Humanitext Reader

Aristotle · Constitution of the Athenians §53

The Forty Judges and Public Arbitrators

Passage 25 of 33 · Greek

Summary

The role of the Forty judges is explained, along with details on the public arbitration system (diaetetae) for suits over ten drachmae, including appointment, duties, appeals, and the use of eponyms for military drafts.

§53LIII. 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.
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.
καὶ τὰ μὲν | μέχρι δέκα δραχμῶν αὐτοτελεῖς εἰσι δ[ικά]ζεῖ]ν, τὰ δ᾿ ὑπὲρ τοῦτο τὸ τίμημα τοῖς διαιτηταῖς παραδιδόασιν.
And they have independent power to judge cases up to ten drachmae, but those above this amount they hand over to the arbitrators.
οἱ δὲ παραλαβόντες, [ἐ]ὰν μὴ δύνωνται διαλῦσαι, γιγνώσκουσι, κἄν μὲν ἀμφοτέροις ἀρέσκῃ τὰ γνωσθέντα καὶ ἐμμένωσιν, ἔχει τέλος ἡ δίκη.
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.
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 τοῖς τὴν φυλὴν τοῦ φεύγοντος δικάζουσιν.
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.
οἱ δὲ παραλαβόντες εἰσάγουσιν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, τὰ μὲν ἐντὸς χιλίων εἰς ἕνα καὶ διακοσίους, τὰ δ’ ὑπὲρ χιλίας εἰς ἔρα καὶ τετρακοσίους.
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.
οὐκ ἔνεστι δ’ οὔτε νόμοις οὔτε προκλήσεσι οὔτε μαρτυρίαις αλλ’ ἢ ταῖς παρὰ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ χρῆσθαι ταῖς εἰς τοὺς ἐχίνους ἐμβεβλημέναις.
And it is not allowed to use laws, challenges, or testimonies other than those from the arbitrator which have been packed into the jars.
διαιτηταὶ δ’ εἰσὶν οἶς ἂν ἑξηκοστὸν ἔτος ᾗ· τοῦτο δὲ δῆλον ἐκ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν ἐπωνύμων.
The arbitrators are those for whom it is the sixtieth year; and this is clear from the archons and the eponyms.
εἰσὶ γὰρ ἐπώνυμοι δέκα μὲν οἱ τῶν φυλῶν, δύο δὲ καὶ τετταράκοντα οἱ τῶν ἡλικιῶν·
For there are ten eponyms of the tribes, and forty-two of the age-grades.
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 δεδιαιτηκώς, νῦν δ’ εἰς στήλην χαλκῆν ἀναγράφονται, καὶ ἵσταται ἡ στήλη πρὸ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου παρὰ τοὺς ἐπωνύμους.
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.
τὸν δὲ τελευταῖον τῶν ἐπωνύμων λαβόντες οἱ τετταράκοντα διανέμουσιν αὐτοῖς τὰς διαίτας καὶ ἐπικληροῦσιν ἅς ἕκαστος διαιτήσει καὶ ἀναγκαῖον ἃς ἂν ἕκαστος λάχῃ διαίτας ἐκδιαιτᾶν.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
χρῶνται δὲ τοῖς ἐπωνύμοις καὶ πρὸς τὰς στρατείας, καὶ ὅταν ἡλικίαν ἐκπέμπωσι προγράφουσιν, ἀπὸ τίνος ἄρχοντος καὶ ἐπωνύμ[ου] μέχρι τίνων δεῖ στρατεύεσθαι.
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.

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Constitution of the Athenians §53. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg003.humanitext-grc1:53

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