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HALTĒRES (ἁλτῆρες) were certain masses of stone or metal, which were used in the gymnastic exercises of the Greeks and Romans. Persons who practised leaping frequently performed their exercises with halteres in both hands; but they were also frequently used merely to exercise the bodyin somewhat the same manner as our dumb-bells.

Halteres. (Tassie, ‘Catalogue,’ pl. 46.)

HARMĂMAXA (ἁρμάμαξα), a carriage for persons, covered overhead and inclosed with curtains. It was in general large, often drawn by four horses, and attired with splendid ornaments. It occupied among the Persians the same place which the carpentum did among the Romans, being used, especially upon state occasions, for the conveyance of women and children, of eunuchs, and of the sons of the king with their tutors.

HARMOSTAE (ἁρμοσταί, fromἁρμόζω, to fit or join together), the name of the governors whom the Lacedaemonians, after the Peloponnesian war, sent into their subject or conquered towns, partly to keep them in submission, and partly to abolish the democratical form of government, and establish in its stead one similar to their own. Although in many cases they were ostensibly sent for the purpose of abolishing the tyrannical government of a town, and to restore the people to freedom, yet they themselves acted like kings or tyrants.

Flesh-hook. (British Museum.)

HARPĂGO (ἁρπάγη:λύκος:κρεάγρα), a grappling-iron, a drag, a flesh-hook. In war the grappling-iron, thrown at an enemy’s ship, seized the rigging, and was then used to drag the ship within reach, so that it might be easily boarded or destroyed. These instruments appear to have been much the same as themanus ferreae. The flesh-hook (κρεάγρα) was an instrument used in cookery, resembling a hand with the fingers bent inwards, used to take boiled meat out of the caldron.

HARPASTUM. [Pila.]

HĂRUSPĬCES, or ĂRUSPĬCES (ἱεροσκόποι), soothsayers or diviners, who interpreted the will of the gods. They originally came to Rome from Etruria, whence haruspices were often sent for by the Romans on important occasions. The art of the haruspices resembled in many respects that of the augurs; but they never acquired that political importance which the latter possessed, and were regarded rather as means for ascertaining the will of the gods than as possessing any religious authority. They did not in fact form any part of the ecclesiastical polity of the Roman state during the republic; they are never called sacerdotes, they did not form a collegium, and had no magister at their head. The art of the haruspices, which was calledharuspicina, consisted in explaining and interpreting the will of the gods from the appearance of the entrails (exta) of animals offered in sacrifice, whence they are sometimes calledextispices, and their artextispicium; and also from lightning, earthquakes, and all extraordinary phenomena in nature, to which the general name ofportentawas given. Their art is said to have been invented by the Etruscan Tages, and was contained in certain books calledlibri haruspicini,fulgurales, andtonitruales. This art was considered by the Romans so important at one time, that the senate decreed that a certain number of young Etruscans, belonging to the principal families in the state, should always be instructed in it. In later times, however, their art fell into disrepute among well-educated Romans; and Cicero relates a saying of Cato, that he wondered that one haruspex did not laugh when he saw another. The name of haruspex is sometimes applied to any kind of soothsayer or prophet.

Hastae, spears.

HASTA (ἔγχος), a spear. The spear is defined by Homer,δόρυ χαλκήρες, “a pole fitted with bronze,” andδόρυ χαλκοβάρες, “a pole heavy with bronze.” The bronze, for which iron was afterwards substituted, was indispensable to form the point (αἰχμή,ἀκωκή, Homer;λόγχη, Xenophon;acies,cuspis,spiculum) of the spear. Each of these two essential parts is often put for the whole, so that a spear is calledδόρυandδοράτιον,αἰχμή, andλόγχη. Even the more especial termμελία, meaning an ash-tree, is used in the same manner, because the pole of the spear was often the stem of a young ash,stripped of its bark and polished. The bottom of the spear was often inclosed in a pointed cap of bronze, called by the Ionic writersσαυρωτῆρandοὐρίαχος, and in Attic or common Greekστύραξ. By forcing this into the ground the spear was fixed erect. Many of the lancers who accompanied the king of Persia, had, instead of this spike at the bottom of their spears, an apple or a pomegranate, either gilt or silvered. Fig. 1. in the annexed woodcut shows the top and bottom of a spear, which is held by one of the king’s guards in the sculptures at Persepolis. The spear was used as a weapon of attack in three different ways:—1. It was thrown from catapults and other engines [Tormentum]. 2. It was thrust forward as a pike. 3. It was commonly thrown by the hand. The spear frequently had a leathern thong tied to the middle of the shaft, which was calledἀγκύληby the Greeks, andamentumby the Romans, and which was of assistance in throwing the spear. The annexed figure represents the amentum attached to the spear at the centre of gravity, a little above the middle.

