Homeric society is essentially aristocratic. At its head stands the
king, who may be a great potentate, like Agamemnon, ruling over a wide
extent of territory, or a petty prince, like Odysseus, who exercises a
sort of patriarchal authority within the limits of a small island. The
person of the king is sacred, and his office is hereditary. He bears
the title of _Diogenes_, "Jove-born," and is under the especial
protection of the supreme ruler of Olympus. He is leader in war, chief
judge, president of the council of elders, and representative of the
state at the public sacrifices. The symbol of his office is the
sceptre, which in some cases is handed down as an heirloom from father
to son.
Next to the king stand the elders, a title which has no reference to
age, but merely denotes those of noble birth and breeding. The elders
form a senate, or deliberative body, before which all questions of
public importance are laid by the king. Their decisions are afterwards
communicated to the general assembly of the people, who signify their
approval or dissent by tumultuous cries, but have no power of altering
or reversing the measures proposed by the nobles. Thus we have already
the three main elements of political life: king, lords, and
commons--though the position of the last is at present almost entirely
passive.