DĬCASTĒS

( δικαστής ), the name of a judge, or rather juryman, at Athens. The conditions of his eligibility were, that he should be a free citizen, in the enjoyment of his full franchise ( ἐπιτιμία ), and not le than thirty years of age, and of persons so qualified 6,000 were selected by lot for the service of every year. Their appointment took place annually under the conduct of the nine archons and their official scribe; each of these ten personages drew by lot the names of 600 persons of the tribe a igned to him; the whole number so selected was again divided by lot into ten sections of 500 each, together with a supernumerary one, consisting of 1000 persons, from among whom the occasional deficiencies in the sections of 500 might be supplied. To each of the ten sections one of the ten first letters of the alphabet was appropriated as a distinguishing mark, and a small tablet ( πινάκιον ), inscribed with the letter of the section and the name of the individual, was delivered as a certificate of his appointment to each dicast. Before proceeding to the exercise of his functions, the dicast was obliged to swear the official oath. This oath being taken, and the divisions made as above mentioned, it remained to a ign the courts to the several sections of dicasts in which they were to sit. This was not, like the first, an appointment intended to last during the year, but took place under the conduct of the thesmothetae, de novo , every time that it was nece ary to impanel a number of dicasts. As soon as the allotment had taken place, each dicast received a staff, on which was painted the letter and the colour of the court awarded him, which might serve both as a ticket to procure admittance, and also to distinguish him from any loiterer that might endeavour clandestinely to obtain a sitting after busine had begun. While in court, and probably from the hand of the presiding magistrate ( ἡγέμων δικαστηρίου ), he received the token or ticket that entitled him to receive his fee ( δικαστικόν ). This payment is said to have been first instituted by Pericles, and was originally a single obolus; it was increased by Cleon to thrice that amount about the 88th Olympiad.