Hasta with Amentum. (From a Painting on a Vase.)

Under the general termshastaandἔγχοςwere included various kinds of missiles, of which the principal were as follow:—Lancea(λόγχη), the lance, a comparatively slender spear commonly used by the Greek horsemen. The appendage shown in woodcut, Fig. 2, enabled them to mount their horses with greater facility.—Pilum(ὑσσός), the javelin, much thicker and stronger than the Grecian lance. Its shaft, often made of cornel, was 4½ feet (three cubits) long, and the barbed iron head was of the same length, but this extended half way down the shaft, to which it was attached with extreme care, so that the whole length of the weapon was about 6 feet 9 inches. It was used either to throw or to thrust with; it was peculiar to the Romans, and gave the name ofpilanito the division of the army by which it was adopted.—Whilst the heavy-armed Roman soldiers bore the long lance and the thick and ponderous javelin, the light-armed used smaller missiles, which, though of different kinds, were included under the general termhastae velitares(γρόσφοι). Theγρόσφοςwas a dart, with a shaft about three feet long and an inch in thickness: the iron head was a span long, and so thin and acuminated as to be bent by striking against anything, and thus rendered unfit to be sent back against the enemy. Fig. 3, in the preceding woodcut, shows one which was found in a Roman entrenchment in Gloucestershire.—The light infantry of the Roman army used a similar weapon, calleda spit(veru,verutum;σαύνιον). It was adopted by them from the Samnites and the Volsci. Its shaft was 3½ feet long, its point 5 inches. Fig. 4, in the preceding woodcut, represents the head of a dart in the Royal Collection at Naples; it may be taken as a specimen of theverutum, and may be contrasted with fig. 5, which is the head of a lance in the same collection.—The Romans adopted in like manner thegaesum, which was properly a Celtic weapon; it was given as a reward to any soldier who wounded an enemy. [Gaesum.]—Sparusis evidently the same word with the Englishsparandspear. It was the rudest missile of the whole class.—Besides the termsjaculumandspiculum(ἄκων,ἀκόντιον), which probably denoteddarts, resembling in form the lance and javelin, but much smaller, adapted consequently to the light-armed (jaculatores), and used in hunting as well as in battle, we find in classical authors the names of various other spears, which were characteristic of particular nations.—Thus, thesarissawas the spear peculiar to the Macedonians. This was used both to throw and as a pike. It exceeded in length all other missiles.—The Thracianromphea, which had a very long point, like the blade of a sword, was probably not unlike the sarissa.—With these weapons we may also class the Illyriansibina, which resembled a hunting-pole.—The iron head of the German spear, calledframea, was short and narrow, but very sharp. The Germans used it with great effect either as a lance or a pike: they gave to each youth a framea and a shield on coming of age.—TheFalaricaorPhalaricawas the spear of the Saguntines, and was impelled by the aid of twisted ropes; it was large and ponderous, having a head of iron a cubit in length, and a ball of lead at its other end; it sometimes carried flaming pitch and tow.—Thematuraandtragulawere chiefly used in Gaul and Spain: the tragula was probably barbed, as it required to be cut out of the wound.—TheAclisandCateiawere much smaller missiles.—Amongthe decorations which the Roman generals bestowed on their soldiers, more especially for saving the life of a fellow-citizen, was a spear without a head, calledhasta pura. Thecelibaris hasta, having been fixed into the body of a gladiator lying dead on the arena, was used at marriages to part the hair of the bride. A spear was erected at auctions [Auctio], and when tenders were received for public offices (locationes). It served both to announce, by a conventional sign conspicuous at a distance, that a sale was going on, and to show that it was conducted under the authority of the public functionaries. Hence an auction was calledhasta, and an auction-roomhastarium. It was also the practice to set up a spear in the court of theCentumviri.

HASTĀTI. [Exercitus,p. 168, b.]

HĔCĂTOMBĒ. [Sacrificium.]

HECTĒ or HECTEUS (ἕκτη,ἑκτεύς), and its half,HemiectonorHemiecteon(ἡμίεκτον,ἡμιεκτέον). In dry measures, thehecteuswas the sixth part of themedimnus, and thehemiecteon, of course, the twelfth part. Thehecteuswas equal to the Romanmodius, as each contained 16ξέσταιor sextarii. TheHecteorHecteusandHemiectonwere also the names of coins, but the accounts we have of their value are very various. The only consistent explanation is, that there were differenthectae, derived from different units; in fact, that these coins were not properlydenominationsof money, butsubdivisionsof the recognised denominations.

