Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

SYMIBOLON. SYMBOLON. 1081
promise, an action for breach of contract would such disputes could be decided by legal process,
have lain at Athens. But if my cow had broken either in the one country or the other. Among
my neighbour's fence, my obligation to repair the every people, however, the laws were so framed,
damage would have given rise not to an action for as to render the administration of justice more
breach of contract, but to a t'K sjAaGCXd~s. (Meier, favourable to a citizen than to a foreigner; and
Att. Prioc. pp. 476, 477.) On the other hand, a therefore it would be disadvantageous, and often
aibC- Xdacr~s would lie against a person who had dangerous, to sue a man, or be sued by him, in his
committed a breach of contract; for he was re- own country. The most friendly relation might
garded as a wrongdoer, and liable to pay compen- subsist between two states, such as UavJutaXia or
sation to the party injured. Therefore Dionyso- EirLyapla, and yet the natives of each be exposed
dorus, who had failed to perform the conditions of to this disadvantage in their mutual intercourse.
a,au-TLKc ouvyypa)71, had a aiK-c jhAdfi~s brought To obviate such an evil, it was necessaryto have a
against him by the persons who lent him money special agreement, declaring the conditions upon
on his ship. (Demosth. 1282; see also 1r'o Plsornm. which justice was to be reciprocally administered.
950, c. C(llipp. 1240.) The Athenian law fre- International contracts of this kind were called
quently gave an option between various forms of o'6.eoAa, defined by Suidas thus, ovuvOilcaL &s v,
action. It is not, however, improbable that the &XkAXkaes al 7rdXeLs eesaV TrdTTCwert T'os 7roXTraLs,
tbc-e o'vvOfltcKv 7rapaea~f swe was only one species doTs7E a8s5al Kial c a1dcvev, T'& 3icKata: and the
of the iK-q 6AX.d's, and the name one of a less causes tried in pursuance of such contracts were
technical kind. Wherever a debt had become called aia rat arb o'viysAcs. The more constant
due to a man by reason of some previous contract, and more important the intercourse between any
we may suppose that he had the option between two nations, the more necessary would it be fbr
an action of debt (Xpeovs) and one for breach of them to establish a good system of international
contract. The same observation will apply to the jurisprudence. Commercial people would stand in
8at c rapaKaTa6r7nWJs, &pyupiov, and others of a need of it the most. Aristotle mentions the Tussimilar kind. The main point of difference might cans and Carthaginians as having OrvSeoxa wrepi
be this: that in a general action for breach of con-'rso uE1 &a'eUsV. (Polit. iii. 1, 3, and 5, 10.) No
tract, the plaintiff went for unliquidated damages, such agreement has been preserved to us, and we
which the court had to assess; whereas, upon a know but little about the terms that were usually
claim to recover a debt or sum certain, or a specific prescribed. The basis of them seems to have been
chattel, the court had nothing more to do than to the principle that actowr seqiuitur forum rei; but
determine whether the plaintiff was entitled to it this, as well as other conditions, must have varied
or not; the &?la was &Trir'TOS. All such actions according to circumstances. Liberty of person, and
were tried before the ~eoosodeTat. (Meier, Alt. protection of property, would, no doubt, be secured
Proc. pp. 67, 184, 493-497, 510.) to the foreigner, as far as possible; and it would'OooAoeyfa appears to be a word of less technical be the duty of the wrpdS'evos to see that these rights
nature than ovYv4ipc, though (as we might expect were respected. A common provision was, that
in words of this sort) they are often used indiffer- the party who lost his cause might appeal to the
ently. Grammarians make them synonymous. tribunal of the other country, or to that of some
(Harpocr. s. v.'Auavs0esc'areor: Suidas, s. v. 2vv- third state mutually agreed upon. (Etym. Magn.
ri jscr.) vuOeeas rotemse.at or'riOeNoOaL terC' u'e,os s. v.'"Eatlctc7os 7rIAls.) This was perhaps sugis, to make an agreement with any one; es'yeLerV gested by the practice which had grown up, of re.
TaLs eiV0'tC0aLs, to abide by it; vrrepea',vesv or ferring national quarrels to the arbitration of some
wrapaaLevEmI, to break or transgress. Here we may individual or third state. (Thucyd. i. 34, 78, 140,
observe, that o-v'O'i~cat is constantly used in the v. 41, vii. 1 8; Schbmann, Ant. Jus. put. Gr. p.
plural, instead of ouv0rOcqs, the only difference 367.)
being, that strictly the former signifies the terms When the Athenians made any such treaty,
or articles of agreement, in the same manner as they required it to be approved of and finally rati&taOeiKal, the testanzentary dispositions, is put for fled by a jury of the Heliaea, under the direction of
3taOKsc7, tIle will. u6/eCoXov also signifies a com- the Thesmothetae. Hence Pollux (viii. 88) says
pact or agreement, but had become (in Attic par- of those magistrates,'& aOmgoea T& irpbs T&s
lance) obsolete in this sense, except in the expres- rd6Aers ivpoeuev. The other contracting state was
sion 3alenaL &rb arvlCAC6,ov. (See below.) [C.R.K.] therefore compelled to send an envoy to Athens,
SYMBOLON, DIKAE APO (aiKal a&rb ovuy. with power to conclude the treaty (if he thought
dXhwy). The ancient Greek states had no well fit) as' it was drawn up and settled by the Thesmnodefined international law for the protection of their thetae and jurors. Most of the people with whom
respective members. In the earlier times troops the Athenians had to deal, were either subject or
of robbers used to roam about from one country to inferior to them, and were content to acquiesce in
another, and commit aggressions upon individuals, the above regulation. Philip, however, would not
who in their turn made reprisals, and took the law submit to it, and demanded that the terms should
into their own hands. Even when the state took receive final ratification in Macedonia. This deulpon itself to resent the injury done to its members, mand is made the subject of complaint by Demosa violent remedy was resorted to, such as the thenes (de Halon. 78).
giving authority to take o-hAa, or p laea, a sort of The name of Ka a esb ravjuoXwv was given also
national distress. As the Greeks advanced in to the causes which the allies of the Athenians
civilization, and a' closer intercourse sprang up sent to be tried at Athens. (Pollux, viii. 63.) This
among them, disputes between the natives of dif- fact has been called in question by Biickh, but
ferent countries were settled (whenever it was there is not much reason for doubting it. It is
possible) by friendly negotiation. It soon began true that the expression is not strictly applicable
to be evident, that it would be much better, if, in- to causes, not between anAthenian and a foreigner,
stead of any interference on the part of the state, but between two foreigners; and it may be allowed