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THEORICA.
that went-to consult the God at Delphi, and those that led the solemn procession to Delos, where the Athenians established a quadriennial festival, in .revival of the ancient Ionian one, of which Homer speaks. (Thucyd. iii. 104). The expense of these embassies was defrayed partly by the state and partly by wealthy citizens, to whom the management of them was entrusted, called dpx^wpoi, chiefs of the embassy. This was a sort of eiTovpyia, and frequently a very costly one ; as the chief conductor represented the state, and was .expected to appear with a suitable degree of splendour ; for instance, to wear a golden /crown, to drive into the city with a handsome chariot, retinue, &c. Nicias, who was very rich, is reported to have incurred great expenses on his embassy to Delos, beyond what was required of him ; and Alcibiades astonished all the spectators at Olympia by the magnificence of his horses, chariots, &c., and the profuseness of hi.s expenditure. (Bockh, Publ. Eeon. of Athens, p. 214, &c. 2d ed.; Thirl wall, Hist, of Greece, vol. iii. pp. 217, 330.) [delia.]
The Salaminian, or Delian, ship was jalso .called &€c0jols z/avs, and was principally used for conveying embassies to Delos, though, like the Paralus, it was employed on other expeditions besides. (Suidas, I c.; Bockh, Id. p. 240.) [£!. R. K.]
THEORIA (&ew/»fa). [-theori.]
THEORICA (SecopiKd). Under this name at Athens were comprised the monies. expended on festivals, sacrifices, and public entertainments of various kinds ; and also monies distributed among the people in the shape of largesses from the state.
There were, according to Xenophon, more festivals at Athens than in all the rest of Greece. (De Hep. Atli. iii. 8.) Besides those which were open to the whole body of the people, there were many confined to the members of each tribe, deme, and house. These last were provided for out of the private funds of the community who celebrated them. At the most important of the public festivals, such as the Dionysia, Panatjfa,enaea, Eleusinia, Thargelia, and some others, there were not only sacrifices, but processions, theatrical exhibitions, gymnastic contests, and games, .celebrated with great splendour and’ at a great expense. A portion of the expense was defrayed by the individuals, upon whom the burden of XeiTovpyift devolved ; but a considerable, and perhaps the larger, part was defrayed by the public treasury. Demosthenes complains, that more money was spent on a single Panathenaic or Dionysiac festival than oil any military expedition. (Philip, i. 50.) The religious embassies to Delos and other places, and especially those to the Olympian, Nemean, Isthmian, and Pythian games, drew largely upon the public exchequer, though a part of the cost fell upon the wealthier citizens who conducted them, (Schomann, Ant. jut. jnibl. Or. p. 305.)
The largesses distributed among the people had their Origin at an early period, and in a measure apparently harmless, though from a email beginning they afterwards rose to a height most injurious to the commonwealth. The Attic drama used to be performed in a wooden theatre, and the entrance was free to all citizens who chose to go. It was found, however, that the crushing to get in led to much confusion and even danger. On one occasion, about b. c. 500, the scaffolding which supported the roof fell in, and caused great alarm.
THEORICA.
It was then determined that the entrance should no longer be gratuitous. The fee for a place was fixed at two obols, which was paid to the lessee of the theatre, (called SreaTptibvys, &€aTpoird)r)s, or apXiTeVrcoz/,) who undertook to keep it in repair, and constantly ready for use, on condition of being allowed to receive the profits. This payment continued to be exacted after the stone theatre was built. Pericles, to relieve the poorer classes, passed a law which enabled them to receive the price of admission from the state ; after which all those citizens whp were too poor to pay for their places applied for the money in the public assembly, which was then frequently held in the theatre. (Schomann, Id. p. 219.) In process of time this donation was extended to other entertainments besides theatrical ones j the sum of two oboli being given to each citizen who attended ; if the festival lasted two days, four oboli; and if three, six oboli ; but not beyond. JJenee all theoric largesses received the name of SiwSeAta. The sums thus given varied at different times, and of course depended on the state of the public exchequer. These distributions of money, like those of grain and flour, were called S/aj/o/mt, or SiaSotrets. They were often made at the Dionysia, when the allies were present, and saw the surplus of their tribute distributed from the orchestra. The appetite of the people for largesses grew by encouragement, stimulated from time to time by designing demagogues ; and in the time of Demosthenes’ they seem not to have been confined to the poorer classes. (Philip, iv. 141.) Bockh calculates that from 25 to 30 talents were spent upon them annually. (Publ.Econ. of Athens, p. 224, 2d ed.)
So large an expenditure of the public funds upon shows and amusements absorbed the resources, which were demanded for services of a more important nature. By the ancient law the whofe surplus of the annual revenue which remained after the expense of the civil administration (tgj TTcpiovra xp^/uara rys 8iOi/c^<rea>s) was to be carried to the military fund, and applied to the defence of the commonwealth. Since the time of Pericles various demagogues had sprung up, who induced the people to divert all that could be spared from the other branches of civil expenditure into the Theoric fund, which at length swallowed up the whole surplus, and the supplies needed for the purpose of war or defence were left to depend upon the extraordinary contributions, or property-tax (etcr^opai). An attempt was made by the demagogue Eubulus, of whom Theo-pompus says, that ras 7rpoar68ovs KaTafjiKrQofpop&v diereei (Athen. iv. p. 166), to perpetuate this system. He passed a law, which made it a capital offence to propose that the Theoric fund should be applied to military service. In b. c. 353 Apollo-dorus carried a decree empowering the people to determine whether the surplus revenue might be applied to the purpose of war ; for which he was indicted by a ypa<f)}) TrapavS/j.w, convicted and fined ; and the decree was annulled, as a matter of course. (Demosth. c. Neaer. 1346—1348.) The law of Eubulus was a source of great embarrassment to Demosthenes, in the prosecutions of his schemes for the national defence ; and he seems at last, but not before b. c. 339, to have succeeded in repealing it. (Harpocr. and Suidas, s. v. ®ect>piK<£ and Eff&wAos: Bockh. Id. i. pp. 219—223; Schomann, Id. p. 307.)
