pyra-
mids of solid masonry, the faces of which
were sculptured with hieroglyphics. In
Greek, except when the Egyptian temples
are spoken of, the word is generally used to
signify the entrance to the Acropolis of
Athens, which was executed under the ad-
ministration of Pericles.
PROQUAESTOR. [Quaestor.]
PRORA. [Navis, p. 2fi3.]
PROSCENIUM. [Theatruii.]
PROSCRIPTIO. The verb proscribe™
properly signifies to exhibit a thing for sale
by means of a bill or advertisement. But
in the time of Sulla it assumed a very differ-
ent meaning, for he applied it to a measure
of his own invention (b.c. 82), namely, the
sale of the property of those who were put to
death at his command, and who were them-
selves called proscripti. After this examplc-
of a proscription had once been set, it was
readily adopted by those in power during the
civil commotions of subsequent years. In
the proscription of Antonius, Caesar, and Le-
pidus (b.c. 43), Cicero and some of the most
distinguished Romans were put to death.
PROSTATES Opoo-Tarr)<r). [Libertus.]
PROSTATES TOU DEMOU (jrpoorciTTjs toC
Srifjiov), a leader of the people, denoted at
Athens and in other demoeratieal states, a
person who by his character and eloquence
placed himself at the head of the people, and
whose opinion had the greatest sway amongst
them : such was Pericles. It appears, how-
ever, that n-poo-raTTjs toO Svjfxov was also the
title of a public officer in those Dorian states
in which the government was demoeratieal.
PROTIIESMIA (7rpo9eo-p.i'a), the term li-
mited for bringing actions and prosecutions
at Athens. The Athenian expression npoOea-
pu'as to|u.os corresponds to our statute of limit-
ations. The time for commencing actions to
recover debts, or compensation for injuries,
appears to have been limited to five years at
Athens.
PROVTN'CIA. This word is merely a
shortened form of providentia, and was fre-
quently used in the sense of "a duty" or
" matter entrusted to a person." But it is
ordinarily employed to denote a part of the
Roman dominion beyond Italy, which had a
regular organisation, and was under Roman
administration. Livy likewise uses the word
to denote a district or enemy's country,
which was assigned to a general as the field
of his operations, before the establishment of
any provincial governments.—The Roman
state in its complete development consisted
of two parts with a distinct organisation,
Italia and the Provinciae. There were no
Provinciae in this sense of the word till the
Romans had extended their conquests beyond
Italy; and Sicily was the first country that
was made a Roman province : Sardinia was
made a province b.c. 235. The Roman pro-
vince of Gallia Ulterior in the time of Caesar
was sometimes designated simply by the term
Provincia, a name which has been perpetuated
in the modern Provence. A conquered coun-
try received its provincial organisation either