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

GEROUSIA. GEROUSIA. 571
or if there were any originally, that they gradually the priesthoods of Zeus Uranius (Herod. vi. 56) and
vanished. This would account for the fict that the Lacedaemonian Zeus being filled by them; and
Dionysius (ii. 8) only mentions two classes of At- that, in their capacity of national high priests, they
ticans; one corresponding to the Roeman patricianls, officiated at all the public sacrifices offered on bethe other to the plebeians. (Thirlwall, IHistory of half of the state. (Xen. De Rep. Lac. 15.) Moreover
Greece, vol. ii. p. 14; Wachsmuth, HIellenischle they were amply provided with the means for exAltcrtlzmnskunde, vol. i. p. 361, 2d edit.; Platner, ercising the heroic virtue of hospitality; for this
Beitriige, &c., p. 19; Titmann, Griech. Staatsver- purpose, public or domain lands were assigned to
faessunjen, p. 575, &c.) them in the district of the perioeci, or provincial
In Samos the naame yseoUopoL was applied to the subjects, and certain perquisites belonged to them
oligarchical party, consisting of the wealthy and whenever any animal was slain in sacrifice. Bepowerful. (Thucyd. viii. 21; Plut. Quaest. Roet. sides this, the kings were entitled to various payp. 303; Mil!er, Dor. iii. 1. ~ 4.) In Syracuse the ments in kind (7raoe&v T',V'crv &7rb dK&cOV xo0pO/),
aristocratical party was likewise called yewoJdopoL that they might never be in want of victims to
or'yaeopoi, in opposition to the 38~ios. (Herod. vii. sacrifice; in addition to which they received, twice
155; Hesych. s. v. r'/opo,; MUller, Dor. iii. 4. a month from the state, an ~pi'iov'rEE7o0, to be
~ 4; Goller, de Situ et Oriqg. Syrac. p. 9.) [L. S.] offered as a sacrifice to Apollo, and then served up
GERAERAE orGERARAE (yepaLpai or yepa- at the royal table. Whenever also any of the
pai). [DIONVYSA, p. 412, a.] citizens made a public sacrifice to the gods, the
GERANOS (ye'pavos). [HoYPORCHEMA.] kings were invited to the feast, and honoured above
GERMA'NI. [COGNATl.] the other guests: a double portion of food was given
GEROU'SIA (-yepovi'La), the council of elders to them, and they commenced the libations to the
(-y'polrEs), was the name of the Senate in most gods. (Herod. vi. 57.) All these distinctions are
Doric states, and was especially used to signify the of a simple and antiquated character, and, so far as
Senate at Sparta. In connection with this subject they go, prove that the Spartan sovereignty was a
it is proposed to give a. general view of the Spartan continuation of the heroic or Homeric. The disconstitution, and to explain the functions of its tinctions and privileges granted to the king as
legislative and administrative elements. In the commander of the forces in war, lead to the same
later ages of Spartan history one of the most conclusion. These were greater than he enjoyed
prominent of these was the college of the five <at home. I-e was guarded by a body of 100
ephors; but as an account of the Ephoralty is chosen men, and his table was maintained at the
given in a separate article [EsPsoRI], we shall public expense: he might sacrifice in his sacerdota}l
confine our inquiries to the kings, the yEpoV'res or capacity as manly victims as he chose; the skins
councillors, and the &ictcAXlrrLa or assembly of Spar- and backs of which were his perquisites, and he
tan freemen. was assisted by so many subordinate officers, that
I. Tize Kings. The kingly authority at Sparta he had nothing else to do, except to act as priest
was, as it is well known, coeval with the settle- and strategus. (Xen. De Rep. Lac. 14, 15; Herod.
ment of the Dorians in the Peloponnesus, and vi. 55.)
confined to the descendants of Aristodemus, one The accession and demise of the Spartan kings
of the Heracleid leaders, under whom, according were marked by observances of an Oriental characto the Spartan legend, the conquest of Laconia ter. (Herod. vi. 58.) The former event was sigwas achieved. To him were born twin sons, nalised by a remission of all debts due from private
Eurysthenes and Procles; and from this cause individuals to the state or the king; and on the
arose the diarchy, or divided royalty, the sove- death of a king, the funeral solemnities were celereignty being always shared by the representatives brated by the whole community. There was a
of the two families which claimed descent from general mourning for ten days, during which all
them (Herod. vi. 52); the precedence in point of public business vas suspended: horsemen went
honour was, however, granted to the older branch, round the country to carry the tidings, and a fixed
who were called Agiads, as the younger house number of the perioeci, or provincials, was obliged
was styled Eurypontides from certain alleged de- to come from all parts of the country to the city,
scendants of the twin brothers. (Niebuhr, Hlist. where, with the Spartans and Helots, and their
of Roen. vol. i. p. 356.) Such was the national Iives, to the number of many thousands, they
legend; but as we read that the sanction of the made loud lamentations, and proclaimed the virtues
Pythian oracle was procured for the arrangement of the deceased king as superior to those of all his
of the diarchy (Herod. 1. c.), we may conclude that predecessors. (Herod. 1. c.)
it was not altogether fortuitous, but rather the In comparison with their dignity and honours,
work of policy and design; nor indeed is it impro- the constitutional powers of the kings were very
bable that the nobles would gladly avail them- limited. In fact they can scarcely be said to have
selves of an opportunity to weaken the royal au- possessed any; for though they presided over the
thority by dividing it. council of?yepoVres or apXaCyITar, or principes
The descent of the Spartan kings from the na- senatzs, and the king of the elder house probably
tional heroes and leaders contributed in no small had a casting vote *, still the voice of each counted
degree to support their dignity and honour; and it for no more than that of any other senator: when
is, perhaps, from this circumstance partly that they absent, their place was supplied and their proxies
were considered as heroes, and enjoyed a certain tendered by the councillors who were most nearly
religious respect. (Xen. De Rep. Lac. c. 15.) The related to them, and therefore of an Heracleid
honours paid to them were, however, of a simple family. Still the kings had some important preroand heroic character, such as a Spartan might give
without derogating from his own dignity or for- * Dr. Thirlwall observes that this supposition
getting his self-respect. Thus, we are told that may perhaps reconcile the difference between HIerod.
tho kings united the character of priest and king, vi. 57. and Thucyd. i, 20.