Caradoc / _Dicranograptus_--shales.
\ Defrel or _Orthis_--limestone.
/ Rhyolitic ashes = Upper \ Upper Ashes
| Massive ashes = Middle > of
Llandeilo < Acid andesitic ashes = Lower / Arenig.
Group | Daerfawr Shales. Zone of _Didymograptus Murchisoni_.
| Platy ashes \ Lower Ashes of Arenig
\ Great Agglomerate / (Hypersthene Andesites).
/ Olchfa or _Bifidus--shales_ (_Didymograptus bifidus_).
| Filltirgerig or _Hirundo_ Beds \ _Didymograptus
Arenig < Erewnt or _Ogygia_--limestone / Hirundo._
Group | Henllan or _Calymene_--ashes \ _Didymograptus
| Llyfnant or _Extensus_ flags / extensus._
\ Basal Grit
\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
(unconformity)
The above succession is divisible into: (1) a lower series of gritty and
calcareous sediments, the "Arenig Series," as it is now understood; (2)
a middle series, mainly volcanic, with shales, the "Llandeilo Series";
and (3) the shales and limestones of the Bala or Caradoc Stage. It was
to the middle series (2) that Sedgwick first applied the term "Arenig."
In the typical region and in North Wales generally the Arenig series
appears to be unconformable upon the Cambrian rocks; this is not the
case in South Wales. The Arenig series is represented in North Wales by
the Garth grit and Ty-Obry beds, by the Shelve series of the Corndon
district, the Skiddaw slates of the Lake District, the Ballantrae group
of Ayrshire, and by the Ribband series of slates and shales in Wicklow
and Wexford. It may be mentioned here that the "Llanvirn" Series of H.
Hicks was equivalent to the bifidus-shales and the Lower Llandeilo
Series.
REFERENCES.-Adam Sedgwick, _Synopsis of the Classification of the
British Palaeozoic Rocks_ (1885); Sir A. Ramsay, "North Wales," _Geol.
Survey Memoir_, vol. iii.; C. Lapworth, _Ann. Mag. Nat, Hist._ vol.
vi., 1880; G.A.J. Cole and C.V. Jennings, _Q.J.G.S._ vol. xlv., 1889;
C.V. Jennings and G.J. Williams, _ibid._ vol. xlvii., 1891; Messrs
Crosfield and Skeat, _ibid_. vol. lii., 1896; G.L. Elles, _Geol.
Mag._, 1904; J.E. Marr and T. Roberts, _Q.J.G.S._, 1885; H. Hicks,
_ibid._ vol. xxxi., 1875. See also ORDOVICIAN. (J. A. H.)
AREOI, or AREOITI, a secret society which originated in Tahiti and later
extended its influence to other South Pacific islands. To its ranks both
sexes were admitted. The society was primarily of a religious character.
Members styled themselves descendants of Oro-Tetifa, the Polynesian god,
and were divided into seven or more grades, each having its
characteristic tattooing. Chiefs were at once qualified for the highest
grade, but ordinary members attained promotion only through initiatory
rites. The Areois enjoyed great privileges, and were considered as
depositaries of knowledge and as mediators between God and man. They
were feared, too, as ministers of the taboo and were entitled to
pronounce a kind of excommunication for offences against its rules. The
chief religious purpose of the society was the worship of the generative
powers of nature, and the ritual and ceremonies of initiation were
grossly licentious. But the Areois were also a social force. They aimed
at communism in all things. The women members were common property; the
period of cohabitation was limited to three days, and the female Areois
were bound by oath at initiation to strangle at birth any child born to
them. If, however, the infant was allowed to survive half an hour only,
it was spared; but to have the right of keeping it the mother must find
a male Areoi willing to adopt it. The Areois travelled about, devoting
their whole time to feasting, dancing (the chief dance of the women
being the grossly indecent _Timorodee_ mentioned by Captain Cook), and
debauchery, varied by elaborate realistic stage presentments of the
lives and loves of gods and legendary heroes.
