Dikastes
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Dikastes ( el, δικαστής, pl. δικασταί) was a legal office in
ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
that signified, in the broadest sense, a judge or juror, but more particularly denotes the Attic functionary of the democratic period, who, with his colleagues, was
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
ally empowered to try to pass judgment upon all causes and questions that the laws and customs of his country found to warrant judicial investigation.


Selection process

In the circumstance of a plurality of persons being selected from the mass of private citizens, and associated temporarily as representatives of the whole body of the people, adjudicating between its individual members, and of such delegates swearing an oath that they would well and truly discharge the duties entrusted to them, there appears some resemblance between the constitution of the Attic '' dikasterion'' (court) and an English or American
jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
, but in nearly all other respects the differences between them are large. At
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
the conditions of his eligibility were, that the dikast should be a free citizen, in the enjoyment of his full franchise (), and not less than thirty years of age, and of persons so qualified six thousand were selected by lot for the service of every year. Of the precise method of their appointment our information is somewhat obscure, but we may gather that selection took place every year under the conduct of the nine
archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
s and their official scribe; that each of these ten archons drew by lot the names of six hundred persons of the tribe, or
phyle ''Phyle'' ( gr, φυλή, phulē, "tribe, clan"; pl. ''phylai'', φυλαί; derived from ancient Greek φύεσθαι "to descend, to originate") is an ancient Greek term for tribe or clan. Members of the same ''phyle'' were known as ''symphylet ...
, assigned to him; that the whole number so selected was again divided by lot into ten sections of 500 each, together with a one consisting of a thousand persons, from among whom the occasional deficiencies in the sections of 500 might be supplied. To each of the ten sections one of the ten first letters of the alphabet was appropriated as a distinguishing mark, and a small tablet called Pinakion (), inscribed with the letter of the section and the name of the individual, was delivered as a certificate of his appointment to each dicast. Three
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
plates found in the
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
, and described by
Edward Dodwell Edward Dodwell (30 November 176713 May 1832) was an Irish painter, traveller and a writer on archaeology. Biography Dodwell was born in Ireland and belonged to the same family as Henry Dodwell, the theologian. He was educated at Trinity Colleg ...
in his ''Travels'', are supposed to have served this purpose. The inscriptions upon these plates consist of the following letters: , and , and also bear representations of
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
s and
Gorgon A Gorgon ( /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary, the te ...
heads, and other devices symbolic of the Attic people. The thousand supernumeraries had in all probability some different token, but of this we have no certain knowledge.


Oath

Before proceeding to the exercise of his functions the dikast was obliged to swear the official
oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...
, which was done in the earlier ages at a place called Ardettus, just outside
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, on the banks of the
Ilissos The Ilisos or Ilisus ( el, Ιλισός, ) is a river in Athens, Greece. Originally a tributary of the Kifisos, it has been rechanneled to the sea. It is now largely channeled underground, though as of June 2019 there are plans to unearth the ...
, but in later times at some other spot, of which nothing is known. In the time of
Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...
the oath asserted the qualification of the dikast, and a solemn engagement by him to discharge his office faithfully and incorruptibly in general, as well as in certain specified cases which bore reference to the appointment of
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
s, a matter in no small degree under the control of the dikast, inasmuch as few could enter upon any office without having had their election submitted to a court for its approbation, or '' docimasia''; and besides these, it contained a general promise to support the existing constitution, which the dikast would of course be peculiarly enabled to do, when persons were accused before him of attempting its subversion.


