A member of a hetaeria; a man who belonged to an ancient Greek companion association or faction.
From Greek 'hetaieros,' meaning 'companion' or 'member of a hetaeria.' This scholarly term describes individual participants in ancient Greek political and social organizations based on companionship.
Hetaerioi (plural) swore binding oaths to each other—sometimes these proved more powerful than patriotism, which is exactly why the Athenian democracy eventually forbade political hetaeriae, fearing that private loyalty would trump public interest.
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