Except in the case of the primitive courts of homicide, the right of jurisdiction was entrusted to the several archons until the date of Solon (594). When the direct jurisdiction of the archons was impaired by Solon's institution of the "right of appeal to the law-courts," the dignity of those officials was recognized by their having the privilege of presiding over the new tribunals ([Greek: hegemonia dikasteriou]). A similar position was assigned to the other executive officers, such as the strategi (generals), the board of police called the "Eleven," and the financial officers, all of whom presided over cases connected with their respective departments. In their new position as presidents of the several courts, the archons received plaints, obtained from both parties the evidence which they proposed to present, formally presided at the trial, and gave instructions for the execution of the sentence. The choice of the presiding magistrate in each case was determined by the normal duties of his office. Thus the chief archon, the official guardian of orphans and widows, presided in all cases, public or private, connected with the family property of citizens (Aristotle, _u.s._ c. 56). The king-archon had charge of all offences against religion, e.g. indictments for impiety, disputes within the family as to the right to hold a particular priesthood, and all actions for homicide (c. 57). The third archon, the polemarch, discharged in relation to resident aliens all such legal duties as were discharged by the chief archon in relation to citizens (c. 58). The trial of military offences was under the presidency of the strategi, who were assisted by the other military officers in preparing the case for the court. The six junior archons, the _thesmothetae_, acted as a board which was responsible for all cases not specially assigned to any other officials (details in c. 59). The Forty. The Forty, who were appointed by lot, four for each of the ten tribes, acted as sole judges in petty cases where the damages claimed did not exceed ten _drachmae_. Claims beyond that amount they handed over to the arbitrators. The four representatives of any given tribe received notice of such claims brought against members of that tribe. It seems probable that they dealt with all private suits not otherwise assigned, but, unlike the archons, they did not prepare any case for the court but referred it, in the first instance, to a public arbitrator appointed by lot (c. 53).[3] The public arbitrators.