Allotment

This oath being taken, and the divisions made as above mentioned, it remained to assign the courts to the several sections of dikastes in which they were to sit. This was not, like the first, an appointment intended to last during the year, but took place under the conduct of the '' thesmothetae'', ''de novo'', every time that it was necessary to impanel a number of dikastes. In ordinary cases, when one, two, or more sections of 500 made up the complement of judges appropriated to trying the particular kind of cause in hand, the process was extremely simple. Two urns or caskets () were produced, one containing tickets inscribed with the distinctive letters of the sections; the other furnished with similar tickets to indicate the courts in which the sittings were to be held. If the cause was to be tried by a single section, a ticket would be drawn simultaneously from each urn, and the result announced, that section B, for instance, was to sit in court F; if a thousand dikastes were required, two tablets would, in a similar manner, be drawn from the urn that represented the sections, while one was drawn from the other as above mentioned, and the announcement might run that sections A and B were to sit in court F, and the like. A more complicated system must have been adopted when fractional parts of the section sat by themselves, or were added to other whole sections: but what this might have been we can only conjecture, and it is obvious that some other process of selection must have prevailed upon all those occasions when judges of a peculiar qualification were required; as, for instance, in the trial of violators of the mysteries, when the initiated only were allowed to judge; and in that of military offenders who were left to the justice of those only whose comrades they were, or should have been at the time when the offense was alleged to have been committed. It is clear that the allotment of the dikastes to their several courts for the day took place in this manner, in the marketplace, and that it was conducted in all cases, except one, by the thesmothetae; in that one, which was when the magistrates and public officers rendered an account of their conduct at the expiration of their term of office, and defended themselves against all charges of corruption or inappropriate behavior (or '' euthyne'') in it, the '' logistae'' were the officiating personages. As soon as the allotment had taken place, each dikast received a staff, on which was painted the letter and color of the court awarded him, which might serve both as a ticket to procure admittance, and also to distinguish him from any loiterer that might endeavor to obtain a sitting after business had begun.


Payment

The dikastes received a fee for their attendance ( or ). This payment is said to have been first instituted by
Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
, and it is generally supposed from
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
, who makes his character Strepsiades say that for the first
obolus The obol ( grc-gre, , ''obolos'', also ὀβελός (''obelós''), ὀβελλός (''obellós''), ὀδελός (''odelós'').  "nail, metal spit"; la, obolus) was a form of ancient Greek currency and weight. Currency Obols were u ...
he ever received as a dikast, he bought a toy for his son, that it was at first only one obolus. According to the
Scholiast Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...
on
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
the pay was subsequently increased to two oboli, but this seems to be merely an erroneous inference from the passage of his author. Three oboli or the triobolon () occurs as early as 425 BC in the comedies of
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
, and is afterwards mentioned frequently. The German classicist
Philipp August Böckh Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864 ...
inferred from these passages that the triobolon was introduced by
Cleon Cleon (; grc-gre, Κλέων, ; died 422 BC) was an Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War. He was the first prominent representative of the commercial class in Athenian politics, although he was an aristocrat himself. He strongly advocat ...
about 421 BC, but this opinion is disputed, however, and some scholars think that the pay of three oboli for the dikasts existed before that time. However this may be, this much is certain: the pay of the dikastes was not the same at all times, although it is improbable that it should ever have been two oboli. The payment was made after every assembly of a court of '' heliastae'' by the '' Kolakretai'' in the following manner. After a citizen had been appointed by lot to act as judge in a particular court, he received on entering the court together with the staff ( or ) a tablet or ticket (). After the business of the court was over, the dikast, on going out, delivered his ticket to the ''
prytaneis The ''prytaneis'' (πρυτάνεις; sing.: πρύτανις ''prytanis'') were the executives of the '' boule'' of ancient Athens. Origins and organization The term (like '' basileus'' or ''tyrannos'') is probably of Pre-Greek etymology (po ...
'', and received his fee in return. Those who arrived too late had no claim to the triobolon. The annual amount of these fees is reckoned by
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
at 150 talents, a sum which is very high and can perhaps only be applied to the most flourishing times of Athens.Meier, ''Att. Proc.'' p. 125, &c.


References

{{SmithDGRA, wstitle=Dicastes Ancient Greek titles Ancient Greece Ancient Athens