herodotus

property, namely who ought to have her, if her father have notbetrothed her to any one, and about public ways; also if any mandesires to adopt a son, he must do it in presence of the kings: and itis ordained that they shall sit in council with the Senators, who arein number eight-and-twenty, and if they do not come, those of theSenators who are most closely related to them shall have theprivileges of the kings and give two votes besides their own, makingthree in all.[42a] 58. These rights have been assigned to the kingsfor their lifetime by the Spartan State; and after they are dead thesewhich follow:--horsemen go round and announce that which has happenedthroughout the whole of the Laconian land, and in the city women goabout and strike upon a copper kettle. Whenever this happens so, twofree persons of each household must go into mourning, a man and awoman, and for those who fail to do this great penalties areappointed. Now the custom of the Lacedemonians about the deaths oftheir kings is the same as that of the Barbarians who dwell in Asia,for most of the Barbarians practise the same customs as regards thedeath of their kings. Whensoever a king of the Lacedemonians is dead,then from the whole territory of Lacedemon, not reckoning theSpartans, a certain fixed number of the "dwellers round"[43] arecompelled to go to the funeral ceremony: and when there have beengathered together of these and of the Helots and of the Spartansthemselves many thousands in the same place, with their womenintermingled, they beat their foreheads with a good will and makelamentation without stint, saying that this one who has died last oftheir kings was the best of all: and whenever any of their kings hasbeen killed in war, they prepare an image to represent him, laid upona couch with fair coverings, and carry it out to be buried. Then afterthey have buried him, no assembly is held among them for ten days, noris there any meeting for choice of magistrates, but they have mourningduring these days. In another respect too these resemble the Persians;that is to say, when the king is dead and another is appointed king,this king who is newly coming in sets free any man of the Spartans whowas a debtor to the king or to the State; while among the Persians theking who comes to the throne remits to all the cities the arrears oftribute which are due. 60. In the following point also theLacedemonians resemble the Egyptians; that is to say, their heraldsand fluteplayers and cooks inherit the crafts of their fathers, and afluteplayer is the son of a fluteplayer, a cook of a cook, and aherald of a herald; other men do not lay hands upon the office becausethey have loud and clear voices, and so shut them out of it, but theypractise their craft by inheritance from their fathers.61. Thus are these things done: and at this time of which wespeak,[44] while Cleomenes was in Egina doing deeds[45] which were forthe common service of Hellas, Demaratos brought charges against him,