The Forty Judges and Public Arbitrators — Constitution of the Athenians §53 (Aristotle) | Greek text & English translation

LIII. κληροῦσι δὲ καὶ <τοὺς> τετταράκοντα, ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς ἑκάστης, πρὸς οὓς τὰς ἄλλας δίκας λαγχάνουσιν· οἳ πρότερ[ον] μὲν ἧσαν τριάκοντα καὶ κατὰ δήμους περιόντες ἐδίκαζον, μετὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν τριάκοντα ὀλιγαρχία[ν] τετταράκοντα γεγόνασιν. καὶ τὰ μὲν | μέχρι δέκα δραχμῶν αὐτοτελεῖς εἰσι δ[ικά]ζεῖ]ν, τὰ δ᾿ ὑπὲρ τοῦτο τὸ τίμημα τοῖς διαιτηταῖς παραδιδόασιν. οἱ δὲ παραλαβόντες, [ἐ]ὰν μὴ δύνωνται διαλῦσαι, γιγνώσκουσι, κἄν μὲν ἀμφοτέροις ἀρέσκῃ τὰ γνωσθέντα καὶ ἐμμένωσιν, ἔχει τέλος ἡ δίκη. ἄν δ’ 6 ἕτερος ἐφῇ τῶν ἀντιδίκων εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, ἐμβαλόντες τὰς μαρτυρίας καὶ τὰς προκλήσεις καὶ τοὺς νόμους εἰς ἐχίνους, χωρὶς μὲν τὰς τοῦ διώκοντος χωρὶς δὲ τὰς τοῦ φεύγοντος, καὶ τούτους κατασημηνάμενοι καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν τοῦ διαιτητοῦ γεγραμμένην ἐν γραμματείῳ προσρτησαντες παραδιδόασι το[ῖ] ς δ τοῖς¹ τὴν φυλὴν τοῦ φεύγοντος δικάζουσιν. οἱ δὲ παραλαβόντες εἰσάγουσιν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, τὰ μὲν ἐντὸς χιλίων εἰς ἕνα καὶ διακοσίους, τὰ δ’ ὑπὲρ χιλίας εἰς ἔρα καὶ τετρακοσίους. οὐκ ἔνεστι δ’ οὔτε νόμοις οὔτε προκλήσεσι οὔτε μαρτυρίαις αλλ’ ἢ ταῖς παρὰ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ χρῆσθαι ταῖς εἰς τοὺς ἐχίνους ἐμβεβλημέναις. διαιτηταὶ δ’ εἰσὶν οἶς ἂν ἑξηκοστὸν ἔτος ᾗ²· τοῦτο δὲ δῆλον ἐκ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν ἐπωνύμων. εἰσὶ γὰρ ἐπώνυμοι δέκα μὲν οἱ τῶν φυλῶν, δύο δὲ καὶ τετταράκοντα οἱ τῶν ἡλικιῶν· οἱ δὲ ἔφηβοι ἐγγραφόμενοι πρότερον μὲν εἰς λελευκωμένα γραμματεῖα ἐνεγράφοντο, καὶ ἐπεγράφοντο αὐτοῖς ὄ τ᾿ ἐφ’ ὖ ἐνεγράφησαν καὶ ὁ ἐπώνυμος ὁ τῷ προτέρῳ ἔτει δεδιαιτηκώς³, νῦν δ’ εἰς στήλην χαλκῆν ἀναγράφονται, καὶ ἵσταται ἡ στήλη πρὸ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου παρὰ τοὺς ἐπωνύμους. τὸν δὲ τελευταῖον τῶν ἐπωνύμων⁴ λαβόντες οἱ τετταράκοντα διανέμουσιν αὐτοῖς τὰς διαίτας καὶ ἐπικληροῦσιν ἅς ἕκαστος διαιτήσει καὶ ἀναγκαῖον ἃς ἂν ἕκαστος λάχῃ διαίτας ἐκδιαιτᾶν. ὁ γὰρ νόμος, ἄν τις μὴ μὴ γένηται διατητής τῆς ἡλικίας αὐτῷ καθηκούσης, ἄτιμον εἶναι εκλεύει, πλὴν ἐὰν τὐχῃ ἀρχων τι[ν]ὰ ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ ἢ ἀποδημῶν· οὔτοι δ’ ἀτελεῖς εἰσὶ μόνοι. ἔστιν δὲ καὶ εἰσαγγέλλειν εἰς τοὺς διαιτητάς, ἐάν τις ἀδικηθῇ ὑπὸ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ, κἄν τινος καταγνῶσιν, ἀτιμοῦσθαι κελεύουσιν οἱ νόμοι· ἔφεσις δ’ ἔστι καὶ τούτοις. χρῶνται δὲ τοῖς ἐπωνύμοις καὶ πρὸς τὰς στρατείας, καὶ ὅταν ἡλικίαν ἐκπέμπωσι προγράφουσιν, ἀπὸ τίνος ἄρχοντος καὶ ἐπωνύμ[ου] μέχρι τίνων δεῖ στρατεύεσθαι.

