Notes

• demokratia


  rules (kratos) by the people (demos)
• tribe

  originally four but became ten new groups each with a mythical 'founding hero' which Cleisthenes used to divide and organise the Athenians population for the council and the army
• deme


  village and small political unit which Cleisthenes made the basis of the democratic reorganisation when each citizen incorporated it into their name
• trittys

  third of a tribe to organise demes evenly into tribe
• areopagus


  hill of ares where the aristocratic council of ex-archons met to make important decisions before the democratic reforms
• boule


  council of 500 men, 50 selected from each tribe by lot

  ran the city
• prytany


  administrate period of around 35 days when one tribe would be in charge of the executive organising the business in the boule
• ecclesia

  assembly of citizens which met on Pnyx
• archon


  magistrate in charge of all important decisions with one senior (eponymous) archon in charge for a year
• polemarch


  war archon

  commander of military
• ostracism

  method of exiling to prevent any citizen form gaining too much power and could be a threat to democracy or citizens
• metic


  resident foreigner, a greek living in athens without citizen rights
• stratgeos 


  one of ten general

  military position elected by each tribe
• dikasts

  jurors

  ordinary citizens who heard court cases and voted on outcome of punishments
• pnyx


  hill in athens where the ecclesia met
• countryside and territory known as Attica with lots of small villages and towns
• Athens after the Battle of Marathon

  prominent position in Greece, victorious at Salamis, Plataea, Mycale and Eurymedon
• Marathon depended on the success of the zeugitai (hoplite class) but Salamis and the navy in general depended on ‘ordinary working people’ - more influence from the democratic reforms
• boule

  Fifty councillors from each of the ten tribes boule twice in their life

  One tribe steered the boule for a prytany, a period of 35 days (these executive councillors were called prytaneis); they lived together in the tholos

  Annual selection by lot (i.e. random lottery) - the council changed every year

  Had to be over 30, and could only be on the
• What did the boule do

  The boule ran the city, supervised public money, buildings, the army and navy, and prepared motions (probouleumata) for the assembly

  Made sure that the assembly’s decisions were carried out

  They examined new councillors before they could take office
• strategoi (generals)

  Ten generals were elected annually by the ecclesia, and could be re-elected

  they were unpaid

  they could call meeting of the assembly and ran the army and the navy

  they are accountable to the assembly and punished if they failed their duties

  Unclear relationship with the polemarch (war archon) but the strategoi were more important and more influential
• Archons


  were the people who carried out the business of the state
• how many archons

  •There were around 700, usually on boards of ten with specific areas of responsibility
• how archons changed over time

  After 487 BC, archons were selected by lot from ordinary citizens; after 457 BC ex-archons sat on the Areopagus
• how many times could people be archons

  Citizens could generally only hold office once, with some key exceptions
• Eponymous archon


  most important; functions mainly administrative
• Archon Basileus (‘king’ archon)

  dealt with religious disputes
• Polemarch


  organised army & navy; also oversaw legal disputes involving foreigners, but less important than the strategoi
• 6 Thesmothetai legislators


  supported the top archons