previous next

They also elect by lot the following officials: five Highway-constructors, whose duty is to repair the roads, with workmen who are public slaves; [2] and ten Auditors and ten Assessors with them, to whom all retiring officials have to render account. For these are the only magistrates who audit the returns of officials liable to account and bring the audits before the Jury-court. And if an official is proved by them to have committed peculation, the Jury convict him of peculation, and the fine is ten times the amount of which he is found guilty; and if they show that a man has taken bribes and the Jury convict, they assess the value of the bribes and in this case also the fine is ten times the amount; but if they find him guilty of maladministration, they assess the damage, and the fine paid is that amount only, provided that it is paid before the ninth presidency; otherwise it is doubled. But a fine of ten times the amount is not doubled. [3]

They also appoint by lot the officer called Clerk for the Presidency, who is responsible for documents, is keeper of the decrees that are passed and supervises the transcription of all other documents, and who attends the sittings of the Council. Formerly this officer was elected by show of hands, and the most distinguished and trustworthy men used to be elected, for this officer's name is inscribed on the monumental slabs above records of alliances and appointments to consulships1 and grants of citizenship; but now it has been made an office elected by lot. [4] They also elect by lot another officer to superintend the laws, who attends the sittings of the Council, and he also has copies made of all the laws. [5] The People also elect by show of hands a clerk to read documents to the Assembly and to the Council; he has no duties except as reader. [6]

The People also elect by lot the ten sacrificial officers entitled Superintendents of Expiations, who offer the sacrifices prescribed by oracle, and for business requiring omens to be taken watch for good omens in cooperation with the soothsayers. [7] It also elects by lot ten others called the Yearly Sacrificial Officers, who perform certain sacrifices and administer all the four-yearly2 festivals except the Panathenaic Festival. One of the four-yearly festivals is the Mission to Delos (and there is also a six-yearly3 festival there), a second is the Brauronia, a third the Heraclea, and a fourth the Eleusinia; a fifth is the Panathenaic, which is not held in the same year as any of the others mentioned. There has now been added the Festival of Hephaestus, instituted in the archonship of Cephisophon. [8]

They also elect by lot an archon for Salamis and a demarch for Peiraeus, who hold the Festivals of Dionysus4 in each of those places and appoint Choir-leaders; at Salamis the name of the archon is recorded in an inscription.

1 An honorable office assigned to a citizen of another state who represented Athenian interests there.

2 i.e. taking place once in every four or six years: in Greek this is called "five-yearly," "seven-yearly."

3 Both the text and the facts are most uncertain.

4 τὰ Διονύσια τὰ κατ᾽ ἀγρούς

load focus Greek (Kenyon)
hide Places (automatically extracted)

View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document.

Sort places alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a place to search for it in this document.
Delos (Greece) (1)

Download Pleiades ancient places geospacial dataset for this text.

hide References (3 total)
  • Commentary references to this page (1):
    • W. W. How, J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotus, 6.111
  • Cross-references in notes to this page (2):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: