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Transcript
THE BC 5OO-44O WORLD: GREEK 249 'who were anned with whips, would, driae au)oy anyottß whn øpproarhcd. Aristides once intendcd to tax Pawønias with thß and expostula.te with hirn, but he pul on afrown, told, Aristidns that he was occupicd, an'd' refisedto listento him. After this thc gencrals and' ødmirals of the ph.e Athenians'l object being to compensate themseh¡es for their losses by rauagíng th.e territory ofthc hing of Persia. THuqyDtDEs, Peloponnesian Greeh Wa4 trans. by R. Wennen, p. 66 expedition, especially thase of Chins, Sam,os an'd' Lesbos, approachcd Aristidcs and, pressed hirn to øccept the suprenle command, and, rally aroun'd him th,e alLies who had,long wished to be quit of Sparta an'd' to transfer thcir support to Athnns. Arßtides nld them' that he regørded, their proposøls as both necessary an'd jwt. Greehs'l aims probably itælu.d¿d also thcir d,etermination to protect those Greek' states whírh had' alreød,y reuohedfrom Persia and, to liberate those still Phe PLUTARcH, Thc Rí:e and' Fall of Ath'ens, trans. by l. scorr-KlLVERT, pp. 134"-5 undnrPersianrule,,, J. FINE, (Un lnrt /on dt'ny an I /^6e ,ourcet us The Arcicnt Greelr,p.333 tng (Un dntt / on lt'ny an I a How did Athens gain command of the I-,eague? /.6e ,ources o Why were the Spartans unwilling to tølre the leødership? ; s Can you d,etect any d,ffiren'ces in the sources? : How irnportant were the personalities of Aristides and, Pausanías in the formation of the League? The main reasons the Athenians became the leaders of a Greek alliance were: o their kinship with the Ionian Greeks o Spartan isolationism o, Athens' naval strength and reputation after Salamis o the role of individuals such as Pausanias and Aristides. The alliance is referred to by modern scholars as the 'Delian League', but the Greeks themselves called it the 'Athenians and their allies'. The term hegemon, meaning leader of a group of states, was now applied to the Athenians. The purpose of the League th,e lonians the oøth by whi'ch they swore to haae thc samc ene¡ni,es and' the sam,e fn nd* os the Athenians. h was in confi'rma,tion of this oøth that they cast the hcauy pinces of iron into the sea. ARtsrorLE, Constítutinnof Atherc, trans. by K. von FRITZ & E. KAPP' pp.93-4 tng What does Aristides say was the purpose of the alliance? : Why were iron bars thrown into the sea? s How d,o the explanations of Thucyd'íd'es and Fine dffir? Membership of the League siates joined the Delian League at its outset. Chios, Lesbos and Samos were founding members, as were most of the Ionian city-states in the' It is uncertain which northern Aegean and along the coast of Asia Minor' Most of the states who joined ihe alliance were hoping to be freed from the threat of Persian domination and in trade with Athens. In 47817 BC the Athenians invited all interested parties to a meetshared an interest ing on the island of Delos. (Un lnrt /on ltny /tÇn rout"nt Look. [Arßtidcs] aùninßtered, to us an I us tng at Figure B.ll and' explain why Delos was chosen. Other reasons Delos was chosen were: o it had an excellent harbour o it was a cult centre for Apollo (an important god for all Greeks) and a sacred site o it was politically insignificant and therefore unlikely to challenge Athenian supremacy. N ul o T (n --l a MACEDONI,A Propontis l¿ ¡- lt Eqal r¡ PHRYGIA n CORCYRA o D r\ U o , g LEUCAS ADTOLIA LYDIA :*"il I ¡ CEPHAtt# zAcYNTHUSb , ,3 W IñE!!E 0 Members of the Delian League t 50 t00 r50 ¡ÞDELos oMagnesia /t r *-;ü'fy ,r"ufð fu."r"ruo t ¡ cos û It & 200 kilotnetres FIGURE 8. I f ¡ *"ro, Éd' Members of the Peloponnesian League Athenian colony \w -brENos t, n The Delian and, p^t ^^^^-n.ìnn. Leagues x o @ EPIRUS o CRETE ,*o*"o"o' Sardes THE o or phoros The Delian League did not have a written constitution, and our knowledge of its workings can only be gleaned from the writings of Thucydides, Plutarch and Aristotle or pseudo-Xenophon (the possible authors of a work on the Athenian constitution). To fund the alliance and to carry out the purposes of the League, money and ships were required. This ophoros', and all member states tríbute was called lhe were expected to contribute. BC 5OO-44O that Thucydides confused Organisation of the League The tribute \MORLD: GREEK 251 it with figures for a much later period. The amount of tribute received by Athens between 450 and 436, when the membership of the League was much higher than at the beginning: û€v€r exceeded 460 talents. From inscriptions on the acropolis, it is known that Aegina (Athens'old enemy) paid the largest amount of tribute: 30 talents. Abdera and Byzantium paid 15 talents each year. Constitution of the League The League consisted of independent states who met in congress to make their decisions. However, it is clear that the alliance was unequal from the beginning because: o At this time thn offrcials ktwwn os 'Hell.enic Treasurers' were fi,rst appointnd by the Ath'eniø¡u. These offiriøls receiaed, thn tribuæ, whi,ch was th,e nnme giaen to thc contributions in rnoncy. Thc original sumfixedfor thc tribute was 400 tal,ents. Thc treasury of th,e lcøgtrc was the leadership was Athenian Athens had the largest fleet o Athens was superior in resources. How did this congress operate? There are two differing views on this. r atDelos... TH uqyD¡ DE s, Peloponnesian War, trans. by R. I¡VARNER, p.6ó lThe Greelæl øpplicd to AristiÅ,es and, øppoinæd th.e Athcnia ns þr thc seruices The ch.oire lay benteen either a unicømcral or a bicø,mcral d¿cision-making struÆture. In a unicameral structure euery member, irælud,ing the h,egemnn, has only one uote in a single chamber---<t simplc majority decid,ing policy. In a bicaiæral strut:ture thcre are two chambers, consisting of th,e h,egeman in onc chamber and. thc rest of th.e allies in thc other chømber. Ecwh chamber is cotutitutinnnlly equal in power to earh othcr, and, thcrefore a polfuy is only authorßed'whcn both charnbers aote infauour. If oræ chamber opposes the of him to suruey thc aarinw territories and thcir ret)enues, and' thcn tofin th'eir contributioru accord,ing to earh metnber's worth an'd, ability to pay . . . he drew up th.e list of ossessmcnts rwt only with scrupulou ir*egrity and justine, but also in such a way that all th.e states feh they had, been appropriøtely and. søtßfannrily dcah with . . . The tan which Aristidcs imposed ømnunted, to 460 talcr*s. proposed polity rejected,, In reo,ch¿d by lntt / on lt'ng an I Q,/n us tny /6e sour"et ; : What were the allies expected to contribute? s In what ways did Athens control the Iæaguefrom Who assessed th.e tribute? Who collected it? the outset? You will note that there is a contradiction in the figures given by Thucydides and Plutarch. This has been much debated by historians, and many different explanations have been put forward. The figure is too high for the initial stages of the League and it is thought a ma,jority aerdi,ct within the chamber. T. BucKLEY , Aspects PLUTARc.H, Th,e Rise and Fall of Athens, trans. by l. Sqorr-KtLYERT, pp. 131{ (Un ønd. passes ø ueto, th,en thc policy is this strurture thc alli¿s' d,ecßinn wou'ld' be of Greek Hisnry, p. 192 lntt / on dtng an I us tng /6e sources : : t How d,o you think this council operated? What aoice did eøch rnember haae? How did Atl¿ens exert íts leadership? fnternal development of the League Because there was no written constitution the Athenians could change the rules to suit themselves. No provision was made for members to leave the League. Over a period of time, more members preferred to pay tribute rather than consume resources and manpower in building ships. 