age

age
The division of life into age-groups was prominently adhered to in antiquity, though there was considerable disagreement as to their precise identification. The Pythagorean philosophers (see Pythagoras) identified four (Diodorus Siculus 10. 9. 5), whereas Hippocratic writers (see medicine §4) acknowledged seven ages of man, each seven years in length (Pollux 2. 4). Since adult society was primarily organized on a two-generational principle, a threefold division probably served most practical purposes, viz. pais, neos, and gerōn in Greek, puer, iuvenis, and senex in Latin. Mental ability was judged to be strictly a function of ageing, as indicated by the fact that there were minimum age qualifications for administrative and executive posts. So an Athenian councillor had to be 30 years old, as, probably, did an ephor at Sparta (see also [The entire page is 676 words long]

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