HĔLĔPŎLIS (ἑλέπολις), “the taker of cities,” a machine constructed by Demetrius Poliorcetes, when he besieged the city of Salamis in Cyprus. Its form was that of a square tower, each side being 90 cubits high and 45 wide. It rested on four wheels, each eight cubits high. It was divided into nine stories, the lower of which contained machines for throwing great stones, the middle large catapults for throwing spears, and the highest other machines for throwing smaller stones, together with smaller catapults. It was manned with 200 soldiers, besides those who moved it by pushing the parallel beams at the bottom. At the siege of Rhodes,B.C.306, Demetrius employed an helepolis of still greater dimensions and more complicated construction. In subsequent ages we find the name of “helepolis” applied to moving towers which carried battering rams, as well as machines for throwing spears and stones.

HELLĀNŎDĬCAE (ἑλλανοδίκαι), the judges in the Olympic games, of whom an account is given underOlympia. The same name was also given to the judges or court-martial in the Lacedaemonian army, and they were probably first called by this name when Sparta was at the head of the Greek confederacy.

HELLĒNOTĂMĬAE (ἑλληνοταμίαι), or treasurers of the Greeks, were magistrates appointed by the Athenians to receive the contributions of the allied states. They were first appointedB.C.477, when Athens, in consequence of the conduct of Pausanias, had obtained the command of the allied states. The money paid by the different states, which was originally fixed at 460 talents, was deposited in Delos, which was the place of meeting for the discussion of all common interests; and there can be no doubt that the hellenotamiae not only received, but were also the guardians of, these monies. The office was retained after the treasury was transferred to Athens on the proposal of the Samians, but was of course abolished on the conquest of Athens by the Lacedaemonians.

HĒLŌTES (εἴλωτες), a class of bondsmen peculiar to Sparta. They were Achaeans, who had resisted the Dorian invaders to the last, and had been reduced to slavery as the punishment of their obstinacy. The Helots were regarded as the property of the state, which, while it gave their services to individuals, reserved to itself the power of emancipating them. They were attached to the land, and could not be sold away from it.They cultivated the land, and paid to their masters as rent a certain measure of corn, the exact amount of which had been fixed at a very early period, the raising of that amount being forbidden under heavy imprecations. Besides being engaged in the cultivation of the land, the Helots attended on their masters at the public meal, and many of them were no doubt employed by the state in public works. In war the Helots served as light-armed troops (ψίλοι), a certain number of them attending every heavy-armed Spartan to the field; at the battle of Plataeae there were seven Helots to each Spartan. These attendants were probably calledἀμπίτταρες(i.e.ἀμφίσταντες), and one of them in particular, theθεράπων, orservant. The Helots only served as hoplites in particular emergencies; and on such occasions they were generally emancipated. The first instance of this kind was in the expedition of Brasidas,B.C.424. The treatment to which the Helots were subjected was marked by the most wanton cruelty; and they were regarded by the Spartans with the greatest suspicion. Occasionally the ephors selected young Spartans for the secret service (κρυπτεία) of wandering over the country, in order to kill the Helots. The Helots might be emancipated, but there were several steps between them and the free citizens, and it is doubtful whether they were ever admitted to all the privileges of citizenship. The following classes of emancipated Helots are enumerated:—ἀφεταί,ἀδεσπότοι,ἐρυκτῆρες,δεσποσιοναύται, andνεοδαμώδεις. Of these theἀφεταίwere probably released from all service; theἐρυκτῆρεςwere those employed in war; theδεσποσιοναύταιserved on board the fleet; and theνεοδαμώδειςwere those who had been possessed of freedom for some time. Besides these, there were theμόθωνεςorμόθακες, who were domestic slaves, brought up with the young Spartans, and then emancipated. Upon being emancipated they received permission to dwell where they wished.

HĒMĔRŎDRŎMI (ἡμεροδρόμοι), couriers in the Greek states, who could keep on running all day, and were often employed to carry news of important events. They were trained for the purpose, and could perform the longest journeys in an almost incredibly short space of time. Such couriers were in times of danger stationed on some eminence in order to observe anything of importance that might happen, and carry the intelligence with speed to the proper quarter. Hence we frequently find them calledHemeroscopi(ἡμεροσκόποι).

HĒMĬCYCLĬUM (ἡμικύκλιον), a semicircular seat, for the accommodation of persons engaged in conversation; also the semicircular seat round the tribunal in a basilica.

HĒMĬNA (ἡμίνα), the name of a Greek and Roman measure, seems to be nothing more than the dialectic form used by the Sicilian and Italian Greeks forἡμίσυ. It was therefore applied to the half of the standard fluid measure, theξέστης, which the other Greeks calledκοτύλη, and the word passed into the Roman metrical system, where it is used with exactly the same force, namely for a measure which is half of thesextarius, and equal to the Greekcotylé.

