5 3* ATT 
i. e. fojourners •, thefe were perfons who lived always at 
Athens, yet were not admitted free denizens ; as for fuch 
as did not conftantly refide at Athens, they were (lyled 
xenoi, i. e. Jlrangcrs. The fojourners were obliged to 
choofe out of the citizens protectors, who were ftyled 
patrons ; they paid fervices to the (late, and befides thefe 
an annual tribute of twelve drachms for every man, and 
fix for every woman ; but fuch as had tons, and paid for 
them, were exempted. If people fell to poverty, and 
were not able to pay the tribute, they were feized by the 
tax-mailers, and actually fold for flaves ; which, as Dio¬ 
genes Laertius tells us, was the fate of Xenocrates the 
philofopher. The fojourners in Attica were under the 
fame law as thofe in Athens. As to fervants, they were 
freemen, who through indigency were driven to receive 
wages, and while they were in this (late had no vote in tire 
aflembly. As to flaves, they were abfolutely the property 
of their mailers, and as fuch were ufed as they thought 
fit : they were forbidden to wear clothes, or to cut their 
hair like their mailers ; and, which is indeed amazing, 
Solon prohibited them to love boys, as if that had been 
honourable; they were likevvife debarred from anointing 
or perfuming themfelves, and from worihipping,certain 
deities: they were not allowed to be called by honourable 
names, and, in moil other refpefts, were ufed like dogs. 
They (ligmatized them at their pleafure, that is, branded 
them with letters in the forehead and elfewhere. How¬ 
ever, Thefeus’s temple was allowed them as a fanftuary, 
whither, if they were exceedingly ill ufed, they might fly, 
and thereby oblige their owners to let them be transferred 
to another mailer. In this, and many other refpedls, the 
Athenian flaves were in a much better condition than 
thofe throughout the reft of Greece: they were permitted 
to get eftates for themfelves, giving a fmall premium to 
their matters, who were obliged to make them free if they 
could pay their ranfom ; they likevvife obtained the fame 
favour from the kindnefs of their matters, or for having 
rendered military fervices to the dates. When they were 
made free, they were obliged to choofe patrons; and had 
likewiie the privilege of choofing a curator, who, in cafe 
their patrons injured them, was bound to defend them. 
The general aflembly of the people, which Solon made 
the dernier refort, w'as called the ecclefia, and confided of 
all the freemen of Athens, excepting fuch as were atimoi, 
or infamous. The meetings of thefe aflembiies were either 
ordinary or extraordinary. The ordinary were fuch as 
were appointed by law, the extraordinary fuch as neceflity 
required. Of the firft there w'ere four in thirty-five days. 
In the firft aflembly they approved or rejefted magiftrates, 
heard propofals for the public good, and certain caufes. 
In the fecond they received petitions, and heard every 
man’s judgment on the matters that were before them. 
In the third they gave audience to foreign ambaffadors. 
The fourth was employed altogether on affairs relating to 
the gods and their worihip. The extraordinary meetings 
wer<Tappointed by the magiftrates when occafion required, 
whereas to the ordinary aflembiies the people came of their 
own accord. The firft were held either in the market¬ 
place, in the pnyx, a place near the citadel, or in the thea¬ 
tre of Bacchus: as to the latter, the magiftrates who ap¬ 
pointed the extraordinary meetings appointed alfo the 
place where they ihould be held. If any fudden tempeft 
rofe, or any earthquake happened, or any fign notorioufly 
inaufpicious appeared, the aflembly was immediately ad¬ 
journed, to prevent the people from apprehending un¬ 
happy confequences from their deliberations. But, if the 
weather was fair and ferene, and nothing happened out 
of the ordinary courfe of things, they proceeded to purify 
the place where the aflembly was held, which was done 
by fprinkling it round with the blood of young pigs; then 
the crier made a folemn prayer for the profperity of the 
republic, and that heaven would beftow a happy iffue on 
their counfels and undertakings; he then pronounced a 
bitter execration againil any who ihould in that aflembly 
propound what might be difadvantagaous to the ftate. 
I C A. 