AREOPAGUS ([Greek: Hareios Pagos]), a bare, rocky hill, 370 ft. high,
immediately west of the northern rim of the acropolis of Athens. The
ancients interpreted the name as "Hill of Ares." Though accepted by some
modern scholars, this derivation of the word is rendered improbable by
the fact that Ares was not worshipped on the Areopagus. A more
reasonable explanation connects the name with _Arae_, "Curses," commonly
known as _Semnae_, "Awful Goddesses," whose shrine was a cave at the
foot of the hill, of which they were the guardian deities (Aeschyl.
Eumen. 417, 804; Schol. on Lucian, vol. iii. p. 68, ed. Jacobitz; Paus.
i. 28. 6).
The Boule, or Council, of the Areopagus ([Greek: he en Harehio Pago
boule]), named after the hill, is to be compared in origin and
fundamental character with the council of chiefs or elders which we find
among the earliest Germans, Celts, Romans, and other primitive peoples.
Under the kings of Athens it must have closely resembled the Boule of
elders described by Homer; and there can be no doubt that it was the
chief factor in the work of transforming the kingship into an
aristocracy, in which it was to be supreme. It was composed of
ex-archons. Aristotle attributes to it for the period of aristocracy the
appointment to all offices (_Ath. Pol_. viii. 2), the chief work of
administration, and the right to fine or otherwise punish in cases, not
only of violation of laws, but also of immorality (_ibid._ iii. 6; cf.
Isoc. vii. 46; Androtion and Philochorus, in Muller, _Frag. Hist.
Graec_. i. 387. 17, 394 60).[1] This evidence is corroborated by the
remnants of political power left to it in later time, after its
importance had been greatly curtailed, and by the designation Boule,
which in itself indicates that the body so termed was once a state
council. In a passage bearing incidentally upon the early constitution
of Athens, Thucydides (i. 126. 8) informs us that at the time of the
Cylonian insurrection the Athenians, we may suppose in their assembly
([Greek: Hekklesia]), commissioned the archons with absolute power to
deal with the trouble at their discretion. From this passage, if we
accept the Aristotelian view as to the early supremacy of the
Areopagitic council, we must infer that a modification of the
aristocracy in a popular direction had at that time already taken place.
In addition to its political functions, the council from the time of
Draco, if not earlier, exercised jurisdiction in certain cases of
homicide (see below, _ad fin_.). The assumption that in their criminal
jurisdiction the Areopagites were called Ephetae till after the
legislation of Draco (of. Philoch. 58, in Muller, _ibid_. 394) would
explain the otherwise obscure circumstances that, according to Plutarch
(_Sol_. 19), Draco (q.v.) in his laws mentioned only the Ephetae, and
that Pollux (viii. 125) included the Areopagus among the localities in
which sat the Ephetae.[2] The same assumption would supply a reason for
the notion entertained by many writers of later time that the
Areopagitic council was instituted by Solon (q.v.)--a notion partly
explained also by the desire of political thinkers to ascribe to Solon
the making of a complete constitution. Conformably with the view here
presented we may suppose that the name "Boule of the Areopagus"
developed from the simple term "Boule" in order to distinguish it from
the new Boule (q.v.), or Council of Four Hundred. The popular reforms of
Solon (594 B.C.), so far as they were carried into effect, tended
practically to limit the Council of the Areopagus, though
constitutionally it retained all its earlier powers and functions,
augmented by the right to try persons accused of conspiracy against the
state (Arist. _Ath. Pol._ viii. 4). In the exercise of its duty as the
protector of the laws it must have had power to inhibit in the Four
Hundred, or in the Ecclesia, a measure which it judged unconstitutional
or in any way prejudicial to the state, and in the levy of fines for
violation of law or moral usage it remained irresponsible. As censor of
the conduct of citizens it inquired into every man's source of income
and punished the idle (Plut. _Sol._ 22).
