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

SUGGESTUS.

356

SYLAE.

(xetporovia) or by ballot (i/<ij</)os). Respecting
the mode of voting at Home, see Comitia, p.
107, and Leges Tabellariae.

SUGGESTUS, means in general any ele-
vated place made of materials heaped up
(sub and gcro), and is specially applied : (1)
To the stage or pulpit from which the orators
addressed the people in the comitia. [Ros-
tra.]—(2) To the elevation from which a
general addressed the soldiers.—( 3 ) To the
elevated seat from which the emperor beheld
the public games, also called cubiculum.
[Cubicui.um.]

SUOVETAURILIA. [Sacrificiuji, p. 325 ;
Lustratio; and woodcut on p. 343.]

SUPPARUM. [Navis, p. 207, 5.]

SUPPLICATIO, a solemn thanksgiving or
supplication to the gods, decreed by the se-
nate, when all the temples were opened, and
the statues of the gods frequently placed in
public upon couches (pulvinaria), to which
the people offered up their thanksgivings and
prayers. [Lectisternium.] A supplicatio was
decreed for two different reasons. 1. As a
thanksgiving, when a great victor}' had been
gained : it was usually decreed as soon as
official intelligence of the victory had been
received by a letter from the general in com-
mand. The number of days during which it
was to last was proportioned to the import-
ance of the victory. Sometimes it was decreed
for only one day, but more commonly for
three or five days. A supplication of ten
days was first decreed in honour of Pompey
at the conclusion of the war with Mithridates,
and one of fifteen days after the victor}- over
the Belgae by Caesar, an honour which had
never been granted to any one before. Sub-
sequently a supplicatio of twenty days was
decreed after his conquest of Yercitigetorix.
A supplicatio was usually regarded as a pre-
lude to a triumph, but it was not always
followed by one. This honour was conferred
upon Cicero on account of his suppression of
the conspiracy of Catiline, wliich had never
been decreed to any one before in a civil ca-
pacity (togatus).— 2. A supplicatio, a solemn
supplication and humiliation, was also decreed
in times of public danger and distress, and on
account of prodigies, to avert the anger of
the gods.

SYCOPHANTES (Wo^mjs). At an early-
period in Attic history a law was made pro-
hibiting the exportation of figs. Whether it
was made in a time of dearth, or through
the foolish policy of preserving to the natives
the most valuable of their productions, we
cannot say. It appears, however, that the
law continued in force long after the cause of
its enactment, or the general belief of its
utility, had ceased to exist; and Attic fig-

growers exported their fruit in spite of pro-
hibitions and penalties. To inform against
a man for so doing was considered harsh and
vexatious; as all people are apt to think that
obsolete statutes may be infringed with im-
punity. Hence the term o-vKo^avreiv, which
originally signified to lay an information
against another for exporting figs, came to
be applied to all ill-natured, malicious, ground-
less, and vexatious accusations. Sgcophantes
in the time of Aristophanes and Demosthenes
designated a person of a peculiar class, not
capable of being described by any single word
in our language, but well understood and
appreciated by an Athenian. He had not
much in common with our sycophant, but
was a happy compound of the common bar-
rator, informer, pettifogger, busybody, rogu*
liar, and slanderer. The Athenian law per-
mitted any citizen (j"ov /3ovAo/xeiw) to give
information against public offenders, and
prosecute them in courts of justice. It was
the policy of the legislator to encourage the
detection of crime, and a reward (such as
half the penalty) was frequently given to the
successful accuser. Such a power, with such
a temptation, was likely to be abused, unless
checked by the force of public opinion, or
the vigilance of the judicial tribunals. Un-
fortunately, the character of the Athenian
democracy and the temper of the judges
furnished additional incentives to the in-
former. Eminent statesmen, orators, ge-
nerals, magistrates, and all persons of wealth
and influence were regarded with jealousy
by the people. The more causes came into
court, the more fees accrued to the judges,
and fines and confiscations enriched the
public treasury. The prosecutor therefore in
public causes, as well as the plaintiff in civil,
was looked on with a more favourable eye
than the defendant, and the chances of suc-
cess made the employment a lucrative one.
It was not always necessary to go to trial,
or even to commence legal proceedings.
The timid defendant was glad to compromise
the cause, and the conscious delinquent to
avert the threat of a prosecution, by paying
a sum of money to his opponent. Thriving
informers found it not very difficult to pro-
cure witnesses, and the profits were divided
between them.

SYLAE (<rOAat). When a Greek state, or
any of its members, had received an injury or
insult from some other state or some of its
members, and the former was unwilling, or
not in a condition, to declare open war, it
was not unusual to give a commission, or
grant public authority to individuals to make
reprisals. This was called cruAas, or criAa,
Si&ovai. This ancient practice may be com-