Geography

​The sixth class consists of the inspectors (ephoroi). To these it is assigned to oversee what is being done and to report secretly to the king, making the courtesans their collaborators—those in the city employing the courtesans in the city, and those in the camp employing those on the spot. The best and most trustworthy men are appointed to this office.

​The seventh class consists of the advisors and councillors of the king, from whom are appointed the magistrates, the courts, and the administration of the whole. It is not permitted either to marry from another class or to change from one pursuit or trade to another, nor for the same person to practice more than one, unless he is one of the philosophers; for the philosopher is permitted to do so because of his virtue.

​Of the magistrates, some are market-inspectors (agoranomoi), others city-inspectors (astynomoi), and others are in charge of military affairs. Of these, the first class supervise the rivers and measure the land as is done in Egypt, and inspect the closed canals from which water is distributed into the conduits, so that the use of the water may be available to all on equal terms. The same men also have charge of the hunters, and have authority to bestow rewards and punishments upon those who deserve them; they also collect the taxes and supervise the crafts connected with the land, such as those of woodcutters, carpenters, blacksmiths, and miners. They also construct roads, and at every ten stadia they place a pillar showing the bypasses and the distances.

​The city-inspectors (astynomoi) are divided into six bodies of five. The first body inspects matters of craft; the second entertains strangers, for they assign lodgings, watch over their lives by appointing assistants to them, escort them on their departure or send away the property of those who die, care for them when they are sick, and bury them when they die. The third body inquires into births and deaths, when and how they occur, both for the sake of taxes and so that births and deaths, whether among the higher or lower classes, may not escape notice. The fourth body has charge of retail trade and barter, and they look after measures and seasonal products, so that they may be sold by public signal. The same person is not permitted to trade in more than one thing unless he pays double taxes. The fifth body presides over manufactured goods and sells them by public signal, keeping the new and the old separate; and there is a penalty for the one who mixes them. The sixth and last body collects the tenths of things sold; and death is the penalty for the one who steals the tax. Individually, each body performs these duties, but collectively they look after both private and civic matters, and the repair of public works, such as walls, the marketplace, ports, and temples.

​After the city-inspectors, the third governing body is that in charge of military affairs, and this also is divided into six bodies of five. Of these, they station one with the admiral; another with the superintendent of the ox-teams, by means of which engines of war are transported, as well as food for both the men themselves and the beasts, and other things useful to the army. These officers also provide the servants—drummers, bell-bearers, and further, grooms, mechanics, and their assistants; they also send out the foragers at the sound of a bell, securing speed and safety by means of rewards and punishments. The third body consists of those who have charge of the infantry; the fourth, of the cavalry; the fifth, of the chariots; the sixth, of the elephants. There are royal stables both for horses and for the beasts, and also a royal armory; for the soldier delivers his equipment into the armory, his horse into the stable, and his beast likewise. They use their horses without bridles. On the roads, oxen draw the chariots, while the horses are led by a halter so that their legs may not be chafed, nor their spirit under the chariots be dulled. There are two combatants on the chariot besides the charioteer; while the driver of the elephant is the fourth passenger, and three are those who shoot arrows from it.