About the book: 2004 / The Institute of men's unions has its roots in the distant era of the formation of human society. The question of it and the rituals and customs associated with it has been poorly studied. The Dorian male union, the main structural element of the Dorian polis, reproduces in miniature the historical type of polis in general. Sparta is the only example of the coexistence of male unions with the state in the true sense of the word. The organization of men's unions is inextricably linked with the custom of sissitia - collective dinners of citizens - the basic principle underlying the policy of limiting private property and strengthening communal property, the most important means of strengthening discipline and an instrument of everyday control over the lives of citizens. In addition to these questions, the difference between Dorian male unions, known from sources of classical and Hellenistic times, and similar organizations of earlier times, and much more, is explored. The work is based on literary sources, Greek and Cretan inscriptions, using parallel material from the epic and ethnographic data. The book is addressed to historians, ethnographers, lawyers and everyone interested in the history of public institutions and the emergence of a European-style state.