TRĬBUS

( φῦλον , φυλή ), a tribe. (1) Greek. In the earliest times of Greek history mention is made of people being divided into tribes and clans. Homer speaks of such divisions in terms which seem to imply that they were elements that entered into the composition of every community. A person not included in any clan ( ἀφρήτωρ ), was regarded as a vagrant or outlaw. These divisions were rather natural than political, depending on family connection, and arising out of those times, when each head of a family exercised a patriarchal sway over its members. The bond was cemented by religious communion, sacrifices and festivals, which all the family or clansmen attended, and at which the chief usually presided.—Of the Dorian race there were originally three tribes, traces of which are found in all the countries which they colonised. Hence they are called by Homer Δωριέες τριχάϊκες . These tribes were the Hylleis ( Ὑλλεῖς ), Pamphyli ( Πάμφυλοι ), and Dymanatae or Dymanes ( Δυμανάται or Δυμᾶνες ). The first derived their name from Hyllus, son of Hercules, the two last from Pamphylus and Dymas, who are said to have fallen in the last expedition when the Dorians took po e ion of the Peloponnesus. The Hyllean tribe was perhaps the one of highest dignity; but at Sparta there does not appear to have been much distinction, for all the freemen there were by the constitution of Lycurgus on a footing of equality. To these three tribes others were added in different places, either when the Dorians were joined by other foreign allies, or when some of the old inhabitants were admitted to the rank of citizenship or equal privileges. Thus the Cadmean Aegeids are said by Hero dot us to have been a great tribe at Sparta, descended (as he says) from Aegeus, grandson of Theras, though others have thought they were incorporated with the three Doric tribes. The subdivision of tribes into phratriae ( φρατρίαι ) or patrae ( πάτραι ), genē ( γένη ), trittyes ( τρίττυες ), . appears to have prevailed in various places. At Sparta each tribe contained ten obae ( ὠβαί ), a word denoting a local division or district; each obe contained ten triac a des ( τριακάδες ), communities containing thirty families. But very little appears to be known of these divisions, how far they were local, or how far genealogical. After the time of Cleomenes the old system of tribes was changed; new ones were created corresponding to the different quarters of the town, and they seem to have been five in number.—The first Attic tribes that we read of are said to have existed in the reign, or soon after the reign, of Cecrops, and were called Cecropis ( Κεκροπίς ), Autochthon ( Αὐτόχθων ), Actaea ( Ἀκταία ), and Paralia ( Παραλία ). In the reign of a subsequent king, Cranaus, these names were changed to Cranais ( Κραναΐς ), At this ( Ἀτθίς ), Mesogaea ( Μεσόγαια ), and Diacris ( Διακρίς ). Afterwards we find a new set of names; Dias ( Διάς ), A then a is ( Ἀθηναΐς ), Pose i don i as ( Ποσειδωνιάς ), and Hephaestias ( Ἡφαιστιάς ); evidently derived from the deities who were worshipped in the country. Some of those secondly mentioned, if not all of them, seem to have been geographical divisions; and it is not improbable that, if not independent communities, they were at least connected by a very weak bond of union. But all these tribes were superseded by four others, which were probably founded soon after the Ionic settlement in Attica, and seem to have been adopted by other Ionic colonies out of Greece. The names Geleontes ( Γελέοντες ), Hopletes ( Ὅπλητες ), Argades ( Ἀργάδεις ), Aegicores ( Αἰγικορεῖς ), are said by Hero dot us to have been derived from the sons of Ion, son of Xuthus. Upon this, however, many doubts have been thrown by modern writers. The etymology of the last three names would seem to suggest, that the tribes were so called from the occupations which their respective members followed; the Hopletes being the armed men, or warriors; the Argades , labourers or husbandmen; the Aegicores , goatherds or shepherds. But whatever be the truth with respect to the origin of these tribes, one thing is certain, that before the time of These us, whom historians agree in representing as the great founder of the Attic commonwealth, the various people who inhabited the country continued to be disunited and split into factions.—These us in some measure changed the relations of the tribes to each other, by introducing a gradation of ranks in each; dividing the people into Eupatridae ( Εὐπατρίδαι ), Geomori ( Γεωμόροι ), and Demiurgi ( Δημιουργοί ), of whom the first were nobles, the second agriculturists or yeomen, the third labourers and mechanics. At the same time, in order to consolidate the national unity, he enlarged the city of Athens, with which he incorporated several smaller towns, made it the seat of government, encouraged the nobles to reside there, and surrendered a part of the royal prerogative in their favour. The tribes or phylae were divided, either in the age of These us or soon after, each into three phratriae ( φρατρίαι , a term equivalent to fraternities, and analogous in its political relation to the Roman curiae ), and each phratria into thirty gene ( γένη , equivalent to the Roman Gentes ), the members of a genos ( γένος ) being called gennetae ( γεννῆται ) or homogalactes ( ὁμογαλάκτες ). Each genos was distinguished by a particular name of a patronymic form, which was derived from some hero or mythic ancestor. These divisions, though the names seem to import family connection, were in fact artificial; which shows that some advance had now been made towards the establishment of a closer political union. The members of the phratriae and gene had their respective religious rites and festivals, which were preserved long after these communities had lost their political importance, and perhaps prevented them from being altogether di olved.