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

SYNDICUS.

8

SYNOIKIA.

hand neighbour ; if he solved it, he was re-
warded with a crown, a garland, a cake, or
something of a similar kind, and sometimes
with a kiss ; if he failed, he had to drink a
cup of unmixed wine, or of wine mixed with
salt water, at one draught. The cottabos
was also another favourite game at symposia,
and was played at in various ways. [Cot-
tabus.] Representations of symposia are
very common on ancient vases. Two guests
usually reclined on each couch (kAht)), as
is explained on p. 95, but sometimes there
were rive persons on one couch. A drinking-
party among the Romans was sometimes
called convivium, but the word comissaiio
more nearly corresponds to the Greek sym-
posium. [Comissatio.] The Romans, how-
ever, visually drank during their dinner
(coena), which they frequently prolonged
during many hours, in the later times of the
republic and under the empire. Their cus-
toms connected with drinking differed little
from those of the Greeks, and have been in-
cidentally noticed above.

SYNDICUS (o-wSikos), an advocate, is fre-
quently used as synonymous with the word
synegorus ((rvi^-yopos), to denote any one who
pleads the cause of another, whether in a
court of justice or elsewhere, but was pecu-
liarly applied to those orators who were sent
by the state to plead the cause of their coun-
trymen before a foreign tribunal. Aeschines,
for example, was appointed to plead before
the Amphictyonic council on the subject of
the Delian temple; but a certain discovery
having been made, not very creditable to his
patriotism, the court of Areiopagus took upon
themselves to remove him, and appoint Hype-
rides in his stead. There were other syndici,
who acted rather as magistrates or judges
than as advocates, though they, probably
derived their name from the circumstance of
their being appointed to protect the interests
of the state. These were extraordinary func-
tionaries, created from time to time to exer-
cise a jurisdiction in disputes concerning
confiscated property.

SYNEDRI (o-vyeSpoi), a name given to the
members of any council, or any body of men
who sat together to consult or deliberate.
The congress of Greeks at Salamis is called
avvcSpiov. Frequent reference is made to the
general assembly of the Greeks, to kolvov tSu>
EAAijfo)!/ avveSptov, at Corinth, Thermopylae,
or elsewhere. The congress of the states
belonging to the new Athenian alliance,
formed after B.C. 37", was called crvveSpiov,
and the deputies wUvmpot, and the sums fur-
nished by the allies ownxfei?, in order to
avoid the old and hateful name of <£dpos or
tribute. The name of aweSputv was given at

Athens to any magisterial or official body, as
to the court of Areiopagus, or to the place
where they transacted business, their board
or council-room.

SYNEGORUS (o-vi/ijyopo;). In causes of
importance, wherein the state was materially
interested, more especially in those which
were brought before the court upon an e'uray-
yeAi'a, it was usual to appoint public advo-
cates (called avvrjyopoL, (TvvSlkoi, or /caTrjyopoi)
to manage the prosecution. In ordinary cases
however the accuser or prosecutor ((canfyo-
pos) was a distinct person from the cru^yopo?,
who acted only as auxiliary to him. It
might be, indeed, that the o-virjyopo; per-
formed the most important part at the trial,
or it might be that he performed a subordi-
nate part, making only a short speech in
support of the prosecution, which was called
or&oyos. But however this might be, he
was in point of law an auxiliary only, and
was neither entitled to a share of the reward
(if any) given by the law to a successful ac-
cuser, nor liable, on the other hand, to a
penalty of a thousand drachms, or the anpCa
consequent upon a failure to get a fifth part
of the votes. The fee of a drachm (to ow7j-
yopiicoV) mentioned by Aristophanes was
probably the sum paid to the public advocate
whenever he was employed on behalf of the
state. There appears to have been (at least
at one period) a regular appointment of minj-
yopot, ten in number. For what purpose
they were appointed, is a matter about which
we have no certain information : but it is not
unreasonable to suppose that these ten <ruv-q-
yopot were no other than the public advocates
who were employed to conduct state prose-
cutions.

SYNGRAPHE (ovyypoufnj), signifies a writ-
ten contract: whereas owSjjkt) and o-vpf36-
\aiov do not necessarily import that the
contract is in writing ; and 0p.0A.0y1a is,
strictly speaking, a verbal agreement. At
Athens important contracts were usually re-
duced to writing; such as leases (p.io-0wo-eis),
loans of money, and all executory agree-
ments, where certain conditions were to be
performed. The whole was contained in a
little tablet of wax or wood (|3i/SA»w or ypap-
fiareiov, sometimes double, Smttux0"), which
was sealed, and deposited "with some third
person, mutually agreed on between the
parties.

SYNOIKIA (owoucia).—(1) A festival cele-
brated every year at Athens on the 16th of
Hecatombaeon in honour of Athena. It was
believed to have been instituted by Theseus
to commemorate the concentration of the
government of the various towns of Attica
at Athens.-—(2) A house adapted to hold