HENDĔCA (οἱ ἕνδεκα), the Eleven, were magistrates at Athens of considerable importance. They were annually chosen by lot, one from each of the ten tribes, and a secretary (γραμματεύς), who must properly be regarded as their servant (ὑπηρέτης), though he formed one of their number. The principal duty of the Eleven was the care and management of the public prison (δεσμωτήριον), which was entirely under their jurisdiction. The prison, however, was seldom used by the Athenians as a mere place of confinement, serving generally for punishments and executions. When a person was condemned to death he was immediately given into the custody of the Eleven, who were then bound to carry the sentence into execution according to the laws. The most common mode of execution was by hemlock juice (κώνειον), which was drunk after sunset. The Eleven had under them gaolers, executioners, and torturers. When torture was inflicted in causes affecting the state, it was either done in the immediate presence of the Eleven, or by their servant (ὁ δήμιος). The Eleven usually had only to carry into execution the sentence passed in the courts of law and the public assemblies; but in some cases they possessed jurisdiction. This was the case in those summary proceedings calledapagoge,ephegesisandendeixis, in which the penalty was fixed by law, and might be inflicted by the court on the confession or conviction of the accused, without appealing to any of the jury courts.

HĒPHAESTEIA. [Lampadephoria.]

HĒRAEA (ἡραῖα), the name of festivals celebrated in honour of Hera in all the towns of Greece where the worship of this divinity was introduced. The original seat of her worship was Argos; whence her festivals in other places were, more or less, imitations of those which were celebrated at Argos. Her service was performed by the most distinguished priestesses of the place; one of them was the high-priestess, and the Argives counted their years by the date of her office.The Heraea of Argos were celebrated every fifth year. One of the great solemnities which took place on the occasion, was a magnificent procession to the great temple of Hera, between Argos and Mycenae. A vast number of young men assembled at Argos, and marched in armour to the temple of the goddess. They were preceded by one hundred oxen (ἑκατόμβη, whence the festival is also calledἑκατόμβαια). The high-priestess accompanied this procession, riding in a chariot drawn by two white oxen. The 100 oxen were sacrificed, and their flesh distributed among all the citizens; after which games and contests took place. Of the Heraea celebrated in other countries, those of Samos, which island derived the worship of Hera from Argos, were perhaps the most brilliant of all the festivals of this divinity. The Heraea of Elis, which were celebrated in the fourth year of every Olympiad, were also conducted with considerable splendour.

HĒRES.—(1)Greek.To obtain the right of inheritance as well as citizenship at Athens (ἀγχιστείαandπολιτεία), legitimacy was a necessary qualification. When an Athenian died leaving legitimate sons, they shared the inheritance, like our heirs in gavelkind; the only advantage possessed by the eldest son being the first choice in the division. Every man of full age and sound mind, not under durance or improper influence, was competent to make a will; but if he had a son he could not disinherit him, although his will might take effect in case the son did not complete his seventeenth year. If there was but one son, he took the whole estate; but if he had sisters, it was incumbent on him to provide for them, and give them suitable marriage portions; they were then calledἐπίπροικοι. On failure of sons and their issue, daughters and daughters’ children succeeded, and there seems to have been no limit to the succession in the descending line. It will assist the student to be informed, thatἀνεψιόςsignifies a first cousin.Ἀνεψιαδοῦςis a first cousin’s son; formed in the same manner asἀδελφιδοῦςfromἀδελφός, andθυγατριδοῦςfromθυγατήρ.Κλῆροςis the subject-matter of inheritance, or (in one sense of the word) the inheritance;κληρόνομοςthe heir.Ἀγχιστεία, proximity of blood in reference to succession, and sometimes right of succession.Συγγένεια, natural consanguinity.Συγγενεῖς, collateral relations, are opposed toἔκγονοι, lineal descendants.—(2)Roman.A person might become an heres by being named as such (institutus,scriptus,factus) in a will executed by a competent person, according to the forms required by law [Testamentum]. The testator might either name one person as heres, or he might name several heredes (coheredes), and he might divide the hereditas among them as he pleased. The shares of the heredes were generally expressed by reference to the divisions of the As: thus, “heres ex asse” is heres to the whole property; “heres ex dodrante,” heres to three-fourths; “heres ex semuncia,” heir to one twenty-fourth. If there were several heredes named, without any definite shares being given to them, the property belonged to them in equal shares. As a general rule, only Roman citizens could be named as heredes in the will of a Roman citizen; but a slave could also be named heres, though he had no power to make a will, and a filius-familias could also be named heres, though he was under the same incapacity. Persons, not Roman citizens, who had received the commercium, could take hereditates, legata and fideicommissa by testament.—Heredes were either Necessarii, Sui et Necessarii, or Extranei. The heres necessarius was a slave of the testator, who was made an heres and liber at the same time; and he was called necessarius, because of the necessity that he was under of accepting the hereditas. The heredes sui et necessarii were sons and daughters, and the sons and daughters of a son, who were in the power of a testator. These heredes sui were called necessarii, because of the necessity that they were under, according to the civil law, of taking the hereditas with its incumbrances. But the praetor permitted such persons to refuse the hereditas (abstinere se ab hereditate), and to allow the property to be sold to pay the testator’s debts; and he gave the same privilege to a mancipated son (qui in causa mancipii est). All other heredes are called extranei, and comprehend all persons who are not in the power of a testator, such as emancipated children. A certain time was allowed to extranei for thecretio hereditatis, that is, for them to determine whether they would take the hereditas or not: hence the phrase, “cernere hereditatem.”—If a man died intestate, the hereditas came to the heredes sui, and was then calledlegitima hereditas. If an intestate had no sui heredes, the Twelve Tables gave the hereditas to the agnati [Cognati], and if there were no agnati, to the gentiles. If a man had a son in his power, he was bound either to make him heres, or to exheredate (exheredare) him expressly (nominatim). If he passed him over in silence (silentio praetericrit), the will was altogether void (inutile,non jure factum). Other liberi could be passed over, and the will would still be a valid will; but theliberi so passed over took a certain portion of the hereditasadcrescendo, as it was termed, orjure adcrescendi. It was necessary either to institute as heredes, or to exheredate posthumous childrennominatim, otherwise the will, which was originally valid, became invalid (ruptum); and the will became invalid by the birth either of a posthumous son or daughter, or, as the phrase was,adgnascendo rumpitur testamentum. The heres represented the testator and intestate, and had not only a claim to all his property and all that was due to him, but was bound by all his obligations. He succeeded to the sacra privata, and was bound to maintain them, but only in respect of the property, for the obligation of the sacra privata was attached to property and to the heres only as the owner of it. Hence the expression “sine sacris hereditas” meant an hereditas unencumbered with sacra.