The tyrants (560-510 B.C.) left to the council its cognizance of murder
cases (Demosth. xxiii. 66; Arist. _Ath. Pol_. xvi. 8) and probably the
nominal enjoyment of all its prerogatives; but their method of filling
the archonship with their own kinsmen and creatures gradually converted
the Areopagites into willing supporters of tyranny. Though hostile,
therefore, to the policy of Cleisthenes, their council seems to have
suffered no direct abridgment of power from his reforms. After his
legislation it gradually changed character and political sentiment by
the annual admission of ex-archons who had held office under a popular
constitution. In 487 B.C., however, the introduction of the lot as a
part of the process of filling the archonship (see ARCHON) began to
undermine its ability. This deterioration was necessarily slow; it could
not have advanced far in 480 B.C., when on the eve of the battle of
Salamis, as we are informed (Arist. _Polit._ viii. 4, p. 1304a, 17;
_Ath. Pol._ xxiii. 25; Plut. _Them._ 10; Cic. _Off._ i. 22, 75), the
council of the Areopagus succeeded in manning the fleet by providing pay
for the seamen, thereby regaining the confidence and respect of the
people. The patriotic action of the council and its attendant popularity
enabled it to recover considerable administrative control, which it
continued to exercise for the next eighteen years, although its
deterioration in ability, becoming every year more noticeable, as well
as the rapid rise of democratic ideas, prevented it from fully
re-establishing the supremacy which Aristotle, with some exaggeration,
attributes to it for this period. Its prestige was seriously undermined
by the conduct of individual members, whose corrupt use of power was
exposed and punished by Ephialtes, the democratic leader. Following up
this advantage, Ephialtes (462 B.C.), and less prominently Archestratus
and Pericles (q.v.), proposed and carried measures for the transfer of
most of its functions to the Council of Five Hundred, the Ecclesia, and
the popular courts of law (Arist. _Ath. Pol._ xxv. 2, xxvii. 1, xxxv. 2;
Plut. _Per_. 9). Among these functions were probably jurisdiction in
cases of impiety, the supervision of magistrates and the censorship of
the morals of citizens, the inhibition of illegal and unconstitutional
resolutions in the Five Hundred and the Ecclesia, the examination into
the fitness of candidates for office, and the collection of rents from
the sacred property (of. Wilamowitz-Mollendorff, _Arist. u. Ath._ ii.
186-197; Busolt, _Griech. Gesch._ (2nd ed.) iii. 269-294; G. Gilbert,
_Const. Antiq. of Sparta and Athens_, Eng. trans., 154 f.). It retained
jurisdiction in cases of homicide and the care of sacred olive trees.
From this time to the establishment of the Thirty (462-404 B.C.) the
Areopagitic council, degraded still further by the opening of the
archonship to the Zeugitae (457 B.C.) and by the absolute use of the lot
in filling the office, was a political nullity. The first indication of
a revival of its prestige is to be traced in the action attributed to it
by Lysias during the siege of Athens (404 B.C.) (in Eratosth. 69:
[Greek: prattouses men tes en Areio Pago boules soteria]). After the
surrender of Athens and the appointment of the Thirty, the repeal of the
laws of Ephialtes and Archestratus prepared the way for the
rehabilitation of the council as guardian of the constitution by the
restored democracy (Arist. _Ath. Pol._ xxxv. 2; decree of Tisamenus, in
Andoc. i. 84; cf. Din. i. 9). Although under the new conditions the
Areopagites could not hope to recover their full supremacy, they did
exercise considerable political influence, especially in crises. In the
time of Demosthenes, accordingly, we find them annulling the election of
individuals to offices for which they were unfit (Plut. _Phoc_. 16),
exercising during a crisis a disciplinary power extending to life and
death over all the Athenians "in conformity with ancestral law,"
procuring the banishment of one, the racking of another, and the
infliction of capital punishment on several of the citizens. This
authority seems to have been delegated to them by the assembly with
reference either to individual cases or temporarily to the whole body of
Athenians (Din. i. 10, 62 f.; Aeschin. iii. 252; Lye. _Leoc_. 52;
Demosth. xviii. 132 f.; Plut. _Demosth_. 14). Religion, too, was their
care (Pseud. Demosth. lix. 80 f.). Lycurgus (_ibid_.) even goes so far
as to claim chat by their action during the crisis after Chaeroneia they
had saved the state. After the period of the great orators their
influence continued to grow. Demetrius of Phalerum empowered them to
assist the _gynaeconomi_ in supervising festivals held in private houses
(_Philoch_. in Muller, _ibid_. i. 408. 143). Under Roman supremacy in
addition to earlier functions they had jurisdiction in cases of forgery,
tampering with the standard measures, and probably other high crimes,
the supervision of buildings, and the care of religion and of education
(Cic. _Fam_. xiii. i; _Att_. v. 9; Tac. _Ann_. ii. 55; Plut. _Cic_. 24;
_C.I.G._ i. 123. 9; _C.I.A._ ii. 476; iii. 703, 714, 716; Acts xvii.