252 HISTORICAL PERIODS As the Persian threat diminished, the League mem- bers resented having to make contributions when there was no longer any need. In 469 BC the first rumblings of dissatisfaction became evident. Naxos attempted to seeede from the League, but Athens responded by using Delian forces under Kimon to besiege Naxos and force it to submit. In 465 Thasos, the greatest contributor of ships, expressed its resentment at Athenian inter{erence in its gold-mining operations. The Athenian fleet defeated the fleet of Thasos in a naval battle. The city of Thasos was besieged in 46543 BC. The people of Thasos were defeated by the Athenians, who pulled down the city walls. The Thasians lost their ships and mining interests, and agreed to pay tribute. The Athenians sent colonists to nearby Thrace. Over a period of time, Athens reduced the independent states in the League to subject status. In M7 BC the island of Euboea took advantage of the troubled Zot ltscussion How d,o you think other rnembers of the League, unhappy about the contribution of ships and, money, might feel about Athens after its treatnlerut of Naxos and, Thasos? Benefits for the allies Despite the dissatisfaction of some members, there were benefits for the allies: o Athenian currency, weights and measures had to be used on pain of punishment. Although this was a harsh measure, it facilitated trade. The Piraeus with facilities for unloading ships and storing grain, relations between Athens and Sparta and revolted. became the port of the empire. Aegean waters were Euboea was reclaimed by Athens a year later. By 440 BC only Chios, Lesbos and Samos were independent members but in 440-339 BC Samos revolted. Athen Trad,e-Athens imposed a coinage decree on the allies. The date of its imposition is debated by scholars. The decree banned the use of any nonAthenian coins in the cities of the League. safer for trade when the pirates of Scyros were defeated and enslaved in476BC. o Protection-the strong fleet of the Delian compelled Samos to submit once more. League protected members against the renewed threat of the Persians. o Gouernmenr-Athens strongly encouraged members to establish democracies as their form of govern. . . No.ros left the League ment. The allies had access to Athenian law courts. and th¿ Athcnians mndc war on th.e plore. Afier a sicge Naxos was forced, back to allegiance. This was th.ertrú cose whcnthc original corxtitutinn of thn Leøgue was broken and, øn øllicd city lost its indcpen"dcrrce, and, th.e process was contimtcd, in o Spoils-at the beginning of the League the allies the coses of th,e other ølli,es as aøriaus circumstances arose. Thn chinf reo.sons for th.ese reaolts were failures to prod,ure thc right a,maunt of tribute or thc right numbers of ships, and, somctimcs a refusal to prod.u.ce øny ships at Disadvantages all. For the Athenians i¡tsisted on obligations being excrctly met, and, mnd.e th,emselaes unpopul,o,r by bringing the seuerest pressure to bear on alli¿s whn were tnt wed to mnking sorriftrces and did nat want to mak¿ th,ern, In other ways, too, thæ Athenians as rulers were ¡tn longer populør as th,ey wed to be. THUcyDrDEs, Pelnponncsian We,r, trans. by R. Wannen, p.67 Q/n dn.t /an ú'ng an I u stng received booty from attacks on Persian territory (e.g., the sale ofslaves). \ for the allies o Loss of autonomy-the allies could not secede. o Allies were unwilling to travel long distances to the Athenian law courts. o Payment o o of tribute/ships-this continued even after the Persian threat ended. (Later there was great resentment when tribute was used by the Athenians to beautify the city of Athens.) The enforcement of the currency decree took away the allies' right to mint their own coins. The cleruchies (colonies) that were established by the Athenians were resented by the allies because they felt they had spies in their midst. Many of the cleruchies also had garrisons of soldiers attached to them. /Âe sources Benefits for Athens ; ; How would, you describe Athens' rol,e in these euents? a What was the signfficance of these reuolts? Why did these states reuoh? . Power-Athens had access to, and control of, a large and powerful alliance of wealthy states. Sometimes this was used for the benefit of Athens THE 5aO-44o BC 253 BC (the exact date is not known). The Persians had destruction of Thasos. assembled a large fleet at the mouth of the Eurymedon River in southern Asia Minor perhaps to launch an attack on the Greek cities of the Asia Minor coastline and the offshore islands. Kimon, with an allied fleet of 300 triremes, sailed to Eurymedon and won an impressive victory against the Persians on land and sea. The majority of the allies would have regarded this success at Eurymedon as fulfilling the primary purpose of the Delian League. As a result, more of the received one-sixtieth of total tribute as repayment for organising the League. They received half of the booty collected from the campaigns against the Persians. Sale of slaves also gave them added revenue. o Trøde-rhe Piraeus became the main port of the Aegean. The coinage decree forced the allies to trade with Athens. Excess tribute aÍter M9 paid for new docks, storehouses, harbour facilities and buildings like the Corn Exchange. Cleruchies o WORLD: rather than the League, as in the example of the o Weahh-in 478 Athens o GREEK established in conquered territory formed part of an attempt to create a unified system of free trade. Employmsn¡-n¿vaLl initiatives stimulated employment for rowers, shipbuilders, dock workers and builders. Cleruchies-when a state revolted from the League, Athens usually established a cleruchy of Athenian citizens to maintain a presence in the area. This benefited Athens by ridding the city of its excess population. Zot lr'rturrr'on Were there any disadaantages (5) Kimon followed this up by defeating some Phoenician ships off the.coast of Cyprus. These victories were so decisive that the Persians took a number of years to regain their strength. In areas from which the Persians had been expelled, the Athenians established their own settlers. (6) Kimon had by now established his reputation as an incomrptible political leader. ln 465/4 BC, dur- ing an unsuccessful attempt to colonise parts of Thrace, Kimon was accused of comrption by his political opponents. Because of his great popularity at this (7) In 459 BC the forces of the Delian for Athens? In the first few years of the Delian League the main objectives were carried out by Kimon, son of Miltiades, the hero of Marathon. Plutarch spoke of Kimon as equalling Miltiades and Themistocles in bravery and intelligence, and as oimmeasurably' exceeding them in statesmanship. ) than provide men and ships. point, he was acquitted. External policy of the League (f allies decided to make a payment of money rather In 477 BC the exiled Spartan king Pausanias in Byzantium and had cap- set himself up as a tyrant tured the town of Sestos. Kimon led an expeditionary force to recapture these two cities. (2) After successfully completing this mission, Kimon sailed to Eion on the Strymon River. This was the most important Persian stronghold in Thrace, and although the Persians greatly outnumbered the Athenians, the Greeks were successful. (3) The island of Scyros was inhabited by pirates. These were expelled by Kimon's forces in 47413 BC. Kimon established a cleruchy in this strategic posi- tion. An interesting highlight of this expedition was the discovery of fhe bones of the legendary Theseus which were recovered and returned to Athens. Plutarch comments that under Kimon the Athenians carried the war into their enemies' country and won new colonial teritory. (4) Kimon's greatest military achievement was his campaign at Eurymedon in Asia Minor in 469 or 466 League sup- ported the Egyptians in their revolt against Persian control. At first they met with some success, but by 454 the Persians regained control of Egypt and destroyed the Greek forces. (B) As a result of this disaster, the Phoenician fleet was once more active in the Aegean, giving Athens the excuse to move the treasury from Delos to Athens. (9) There was a resurgence of Persian power in the 450s when the Persians actively tried to regain control over the League allies in Asia Minor. The imposition of the Erythrae Decree in 45312, which imposed a democratic system of government and an Athenian military garrison on the people of Erythrae, probably indicates the hardline imperialistic stance taken by the Athenians. (lO) Kimon returned from exile in 45110 BC and took up the command of the League forces. He died in Cyprus in 449 fighting against the Persians. (11) Historians believe that, in 449 BC, some form of peace was made between the Athenians and Persianso known as the opeace of