HERMAE (ἑρμαῖ), and the diminutive Hermuli (ἑρμίδια), statues composed of a head, usually that of the god Hermes, placed on a quadrangular pillar, the height of which corresponds to the stature of the human body. Such statues were very numerous at Athens. So great was the demand for these works that the wordsἑρμογλύφος,ἑρμογλυφικὴ τέχνη, andἑρμογλυφεῖον, were used as the generic terms for a sculptor, his art, and his studio. Houses in Athens had one of these statues placed at the door, calledἑρμῆς στροφαῖοςorστροφεύς; and sometimes also in the peristyle. The great reverence attached to them is shown by the alarm and indignation which were felt at Athens in consequence of the mutilation of the whole number in a single night, just before the sailing of the Sicilian expedition. They were likewise placed in front of temples, near to tombs, in the gymnasia, palaestrae, libraries, porticoes, and public places, at the corners of streets, on high roads as sign-posts, with distances inscribed upon them, and on the boundaries of lands and states, and at the gates of cities. Small Hermae were also used as pilasters, and as supports for furniture and utensils. Many statues existed of other deities, of the same form as the Hermae; which no doubt originated in the same manner; and which were still called by the generic name ofHermae; even though the bust upon them was that of another deity. Some statues of this kind are described by a name compounded of that of Hermes and another divinity: thus we haveHermanubis,Hermares,Hermathena,Hermeracles,Hermeros,Hermopan. There is another class of these works, in which the bust represented no deity at all, but was simply the portrait of a man. Even these statues, however, retained the names ofHermaeandTermini. The Hermae were used by the wealthy Romans for the decoration of their houses. The following engraving exhibits a Hermes decorated with garlands and surrounded with the implements of his worship.

Hermes. (From a Bas-relief.)

HERMAEA (ἕρμαια), festivals of Hermes, celebrated in various parts of Greece. As Hermes was the tutelary deity of the gymnasia and palaestrae, the boys at Athens celebrated the Hermaea in the gymnasia.

HESTIĀSIS (ἑστίασις), was a species of liturgy, and consisted in giving a feast to one of the tribes at Athens (τὴν φυλὴν ἑστιᾶν). It was provided for each tribe at the expense of a person belonging to that tribe, who was calledἑστιάτωρ.

HĬĔRODŪLI (ἱερόδουλοι), persons of both sexes, who were devoted like slaves to the worship of the gods. They were of Easternorigin, and are most frequently met with in connection with the worship of the deities of Syria, Phoenicia, and Asia Minor. They consisted of two classes; one composed of slaves, properly so called, who attended to all the lower duties connected with the worship of the gods, cultivated the sacred lands, &c., and whose descendants continued in the same servile condition; and the other comprising persons who were personally free, but had dedicated themselves as slaves to the gods, and who were either attached to the temples, or were dispersed throughout the country and brought to the gods the money they had gained. To the latter class belonged the women, who prostituted their persons, and presented to the gods the money they had obtained by this means. This class was only found in Greece, in connection with the worship of those divinities who were of Eastern origin, or whose religious rites were borrowed from the East. This was the case with Aphrodite (Venus), who was originally an Oriental goddess.

