PĂRĂNOIĀS GRĂPHĒ

( παρανοίας γραφή ). This proceeding may be compared to our commi ion of lunacy, or writ de lunatico inquirendo . It was a suit at Athens that might be instituted by a son or other relation against one who, by reason of madne or mental imbecility, had become incapable of managing his own affairs. If the complaint was well grounded, the court decreed that the next heir should take po e ion of the lunatic’s property, and probably also made some provision for his being put in confinement, or under proper care and guardianship. The celebrated tale of Iophon, the son of Sophocles, accusing his father of lunacy, is related in the life of Sophocles in the Cla ical Dictionary .