Kallias'. Changing relations with Sparta This period, 459-444 BC, is sometimes called the First Peloponnesian War by historians. o Kimon, the leader of the League forces, was a con- servative politician and followed a pro-Spartan policy. In 462 BC he convinced the Athenians to aid the Spartans, who were trying to deal with a 254 HISTORICAL PERIODS revolt by their population of Messenian helots. Kimon and the Athenian forces were humiliated when the Spartans sent them away. The Spartans had begun to fear Athenian success against the control of Megara. Athens had lost its land empire and had to be content with developing its maritime empire. The defeat at Koronea persuaded Athens in 446 BC to make a peace treaty with Sparta known Persians and the growth in Athenian power. Kimon as the was ostracised for his part in these events. o Athens made alliances with Argos and Thessal¡ Sparta's traditional enemies. o Megara, a strategically important member of the Peloponnesian League, defected and joined the Athenians. o In 45918 BC Athens went to war against her old enemy, Aegina. Sparta did not suppot her allies at this point, and in 457 A,egina surrendered, losing its navy and becoming a tribute-paying subject of Athens. o During the 450s, Athens gained a considerable land empire in central Greece, consisting of Boeotia, Phocis and Locris. This brought Athens into opposition with the Spartans and the o Peloponnesian League. The Athenians, however, had difficulty in maintaining their control over such a wide area and in fighting on so many fronts. By 447, at the battle of Koronea, Athens had lost its land empire and had to be content with developing its maritime empire. In 447 BC Athens went to war with Sparta at Koronea in Boeotia. The Athenians were defeated and their leader, Tolmides, was killed. As a result of this, the cities of Euboea (Athenian subjects) Thirty Years Peace. The primary source for these complicated events is Thucydides, who detailed Athens' rise to power in The Peloporunesian War, Book L Thucydides refers to this period of history as the opentecontøetiø' which means the 'first fifty years', the period leading up to the Peloponnesian War. In Boeotía, the Athenians put ínto thcfield 1000 of their own infantry and, some alli,ed dctachmnnts, in ffinsiue ctction against th,ese tdrgets; Tolmidcs, Tolmaios' son, was in cotnmand,. After capturing and, erulaaing Chaeroneia, they began to withdraw, leauing a garrison behind. On the mørch they were atkrclæd. at Koroneia by the Boeotian exiles ... The Athenians utere d,efeated in pitched, battle: some were killed; the rest were talæn aliue. The whole of Boeotia wos then na.anted by Athcru, undcr an agreettÊnt whereby th.ey got their øwn men au)ay. Those of the Boeotiaru who had been in exile, ww returned, home, and all th,e rest of Boeotia re g aínc d its in dep en derce. It was rnt long after thß that Euboeø reuoltedfrom Athetæ. Peri.cles had already crossed, ouer to Euboea an Ath¿nian ørm,y wh,en h,e receiued, the neus that uith revolted, Sparta attacked Attica, and Athens lost Popular eouræ Council of 5O0 (Dikasteria) (Boule) 50 members Areopague (Council of ex-archons) 9 archone selected frorn the first two economic classes from each tribe l0 generals (strategoi) I from each tril¡e Assembly (Ekklesia) Composed of all male citizens over the age of lB Anny FTGURE 8. l2 The structure of Athenian gouernment at the beginníng of the Sth century THE Megara had reuolted, that the Peloponnesiaru were poised to inuod,e Atti.ca and that th,e Athenian occupatian troops had been annihiløæd by thc Megarians ... It was afier thß thøt th¿ Peloponræsians mtnted. inn Atü,c territory, strihing at Eleusis and Thria anÅ, d.estroying thn lønd ... Howeuer, they mndc rn furthnr ad,uaræe and withÅrew homeuørds. Orx:e mnre th.e Athenians crossed ouer to Euboea, with Perirles in commnnì,. Thny gairæd control of the whnle tenitory, and imposed, a settl,emcnt on all except Hestiaca; frorn the lntter thcy droue all thc populatiory and, settl¿d thc lønd. there th.emselues. Not long afier returningfrom Euboea, thcy rutd.e a peoce treaty wi;th thc Spartøræ and. theír allicsfor thirty years: Ath,ens surrend¿red Nisaea, Pego,e, Troezen, and, Achaea, thefour Peloponnesiøn positi,oru still in th.eir hønds. THucyDrDEs ,'The Peloponræsia,n Wa4 cited in A. FRtNclr, Th¿ Athenian Half Century, p. 66 9"rþr/Ânr ìnttes/z'Va/ion Read, Thucyd,ides' account of these years in Boolt. I, 103-17, or consult textbooks such as N. G. L. Hammond, The History of Greece to 322 BC; V. Ehrenberg, From Solon to Socrates,' or J. V Fine, The Ancient Greeks. Zc/tt,t cREEK WORLD: 5OO-44O BC 255 Modem scholar Christian Meier claims that by this time the Delian League had become an Athenian empire. Thc Delian lcagtte had long possessed the trappings of an empire, but at this point it clearly became an empire, or, to use thc Greeh tenÌt, an arche, In the offi,cial d,ocum,ents we euenfi.nd, a refereræe to the'Athcnians and, th,ose ouer whotn thcy rule', The pea,ce treaty with Sparta refl,ects thi"s, too-it spealts twt of a military alliance against Persía but of two Greelt pou)er centers facing ea,ch oth¿r. Relatinw within the Delian lzagun cøn fromthn speeches Thrcyd,idcs irælud,ed be ded¡ned, inhis hßtory and, al,sofrom a number of inscriptiaræ, irælu.d,ing tribuæ lists and aarious treati,es. In the speech.es, what is rutst striking is the tyranni.cal power Athcns exercised, u;er its allies, som,ething Periclcs anÅ other orators pointed at with pri.d,e. Thny assert thøt th.efoundati,oru of this power were laid,whcn Ath,ens, a.t thc reEtcst of its allíns, assumed lcadership in the war agairæt Persia. Th,e Athcnians hoÅ. kept the alliønce aliuefor three re(ißons, th,e samc three that mntiuate m,ost puterful the Spartans, hod, only owi chnit:e, eithcr to rule by might or to pu,t thnir own positinn in jeopardy. c. . ESSA METER, .Arhcns, p. 358 lnølyse how Athens gained, and lost its larud empíre. The League becomes the Athenian etnpire By 454 BC Athens had discontinued meetings of the Delian League on the island of Delos. The treasury had been removed for safekeeping to Athens after the defeat of the Delian fleet in Egypt. By 450, owing to the actions of Kimon and the forces of the Delian League, the threat of Persian aggression had considerably diminished. Once an agreement had been made between the Athenians and Persians, the initial justification for the League was removed. A peace treaty POLITIqAL CHANGES IN ATHENS Overview of Kleisthenes' reforms In the late 6th century the Athenian statesman Kleisthenes made major changes to the Athenian system of govemment. The area of Athens and Attica had previously been divided into four tribes. Government with Persia was a sensible move. However, the and public life were controlled by the aristocratic families. Kleisthenes' reforms attempted to break this stranglehold. The whole area of Attica was divided into 139 demes (villages or local areas). Kleisthenes Athenians sought to maintain their power and to preserve the League, arguing that the Persians would strike again if the Greeks appeared weak. Athens consolidated its dominance of the League. By 440 BC most of the allies were subjects of Athens, and the tribute paid into the Athenian treasury was being used not only to maintain the fleet, but to rebuild and beautify the city of Athens. then organised ten new tribes, each consisting of several demes (about 14). The Council was enlarged from 400 to 500 members. The method of selection was by lot-fifty members were chosen from each of the new tribes. The Athenian assembl¡ or Ekklesia, acquired wider powers to review and try cases. These measures gave more power and greater opportunities to the citizens, and broke the inlluence ofthe aristocrats. 