HĬĔRŎMNĒMŎNES (ἱερομνήμονες), the more honourable of the two classes of representatives who composed the Amphictyonic council. An account of them is given underAmphictyones.—We also read of hieromnemones in Grecian states, distinct from the Amphictyonic representatives of this name. Thus the priests of Poseidon, at Megara, were called hieromnemones, and at Byzantium, which was a colony of Megara, the chief magistrate in the state appears to have been called by this name.

HĬĔRŎNĪCAE. [Athletae.]

HĬĔRŎPOII (ἱεροποιοί), sacrificers at Athens, of whom ten were appointed every year, and conducted all the usual sacrifices, as well as those belonging to the quinquennial festivals, with the exception of those of the Panathenaea.

HĬLĂRĬA (ἱλάρια), a Roman festival, celebrated on the 25th of March, in honour of Cybelé, the mother of the gods.

HIPPŎBŎTAE (ἱπποβόται), the feeders of horses, the name of the nobility of Chalcis in Euboea, corresponding to theἱππεῖςin other Greek states.

HIPPŎDRŎMUS (ἱππόδρομος), the name by which the Greeks designated the place appropriated to the horse-races, both of chariots and of single horses, which formed a part of their games. The word was also applied to the races themselves. In Homer’s vivid description (Il.xxiii., 262-650) the nature of the contest and the arrangements for it are very clearly indicated. There is no artificially constructed hippodrome; but an existing land-mark or monument (σῆμα) is chosen as the goal (τέρμα), round which the chariots had to pass, leaving it on the left hand, and so returning to the Greek ships on the sea-shore, from which they had started. The chariots were five in number, each with two horses and a single driver, who stood upright in his chariot. The critical point of the race was to turn the goal as sharp as possible, with the nave of the near wheel almost grazing it, and to do this safely: very often the driver was here thrown out, and the chariot broken in pieces. The account in Homer will give us an equally good idea of a chariot-race at Olympia, or in any other of the Greek games of later times. The general form of the hippodrome was an oblong, with a semicircular end. For an account of the chariot races at Rome seeCircus.

HISTRĬO (ὑποκριτής), an actor.—(1)Greek. It is shown in the articlesChorusandDionysiathat the Greek drama originated in the chorus which at the festivals of Dionysus danced around his altar, and that at first one person detached himself from the chorus, and, with mimic gesticulation, related his story either to the chorus or in conversation with it. If the story thus acted required more than one person, they were all represented in succession by the same actor, and there was never more than one person on the stage at a time. This custom was retained by Thespis and Phrynichus. Aeschylus introduced a second and a third actor; and the number of three actors was but seldom exceeded in any Greek drama. The three regular actors were distinguished by the technical names ofπρωταγωνιστής,δευτεραγωνιστής, andτριταγωνιστής, which indicated the more or less prominent part which an actor had to perform in the drama. The female characters of a play were always performed by young men. A distinct class of persons, who made acting on the stage their profession, was unknown to the Greeks during the period of their great dramatists. The earliest and greatest dramatic poets, Thespis, Sophocles, and probably Aeschylus also, acted in their own plays, and in all probability as protagonistae. It was not thought degrading in Greece to perform on the stage. At a later period persons began to devote themselves exclusively to the profession of actors, and distinguished individuals received even as early as the time of Demosthenes exorbitant sums for their performances.—(2)Roman.The wordhistrio, by which the Roman actor was called, is said to have been formed from the Etruscanhister, which signified a ludio or dancer. In the year 364B.C.Rome was visited by a plague, and as no human means could stop it, the Romans aresaid to have tried to avert the anger of the gods by scenic plays (ludi scenici), which, until then, had been unknown to them; and as there were no persons at Rome prepared for such performances, the Romans sent to Etruria for them. The first histriones, who were thus introduced from Etruria, were dancers, and performed their movements to the accompaniment of a flute. Roman youths afterwards not only imitated these dancers, but also recited rude and jocose verses, adapted to the movements of the dance and the melody of the flute. This kind of amusement, which was the basis of the Roman drama, remained unaltered until the time of Livius Andronicus, who introduced a slave upon the stage for the purpose of singing or reciting the recitative, while he himself performed the appropriate dance and gesticulation. A further step in the development of the drama, which is likewise ascribed to Livius, was, that the dancer and reciter carried on a dialogue, and acted a story with the accompaniment of the flute. The name histrio, which originally signified a dancer, was now applied to the actors in the drama. The atellanae were played by freeborn Romans, while the regular drama was left to the histriones, who formed a distinct class of persons. The histriones were not citizens; they were not contained in the tribes, nor allowed to be enlisted as soldiers in the Roman legions; and if any citizen entered the profession of an histrio, he, on this account, was excluded from his tribe. The histriones were therefore always either freedmen, strangers, or slaves, and many passages of Roman writers show that they were generally held in great contempt. Towards the close of the republic it was only such men as Cicero, who, by their Greek education, raised themselves above the prejudices of their countrymen, and valued the person no less than the talents of an Aesopus and a Roscius. But notwithstanding this low estimation in which actors were generally held, distinguished individuals among them attracted immense crowds to the theatres, and were exorbitantly paid. Roscius alone received every day that he performed one thousand denarii, and Aesopus left his son a fortune of 200,000 sesterces, which he had acquired solely by his profession. The pay of the actors was calledlucar, which word was perhaps confined originally to the payment made to those who took part in the religious services celebrated in groves.

