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

ASYLUM. ASYLUM. 165
Accordbin to the Calendar of Julius Caesar.
Commencement of spring - The breezes of Favonius begin to blow VII. Id. Feb. (7 February).
Vernal eqhinox - - VIII. Kal. Apr. (25 March).
Commencement of summer IIeliacal rising of the Pleiades (Vergiliae) VII. Kal. Mai. (9 May).
Summer solstice (solstitiuzm) _ VIII. Kal. Jun. (24 June).
Commencement of autumn Morning setting of Fidicula - III. Id. Aug. (11 August).
Autumnal equinox - - VIII. Kal. Oct. (24 September).
Commencement of winter Morning setting of the Pleiades - III. Id. Nov. (11 November).
Winter solstice (bruzma) - VIII. Kal. Jan. (25 December).
Thus assigning to spring, ninety-one days; to summer, ninety-four days; to autumn, ninety-one days;
to winter, eighty-four days. [W. R.]
ASTY'NOMI (&a'vVdlJLot), public officers in sessed the jus asyli were: the altar of pity, in the
most of the Greek states, who had to preserve order agora, the altar of Zeus'A-yopaios, the altars of
in the streets, to keep them clean, and to see that all the twelve gods, the altar of the Eumenides on
bu ldings, both public and private, were in a safe the Areiopagus, the Theseum in the Peiraeeus,
stat-e, and not likely to cause injury by falling and the altar of Artemis, at Munychia (Meier,
down. (Aristot. Polit. vi. 5, ed. Schneider; Plat. Aft. Proc. p. 404). Among the most celebrated
Leg. vi. pp. 759, 763; Dig. 43. tit. 10. s. 1.) At places of asylum in other parts of Greece, we may
Athens there were ten astynomi, five for the city mention the temple of Poseidon, in Lacoinia, oil
and five for the Peiraeeus, and not twenty, fifteen Mount Taenlarus (Thuc. i. 128, 133; Corn. Nep.
for the city and five for the Peiraeeus, as is stated Purus. c. 4); the temple of Poseidon, in Calauria
in some editions of Harpocration. (Harpocrat. (Plut. Dessostl. 29); and the temple of Athena
Said. s. v.; Bekker, Anecd. p. 455; Bckh, Alea, in Tegea (Paus. iii. 5. ~ 6). It would apCosp. Inscrip. vol. i. p. 337.) A person was pear, however, that all sacred places were supobliged to discharge this burdensome office only posed to protect an individual to a certain extent,
once in his life. (Dem. Pr'esn. p. 1461.) The ex- even if their right to do so was not recognised by
tent of the duties of the Athenian astynomi is the laws of the state, in which they were situated.
uncertain. Aristotle states (up. HIcrpocr. 1. c.) In such cases, however, as the law gave no prothat they had the superintendence of the scavengers tection, it seems to have been considered lawful to
(tco7rpoNdyo.), which would naturally belong to use any means in order to compel the individuals
them on account of their attending to the cleansing who had taken refuge to leave the sanctuary, exof the streets, and he likewise informs us that cept dragging them out by pers,:nal violence.
they had the superintendence of the female musi- Thus it was not uncommos to force a person from
cians. It is probable, however, that they had an altar or a statue of a god, by the application of
only to do with the latter in virtue of their duty fire. (Eurip. Asdrsons. 256, with Schol.; Plaut.
of preserving order in the streets, since the regu- Mostell. v. 1. 65.)
lation of all the public prostitutes belonged to the In the time of Tiberius, the number of places
agoranosni. [AGORANOMeI. ] It would likewise pessessing the jus asyli in the Greek cities in
appear from a circumstance related by Diogenes Greece and Asia Mlinor became so numerous, as
Laertius (vi. 90) that they could prevent a person seriously to impede the administratiol of justice.
from appearing in the streets in luxurious or in- In consequence of this, the senate, by the comdecent apparel. It is mentioned on one occasion nland of the emperor, limited the jus asyli to a
that a will was deposited with the astynomi few cities, but did not entirely abolish it, as
(Isaeus, de Cleonym. tHered. p. 36, ed. Steph.), a Suetonrius (Tib. 37) has'erroneously stated. (See
circumstance which does not seem in accordance Tacit. 2Ann. iii. 60-63, iv. 14; and Ernesti's LEvwith the duties of their office. (Meier, Att. Pro- cursuts to Sult. ilb. 37.)
cess, p. 93, &c.) The asylum which Romulus is said to ha]ve
ASY'LUM (auovXov). In the Greek states opened at Rome on the Capitoline hill, between
the temples, altars, sacred groves, and statues of its two summits, in order to increase the populathe gods generally possessed the privileges of pro- tion of the city (Liv. i. 8; Vell. Pat. i. 8; Dionss.
tecting slaves, debtors, and crimnals, who fled to ii. 15), was, according to the legend, a place of
them for refuge. The laws, however, do not ap- refuge for the inhabitants of other states, rather
pear to have recognised the right of all such sacred than a sanctuary for those who had violated the
places to afford the protection which was claimed; laws of the city. In the republican and early illbut to have confined it to a certain lunmber of' perial tines, a right of asylum, such as existed in
temples, or altars, which were considered in a more tte Greelk states, does not appear to have been
especial mannler to have the aevsa, or jus asyli. recognised by the Roman L law. Livy seems to
(Servius ad Virg. Aen. ii. 761.) There were speak of the right (xxxv. 51) as peculiar to the
several places in Athens which possessed this pri- Greeks: — Terntdl2u est Apollinis Deliu it- eo
vilege; of which the best known was the The- jure sasncto quo sunt tee7npla cjuae asyla Gaueci cpseinm, or temple of Theseus, in the city, which pellant. By a constitutio of Antoninus Pius. it was
vwas chiefly intended for the protection of the ill- decreed that, if a slave in a province fled to the
treat'.d slaves, who could take refuge in this place, temples of the gods or the statues of the emperors,
and compel their masters to sell them to some to avoid the ill-usage of his master, the praeses
other person. (Plut. Tleseus, 36; Schol. ad could compel the master to sell the slave (Gaius,
Aristoph. Equit. 1309; Hesych. and Suidas, s. v. i. 53); and the slave was not regarded by the law
Oia-fo'V.) The other places in Athens which pos- as a runaway -ftuitivus (Dig. 21. tit. 1. e. 17.
M 3