256 HISTORICAL PERIODS Major changes in Athenian democracy from 5OO-45O BC Athens was greatly affected by the Persian Wars and the aftermath of those wars. Significant changes were made to the internal government of Athens. The changes that took place between 500 and 450 BC were part of the democratisation process, bui they must also be seen as responses to the Persian Wars and as consequences of the growing imperialism of Athens. It is important to understand the inter- relationship of the democratic changes with the events of the 5th century. The political changes that occured in this period can rightly be seen as a tuming point in history. In the first half of the Sth century Athens developed from a land power to become the leading maritime state in Greece. Simultaneously, Athens underwent major political changes that revolutionised and transformed the state from a moderate to a radical democracy. Democracy was essentially a product of the 6th century but it continued to develop in the Sth century. By 508 BC, Athens had adopted the democratic changes of Kleisthenes, but it would remain largely a plutocracy for the next fifty years-the great statesmen would continue to be drawn from the ranks of the wealthy. Democracy then and no\,r o Isonomia--equality under the law o Demoltrøtiø-sovereign power of the people century. Prior to this, the Athenians refer:red to their government as oisonomia', meaning 'equality before the law'. As Pericles observed, 'when it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law' (Thucydides, Peloponnesian Wør,II, 37). To the Athenians, the word od,ernos', meaning 'the people', could be used in a number of ways. Technically it referred to all the Athenian citizens meeting in the Bkklesia, and so conveyed the idea of 'the majority'. The word was also used in an emotive and negative sense to mean othe common people', the lower classes or the poorer citizens. Many Athenians in the sixth and fifth centuries believed that govemment was best exercised by those men who were well born-the wealthy land owners. There were numerous terms for these men: 'the best men' (aristoi), 'the well born' (eugeneis) and'the men of note' (gnorimoi). Athens' obest men' seemed to fear that the changes to the democracy would enable domination by the common people. The political contests of this period were often polarised between the supporters of rhe d,emos and the supporters of 'the men of note'. The conservative democrats believed in choos- ing leaders from among their friends; the radical democrats believed that the people should rule. Problems with sources It is important to note that sources on the transformation of Athenian democracy are limited. There is no one source that deals with all of the changes in a chronological sequence; therefore, information has to has a positive connotation. The Greek word 'dem,okratia', meaning the osovereign power of the people', was be gleaned from scraps of evidence in a variety of places. Because ofthe lack ofevidence it is difficult'to supply accurate dates for many of the changes that occurred and to name the people responsible for intro- not used to describe democracy until late in the Sth ducing these changes. In modern society, the word odemocracy' generally ffi* Some of the Archon's functions transferred to the strategos Battle of Marathon shows the ambiguous relationship of the polemarch and the strategos Archons chosen by lot Ephialtes reforms the Areopagus; powers given to Ekklesia, Boule, jury courts ffi FTGURE 8.f 3 Archonship opened to the third property class, the Zeugitae Pericles introduces payment for jurors (payment for magistrates adopted later) Citizenship law of Pericles Major changes to Athenian democracy THE WORLD: 5OO-44O BC 257 The structure of goverrunent Radical democracy In studying this period it is vital to understand the nature of political power in Athens. 'Men became conspicuous in Athenian political life through the reputa- tion of their families and the social circles to which they belonged, from their association with and influence on members of the Council of Five Hundred, and from their ability to win favour in the assembly.ÌO Athens became more democratic with the introduction of a system of changes that allowed greater participation by ordinary citizens. This is frequently referred to Summary of reforms introduced in this period o development of popular courts o introduction ofpay forjurors and officials o abolition and reduction of property qualifications for magistrates o selection by lot for most officials o limitation of magistrates o the people, through the Ekklesia, the Boule and the law courts, gained sovereignty. The archonship and selection by lot as'radical democracy'. It was considered radical because of: selection by lot Confusion had arisen about the powers of the archons. o o rotation ofoffices o collegiality o GREEK In 501 BC the strategos had taken some of the archon's functions. The battle of Marathon demon- payment for service. In the radical democracy of Athens it is unlikely that anyone really poor became a political leader because of the amount of time that leadership required. A significant change had occurred during the Persian Wars. It became clear that political power lay with the class best able to defend the state. The navy was successful in the Persian Wars, and the strated the ambiguity surrounding the relationship between the archon and the strategos. Kallimachos, the polemarch (chief archon), was technically in charge but the strategos Miltiades had been elected by popular vote and possessed military experience. This situation showed that the chief archon was superfluous. Afterwards the archonship was downgraded, probably as a response to the situation at Marathon. Thetes-from among whom the rowers were enlisted-demanded greater political power, which led to a radical democracy. Throughout the 5th century Athens developed a large maritime empire based on trade. However, it is important to note that the basis of Athenian society pn thc year 487/6 BCl, in th,e archnrxhip of Telesinw, they selected.,for thef.rst timc sin'ce the tyranny, the nítæ archons by Int through th,e tribes, from o'nlong 500 cand,id.øtes prniously elected by thc d,em'esmen. remained agrarian. Landholding continued to be a significant determinant of success. The main agrarian Preuiously, the archons had' all been elected, by uote. classes were as follows: o Pentakosiomedimnoi-owned ARtsrorLE, Constitution of Athens, trans. by K. voN FRtrz & E. Kaee, p.92 land that produced 500 medimnoi a year (modem equivalent about 30 hectares) o Hippeis---owned land that produced 300 medimnoi (also furnished a horse for cavalry service) o Zeugirae-owned land that produced o Thetes-owned property of less value than the above.l1 David Stockton calculates that the average Athenian family-a man, wife and three childrenwould need about twenty-five medimnoi a year to survive. (The medimnos was an Attic unit of measu¡s-¿þs¡¡ Up to this time the archons had been directly 200-300 medimnoi a year and owned plough and mules 105 bushels; in liquid measure about 50 litres.) loFine, op. cit., p. 385. 'rFigures from D. Stockton, The Classical Athenian Democracy, Oxford University Press, Oxford,1990, p. 7 elected. From 48716 BC the archons were chosen by lot from the top two Solonian classes-the Pentakosiomedimnoi and Hippeis. This change to the archonship had a number of consequences: o Not only was the status of the archons weakened but the polemarch lost his command of the army and his control of the Ekklesia, becoming a mere figurehead. o The office of strategos became the important military and political position, for the generals gained the command of the fleet and the army. After the formation of the Delian League the strategoi were also the commanders of the military and naval forces ofthe League. 25A HISTORICAL TABLE 8.f PERIODS Atheniøn political institutions afier Keisthenes' reforms Institution Number and method Functions and duties Plaee of meeting E x e cutia e cornmitte e ; pr ep ar e d agend,a for the Ekltlesia; formulated, motions on which The old Bouleterion. When the mernbers were on d,uty they stayed, in tlrc EkkLesia aote.d. the Tholos. Elected magistrates; aoted, on importønt rnatters of state. ofthe Areopagus. Judged legøl rnøtters and In or near the Agora. of selection Boule (Council of 500) 50 cítizerufrom each tribe. Ekklesia All male citizens (Assembly) age of eighteen. Dilçasteria or Heliaea All male citizens ouer the oaer the ageofeighteen.After Ephiahes' reforms all jury courts u)ere called, \teliaea'. In the Sth century these courts'Dere staffid by jurors The Pnyx, west of the híll archons'decisions;afterEphialtes' reforms the courts d,eterrnined, the suitability ofpotential ffice holders ønd, held, magistrates to account. (dikastai), and the courts canle to be called'dikasteña'. 