LIII. They also allot "the Forty", from each tribe, before whom people bring the other suits; who formerly were thirty and went about the demes judging, but after the oligarchy of the Thirty, they became forty. And they have independent power to judge cases up to ten drachmae, but those above this amount they hand over to the arbitrators. These, having received them, if they are unable to reconcile the parties, give a decision; and if the decision pleases both and they abide by it, the suit is at an end. But if one of the litigants appeals to the court, they pack the testimonies, challenges, and laws into jars (echinoi), separately those of the prosecutor and those of the defendant, and having sealed these and attached the decision of the arbitrator written on a tablet, they hand them over to the four who judge the tribe of the defendant. These, having received them, bring them into the court: those within a thousand drachmae before two hundred and one judges, and those above a thousand before four hundred and one. And it is not allowed to use laws, challenges, or testimonies other than those from the arbitrator which have been packed into the jars. The arbitrators are those for whom it is the sixtieth year; and this is clear from the archons and the eponyms. For there are ten eponyms of the tribes, and forty-two of the age-grades. The ephebes when being registered were formerly registered on whitened tablets, and there were inscribed on them both the archon under whom they were registered and the eponym who had acted as arbitrator in the preceding year; but now they are inscribed on a bronze pillar, and the pillar stands in front of the Council Chamber near the eponyms. The Forty, taking the last of the eponyms, distribute the arbitrations to them and allot which ones each shall arbitrate; and it is compulsory to complete the arbitrations which each is allotted. For the law orders that if anyone does not become an arbitrator when his age-grade has reached him, he shall be disenfranchised (atimos), unless he happens to hold some office in that year or to be abroad; these alone are exempt. It is also possible to impeach before the arbitrators, if anyone is wronged by an arbitrator, and if they condemn anyone, the laws order him to be disenfranchised; but there is an appeal for these too. They also use the eponyms for military expeditions, and when they send out an age-grade they publish beforehand from which archon and eponym to which ones they must serve.

Syntax notes4 items

§p.58το[ῖ] ς δ τοῖς
In the text `το[ῖ] ς δ`, the Greek numeral `δ` stands for "four" (`τέτταρσι`). This is an abbreviation for the four members of the Forty who judged cases for the defendant's tribe, to whom the arbitration materials were handed over.
§p.58διαιτηταὶ δ’ εἰσὶν οἶς ἂν ἑξηκοστὸν ἔτος ᾗ
The relative clause `οἷς ἂν ἑξηκοστὸν ἔτος ᾖ` ("those for whom it is the sixtieth year") uses the subjunctive with `ἄν` to express a general definition. It refers to citizens who have completed their 59th year and entered their 60th year, the cohort obligated to serve as public arbitrators.
§p.59ὁ ἐπώνυμος ὁ τῷ προτέρῳ ἔτει δεδιαιτηκώς
The perfect participle `δεδιαιτηκώς` refers to the eponym of the age-grade that had fully completed its year of service as public arbitrators in the preceding year, corresponding to those who have just reached sixty-one.
§p.59τὸν δὲ τελευταῖον τῶν ἐπωνύμων
`τελευταῖος` means "last" chronologically or in sequence. It refers to the oldest of the "forty-two eponyms of the age-grades" (the cohort that has just reached sixty and is obligated to arbitrate), which is selected to have the year's arbitrations distributed among them.

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg003.humanitext-grc1:53