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

398 DIAETETAE. DIAETETAE.
great importance, inasmuch as the ovxu7 could tion. (Dem,. c. Apat. p. 896, c. Con. p. 1269. 19.)
not inflict a greater penalty than a fine of 500 The presumption or prepossession which might
drachmae with atimia. arise from a voluntary oath in the last case, might
As to the extent of the jurisdiction of the be met by a similar OrpKX77roLs, tendered by the opl)iaetetae, Pollux (viii. 126) states, that in former posite party, to which the original challenger aptimes no suit was brought into a court before it pears to have had the option of consenting or not
had been investigated by the Diaetetae (ordAt as he might think proper. (Dem. Tiinoth. p. 1203;
o V'ala 3iK~c orphl EVrI &saLT'lTcS Eras O Et elyero). compare Arist. Rhlet. i. 16.) In all cases where
There can be but little doubt that the word 7racdea any of these investigations or depositions were
here refers to a time which was ancient with re- made before the Diaetetae, we may conclude with
ference to the age of the Athenian orators, and Hudtwalcker (p. 48), that they might be called as
therefore that this previous investigation was no witnesses in subsequent stages of the action, either
longer requisite in the days of Demosthenes and to state the evidence they had taken, or to prohis contemporaries. Still we find the Diaetetae duce the documents they had examined, and which
mentioned by them in very many cases of civil were deposited by them in an echinus. [APPELactions, and it is not unlikely that the magistrates, LATIO (GREEa ).1
whose duty it was to bring actions into court The proceedings in the trials before the public
(eioalyErv), encouraged the process before the arbi- arbitrators were of two kinds, Ist, When two
trators, as a means of saving the state the pay- parties agreed by a regular contract to refer a
inent which would otherwise have been due to the matter in dispute to a judge or judges selected from
dicasts. Hudtwalcker is accordingly of opinion them. 2dly, When a cause was brought before a
that the Diaetetae were competent to act in all public arbitrator, without any such previous comcases of civil actions for restitution or compensa- promise, and in the regular course of law. The
tion, but not of penal or criminal indictments chief difference seems to have been that, in case
(-ypaeal), and, moreover, that it rested'With the of a reference by contract between two parties, the
complainant whether his cause was brought before award was final, and no appeal could be brought
them in the first instance, or sent at once to a before another court, though the unsuccessful party
higher court of judicature. (Dem. c. Androt. might, in some instances, move for a new trial
p. 601. 18.) (T'r!UA oVo'av'rlTXaXeYv, Dem. c. Mlleld. p. 541).
But besides hearing cases of this sort the Except in this point, of non-appeal, an arbitrator
Diaetetae sat as commissioners of inquiry on mat- who was selected from the public Diaetetae by
ters of fact which could not be conveniently exa- litigant parties, seems to have been subject to the
mined in a court of justice (Dem. c. Steph. p. 11 06), same liabilities, and to have stood in the same rejust as what is called an " issue " is sometimes lation to those parties as an arbitrator appointed by
directed by our own Court of Chancery to an in- lot: the coulse of proceeding also appears to have
ferior court, for the purpose of trying a question of been the same before both (Dem. c. Meid. p. 541),
fact, to be determined by a jury. Either party in an account of which is given below. It must, howa suit could demand or challenge (7rpotcaAsedOat) ever, be first stated, that there are strong reasons
an inquiry of this sort before an arbitrator, the in support of H-udtwalcker's opinion, that whenchallenge being called 7rpdIocAVoLs: a term which ever a suitor wished to bring an action before one
was also applied to the " articles of agreement " or more of the public Diaetetae, he applied to one
by which the extent and object of the inquiry were of the many officers called eroayw}ye's (Dem. c.
defined. (Dem. c. Neaer. p. 1387.) Many in- Lacrit. p. 940. 5, c. Pantaen. p. 976. 10; Pollux,
stances of these 7rpoKA7Xoets are found in the viii. 93), whose duty it was to bring the cause
orators; one of the most frequent is the demand (eldfyerv ) into a proper court. By some such
or offer to examine by torture a slave supposed to officer, at any rate, a requisite number of arbitrabe cognisant of a matter in dispute, the damage tors was allotted to the complainanlt, care being
which might result to the owner of the slave being taken that they were of the same tribe as the deguaranteed by the' party who demanded the exa- fendant. (Harpocr. s. v. 3ta1rWlTat.) Pollux (viii.
ruination. (Harpocr. s. v. 7rpOdcX1o-s.) See also De- 126) informls us that if a Diaetetes refused to
mosthenes (Onetor. i. p. 874), who observes that hear a cause, he might be punished with atimia:
the testimony of a slave, elicited by torture, was but it appears that under extraordinary circumthought of more value by the Athenians than the stances, and after hearing the case, a Diaetetes,
evidence of freemen. Another instance somewhat sometimes refused to decide himself, and referred,
similar to the last, was the srpKAcX-s-s el's e/.aprv- the parties to a court of justice. (Dem. c. Ph/orszm.
pioas (Pollux, viii. 62), where a party proposed to p. 913.)
his opponent that the decision of a disputed point The process before the public Diaetetae was
should be determined by the evidence of a third conducted in the following manner. After comparty. (Antiphon, De Cloreut. p. 144, ed. Bek- plaint made, and payment of the 7rapd',rao'es, the
ker.) Sometimes also we read of a 7rpocXAqorts, plaintiff supported his averment by an oath, to the
by which a party was challenged to allow the ex- effect that his accusation was true, which the deamination of documents; as wills (Dem. c. Steph. fendant met by a like oath as to the matter of his
p. 1104), deeds, bankers' books, &c. (c. Tiszmoth. defence. W;\hen the oath (a&reToLotooa) had been
p. 1197). It is manifest that the forms and ob- thus taken by the parties, the arbitrators entered
jects of a 7rpdKcXqars would vary according to the upon the inquiry, heard witnesses, examined documatter in dispute, and the evidence which was ments, and held as many conferences (esorsot)
producible; we shall, therefore, content ourselves with the parties, as might be necessary for the setwith adding that the term was also used when tlement of the question. (See authorities, Hudta party challenged his adversary to make his alle- walcker, p. 80.) The day of pronouncing judgment'
gation under the sanctionT of an oath, or offered to (1 &arr4paao- Tres T st7 s, Dem. c. Ever#. p. 1153)
make his own statements under the samle obliga- was probably fixed by law, if we may judge from