If they [= the Athenians] were dawdling on their way into the assembly, the archers[1] used to soak a rope in miltos[2] and chase them together and close the shops.
And [there is] a saying:[3] 'they are fleeing the miltos-soaked rope'. To force them into the assemblies they devised this and many other things. For they used to stretch out screens and close off those streets which did not lead into the assembly-place, and remove the goods for sale in the markets, so that they would not spend time on them; what is more, they encircled them with a miltos-soaked rope and chased them together into the assembly. This they did to stop dawdling; for those who were dyed had to pay a fine. Alternatively: since the Athenians were reluctant as regards the meetings, two attendants used to stretch out a miltos-soaked rope and pursue the crowd through the agora into the assembly, as Plato the comic poet says. And those who were dyed had to pay a fine.[4]