Gennētae
（
οἱ γεννῆται). The Athenian term for the members of the
360 ancient families (
γένναι), thirty of which made up one of
the twelve
φρατρίαι of the four old Ionic tribes. These
families consisted of some thirty houses, who referred their origin and name to a common
ancestor, and observed a common worship, with special priests to superintend it. The objects
of this worship were Zeus Herkeios (the god of house and home), Apollo Patroös (the
god of the family), the heroes of the family, and other tutelary deities. In case a family
worship rose to the dignity of a state ceremonial, the priestly office remained hereditary in
the family (
γέννα). If there were no nearer relations, the
members of the
γέννα had a law of inheritance which they
observed among themselves. Maintained by these religious and legal ties, the
γένναι and the
φρατρίαι survived the
old Ionic tribes, after the abolition of the latter by Clisthenes. The president of the
γέννα superintended the enrolment of new members into it at
the feast of the Apaturia, the occasion on which the new members of the
φρατρίαι were also enrolled. (See
Apaturia.) A citizen who did not belong to a
γένναι
could only become a member of one by adoption, and under certain conditions. See
Phratria.
