mankind by various signs and visions; it was not everyone, however, who knew how to interpret these signs; a deep knowledge of the divine nature and will, as well as a rich treasure of experience were required, and it was, therefore, natural that they turned for this purpose to those who had devoted their whole life to discovering the will of the gods. These were the seers or interpreters who were closely connected with the priests, though they must not be identified with them. When we speak of a priestly class among the Greeks, we must not take it in the literal sense of the word; the Greek priests did not constitute a class in our modern sense of the word, since there were no preliminary studies required for the office. Greek religion possessed no dogmas; the priest’s duty was only to perform certain rites and ceremonies, and these were easily learnt. Consequently, the priesthood in Greece was limited to no age and no sex; boys and girls, youths and maidens, men and married women could perform priestly functions for a long or short period. The essential requirement was legitimate birth and participation in the community in which the priestly functions had to be performed; bodily purity and moral character were also required; members of ancient and noble families were especially privileged, and sometimes bodily strength and beauty were regarded in the choice. Generally speaking, however, the requirements made differed not only according to the gods in whose service they were to stand, but also according to local or other accidental circumstances. Thus sometimes priestesses were required to be virgins, if not for their whole life, at any rate for the duration of their priesthood; in other cases, however, married women might undertake the priestly functions. The same held good for the men. Although, as a rule, priests entered for their whole life, yet it sometimes happened that their priestly functions were only performed for a time, as for instance, in the case of boys or girls who entered the service of the temple until they attained their man or womanhood, or in other cases where citizens were made priests for one or several years, and, when the time was up, retired again and let others take their place. There were various modes of appointing priests. They were either elected from among several candidates, in which case the right of election lay with the citizens or their representatives, or else by lot, or the right was given from birth. Certain priesthoods were hereditary in families; either the first-born was appointed as such, or else the lot had to decide between the various members of a family; sometimes, if disputes ensued, a legal decision might even be given. Consequently, it is clear that the priests in Greece did not form a special caste, and as they very often retired again to private life, their influence was not extensive or very important.