HŎMOEI (ὅμοιοι), the Equals, were those Spartans who possessed the full rights of citizenship, and are opposed to theὑπομείονες, or those who had undergone some kind of civil degradation. This distinction between the citizens was no part of the ancient Spartan constitution. In the institution ascribed to Lycurgus, every citizen had a certain portion of land; but as in course of time many citizens lost their lands through various causes, they were unable to contribute to the expenses of the syssitia, and therefore ceased to possess the full rights of Spartan citizens. Hence the distinction appears to have arisen between theὅμοιοιandὑπομείονες, the former being those who were in the possession of their land, and consequently able to contribute to the syssitia, the latter those who through having no land were unable to do so. The Homoei were the ruling class in the state. They filled all the public offices with the exception of the Ephoralty, and they probably met together to determine upon public affairs under the name ofἔκκλητοιin an assembly of their own, which is calledἡ μικρὰ ἐκκλησία, to distinguish it from the assembly of the whole body of Spartan citizens.

HŎNŌRES, the high offices of the state to which qualified individuals were called by the votes of the Roman citizens. The words “magistratus” and “honores” are sometimes coupled together. The capacity of enjoying the honores was one of the distinguishing marks of citizenship. [Civitas.]Honorwas distinguished frommunus. The latter was an office connected with the administration of the state, and was attended with cost (sumptus) but not with rank (dignitas). Honor was properly saiddeferri, dari; munus was saidimponi. A person who held a magistrates might be said to dischargemunera, but only as incident to the office, for the office itself was thehonor. Such munera as these were public games and other things of the kind.

HOPLĪTAE. [Exercitus.]

HŌRA. [Dies.]

HŌRŎLŎGĬUM (ὡρολόγιον), the name of the various instruments by means of which the ancients measured the time of the day and night. The earliest and simplest horologia of which mention is made, were calledpolos(πόλος) andgnomon(γνώμων). Both divided the day into twelve equal parts, and were a kind of sun-dial. Thegnomon, which was also calledstoicheion(στοιχεῖον), was the more simple of the two, and probably the more ancient. It consisted of a staff or pillar standing perpendicular, in a place exposed to the sun (σκιάθηρον), so that the length of its shadow might be easily ascertained. The shadow of the gnomon was measured by feet, which were probably marked on the place where the shadow fell. In later times the name gnomon was applied to any kind ofsun-dial, especially to its finger which threw the shadow, and thus pointed to the hour. Thepolosorheliotropion(ἡλιοτρόπιον), on the other hand, seems to have been a more perfect kind of sun-dial; but it appears, nevertheless, not to have been much used. It consisted of a basin (λεκανίς), in the middle of which the perpendicular staff or finger (γνώμων) was erected, and in it the twelve parts of the day were marked by lines.—Another kind of horologium, was theclepsydra(κλεψύδρα). It derived its name fromκλέπτεινandὕδωρ, as in its original and simple form it consisted of a vessel with several little openings (τρυπήματα) at the bottom, through which the water contained in it escaped, as it were by stealth. This instrument seems at first to have been used only for the purpose of measuring the time during which persons were allowed to speak in the courts of justice at Athens. It was a hollow globe, probably somewhat flat at the top-part, where it had a short neck (αὐλός), like that of a bottle, through which the water was poured into it. This opening might be closed by a lid or stopper (πῶμα), to prevent the water running out at the bottom. As the time for speaking in the Athenian courts was thus measured by water, the orators frequently use the termὕδωρinstead of the time allowed to them. An especial officer (ὁ ἐφ’ ὕδωρ) was appointed in the courts for the purpose of watching the clepsydra, and stopping it when any documents were read, whereby the speaker was interrupted. The time, and consequently the quantity of water allowed to a speaker, depended upon the importance of the case. The clepsydra used, in the courts of justice was, properly speaking, no horologium; but smaller ones, made of glass, and of the same simple structure, were undoubtedly used very early in families for the purposes of ordinary life, and for dividing the day into twelve equal parts. In these glass-clepsydrae the division into twelve parts must have been visible, either on the glass globe itself, or in the basin into which the water flowed.—The first horologium with which the Romans became acquainted was a sun-dial (solariumorhorologium sciothericum), and was said to have been brought to Rome by Papirius Cursor twelve years before the war with Pyrrhus. But as sun-dials were useless when the sky was cloudy, P. Scipio Nasica, in his censorship, 159B.C., established a public clepsydra, which indicated the hours both of day and night. This clepsydra was in after times generally called solarium. After the time of Scipio Nasica several horologia, chiefly solaria, seem to have been erected in various public places at Rome. Clepsydrae were used by the Romans in their camps, chiefly for the purpose of measuring accurately the four vigiliae into which the night was divided. The custom of using clepsydrae as a check upon the speakers in the courts of justice at Rome, was introduced by a law of Cn. Pompeius, in his third consulship. Before that time the speakers had been under no restrictions, but spoke as long as they deemed proper. At Rome, as at Athens, the time allowed to the speakers depended upon the importance of the case.

