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

PARASITI. PAREDRI. 867
view is confirmed by the opinion of the best new -Attic comedy, and in their Roman imitations,
Oriental scholars respecting the etymology of the the parasites are standing characters, and although
word. (Comp. Ukert, Geogr. d. Griech. u. Rnz. they are described in very strong colours in these
vol. i. pt. 2, p. 77, and iiber die Art d. Gr. u. R. comedies, yet tile description does not seem to be
die Entfernungen.zu bestimrnens.) Its true etymo- much exaggerated, if we may judge from other aclogy is doubtful. Riidiger (in Ersc uand Gruber's counts of real parasites. We shall not therefore
EoVyclopadie, s. v. Paras.) supposes the latter part be much mistaken in borrowing our description of
of the word to be the same as the Persian senmy, " a parasites chiefly fromn these comedies.
stone," and the former part to be connected with the The characteristic features common to all paraSanskrit palra, " end," and thinks that it may have sites are importunity, love of sensual pleasures, and
derived its name from the stones placed at the end above all the desire of getting a good dinner withof certain distances on the public roads of Persia. out paying for it. According to the various means
PARASE'MON (7rapdriauov). [INSIGNE.] they employed to obtain this object, they may be
PARASI'TI (7rapd(reoT) properly denotes per- divided into three classes. The first are the
sons who dine with others. In the early history yeAsrVo7roloi or jesters; who, in order to get some
of Greece the word had a very different meaning invitation, not only tried to amuse persons with
from that in which it was used in later times. Tb their jokes, but even exposed their own person to
Es ye 7DrapaIereU iovv IvaraXa E'ie )v Eejalyby ical ridicule, and would bear all kinds of insult and
Sep4v, says Athenaeus (vi. p. 234), and he proves abuse if they could only hope to gain the desired
from various decrees (rl(piopara) and other autho- object. Among these we snay class Philippus in
rities that -anciently the name 7rapdereTos was given the Symposium of Xenophon, Ergastilus in the Capto distinguished persons, who were appointed as tivi, and Gelasimus in the Stichus of Plautus. The
assistants to certain priests and to the highest ma- second class are the So'AaKse or flatterers (assenta,
gistrates. As regards the priestly and civil parasites, tores), who, by praising and admiring vain persons,
the accounts of their office are so obscure that we are endeavoured to obtain an invitation to their house.
scarcely able to form any definite notion of it. An Gnatho in the Eunuchus of Terence, and the Arto.
ancient law (Athen. 1. c.) ordained that each of the trogus in the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus, are ad-'
priestly parasites should select from the /ovucoxia mirable delineations of such characters. The third
the sixth part of a medimnus of barley, and supply class are the 3repa7reVTrUco or the officious, who by a
with it the Athenians who were present in the variety of services even of the lowest and most detemple, according to the' custom of their fathers; grading description endeavoured to acquire claims
and this sixth of a medimnus was to be given by to invitations. (Plut. de Adul. 23, de Educat. 17.)
the parasites of Acharnae. The meaning of this Characters of this class are the parasites in the
very obscure law is discussed by Preller. (Polemonis Asinaria and Menaechmi of Plautus, and more
]iagzs. p. 115, &c.) Thus much, however, is especially the Curculio and Saturio in the Persae of
clear, that the parasites were elected in the denmes Plautus, and the Phormio of Terence. From the
of Attica from among the most distinguished and various statements in comedies and the treatise of
most ancient families. We find their number to Plutarch, De Aldulatosis et Anmici Discrimine, we
have been twelve, so that it did not coincide with see that parasites always tried to discover where a
that of the demes. This may be accounted for by good dinner was to be had, and for this purpose
supposing that in one demos two or more gods were they lounged about in the market, the palaestrae,
worshipped, whose service requireda parasite; while the baths, and other public places of resort. After
in another there was no such divinity. The gods they had fixed npon a person, who was in most
in whose service parasites are mentioned, are He- cases probabIy an inexperienced young man, they
racles, Apollo, the Anaces, and Athena of Pallene. used every possible means to induce him to invite
Their services appear to have been rewarded with them. No humiliation and no abuse could deter
a third of the victims sacrificed to their respective them from pursuing their plans. Some examples
gods. Such officers existed down to a late period of the most disgusting humiliations which parasites
of Greek history, for Clearchus, a disciple of Ari- endured, and even rejoiced in, are mentioned by
stotle, said that parasites in his own days con- Athenaeus (vi. p. 249) and Plutarch. (De Occult.
tinued to be appointed in most Grecian states to viv. 1, Sympos. vii. 6; compare Diog. Laert. ii.
the most distinguished magistrates. (Athen. vi. p. 67.) During the time of the Roman emperors a
235.) These, however, must have been different parasite seems to have been a constant guest at the
from the priestly parasites. Solon in his legislation tables of the wealthy. (Lucian, de Parasit. 58.)
called the act of giving public meals to certain (Compare Becker, Charikles, vol. i. p. 490; Le
magistrates and foreign ambassadors in the pry- Beau, in the Histoire de l'Acad. des Inscript. vol.
taneum, 7rapaOt'reV (Plunt. Sol. 24), and it may be xxxi. p. 51, &c.; M. H. E. Meyer, in Erscl cend
that the parasites were connected with this insti- Gruibe's Encyclopiidie, s. v. Parasiten.) [L. S.]
tution. (Compare Pollux, vi. c. 7.) PARASTADES. [ANTAE.]
The class of persons whom we call parasites was PARA'STASIS (raprpr'Taeros), a fee of one
very numerous in ancient Greece, and appears to drachm paid to an arbitrator by the plaintiff, on
have existed from early times, though they were bringing his cause before him; and by the denot designated by this name. The comedies of fendant, on putting in his answer. The same
Aristophanes contain various allusions to them, and name was given to the fee (perhaps a drachm)
Philippus, who is introduced in the Symposium of paid by the prosecutor in most public causes.
Xenophon, as well as a person described in some (Harpocr. s. v. rIapda'aoes; Meier, At. Proc.
verses of Epicharmus preserved in Athenaeus, are pp. 614, 615.) [Compare DiAETETAE, P.
perfect specimens of parasites. But the first writer 397, b.] [C. R. K.]
who designated these persons by the name of PARASTATAE.. [HENDECA.]
Wrapta'reoL was Alexis in one of his comedies. PARAZO'NIUM. [ZoNA.]
(Athen. vi. p. 235.) In the so called middle and PAREDRI (mripeapom). Each of the three
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