6000 citizens (600from each tribe) oaer the age of thirty were chosen as a pool ofjurors. Jury sizes aaried.from 201 to 501. Strategoi l0 generals (onefrom eaclt, tribe) elected, by the Ekhlesia. Seraed, as military responsible command,ers; Strategion near the Agora. for recruitment to the arm.y. Archons Elected, by citizens but eligibilíty entailed Areopagus Wid,e powers, becøuse they were members of the Council of the rnembership of the top two economic classe.s. Areopagus. No set number. Mad,e up of ex-archons elected, Held executiue power in terms of the law and cowtitution; administered the state. After Ephialtes'reforms the Areopagus had the care ofthe sacred, for life. Office øt the Royal Stoa. The híll of the Areopagus. oliae trees and, ad,judicøted. in arson and homicid,e cases. o By decreasing the importance of the archons, this Iaw also devalued the role of the aristocratic council of the Areopagus. As this council was made up of ex-archons, 'it would not take long for the change to selection by lot to alter the makeup of the Areopagus, and with it the status and respect it had previously enjoyed'.l2 By 457 BC the archonship had been opened to the third property class, the Zeugitae, and some time after that to the Thetes. This meant an increased oppoftu- nity for Athenians to participate and fewer distinr2J. Thorley, Athenian Democracy, Routledge, London, 1996, p. 53. guished men being chosen. This change to the archon- ship may have been the work of Themistocles. Certainly, Themistocles benefited the most from these changes to the archonship and strategoi and the ostracisms that followed. The aristocratic idea that political office required special expertise was changing to the radical ideal that there should be equal involvement of all, except in military affairs. Policy was being made by large popular bodies and the magistrates were carrying out the will of the people. Direct election, however, was still used for those officials who did require expertise, such as the generals, architects and supervisors of public works. THE GREEK WORLD: 5OO-44O BC 259 The strategoi 'by the device of ostracism he and his collaborators Early in the 5th century the criteria for choosing the strategoi changed. A fragment from the Sth-century comedy writer Eupolis tells us that once the strategoi had come from the great houses and were chosen because of their wealth and birth, but by the iime that he was writing it was different. Henceforth, ambitious Athenians and members of the great families could choice between their leaders, and was used by Athenian leaders to rid themselves of their political opponents. The use of ostracism reveals the importance of political leaders and that politics in Athens seek power and influence through the office of strategos. The election of the generals took place in the sevenlh prytøny. The introduction of the election of one strategos per tribe (in 46918 or 460159) may have been a reform of Ephialtes. In 460 BC two of the generals, Aristides and Ephialtes, were not from the Athenian élite. Both were prosperous landowners but presented themselves as friends of the people. They were not involved in the aristocratic political clubs or hetaireiai' They believed in strong leadership and popular participation in govemment. Rotation of offfce Another important element in widening the democracy was the introduction of rotation of office, so that politicians could not hold office continuously and could not eliminated their chief opponents one by one'.14 Ostracism was a means of offering the people a was driven by personalities. Keisthcrcs enntted' new flautsl with the aitn of winning thc peopLe\føuour. Amang thcse was th,e lant of ostracism. . , Whcn, inthc twelfih year afier thcse innouatiorx, in airtory tuo ntare years had, passed ofær th.e arch,onship of Ph,onnipptu, they had, won thc of Marathnry and, wh¿n that bøttle, and. the comtrnn peoplc gøinnd' greater selfconfàcnre, thcy emplayed.for thnfirst timc the law coræerning ostrocisrn. Thß laut ha'd' been etmcted, because of thcir suspirinn of thnse inpmter . . . In thn sinth prytany . . . thcy al'so dcciÅn by uoæ wh¿th.er thcre ß ø be a1)ote otu ostra'cism or twt . . . ARlsrorLE, Constítutinnof Athcns, trans. by K. voN FRlrz & E. KAPP, PP.91, 117 become dependent on state pay. According to Aristotle, no one could hold the same office twice except for the generals and the members of the Boule: 'The military offices can be held repeatedl¡ but none of the others can, with the exception of Council members who can belong to the Council twice [in their lifetimel' (Constitutioru of Atherw, XXII, 3). The principles of selection by lot and rotation of office ensured that a representative cross-section ofthe citizens took part in the govemment. This practice of rotation of office can be seen in operation at ihe battle of Marathon: 'The generals held the presiding position in succession, each for a day; and those of them who had voted with Miltiades, offered, when their turn for duty came, to surrender it to him' (Herodotus, Histories, VI, lIt)' Use of ostracism A major change that occurred in 4BBl7 BC was the use of ostracism. The sources conflict about who was responsible for formulating ostracism law. Aristotle claims that it was Kleisthenes who made the law but that it was not used for twenty years' The lexicogra- This senterce of ostra.cßmwo,s nnt in i*elf a punßhmcnt for wrongd,oing. h wøs d¿scribed'for thc sakc of appearønres os a fitÊøsure to curtail and' hwnblc ø man's ptruter and prestige in cases whnre thnse h,etd, groûn oppressiue; bw in reality it was ø hurunæ deuù:e .for appeosing thc peoplc's jealottsy, uthich could' thtts uen¡ its dcsire to do harm, not by inJli,cting some irreparable injury, ba by a senleru:e of ten years' banßhm,ent.., Eoth aoter tool¡ an ostrakor¡ or picce of eartheruttare, wrote on it th,e mme of thn citizen h¿ wished' to be banish¿d, and, carried, it to a part of th'e mnrkct-plo'ce which was fented off with a circular paling. Then thc archonsf,rst courúed the totøl nurnber ofaotes cast,for if thcre were l,ess than 6000, the ostrarßm was ttoid.. After thß th.ey sortnd the aotes and the mnn wh,o ho'd, the mnst recordcd, against hß nømc wos proclaim'ed to be exiled for ten years, uith the right hnweuer, to receiae thc inromcfromhís estate. pher Harpokration refers to the ostracism law as having been enacted in 4BBl7.13 Hignett suggests that Themistocles, Ieader of the anti-Persian party, may have been the originator of the ostracism law because r3Fine, op. cit., p. 240. PLUTARcH, Thc Rise and' FaIl of Athcrc, trans. by t. sqorr-K¡LvERT, raC. pP. 116-17 Hignett, A History of the Athenian Constitution, Oxford University Press, London,1970, p. 1BB. 260 HISTORICAL PERIODS o By his persuasive tongue and clever strategies he held control over the Ekklesia throughout the o fThemistocles] wos the only man who had, thc courage to come before thc peopl,e and propose that the ret)enue from thc silaer miræs at lnurium, whi.ch the Atheniørc had, been in thc habit of d,iaid,ing unng themselues, shnuld, be set osidc and thc money wed, to build triremcs for the war against Aegim. This conflirt, øt that mam,ent the mnst important in all Greece, was at its h.eiglu anÅ. thc island,ers, thanlæ to thc size of their fl.eet, uere mo,sters of th,e sea. This made it all the easier for Thetnßtoclcs to carry his point. There uas nn tæed to 4 Ostrakafrom the Agora in Athens showíng the nq,mes offour prominent Athenian FTGURE 8. t politicians Q/n dntt / an lt'ng /6e ,out"e" an I us tng : Usirug the sources, explain th,e purpose of ostracism. s How was it organised,? t What was the penalty? s Refer to Figure 8.14. Persian invasion of 4BG-79 BC. Themistocles advocated a strong anti-Persian policy; after the Persian Wars he pursued anti-Spartan policies. tenifu thn Atheniaru with the threat of Darius and the . The resuh uas that the Atheniaru built 100 trirem.es with the mnnÊy, and, th.ese ships artuallyfought Persiøræ . . at Salarnis øgaiut Xerxes .. . He twnnd [thn Athcnians], to we Plato's phrase,frorn stead,fast hnplites into sea tossed, mariners, and, he earncd,for himself thc charge that hc had dnpríaed thc Athenians of th.e spear and, thc shinld and. degrødcd thcm to thc rowing beru:h and th.e oar . . . Whose nanles appeØr on the ostraka? 