wives saw little of the king, being only
summoned each in their turn to share his apartment, and had none of the
privileges which made the position of chief wife so important.

The concubines seem to have occupied a distinct part of the Gynaeceum,
called "the second house of the women." They were in the special charge
of one of the eunuchs, and were no doubt kept under strict surveillance.
The Empire was continually searched for beautiful damsels to fill the
harem, a constant succession being required, as none shared the royal
couch more than once, unless she attracted the monarch's regard very
particularly. In the later times of the Empire, the number of the
concubines became enormous, amounting (according to one authority) to
three hundred and twenty-nine, (according to another) to three hundred
and sixty. They accompanied the king both in his wars and in his hunting
expeditions. It was a part of their duty to sing and play for the royal
delectation; and this task, according to one author, they had to perform
during the whole of each night. It is a more probable statement that
they entertained the king and queen with music while they dined, one of
them leading, and the others singing and playing in concert.

The Gynaeceum--in the Susa palace, at any rate--was a building distinct
from the general edifice, separated from the "king's house" by a court.
It was itself composed of at least three sets of apartments--viz.
apartments for the virgins who had not yet gone into the king,
apartments for the concubines, and apartments for the Queen-Consort and
the other wives. These different portions were under the supervision
of different persons. Two eunuchs of distinction had the charge
respectively of the "first" and of the "second house of the women." The
Queen-Consort was, at any rate nominally, paramount in the third, her
authority extending over all its inmates, male and female.

Sometimes there was in the Gynaeceum a personage even more exalted than
any which have as yet been mentioned. The mother of the reigning prince,
if she outlived his father, held a position at the Court of her son
beyond that even of his Chief Wife. She kept the ensigns of royalty
which she had worn during the reign of her husband; and wielded, as
Queen-Mother, a far weightier and more domineering authority than she
ever exercised as Queen-Consort. The habits of reverence and obedience,
in which the boy had been reared, retained commonly their pow