19). Their council acquired, too, in conjunction with the assembly, with
or without the cooperation of the Five Hundred (or Six Hundred), the
right to pass decrees and to represent their city in foreign relations
(_C.I.A._ iii. 10, 31, 40, 41, 454, 457, 458). From the overthrow of the
Thirty to the end of their history they enjoyed a high reputation for
ability and integrity (Isoc. vii.; Demosth. xxiii. 65 f.; Val. Max.
viii. 1. _Amb_. 2; Gell. xii. 7; Lucian, _Bis Acc._ iv. 12. 14). About
A.D. 400 their council came to an end (Theodoret, _Curat_. ix. 55).
With regard to the jurisdiction of the council in cases of homicide, the
procedure, so far as it may be gathered from the orators and other
sources, was as follows:--accusations were brought by relatives within
the circle of brothers' and sisters' children, supported by the wider
kin and the phratry (Demosth. xliii. 57). On receiving the accusation
the king-archon by proclamation warned the accused to keep away from
temples and other places forbidden to such persons. He made three
investigations of the case in the three successive months, and brought
it to trial in the fourth month. As he was forbidden to hand a case over
to his successor, it resulted that in the last three months of the year
no accusations of homicide could be brought (Ant. vi. 42). After the
examination he assigned the case to the proper court, and presided over
it during the trial, which took place in the open air, that the judges
and the accuser might not be polluted by being brought under the same
roof with the offender (Ant. v. 11). The accuser and the accused,
standing on two white stones termed "Relentlessness" ([Greek: Anaideia])
and "Outrage" ([Greek: Hubois]) respectively (Paus. i. 28. 5), bound
themselves to the truth by most solemn oaths (Demosth. xxiii. 68). Each
was allowed two speeches, and the trial lasted three days. After the
first speech the accused, unless charged with parricide, was at liberty
to withdraw into exile (Poll. viii. 117). If condemned, he lost his
life, and his property was confiscated. A tie vote acquitted (Aeschyl.
_Eumen_. 735; Ant. v. 51; Aeschin. iii. 252). See further GREEK LAW.
AUTHORITIES.--Among other works may be mentioned E. Dugit, _Etude sur
I'Areopage athenien_ (Paris, 1867); E. Caillemer, "Areopagus," in
Daremberg et Saglio, _Dict. d. Antiq. grecq. et rom._ (Paris, 1873) i.
395-404; A. Philippi, _Areopag und Epheten_ (Berlin, 1874). The
discovery of the Aristotelian "Constitution of Athens" (_Ath. Pol._)
has largely rendered obsolete all works published before 1891. See
Hermann-Thumser, _Griechische Staatsaltertumer_ (6th ed., Freiburg,
1892), 365-371, 387-391, 788; U. von Wilamowitz-Mollendorff,
_Aristoteles und Athen_ (Berlin, 1893), ii. 186-200; J.J. Terwen, _De
Areopago Atheniensium Quaestiones Variae_ (Utrecht, 1894); G. Gilbert,
_Constitutional Antiquities of Athens and Sparta_ (Eng. trans., London
and New York, 1895), 114, 122, 137, 154, 282; F. Cauer, "Aischylos und
der Areopag," in _Rhein. Mus._ (1895), N.F. i. 348-356; Wachsmuth and
Thalheim, s.v. "Areios pagos" in Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencycl. d. kl.
Altertumswiss_. (Stuttgart, 1896), ii. 627-633; G. de Sanctis,[Greek:
Atthis], _Storia delta Repubblica Ateniese_ (Rome, 1898); L. Ziehen,
"Drakontische Gesetzgebung," in _Rhein. Mus._ (1899), N.F. liv.
321-344. See also CLEISTHENES; PERICLES and ATHENS. (G. W. B.)