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trates in the state were chosen. Admission into this body was equivalent to an introduction into public life, and was therefore esteemed a great pri­vilege ; whence we find it recorded in inscriptions that such, a person was equo publico lionoratus, exornatus, &c. by the emperor. (Orelli, Inscrip. No. 3457, 313, 1229.) If a young man was not admitted into this body, he was excluded from all civil offices of any importance, except in municipal towns ; and also from all rank in the army, with the exception of centurion.

All those equites who were not employed in actual service were obliged to reside at Rome (Dion Cass. lix. 9), where they were allowed to fill the lower magistracies, which entitled a person to admission into the senate. They were divided into six turmae, each of which was commanded by an officer, who is frequently mentioned in inscrip­tions as Sevir equitum Rom, iurmae I. u. &c., or commonly Sevir turmae o? Sevir turmarum equitum Romanorum. From the time that the equites be­stowed the title of prineipes juventutis upon Cains and Lucius Caesar, the grandsons of Augustus (Tacit. Ann. i. 3 ; Monum. Ancyr.), it became the custom to confer this title, as well as that of Sevir, upon the probable successor to the throne, when he first entered into public life and was presented with an equus publicus. (Capitol. M. Anton. Phil. 6 ; Lamprid. Commod. 1.)

The practice of filling all the higher offices in the state from these equites appears to have con­tinued as long as Rome was the centre of the government and the residence of the emperor. They are mentioned in the time of Severus (Gru-ter, Inscrip. p, 1001. 5 ; Papinian, in Dig. 29. tit. 1. s. 43), and of Caracalla (Gruter, p. 379. 7) ; and perhaps later. After the time of Diocletian, the equites became only a city guard, under the com­mand of the Praefectus Vigilum ; but they still re­tained in the time of Valentinianus and Valens, A. d. 3.64, the second rank in the city, and were not subject to eorporal punishment, (Cod. Theodos. 6. tit. 36.) Respecting the Magister Equitum, see dictator.

(Zumpt, Ueber die RomiscJt^n Hitter und den Ritterstand in Rom, Berlin, 1840 ; Marquardt, Historiae Equitum Romanorum libri IV. Berlin, 1840 ; Madvig, De Loco Ciceronis in lib.iv. de Republica, in Opuscula, vol. i. p. 72, &c. ; Becker Handbuch der Romisclien Alterthumer, vol. ii. part i. p. 235, &c.)

EQUULEUS or ECULEUS, an instrument of torture, which is supposed to have been so called because it was in the form of a horse. We have no description of its form given by any of the an­cient writers, but it appears not to have differed greatly from the crux. (Cic. Pro Mil. 21, com­pared with certa crux, c. 22,) It appears to have been commonly used at Rome in taking the evi­dence of slaves. (See Sigonius, De Judiciis, in. 17 ; Magius, De Equuleo, in Salengre's Nov. Thesaur. Ant. Rom. vol. ii. p. 1211, &c.) EQUUS OCTOBER. [palilia.] E'RANI (epavoi), were clubs or societies, estab­lished for charitable or convivial purposes, or for both. They were very common at Athens, and suited the temper of the people, who were both social and generous. The term epcwos, in the sense of a convivial party, is of ancient date. (Horn. Od. i. 226.) It resembled our picnics, or the German pikmiks, and was also called 5e?7n/oj/

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avrb cnrvpifios or ano ffv[A§o\(av \ where every guest brought his own dish, or (to save trouble) one was deputed to cater for the rest, and was afterwards repaid by contributions. [coena, p. 304, b.] Tuts clubs that were formed at Athens used to dine to­gether at stated periods, as once a month ; and every member was bound to pay his subscription, which (as well as the society itself) was called epavos, and the members Ipaviffrai. If any mem­ber failed to pay, the sum was made up by the president, epaz/ao%??.9, also called irXTipcvrijs epa^oi;, who afterwards recovered it, if he could, from the defaulter. HXrjpovv epavov often means simply, to pay the subscription, as AeiTrew or e/cXeiTre/v, to make default. (Dem. c. Aphob. p. 821, c.Mid, p, 547, c. Aristog. p. 776,)

There were also associations under this name, for the purpose of mutual relief, resembling in some degree our friendly or benefit societies ; but with this essential difference, that the relief which they afforded was not (as it is with us) based upon any calculation of natural contingencies, but was given pro re nata, to such poor members as stood in need of it. The Athenian societies do not ap­pear to have kept up a common fund by regular subscriptions, though it is probable that the sum which each member was expected to advance, in­case of need, was pretty well understood. If a man was reduced to poverty, or in distress for money for any cause, he applied to the members of his club for assistance ; this was called &v\-\eyzw epavov; those who advanced it were said spavi&iv avT<£: the relief was considered as a loan, repayable by the borrower when in better circumstances. Isaeus (De Hagn. ffered. p. 294) reckons among the assets of a person, e£ epdj/cay o^eA^/xara eio'TreTrpayjueVa, from which we may infer, that each contributor was entitled to recover the sum he had lent. For the recovery of such loans, and for the decision of other disputes, there were epavixal Si'/tcu, in which a summary and equitable kind of justice was administered. Plato (Leg. xi. p. 915) disapproved of lawsuits in such matters, and would not allow them in his republic.,

Salmasius contends that wherever the term epavos is applied to an established society, it means only a convivial club, and that there were no re­gular associations for the purposes of charity ; but others have held a different opinion. (See Salmas. De Usuris, c. 3, Ols. ad Jus Att. et Rom. arid Herald. Animadv. in Salmas., referred to in Meier's Att. Proc. p. 540.) It is not probable that many permanent societies were formed with the sole view of feasting. We know that at Athens, as well as in the other Grecian republics, there were clubs for various purposes, political as well as social: the members of which would naturally meet, and dine together at certain periods. Such were the religions companies (&iWoi), the commer­cial (ipiropiKaty, and some others. (Bockh, Pol. Econ. of Athens,^. 245, 2nd ed.) Unions of this kind were called by the general name of eraipia/, and were often converted to mischievous ends, such as bribery, overawing the public assembl}', or influencing courts of justice. (Time. iii. 82 ; Dem. De Coron. p. 329 ; Thirl wall, Gr. Hist. vol. iv. p. 36.) In the days of the Roman empire friendly societies, under the name of epai/ot, were frequent among the Greek cities, but were looked on with suspicion by the emperors as leading to political combinations. (Plin. Ep. x. 93, 94.) The