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

TELAMONES.

305

TELOS.

thus made by a forcible impulse to drive the
threads of the woof close together.—The lyre,
the favourite musical instrument of the
Greeks, was only known to the Romans as a
foreign invention. Hence they appear to
have described its parts by a comparison
with the loom, with which they were fami-
liar. The terms jugum and stamina were
transferred by an obvious resemblance from
the latter to the former object; and, although
they adopted into their own language the
Greek word plectrum, they used the Latin
pccten to denote the same thing, not because
the instrument used in striking the lyre was
at all like a comb in shape and appear-
ance, but because it was held in the right
hand, and inserted between the stamina of
the lyre, as the comb was between the sta-
mina of the loom.

TELaMONES. [Atlantes.]

TELONES (reAwvrjs), a farmer of the pub-
lic taxes at Athens. The taxes were let by
auction to the highest bidder. Companies
often took them in the name of one person,
who was called apxiunj; or TeAturapxTjs, and
was their representative to the state. Sure-
ties were required of the farmer for the pay-
ment of his dues. The office was frequently
undertaken by resident aliens, citizens not
liking it, on account of the vexatious pro-
ceedings to which it often led. The farmer
was armed with considerable powers : he
carried with him his books, searched for con-
traband or uncustomed goods, watched the
harbour, markets, and other places, to pre-
vent smuggling, or unlawful and clandestine
sales ; brought a phasis ($acns) or other legal
process against those whom he suspected of
defrauding the revenue; or even seized their
persons on some occasions, and took them
before the magistrate. To enable him to
perform these duties, he was exempted from
military service. Collectors (exAoyeit) were
sometimes employed by the farmers; but
frequently the farmer and the collector were
the same person. The taxes were let by the
commissioners (7ro)A^Tai), acting under the
authority of the senate. The payments were
made by the farmer on stated prytaneias in
the senate-house. There was usually one
payment made in advance, irpoKarafioX-q, and
one or more afterwards, called rrpoaKaTafiXriixo..
Upon any default of payment, the farmer
became atimus, if a citizen, and he was liable
to be imprisoned at the discretion of the
court, upon an information laid against him.
If the debt was not paid by the expiration of
the ninth prytaneia, it was doubled ; and if
not then paid, his property became forfeited
to the state, and proceedings to confiscation
might be taken forthwith. Upon this sub-

ject, see the speech of Demosthenes against
Timocrates.

TELOS (Ve'Aos), a tax. The taxes imposed
by the Athenians, and collected at home, were
either ordinary or extraordinary. The former
constituted a regular or permanent source of
income; the latter were only raised in time
of war or other emergency. The ordinary
taxes were laid mostly upon property, and
upon citizens indirectly, in the shape of toll
or customs ; though the resident aliens paid
a poll-tax (called i^eroiKiov), for the liberty of
residing at Athens under protection of the
state. There was a duty of two per cent.
(irevTriKoaTri), levied upon all exports and im-
ports. An excise was paid on all sales in
the market (called bmvia), though we know
not what the amount was. Slave-owners
paid a duty of three obols for every slave they
kept; and slaves who had been emancipated
paid the same. This was a very productive
tax before the fortification of Dcceleia by the
Lacedaemonians. The justice fees (irpvTavela,
7rapdoracrts, &c.) were a lucrative tax in time
of peace. The extraordinary taxes were the
property-tax, and the compulsory services
called lituryics (Aeixoupyi'ai). Some of these
last were regular, and recurred annually;
the most important, the trierarchia, was a
war-service, and performed as occasion re-
quired. As these services were all performed,
wholly or partly, at the expense of the indi-
vidual, they may be regarded as a species of
tax. [Eisphora; Lkitoukgia ; Tkieearciiia.]
The tribute (<f>dpo?) paid by the allied states
to the Athenians formed, in the flourishing
period of the republic, a regular and most
important source of revenue. In Olymp. 91
2, the Athenians substituted for the tribute a
duty of five per cent, (ei/coa-nj) on all commo-
dities exported or imported by the subject
states, thinking to raise by this means a
larger income than by direct taxation. This
was terminated by the issue of the 1'elopon-
nesian war, though the tribute was after-
wards revived, on more equitable principles,
under the name of truvra^is. Other sources
of revenue were derived by the Athenians
from their mines and public lands, fines, and
confiscations. The public demesne lands,
whether pasture or arable, houses or other
buildings, were usually let by auction to pri-
vate persons. The conditions of the lease
were engraven on stone. The rent was pay-
able by prytaneias. These various sources of
revenue produced, according to Aristophanes,
an annual income of two thousand talents in
the most flourishing period of Athenian em-
pire. TeAeif signifies " to settle, complete, or
perfect," and hence " to settle an account,"
and generally "to pay." Thus Te'Aos comes