naucrary

The Naucrary and Naucraria () was a subdivision of the people of Attica, among the most ancient in the Athenian state. Each was led by an official called a naucrarus (). All sources for the institution date from after it had ceased to be particularly important and thus the nature of the naucraries is highly disputed in modern scholarship. They seem to have played a role in fiscal management and naval organisation.

==Etymology== The word is derived either from naus (ναῦς "a ship") and describes the duty imposed upon each naucrary, of providing one ship and two (or, more probably, ten) horsemen; or from naio (ναίω "I dwell"), in which case it has to do with a householder census. The former is generally accepted since the naucraries were certainly the units on which the Athenian fleet was based.