HORRĔUM (ὡρεῖον,σιτοφυλακεῖον,ἀποθήκη) was, according to its etymological signification, a place in which ripe fruits, and especially corn, were kept, and thus answered to our granary. During the empire the name horreum was given to any place destined for the safe preservation of things of any kind. Thus we find it applied to a place in which beautiful works of art were kept, to cellars (horrea subterranea,horrea vinaria), to depôts for merchandise, and all sorts of provisions (horreum penarium). Seneca even calls his library a horreum. But the more general application of the word horreum was to places for keeping fruit and corn; and as some kinds of fruit required to be kept more dry than others, the ancients had besides the horrea subterranea, or cellars, two other kinds, one of which was built like every other house upon the ground; but others (horrea pensiliaorsublimia) were erected above the ground, and rested upon posts or stone pillars, that the fruits kept in them might remain dry.—From about the year 140 after Christ, Rome possessed two kinds of public horrea. The one class consisted of buildings in which the Romans might deposit their goods, and even their money, securities, and other valuables. The second and more important class of horrea, which may be termed public granaries, were buildings in which a plentiful supply of corn was constantly kept at the expense of the state, and from which, in seasons of scarcity, the corn was distributed among the poor, or sold at a moderate price.

HORTUS (κῆπος), garden. Our knowledge of the horticulture of the Greeks is very limited. In fact the Greeks seem to have had no great taste for landscape beauties, and the small number of flowers with which they were acquainted afforded but little inducement to ornamental horticulture. At Athens the flowers most cultivated were probably those used for making garlands, such as violets and roses. In the time of the Ptolemies the art of gardening seems to have advanced in the favourable climate of Egypt so far,that a succession of flowers was obtained all the year round. The Romans, like the Greeks, laboured under the disadvantage of a very limited flora. This disadvantage they endeavoured to overcome, by arranging the materials they did possess in such a way as to produce a striking effect. We have a very full description of a Roman garden in a letter of the younger Pliny, in which he describes his Tuscan villa. In front of theporticusthere was generally axystus, or flat piece of ground, divided into flower-beds of different shapes by borders of box. There were also such flower-beds in other parts of the garden. Sometimes they were raised so as to form terraces, and their sloping sides planted with evergreens or creepers. The most striking features of a Roman garden were lines of large trees, among which the plane appears to have been a great favourite, planted in regular order; alleys or walks (ambulationes) formed by closely clipped hedges of box, yew, cypress, and other evergreens; beds of acanthus, rows of fruit-trees, especially of vines, with statues, pyramids, fountains, and summer-houses (diaetae). The trunks of the trees and the parts of the house or any other buildings which were visible from the garden, were often covered with ivy. In one respect the Roman taste differed most materially from that of the present day, namely, in their fondness for thears topiaria, which consisted in tying, twisting, or cutting trees and shrubs (especially the box) into the figures of animals, ships, letters, &c. Their principal garden-flowers seem to have been violets and roses, and they also had the crocus, narcissus, lily, gladiolus, iris, poppy, amaranth, and others. Conservatories and hot-houses are frequently mentioned by Martial. Flowers and plants were also kept in the central place of the peristyle [Domus], on the roofs and in the windows of houses. An ornamental garden was also calledviridarium, and the gardenertopiariusorviridarius. The common name for a gardener is villicus or cultor hortorum.

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