Thefe ceremonies being over, they proceeded to bufinefs. 
There were feveral magiftrates who had the overfeeing and 
regulating thefe aflembiies. Thefe were, firft, the epiftate, 
or prefident of the aflembly, who was chofen by lot out of 
the proedri; his office was to give the fignal for the peo¬ 
ple’s voting. Next to him were the prytanes, i. e. a com¬ 
mittee of the fenate, who were of courfe prefent on this 
occafion; by their order a programma, or fcheme of the 
bufinefs to be propofed at the aflembly, was prevlouily fet 
up in forne public place, that every man might know what 
bufinefs to apply his thoughts to. ’ The proedri were im% 
in number, appointed by lots out of all the tribes to which ' 
the prytanes did not belong: they had the right of propo- 
poling to the people what they were to- deliberate upon, 
and their office ended with the aflembly ; there fat with 
them affeffors, who were to take care that nothing they 
propofed w’as detrimental to the commonwealth. The firft 
ltep to bufinefs was the crier’s reading the decree of the 
fenate whereon the aflembly was to deliberate ; when he 
had finifiled this, he made proclamation in thefe words : 
“ Who of the men above fifty will make an oration ?” 
When the old men had done fpeaking, the crier made 
proclamation again that any Athenian might then otter his 
ientiments, whom the law allowed fo to do; tl\at is, all 
fuch as were above thirty years old, and were not infa¬ 
mous. If fuch a one rofe up to fpeak, the prytanes in- 
terpofed, and bade him be filent; and, if he did not obey 
them, the lidtors pulled him down by force. When the 
debates were over, the prefident permitted the people to 
vote ; which they did by calling firft beans, but in after¬ 
times pebbles, into certain veil'd s: thefe were counted, 
and then it was declared that the decree of the fenate was 
either rejected or approved ; after which, the prytanes dif- 
miffed the alfembly. 
The fenate was inftituted by Solon, to prevent the dan¬ 
gerous confequences of leaving the fupreme power in the 
people. At the time of his inftitution, it was to confift: 
of four hundred, as mentioned above, one hundred out of 
each tribe ; it was increafed to five hundred, when the 
tribes were augmented to ten ; and, when they came to 
twelve, it was alfo fwelled to fix hundred. They were 
elected by lots after this manner: at a day appointed, to¬ 
wards the clofe of the year, the prefident of each tribe 
gave in a lift of fuch perfons as were fit for and defired to 
appear for this dignity: thefe names were engraven on 
tablets of brafs, and a number of beans equal to the num¬ 
ber of the amount of them, among which were one hun¬ 
dred white ones, put into a veffel; and then the names of 
the candidates and the beans were drawn one by one, and 
fuch as were drawn by the white beans were received into 
the fenate. After the fenate was elected, they proceeded 
to appoint the officers who were to prefide in the fenate ; 
thefe were the prytanes before-mentioned, and they were 
eleiled thus : the names of the ten tribes were thrown in¬ 
to one veffel, and nine black beans and a white one into 
another veffel ; then the names of the tribes were drawn 
with the beans. The tribe to which the white bean an- 
fwered, prelided firft ; and the reft according to the order 
in which they were drawn. 
The prytanes, while the fenate confided of five hundred, 
were fifty in numher. For the farther avoiding of confu- 
fion, therefore, ten of thefe prefided a-week, during which 
fpace they were called proedri ; and out of thefe an epiftate 
or prefident was chofen, whofe office laded but one day, 
and by law no man could hold it more than once: therea. 
foil of this was, that he had in his cuftody the public feal, 
the keys of the citadel, and the charge of the exchequer. 
The reader muft diftinguifli between the epiftates and 
proedri lad.mentioned, and thofe fpoken of in the former 
paragraph; becaufe, though their titles were fhe fame, 
their offices were perfedly diftimft. The fenate affembled 
by diredlion of the prytanes once every day, excepting fes¬ 
tivals, and fometimes oftener, in the fenate-houfe, which 
was thence called prytaneum. 
When a member of the fenate made a motion for a new 
law, 
