Μακρὰ γραμμή

Notes

1. Same entry in Photius (mu46 Theodoridis); similarly already in Hesychius mu127 (and Pollux 8.16).
   The phrase "badtemperedly awarding everyone the long [sc. line]" occurs in Aristophanes, Wasps 106 (web address 1), where MacDowell -- following and expanding the scholia thereto -- explains as follows: "For many kinds of offence [in classical Athens↗] the penalty was not fixed by law but was decided by the jury in each individual case [see alpha 4364]: when an accused man was found guilty, the accuser proposed a penalty and the accused proposed a different (naturally lighter) penalty, and after each had spoken in support of his proposal the jury voted to decide between the two. For this purpose each juror had a tablet (pina/kion) smeared with wax; a long line drawn in the wax was a vote for the severer penalty and a short one for the lighter".