—After the age of These us, the monarchy having been first limited and afterwards abolished, the whole power of the state fell into the hands of the Eupatridae or nobles, who held all civil offices, and had besides the management of religious affairs, and the interpretation of the laws. Attica became agitated by feuds, and we find the people, shortly before the legislation of Solon, divided into three parties, Pediaei ( Πεδιαῖοι ) or lowlanders, Diacrii ( Διάκριοι ) or highlanders, and Parali ( Πάραλοι ) or people of the sea-coast. The first two remind us of the ancient division of tribes, Mesogaea and Diacris ; and the three parties appear in some measure to represent the cla es established by These us, the first being the nobles, whose property lay in the champaign and most fertile part of the country; the second, the smaller landowners and shepherds; the third, the trading and mining cla , who had by this time risen in wealth and importance. To appease their discords, Solon was applied to; and thereupon framed his celebrated constitution and code of laws. Here we have only to notice that he retained the four tribes as he found them, but abolished the existing distinctions of rank , or at all events greatly diminished their importance, by introducing his property qualification, or division of the people into Pentacosiomedimni ( Πεντακοσιομέδιμνοι ), Hippeis ( Ἱππεῖς ), Zeugitae ( Ζευγῖται ), and Thetes ( Θῆτες ). [ Census , Greek .] The enactments of Solon continued to be the law at Athens, though in great measure suspended by the tyranny, until the democratic reform effected by Clisthenes. He abolished the old tribes, and created ten new ones, according to a geographical division of Attica, and named after ten of the ancient heroes: Erechtheis , Aegeis , Pand i on is , Leontis , A cam antis , Oeneis , Cecropis , Hippo tho on tis , Aeantis , Anti och is . These tribes were divided each into ten dem i ( δῆμοι ), the number of which was afterwards increased by subdivision; but the arrangement was so made that several dem i not contiguous or near to one another were joined to make up a tribe. [ Demus . ] The object of this arrangement was, that by the breaking of old a ociations a perfect and lasting revolution might be effected, in the habits and feelings, as well as the political organisation of the people. Solon allowed the ancient phratriae to exist, but they were deprived of all political importance. All foreigners admitted to the citizenship were registered in a phyle and dem us, but not in a phratria or genos. The functions which had been discharged by the old tribes were now mostly transferred to the dem i . Among others, we may notice that of the forty-eight naucrariae into which the old tribes had been divided for the purpose of taxation, but which now became usele , the taxes being collected on a different system. The reforms of Clisthenes were destined to be permanent. They continued to be in force (with some few interruptions) until the downfall of A then i an independence. The ten tribes were blended with the whole machinery of the constitution. Of the senate of five hundred, fifty were chosen from each tribe. The allotment of dicasts was according to tribes; and the same system of election may be observed in most of the principal offices of state, judicial and magisterial, civil and military, . In B.C. 307, Demetrius Pol i or cetes increased the number of tribes to twelve by creating two new ones, namely, An tigon i as and Demetrias , which afterwards received the names of Ptolemais and Attalis ; and a thirteenth was subsequently added by Hadrian, bearing his own name.—(2) Roman. The three ancient Romulian tribes, the Ramnes, Tities, and Luceres, or the Ramnenses, Titienses, and Lucerenses, to which the patricians alone belonged, must be distinguished from the thirty plebeian tribes of Servius Tullius, which were entirely local, four for the city, and twenty-six for the country around Rome. The history and organisation of the three ancient tribes are spoken of under Patricii . They continued of political importance almost down to the period of the decemviral legislation; but after this time they no longer occur in the history of Rome, except as an obsolete institution. The institution and organisation of the thirty plebeian tribes, and their subsequent reduction to twenty by the conquests of Porsena, are spoken of under Plebes . The four city tribes were called by the same names as the regions which they occupied, viz. Suburana , Esquilina , Collina , and Pal at in a . The names of the sixteen country tribes which continued to belong to Rome after the conquest of Porsena, are in their alphabetical order as follows: Aemilia , Camilia , Cornel i a , Fabia , Galeria , Horatia , Lemonia , Menemia , Papiria , Pollia , Popillia, upinia , Romilia , Sergia , Veturia , and Volt in i a . As Rome gradually acquired po e ion of more of the surrounding territory, the number of tribes also was gradually increased. When Appius Claudius, with his numerous train of clients, emigrated to Rome, lands were a igned to them in the district where the Anio flows into the Tiber, and a new tribe, the tribus Claudia , was formed. This tribe was subsequently enlarged, and was then designated by the name Cru stum in a or Clustumina . This name is the first instance of a country tribe being named after a place, for the sixteen older ones all derived their name from persons or heroes. In B.C. 387, the number of tribes was increased to twenty-five by the addition of four new ones, viz. the Stell at in a , Tromentina , Sabatina , and Arniensis . In B.C. 358 two more, the Pomptina and Publilia , were formed of Volscians. In B.C. 332, the censors Q. Publilius Philo and Sp. Postumius increased the number of tribes to twenty-nine, by the addition of the Maecia and Scaptia . In B.C. 318 the Ufentina and Falerina were added. In B.C. 299 two others, the Aniensis and Terentina , were added by the censors, and at last in B.C. 241, the number of tribes was augmented to thirty-five, by the addition of the Quirina and Velina . Eight new tribes were added upon the termination of the Social War, to include the Socii, who then obtained the Roman franchise; but they were afterwards incorporated among the old 35 tribes, which continued to be the number of the tribes to the end of the republic. When the tribes, in their a emblies, transacted any busine , a certain order ( ordo tribuum ) was observed, in which they were called upon to give their votes. The first in the order of succe ion was the Suburana, and the last the Arniensis. Any person belonging to a tribe had in important documents to add to his own name that of his tribe, in the ablative case. Whether the local tribes, as they were established by the constitution of Servius Tullius, contained only the plebeians, or included the patricians also, is a point on which the opinions of modern scholars are divided: but it appears most probable that down to the decemviral legislation the tribes and their a emblies were entirely plebeian. From the time of the decemviral legislation, the patricians and their clients were undoubtedly incorporated in the tribes. Respecting the a emblies of the tribes, see Comitia Tributa .