Dicastes
(
δικαστής). In its broadest acceptation a judge, but more
particularly denoting the Athenian functionary of the democratic period, commonly rendered
“juryman.” Except, however, in the circumstance that they were sworn
“well and truly” to discharge the duties intrusted to them, there was
little resemblance between an Attic dicasterion and an English jury. As distinguished from the
district judges (
οἱ κατὰ δήμους δικασται, better known by
their later name of
οἱ τετταράκοντα), and from the
Nautodicae or judges in commercial cases, the dicastae are frequently styled Heliastae, and
their courts the Helíastic courts. The name comes from
ἡλιαία, a word which, like
ἀγορά, denotes both
the assembly and the place in which it was held; and the court of the Heliaea, as the most
strongly manned and the first in dignity, being taken as a representative of the rest, both
names were used indiscriminately. Their jurisdiction extended to matters of every kind without
exception. In private causes it is highly probable that they acted originally as judges of the
second instance—i. e. of appeal; but in public matters they acted as the primary and
sole judicial authority. The Heliastae were instituted by Solon, but what was their original
number and how they were nominated at first we do not know. At the time when democracy was
fully developed, when the causes even of the subject allies were brought before the Athenian
courts, there were 6000 dicasts or Heliasts, 600 for each tribe, chosen by lot. Previously the
number cannot have been very small; and divisions of the whole body into sections, such as we
find afterwards, may without hesitation be assumed to have existed in the earlier times also.
The ballot (
κληροῦν, ἐπικληροῦν τὰ δικαστήρια, Demosth.
c. Everg. p. 1144.17; sometimes also
πληροῦν,
after the analogy of “manning” a ship,
c. Timocr. p.
729.92) was conducted annually by the nine archons; according to some
authorities their secretary (
γραμματεύς) made the tenth.
The lots were drawn, and the persons chosen were sworn, in the earlier ages at a place
called Ardettus, without the city, on the banks of the Ilissus; but in after-times at some
other spot, of which we are not informed. The formula of the Heliastic oath, preserved in
Demosthenes (
c. Timocr. p. 746.149-151), passed until lately as genuine, and
was accepted as such by Schömann in his early writings (
Att. Process,
etc.) as well as by other recent scholars. The first hint that, like most of the documents
embodied in the Demosthenic speeches, it was the patchwork of a late grammarian, seems to have
been given by Schömann in his
Antiquities (1855); and the
point was completely proved in a special dissertation by Westermann in 1859. The whole number
of 6000 Heliasts was divided into ten sections of 500 each, so that 1000 remained over, in
order, when necessary, to serve for the filling of vacancies in the sections. These sections,
as well as the places of meeting, were called Dicasteria, and in each section members of all
the tribes were mingled together. Each Heliast received, as a certificate of his appointment,
a bronze tablet (
πινάκιον, σύμβολον) with his name and the
number or letter of the section to which he belonged (from A to K). Three of these
σύμβολα have been found, inscribed as follows:
Β. ΑΝΤΙΧΑΡΜΟΣ ΛΑΜΠ[
ΤΡΕΥΣ],
Δ. ΔΙΟΔΩΡΟΣ ΦΡΕΑ[
ΡΡΙΟΣ],
Ε. ΔΕΙΝΙΑΣ ΑΛΑΙΕΥΣ;
and bear besides representations of owls and Gorgon heads, and other devices symbolic of the
Athenian people (Boeckh,
C. I. G. nos. 207-209).
As often as courts were to be held the Heliastae assembled in the Agora, and the courts in
which each section had to sit for the day were there assigned by the Thesmothetae by lot. But
it did not happen always, or in every suit, that whole sections sat; on the contrary,
sometimes cases were tried only by parts of a section, sometimes by several sections combined,
according to the importance of the issues. Provision, however, was made that the number should
be always an uneven one, in order to avoid an equality of the votes; and if we find the number
of 200 or 2000 dicasts mentioned, we are to assume that the round numbers only are given
instead of 201 or 2001. For examples of the actual figures, we have in Demosthenes a court of
1001 dicasts taken from two sections (
δικαστηρίοιν δυοῖν εἰς ἕνα
καὶ χιλίους ἐψηφισμένων,
c. Timocr. p. 702.9); and one of 1501
from three sections in
Lex Seguer. s. v.
ἡλιαία. The usual number in the Heliaea appears to have been 501.
For the trial of certain classes of cases Heliastae of a peculiar qualification were
required; as, for instance, in the case of profaners of the Mysteries, when the initiated only
were allowed to judge; and in that of military offenders, who were left to the justice of
those only whose comrades they were, or should have been at the time when the offence was
alleged to have been committed. After this ballot on the day of the trial each member of the
section received a staff with the colour and number of the court in which he had to sit; this
might serve both as a ticket to procure admittance and also to distinguish him from any
loiterer who might endeavour clandestinely to obtain a seat after business had begun. That the
dicasts were not sworn afresh before every case seems certain— the oath originally
taken at the annual election sufficed. The legal age of the Heliastae was at least
thirty, and of course the full franchise (
ἐπιτιμία) was
another condition of eligibility. No perquisite was ever more jealously guarded. For an
atimos to attempt to earn the dicast's fee was a capital offence, and a
case is mentioned in which this law was actually carried out (Demosth.
c. Mid.
p. 573.182). It would appear that they were only balloted for from among those who voluntarily
offered themselves; we have no information on this point, but after the custom of payment was
introduced there would be no lack of candidates.
This payment (
μισθὸς δικαστικός, more usually
τὸ δικαστικόν) is said to have been first instituted by Pericles. It
is generally supposed from Aristophanes (
Nub. 863), who makes Strepsiades say
that with the first obolus he ever received as a dicast he bought a toy for his son, that it
was at first only one obolus. It increased rapidly under the influence of the demagogues
(Aristot.
ap. Schol. Aristoph.
Vesp. 682; Schol.
Ran. 140;
Poll.viii. 113; Hesych. s. v.
δικαστικόν; Suid. s.
v.
ἡλιασταί). Three oboli or the
triobolon (
τριώβολον) occurs as early as B.C. 425 in
the comedies of Aristophanes, and is afterwards mentioned frequently (
Aristoph. Eq. 51;
Aristoph. Eq. 255;
Suet. Vesp.
300Suet. Vesp., 663Suet.
Vesp., 684). The payment was made at the end of the day's work by the
Colacretae (q.v.), in exchange for the staff
(
βακτηρία) and ticket (
σύμβολον) with which, as we have seen, each dicast was already provided on
entering the court (Schol.
ad
Plut. 277; Suid. s. v.
βακτηρία;
Poll.viii. 16). No doubt the staves only were given up, to be
redistributed on another trial; the bronze
σύμβολα merely
shown, and retained by the dicast, as they were inscribed with his name and had to serve him
throughout the year; unless we are to suppose that two different kinds of
σύμβολα were used.