9"tfut/6e, tnues/tga/ìon Three of the men nømed. in Figure B.14 were ostracised, Research the circumstønces of eøch Afur this h,e proceed.ed, ø d.euelnp th,e Piraetu as a port,for hc had, alread.y tahen nnte of thc rntural ad.aantøges of its harbours and, it was hß ambition to ostracism. unite th,e whole city to thc sea . . . h.e attached thc city to thc Pira¿tr and mad,e th.e land. dcpendnnt on the seø. Øc/hz/V The ffict of this wos to increue thc influerce of the peoplc at the expense of thc rnbility and, to fill them with conf.deræe, sinre the control of policy nmn passed, into the ha.nd^s of sail,ors and, boatswains and, piloæ . . . [Inter thc Thirty Tyrønts] beli.eued that Ath.ens'ruraal ernpire ha.d. prcned n be thc mnther of demoøacy and. Using Plutørch's instructions as a guid,e, condlrct your own ostrecism in cløss. Themistocles Themistocles can be regarded as the political successor of Kleisthenes. Following are the significant changes that took place in the time of Themistocles: o In 49312 BC he fotified the harbour of the Piraeus and in the 470s completed the walls protecting the Piraeus. that an oligarchy was mnre easily accepted, by mcnwho tilled, th¿ soil. PLUTa,RcH, The Rise and, Fall of Athens, trans. by t. scorr-KtLyERT, pp. BGSI,96 o In 483 o o BC he convinced the Bkklesia to use the profits from the silver mines at Laurium to develop and build a fleet of 100 triremes. Themistocles' development of a naval policy; transformed Athens from a land power into the leading maritime state in Greece. During the 4B0s Themistocles used ostracism as a weapon against his political opponents. (It may also have been an attempt to rid the state of suspected Persian sympathisers.) Q/n lntt /an ltng an I us tng /6e sources : How did Themistocles corwince the Athenians to build, a nøay? What political changes did this stimulate? ) Whql other changes d,id, Themistocles malæ? How important were they? THE WORLD: GREEK At BC 5OO-44O 26t last euen his fellow citieeru reo,ched thc poin at whirh jealowy madc thetn listen to øny slan'r)'er at his th.eir expense, and, so Themistocl,es wasforced' to remínÃ' th,e of his arhíeuemen¡s until thny could, beør thß rw longer. He once said to those who were complaining of hitn: 'Why are you tired' of receiuing bercfi'ts so often frorn. thc samn men?' Besidcs this h'e gøae ffirce to the people wh.en he built thn Temple of Aræmis, for rwt only did,h.e style the god'dnss Artemß Aristoboule, or Artemß wßest in couttsel---<tith thc hint that it wos he who ha.d giaen th,e be;t counsel to thc Athcnians ønd the Greelæbut he chpse a siæfor it near hß own h'otne at Melite. Assembly FrauRE 8.15 PLUTARcH, The Rise and' FalI of Athens, trans. by l. Scorr-Krrvent, p.98 Themistocles' walls From the archaeological evidence found Themistocles' do*rrfall in the it seems that Themistocles had been subjected throughout the 4B0s to an organised campaign to have Agora After the Persian Wars, Themistocles' power declined. While Kimon and Aristides weïe working on the Delian League, Themistocles was in Athens in 478 BC supervising the building of the Long Walls. The Spartans strenuously objected to the rebuilding of the walls but Themistocles pushed it through despite their antagonism. A. Podlecki comments that it is 'legitimate to deduce that Themistocles' exposure to the Spartan mentality in 480, when he had to deal with them as often unwilling allies, had convinced him that him ostracised. Archaeologists uncovered many they, and not the Persians, presented the real obstacle /6e sour"es Athens' greatness'.15 League forces under the leadership of Kimon and Aristides enjoyed numerous successes in the 470s. This would have seriously undermined the political position of Themistocles. Thucydides informs us that the height of Themistocles' walls was about half to. 'The what he had planned (Peloponnesiøn War,I, 93). Perhaps this was how the Ekklesia responded when it heard of the great success of Kimon at Eion-if the Athenians were so successful against their enemies they probably considered it unnecessary to have such high walls. Themistocles tried to remind the Athenians of his important contribution during the Persian Wars. In 476P,C, he was choregw for a tragedy by Phrynichus, The Phoenician Women, which dealt with the Persian defeat and no doubt reminded the Athenians of his role in those events. in the same hand, with Themistocles' name, suggesting that it was not an individual vote but ostrako, incised, an attempt to rig the ostracism. In 472 Themistocles was ostracised and, initially, went to live in Argos. He aroused anti-Spartan feeling in the Peloponnese. The Spartans complained to Athens and claimed that he had collaborated with Persia. Q/n dnrt /on J. Podlecki,The Life of Themistocleso McGill-Queen's University Press, Montre at, 1975, p. 34. lrny an I us tng : : : ; ReadThucydides : ) What d,eal did' Themistocles strilte with' Art(rxerxes? I, 134-8, pp. 115-17' How d,id, Thetnistocles respond to the clmrges? Why? How was Corcyra in'aolued in these eaents? What part d.id, Ad,metus of Molossi Tlt ernistocles' flight? play in How d,id, Themistocles support himself during this time? : : Hon did Themistocles die? Sum up your uiews of Themistocles' character. Øc/ioily; le6o/e Tlt etnistocles: uisionary genius or opportunistic traitor? Øc/ioilV; r5A. BC Wha,t essag/ political influence did Themistocles period,? h,øue iru this 262 HISTORICAL PERIODS Aristides thnught th,emselues cøpablc of ønything and, were ffindcd at anybod,y whose tultno and, reputatinn rose aboue the comm.on Leael. So thcyfuclæd, into th,e city frorn all ouer Atti,cø ønd, proceed,ed, to ostracke Arßtidcs, d,isguising thcir jeølawy of hisfame undcr thc pretext th,a.t thcy were afraid, of tyranny. Aristides (not the general of 460) came from an aristocratic background and tended to be politically conservative. Throughout the 480s, along with Themistocles, he advocated an anti-Persian foreign policy. If the law on ostracism was enacted at this time, as many scholars believe, then Aristides was likely to have been one of its promoters, as the first victims of the ostracism law were Persian sympathisers. However, Aristides opposed Themistocles over the naval bill, as it would weaken the dominance of the hoplite army and increase the power of the Thetes in the navy (at the expense of the aristocrats' power). PLUTARcH, Th¿ Q/n ofthc people . .. Th.emistocles was corwtantly proposing reckless reforms ønd, at the same tim.e checking and, obstrutting hiln at euery step in thc btuiness of goaemment, Aristi.d¿s wasforced, to oppose Th¿mistoclcs' mcasures in thc samc fashion, partly in self-dcfenre ønd. partly to limit his opponent's power, whirh was constøntly grming with the support of thc people. He thought it better that thn people shnuld,forgo an occasinnal ød,uantage than that Themisnclcs should get hß rtay on euery occasinn ønd, he opposed, and, dcfeated Thnmisøcles øt a rnnment wh,en th¿ løtter was trying to ca,rry a really ræcessørrt fitßosure, and, thcn Aristidns could, nnt refrainfrom saying, as he lcfi thc Assembly, that there would be ru safety.for Athcru unless the peopl.e thrøt both Themßtocles and himself inø thc børøthrum. PLUTARcH, Thn Rise and, Fall of Athcn^r, trans. by t. ssorr-KtLvERT, pp. lll-12 opposition, in I d.id. us p. 116 tng Aristides oppose Whøt d,o you think is meant by Aristides' conrn'Lent that both men should, be thrown into the execution pit? Thcmistocl,es, th.e son of Neocles, who was thc chørnpi,on In order to hinder Aristides' an Accord.ing to Plutarch., why Themistocles? : Themistocles spread rumours about him and BC succeeded in having him ostracised. lnrt lan ltng /6e sources Aristidcs supported an aristocratbform of goaernmcnt and. so constøntlyfound, himself in oppositinn to Bafinally Fall of Athnrc,trans. by l. Sqorr-Ktlvenr, ; carry all before him. Rise and, 482 Themi"sncles put about thc story that by thefan of hß arting as arbitrator and. jud.ging all cases referred, to him in priaate, Aristidcs had, abolished, the public courts, and. that without anybody noticing it, hc hød rutdc himself oirtually the ruler of Athens, ønd, only lacked an armcd bodygunrd, . . . th.e people had. becomc so exultant becanue of th,eir airtory ouer the Persians that thny a What was the runlour thøt Themistocles spread, øbout Aristides? s How are the people of Athens presented, in these pøssages? a What d,oes Plutarch tell us about the worltings of Athenian politics? Kirnon Kimon played a vital role in the development of the Athenian Empire, and by his attitude contributed unwittingly to the further democratisation of Athens. Although from a noble famil¡ Kimon enjoyed grei.'