Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/393

 ECBATANA are seen. If both the players agree, they may continue discarding, and so changing their hands, until the talon is exhausted ; but one cannot keep on after the other is satisfied ; and if it is found, after several discards, that too few cards remain in the talon to supply the number required, this must be made up from the cards last discarded. If the dealer will not consent to allow his adversary an exchange after the first deal, he is obliged to win three tricks, or if he fails loses two points; and if the non-dealer plays without requesting a dis- card, he is subject to the same conditions. If either party looks at the discards, he must as penalty play all the rest of the game with his cards exposed to his opponent's view. If the dealer turn up a trump by mistake in dealing cards for the discard, he is not permitted to refuse his adversary an exchange of cards during that hand. The general rules concern- ing mistakes, misdeals, &c., are the same as in similar games at cards. Ecarte had its origin in Paris, and derives its name from the French verb ecarter, to discard. ECBATANA, an ancient city, capital of the Median empire, and the favorite summer resi- dence of the kings of Persia. Its foundation was attributed to Semiramis ; but Herodotus makes Deioces its founder, and describes par- ticularly its position on a conical hill, and its enclosure by seven concentric walls, each in- ner one being higher than the next outer one, which were painted with different colors, the innermost wall being gilded, and the next pla- ted with silver. An account of the building of the city by Artaphaxad is given in the book of Judith, and it is mentioned by Ezra under the name of Achmetha. It is probable that this city was founded and flourished subsequently to Babylon and Nineveh, and that it occupied the position ascribed to it by Diodorus and oth- ers, near the site of the modern city of Ha- madan. Its citadel was of enormous strength, and adjoining it was the royal palace, rivalling the noblest edifices of the East. The fragrant cedar and the cypress were the only kinds of wood that entered into its construction, and its columns, beams, and ceilings were covered with golden and silver plates. Its splendid archi- tecture and spacious apartments, its fountains and gardens, and the mild climate of the place, attracted to it, even after the fall of the Me- dian empire, the sovereigns of Persia, to repose during the summer months. Darius fled from his defeat at Arbela to Ecbatana, and Alexan- der the Great, having become master of the town, bore away a rich booty. Under the Se- leucidse its edifices and palaces were plundered, and its ramparts began to crumble away. It subsequently fell to the Parthians, and was the frequent residence of their kings ; but its ruin was completed amid the revolutions which pre- ceded the establishment of the new Persian empire. Of its former magnificence only a few broken columns, cuneiform inscriptions, med- als, and fragments of sculpture, dug from the ECCLESIA 385 earth in the vicinity of Hainadan, now remain. (See HAMADAN.) ECCHELLENSIS, or Echellcnsis, Abraham, a learned Maronite, professor of the Syriac and Arabic languages in Paris and in Rome, born at Ekkel, Syria, died in Italy in 1664. He was educated at Rome, and took the degree of doctor of theology and of philosophy. In 1630 he was invited to Paris to assist in edit- ing the polyglot Bible of Le Jay. He contrib- uted to this work the book of Ruth in Syriac and Arabic, and the third book of Maccabees in the latter language. He was besides the author of several historical writings and trans- lations from the Arabic. In 1642 he returned to Rome as professor of the oriental languages. ECCLESIA (Gr. eKKtyoia, from e/c/caAeZv, to call out or summon), in ancient Athens, a general assembly of the citizens summoned together to discuss and decide matters of public interest. The ordinary assemblies were held three times monthly on established days; the extraordi- nary were specially convened on any sudden and pressing emergency. When the occasion was of extreme importance, special messengers were despatched into the country to summon the people, and the assembly thus convened was termed a cataclesia. These assemblies were originally held in the Agora ; but during the most flourishing periods of Athens, in the times of Themistocles, Pericles, and Demos- thenes, they were usually held on the rock of the Pnyx, where a semicircular space, partially formed by excavation from the native rock, and containing 12,000 square yards, could ac- commodate all the Athenian citizens. There were neither seats nor awning, and the assem- bly met at daybreak. The lema on which the orators stood to address the people was carved from the rock, and yet remains. It was often called "the stone;" and as the destinies of Athens were swayed by the orators who stood upon it, it became a figure of speech for the existing government, and the phrase " master of the stone " indicated the ruling statesman of the day. At a later period the assemblies were often held in the great theatre of Diony- sus, and also in the Pirasus, and in the theatre at Munychia. The right of convening the citi- zens was vested in the prytanes, or presidents of the council of 500, but in times of war or sudden emergency the generals also had the power to call extraordinary assemblies. Any citizen refusing to obey the call was fined. The poorer classes received a small fee for their attendance as a recompense for their time. Before the assembly entered upon any business, a sacrifice, usually of a suckling pig, was of- fered, and incense was burned. Then the herald proclaimed silence and offered a prayer to the gods ; after which, under the direction of the prytanes and the proedri, or heads of tribes, the subjects to be discussed were stated, and permission was given to the speakers to ad- dress the people. No measure could be acted upon in the assembly which had not been passed