Such is the position of the King in the heroic times of Greece⁠—the only person (if we except the herald, and priests, each both special and subordinate) who is then presented to us as clothed with any individual authority⁠—the person by whom all the executive functions, then few in number, which the society requires, are either performed or directed. His personal ascendancy⁠—derived from Divine countenance bestowed both upon himself individually and upon his race, and probably from accredited Divine descent⁠—is the salient feature in the picture: the people hearken to his voice, embrace his propositions, and obey his orders: not merely resistance, but even criticism upon his acts, is generally exhibited in an odious point of view, and is indeed never heard of except from some one or more of the subordinate princes.