in antiquity, a name given by Theseus to the nobility of Athens, as distinguished from the Geomori and Demiurgi. The Eupatridae, by Theseus's establishment, had the right of choosing magistrates, teaching and dispensing the laws, and interpreting holy and religious mysteries. The whole city, in all other matters, was reduced to an equality. The Geomori were husbandmen, and inferior to the Eupatridae in point of fortune; the Demiurgi were artificers, and fell short of the Eupatridae in number.