. popularity with the masses, which he fostered by offeiing generous gifts to the state. He followed a new policy of panhellenic idealism, showing particular favour to the Spartans. L Thc Spartans on thcir sid,e did, mu.ch to strengthen Kimon's positinn, o,s thßy soon becamc bitterly hnstile to Th.etnßtocl,es and, were thcrefore concerned that Kimon, young os hc was, sh,ould exercise greater power and, influcrrce at Athens. Atfirst thc Athcniatæ were well pleased at this, siru:e the good,will thc Spartans shnued th,em was uery mtrch to their odaantage . . . But afterutards, wh,en thcir puler had grown and, thcy saw that Kimon was whnleheartedly attochcd to th,e Spartans, they resented, this, rwt least because of his tenderrcy to sing the praises of Sparta to the Ath,enians wh,eneuer he had, occasion to reproarh them or spur th,em on, PLUTARcÞI, Thc Rise and. Fall of Athnrx, trans. by l. ScoTT-K¡lvenr, p. 158 THE Kimon of course played a paÍ in bringing charges against Themistocles for medising' He joincd with Arßtid,es in opposing Themistocles, when the latter began to extend the a'uthority of the people beyond its duÊ lirnits; and, later on he also resisted Ephialtes when, to please the people, he tried' to d,issolue the Courrcil of the Areopagw.t6 \¡1/ORLD: GREEK 5Oo-44O BC 263 attenxpts to conÍentro'te offæe anl'pttwer intheir own hands, but oilyþr as long os he was in Athens. Th.e nnxt timc tha,t h.e sailed anay onforeign seraire the people broke loose from all control. PLUTARcH, Thc Rße ønd' FalI of Athens, trans' by p. 157 l. Ssorr-Kllvenr, There appeared to be a contradiction between his policies abroad and at home. As leader of the Delian League forces he met with considerable success. These successes, however, also increased the importance of the fleet and the Thetes. At Athens he In 462 BC the Spartans asked for assistance with the helot revolt at Mt lthome' Kimon, very proSpartan in his policies, enjoyed good relations with resisted any moves to change the constitution. Instead Spartan request. the Spartans and favoured sending an expedition to help them. Ephialtes urged the Ekklesia to refuse the he attempted to divert the Thetes from political changes by distributing gifts and giving poorer citizens the opportunity to obtain land in the colonies. Kimonwas alread,y a ri't:h mnn, and' so h¿ saw to þarn'd support' but thc Spartøns, th.eir boldnnss and, enterprise frightennd wha singl,ed them outfrom amnng all the allies as dangerotn reoohttíonari,es and' sent thcm atttøy. They Thc Athenians it that onÆe Ítore caÍæ to the mnney which he was cred,itcd' with hauing won horcurablyfrom th'e en'em'y in his campaigns u)oß spent euen Ítore honnurably on hisfellow citizens- He had all thcfences on hísf'elds talæn dnwn, so that twt only poor returncd hom.e in afury an'd, proceed¿d n take publir rnenge upon thelriends of Sparta in gencral and, Kimon in parti.cular. They seized, upon som'e trifling pretetû to ostradse him an'd, con'd,emtrcd, hitn to exile for Athenians but euen strangers could hclp themselues ten, season. He also prouidnd a din¡ær at his hotne euery d'ay, a simple mcal but enough for large numbers. Any poor manwho wishnd could' comn to himfor thß, and' so receiaed, a subsistence whi'ch cost him nn ffirt and' left hirnfree to deuote all his are banished' by ostro,cism. freely to whateuer fruit was ín a.ttention to pubLic affairs . . . . . . the story was spread that flatter thc mnsses o'nd, PLuraRcH, In all thß was only dnæ to cunyfaaour with th,em' Th¿ Rße and Fall of Athen's, trans. by l. scorr'KlLvERT, PP' 151-2 46514 BC Kimon was unsuccessful in Thrace and his political opponents, Ephialtes and Pericles, decided to prosecute him for taking bribes from Alexander, King of Macedonia. I So Kimnn was a,cquitted on thß occasion. During the rest ofhis political career he succeedcd in arresting and euen reducing th.e eru:roa.chm'ents of the people upon th'e prerogøtioes of the arßtocra'cy, an'd ínfoiling their years whi.ch is th,e peri'od laid dawnfor all those who PLUTARcH, The Rße anÅ, FaIl of Atherx, trans. by p. 160 l. sqorr-Kllvenr, When Kimon went to help the Spartans in the cause of panhellenic friendship, he took with him 4000 hoplites. The {leet and the Thetes were not needed on this occasion. Ephialtes seized the opportunity of Kimon's absence to pass his laws limiting the powers of the Areopagus' Meanwhile, Kimon was rebuffed by the Spartans and had to retum to Athens. The more radical democrats in Athens blamed Kimon for Sparta's intolerable behaviour. Kimon was ostracised in 461 BC. (Un ln.t / on lt'ng an d u s tng /,6e sources : : How did the Spartans regard' Kimon? Why did the Athenians become an'noyed with Kímon? r6Plutarch, The Rise and, Fall ofAthens, trans. by I. Scott- Kilvert, Penguin, London, 1969,P. I52. ; ; Why did, Kimon' oppose political change? Why did the Athenians ostracise Kimon? 264 HISTORICAL PERIODS Zc/iui/y.'ers a/ How important was the contribution of Kimon period? in this Ephialtes' reforms The most significant of the democratic changes occurred in 4621L BC, when the Ekklesia, the Boule, and the jury courts were given a greater role. Little is known about Ephialtes, the man responsible for these changes. He was probably of humble origins. It is clear that he became the democratic leader after Themistocles and successfully prosecuted members of the Areopagus for corruption. It is unlikely that he was a very poor man because he became a general in c.465 and led an expedition to Phaselis. EaÃy in 462 he unsuccessfully attempted to impeach Kimon on comtption charges. Later that year, he opposed send- This, then, was the way in whi.ch the people obtaircd thcir liaelihoods. For seuenteen years following th.e Persían Wars, thc politiral ordcr remøiræd, essentiølly the same undcr the superaßinn of the Areopagus, ahhnugh it was slmtly degenerating. But as the commnn people grew in strength, Ephialtes, thc son of Sophonidcs, who had, a reputationfor intomtptibility and loyølty to the co¡xtitution, became teøder of thc people and, mad¿ an atta.clt upon thc Areopagw. First he eliminated, rnany of its members by bringing suits agairct thcm on the ground of adrninistratiue in thc archonship of Kornn, hn Courcil of all thnse prerogatiues which it ¡niscond,uct. T\rcn, depriued, thn recently had, orquíred, and, whi.ch had made it the gtnrd,iøn of thc støte, and gøae somc of th.em to thc Council of Fiae Hundled, sonte to th.e [Assembly of thc] people and, somc to th,e lcrut courts. ARtsrorLE, Constitutian of Ath,erc, trans. by K. voN FRrTz a e. Xan¿ p.95 ing Athenian help to the Spartans, for like Themistocles before him he recognised that Sparta was a rival to Athens. In 462, Ephialtes made major changes to the democracy at Athens. Ephialtes' actions were designed not only to widen the democracy but also to counter the influence of the conservative leader Kimon, who at the time was in the Peloponnese. Kimon was known as a vigorous supporter of the Areopagus, and earlier in his career had opposed Themistocles' plans on behalf of the people. Before 487 BC all important political leaders of Athens were archons, who, at the close of their term of office, automatically became life members of the Areopagus. Only men from the top two economic classes, and over the age ofthirty, were eligible for the Areopagus. This conflicted with the democratic ideal of participation