Geomori
Encyclopedia
Geomori or Geomoroi is the name of the second of the three classes into which Theseus
is said to have divided the inhabitants of Attica
. (Plut. Thes. 25 ; Pollux, viii. 111.) This class was, together with the third, the demiourgoi, excluded from the great civil and priestly offices which belonged exclusively to the eupatrids, so that there was a great distinction between the first and the two inferior classes. We possess, however, no means to ascertain any particulars respecting the relation in which the geomoroi stood to the two other classes. The name may either signify independent land-owners, or peasants who cultivated the lands of others as tenants. The geomoroi have, accordingly, by some writers been thought to be free land-owners, while others have conceived them to have been a class of tenants. It seems, however, inconsistent with the state of affairs in Attica, as well as with the manner in which the name geomoroi was used in other Greek states, to suppose that the whole class consisted of the latter only ; there were undoubtedly among them a considerable number of freemen who cultivated their own lands , but had by their birth no claims to the rights and privileges of the nobles. We do not hear of any political distinctions between the geomoroi and the demiourgoi; and it may either be that there existed none at all, or if there were any originally, that they gradually vanished. This would account for the fact that Dionysius (ii. 8) only mentions two classes of Atticans; one corresponding to the Roman patricians, the other to the plebeians.
In Samos
the name geomoroi was applied to the oligarchical party, consisting of the wealthy and powerful. (Thucyd. viii. 21 ; Plut. Quaest. Rom. p. 303; Mtiller, Dor. iii. 1. § 4.) In Syracuse the aristocratical party was likewise called gamoroi, in opposition to the Demos
. (Herod, vii. 155; Hesych. s. v. Tdjjiopoi; Miiller, Dor. iii. 4. § 4 ; Gbller, de Situ et Orig. Syrac.
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
is said to have divided the inhabitants of Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
. (Plut. Thes. 25 ; Pollux, viii. 111.) This class was, together with the third, the demiourgoi, excluded from the great civil and priestly offices which belonged exclusively to the eupatrids, so that there was a great distinction between the first and the two inferior classes. We possess, however, no means to ascertain any particulars respecting the relation in which the geomoroi stood to the two other classes. The name may either signify independent land-owners, or peasants who cultivated the lands of others as tenants. The geomoroi have, accordingly, by some writers been thought to be free land-owners, while others have conceived them to have been a class of tenants. It seems, however, inconsistent with the state of affairs in Attica, as well as with the manner in which the name geomoroi was used in other Greek states, to suppose that the whole class consisted of the latter only ; there were undoubtedly among them a considerable number of freemen who cultivated their own lands , but had by their birth no claims to the rights and privileges of the nobles. We do not hear of any political distinctions between the geomoroi and the demiourgoi; and it may either be that there existed none at all, or if there were any originally, that they gradually vanished. This would account for the fact that Dionysius (ii. 8) only mentions two classes of Atticans; one corresponding to the Roman patricians, the other to the plebeians.
In Samos
Samoš
Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...
the name geomoroi was applied to the oligarchical party, consisting of the wealthy and powerful. (Thucyd. viii. 21 ; Plut. Quaest. Rom. p. 303; Mtiller, Dor. iii. 1. § 4.) In Syracuse the aristocratical party was likewise called gamoroi, in opposition to the Demos
Demos
Demos may refer to:* Demos, a rhetorical term for the population of an ancient Greek state** Deme or Demoi, the term for an ancient subdivision of Attica, Greece...
. (Herod, vii. 155; Hesych. s. v. Tdjjiopoi; Miiller, Dor. iii. 4. § 4 ; Gbller, de Situ et Orig. Syrac.