by all. Scholars are unclear about the exact nature of the jurisdiction of the Areopagus at the beginning of the Sth century. Aristotle mentions that the Areopagus was supreme in that period and that during the Persian Wars it had taken on extra poweïs because of its responsibility for the bartle of Salamis. (Un lntt /an ltng /Âe ,out"e" an I us tng c Vlhat changes did Ephialtes make? ; How d,íd. Ephiahes begin his attack or¿ the Areopøgus? Ephialtes charged men from the Areopagus for using powers they were not entitled to use. In this period there was also a great deal of competition between the members of the Areopagus and the strategoi. What were these powers that the Areopagus was supposed to be using unlanfully? .. follaring Ephialæs' lead they dcpriaed thc .. . . Areopagus of all but afar of the isstæs whirh had, been . under its juri,sdictinn. They took control of the couræ of justice and transformcd thc city into a thoroughgoing d.emncracy with the help of Pericl,es, whn had. ru¡w risen to power and. committed himself to thc cawe of the people. PLUTARcH, Thc Rße and. Fall of Athens, trans. by l. ScoTT-Ktlvenr, p. 157 o dohimasia-the examination of public officials to determine their fitness or suitability for office o eisangelia-Ihe power to supervise the conduct of officials during their year ofoffice o euthynøi-the investigation at the end of their office to establish whether they had acted according to law. By using these powers, the Areopagus may have been able to ovemrle the actions of magistrates and the Ekklesia. Ephialtes took away the added judicial powers of the Areopagus through which it guarded the THE laws. The Areopagus was left with religious powers and the right to adjudicate in arson and homicide cases. Ephialtes' reforms blotted out the moderate voice of men like Kimon. Aeschylus' play The Eumer¿id,es offers important evidence for the political climate of these changes. It deals with the trial of Orestes for the murder of his mother. The Eumenides are the Furies or, as the Greeks called them, 'the kindly ones', who pursue Orestes to exact punishment for his crime. Orestes is tried before the Athenian law court of the Areopagus, where he is acquitted. It is not unlikely that Aeschylus' treatment of the Orestes myth was heavily influenced by contemporary events. Arntwt: Citizeru of Athens! As you now try thisfi'rst cose Of btoodsh,ed, h¿ar the constitut'iøn of your court. From this d'ay forutard' thß jud'icial coun'cíl shall For Aegetn' race hear euery tríal of homicid,e. Here shall be their perpetua'l seat, on Ares' Híll . . . Here, ilay and night, Shalt Awe and' Fear, Awe's brother, check my cítizens From. all mßdníng, while they leeep my lauts wrchanged,. If you beþul a shining spring with an impure AnÅ, mud'dy d'ribble, you will comc in tnin to d'rink' taint pure laws with new expediercy . . you a court inui'olable, establish I here quick to anger, ltcepingfaithful watch and, Holy, sleep in peaæ. mny men That So, dn not AEscHYLUs, Eumznidcs, trans. by PHtLIP vELLAcorr, pp. 170-1 In these lines Aeschylus is celebrating Athens' sucoa course between the despotism ofthe cess in steering Kimonian oligarchs and the anarchy of the Ephialtan WoRLD: GREEK 265 BC 5OO-44O Ephialtic reform. Stockton suggests that when the Areopagus was deprived of its powers, tbe grøphe may have been introduced to act as a'brake' on illconsidered decisions of the Ekklesia.Ìe The jury courts Another reform thought to have been made by Ephialtes was the introduction of multiple popular courts, Ihe d,ikastería. The powers of the Areopagus were transferred to the Boule, the Ekklesia and the d,íkøsteria. The courts were now responsible for deter- mining the fitness of potential office holders. Additionally, magistrates were accountable to the d,ilrusteria for what they did in office. Jury service became a popular part of Sth-century life, particularþ once Pericles introduced payment for jury service. Archaeological evidence reveals much of ihe equipment associated with the jury courts, such as the kleroterioru (allotment machine), k'lepsydra (water clocks, for timing of speeches) and bronze ballots by which the jurors voted guilty or not guilty. The precise location of the jury courts in the Agora has been much disputed. Èphialtes' measures were not simply the product of an ideological commitment to democracy. The reforms were partly a response to trends prevailing in the Sth century-the change in the role of the archons, the growing strength of the nary, the increased hostility to Sparta, the failure of Kimon's policy. Ephialtes died shortly after the passage of his reforms. Who killed Ephialtes? Aristotle, writing about ninety years after the event, claims that Ephialtes was assassinated by Aristodicus of Tanagra. Antiphon, an Athenian orator writing about forty years after the murder, could not be so precise' radicals'.r7 Ephialtes may also have been responsible for incrãasing public awareness of state affairs. A 4thcentury Greek historian, Anaximenes, wrote that 'Ephialtes had the Athenian written codes removed from the acropolis and set up instead in the Council House and Agora'.r8 Anyone who introduced a law to the Ekklesia that was later found to be detrimental to the people could be charged' This was called a graphe Thts tht¡se who murd,ered' d,ßcouered' to this dny, Jones, 'The role of Ephialtes in the Rise of Athenian Democracy', Classical Antiquity, L9B7 , p. 75. r8Quoted in Stockton, op. cit., p. 48. if someotæ expected' hß associates, to conjecture whn were [Ephiahes'] tnwderers, øn'd, if nnt, to be implicated in th'e murder, it would, twt harte beenfair to the associates. In add,ition, th¿ ¡nurd¿rers of Ephiølæs di'd rct desire to hide the bod.y so there would be rn d,ønger of betraying th'e dned' ANTIpHoN, cited in D. RoLLER,'Who Murdered Ephialtes?', p. 258 porãno*on. The introduction of this law cannot be positively dated, but some scholars view it as another r?L. Ephialtes . . . haae tæuer been ønd, Plutarch wrote his biographies during ùe lst century AD. He addresses Ephialtes'death in Source 8.50' lelbid., p.45. 266 HISTORICAL PERIODS ) How are we to belieue ldnmen¿us' charge that Pericles arra,ngerl the ossassinatian of the dnmncratù: lead,er Ephiahes, who was hüfriend., as well as his partner in his politi.cal program, out of sheer jealowy of his Other reforms In 457 BC the archonship was opened ro the Zeugitae, the third economic class established by Solon. This reputation? . . . Asfor Ephiahes, the truth is that the aristocrats hød, good, reason to fear him, sirrce he was relentless in calling to aîcount and prosecuting those uho had, in any uay harmed the peoplc, ønd, so his enemi¿s conspired. against him and secretly arranged,for hirn to be murd.ered.. PLUTARcH, The Rí"se and, (ù/ro meant that half the male citizens in Athens were eligible to hold office. Shortly after this the Thetes also became eligible for the archonship. It is unclear from the sources exactly who was responsible for these changes. Fall of Athcru, trans. by l. scorr-KtLvERT, lntt / an lt'ng an I ust /6e sources pp. IZS_ó Participation in the demo cra,cy How many people took part in Athenian government? James O'Neil has estimated that there would have been 15000 places to be filled, based on the fact that 500 councillors served per year and assuming thirty years per generation.2o The chairman of the council (epistates) changed every day. It should be borne in ng c Vlhy was Ephialres killed? ; Who does Aristotle blarne for Ephialtes' death? a What does Antiphon soy on this matter? ; Who d,id, Idomeneus cløim was responsible? Consider the uarious theories about Ephialtes, d,o you consider the most plausible? death. Which whv? 2oJ. O'Neil, The Origins and Deaelopment of Ancient Greelr Democracy, Rowman & Littlefield, London, 1995, p. 67. The Long Valls Construction dates: 478 Piraeus fortified (begun prior to Marathon) 479 458 44847 Asora Athens'wallsrebuilt Athens Themistocles' walls rll North and south walls built Areopagus Middle wall built .'' /z-¿ Pericles' walls /- îhemistocles' walls I È/ èt Pericles' Bay walls of Piraeus of Zea Saronic CuIf 0 I kilometres FIGURE 8.I6 The walls of Themistocles and Pericles 2