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The Development of Athens up to the
Late Sixth Century B.C.
While Sparta is perhaps the most popularly
known of the Greek City-States. However the
most influential in subsequent history and one
of the birth-parents of Western Civilization
(along with Rome) is Athens. Here we shall
examine the development of Athens in the
Archaic Age, and how they began to develop
the precursors of what would become Athens
greatest achievement of all: Democracy.
In the 10th century B.C. Athens had been the most powerful state on the
mainland: it had held of the Dorian attacks against it, and launched the
Ionian migrations that would people the Aegean islands and Anatolia.
However in the following centuries Athens lost
its leading place among the Greeks, not
because it declined, but rather because the
other states advanced. While the large Dorian
tribal kingdoms had fallen, the newly
consolidated City-States were more organized
and better able to project their power. Athens
by contrast remained a largely tribal state, with
the population enrolled into one of 4 tribes, and
each of these divided into thirds (known as a
Phratry), for a total of 12 Phratries.
Inside each Phratry, the citizens were divided between members of Clans
(who owned and worked the land) and the Guilds (who practised trades
and crafts). While all citizens, the Guildsmen were in large part descended
from the refugees of earlier generations, and lacked the ability to
participate in many of the political functions of the state in the same way
Clansmen could.
After the demise of the
kingship, Athens was
ruled by 9 officials
known as Archons who
served on an annual
basis. On retiring from
the Archonship, these
men would then
become members of the
Areopagus council,
which was itself the
central power of Athens
existing constitution.
While an assembly of all citizens (Ekklesia) voted to elect Archons (and
thus indirectly on who would enter the Areopagus), the limitations on
candidacy (birth and wealth) eliminated many from running, including all
Guildsmen, while the Areopagus scrutinized those selected. At the same
time, the Ekklesia likely had some limit powers of debate, but it would
have been the Areopagus that overwhelmingly set the agenda.
One of the first big reforms
to come into play was that
initiated by an Archon
known as Draco (c.621 B.C)
the Lawgiver. He both
wrote and published new
laws (publishing them was
not customary), and was
renowned by later
generations for the
incredible harshness (he
was said to have remarked
that it was unfortunate
there was nothing worse
than death to be sentenced
to).
While hardly what we would call auspicious,
the greatest of Athens lawgivers was just
around the proverbial corner: Solon.
Of Draco's new laws, one above all had a
devastating effect on the Athenian state: the laws
dealing with debt. So harsh were they that a
Clansman who defaulted on his debt could be
forced to stay on his land and farm it for the
creditor, turning over 1/6 of his produce.
As for Guildsmen, they could be bodily seized in
case of default and sold with their families into
slavery, in Athens or abroad. Wide-scale poverty
combined with unscrupulous lenders meant that
Athens, which had lacked the serfdom of some
Dorian states, was soon awash in slaves, many
former citizens!
Meanwhile the state
risked dissolving into
civil war as disputes
between rich and poor,
clans and guilds,
district vs. distinct, and
oligarchs vs.
democrats. Into this
situation stepped
Solon, serving as an
Archon in 594/3 B.C.,
he was made an
'Arbiter' and held full
legislative powers, and
used them extensively.
He moved to cancel all
previous and existing
debts, and liberated all the
enslaved citizens, both
Clansmen and Guildsmen.
He even went so far as to
have those who had been
sold abroad tracked down,
purchased, and reinstated
as free citizens back home.
To allay the bitter
factionalism, he likewise
re-enfranchised all those
who had been stripped of
their rights, except for
those guilty of the most
heinous of crimes.
However, the conditions that had required
widespread borrowing and poverty still existed.
To address this Solon began to move Athens away
from an agricultural economy and towards one of
commerce by changing the currency system, and
by allowing trade with more and richer markets. In
this way poverty would be alleviated, the
Guildsmen would find work in their trades, and
Solon even went so far as to offer citizenship to
immigrants (extremely rare in this era) from other
Greek states who would practice a trade in Athens,
and so contribute to its prosperity.
Shortly after the above mentioned changes,
Solon began to reform the Athenian political
system. Where before people would have to
meet qualifications of both birth and wealth to
run for office, Solon made it contingent only
upon wealth (thus effectively allowing
Guildsmen into politics).
As well, a class structure
based on wealth was
established to determine
who could run for what
offices, measured by each
individual’s annual
income in the form of
units of agricultural
produce. At the top were
men with 500+ units
(Pentakosiomedimnoi),
300+ units (Hippeis),
200+ units (Zeugitai), and
those with anything less
(Thetes).
Pentakosiomedimnoi
500+
Hippeis
300-500
Zeugitai
200-300
Thetes
<200
While the top 2 classes were eligible for Archonships
and high offices, and the top 3 for minor offices, the
Thetes were ineligible for office. Solon also created a
'Council of 400', consisting of 100 members from each
of the 4 tribes, who prepared business for the Ekklesia
and set forth recommendations and in this way
balanced out the Areopagus council.
Likewise a new court called the Heliaea was formed by
members of the common people, and though they
could not judge the Areopagus, they did scrutinize the
magistrates. While the power of the Ekklesia was
limited, in its bounds it was absolute, and the principal
of officials being responsible to the people was now
established.
Besides all this he
likewise overturned all
the laws of Draco
(save one: dealing
with bloodshed) and
established new laws
in an attempt to
balance favour equally
on all the parties of
Athenian society.
Solon decided after his
reforms were in place
to withdraw for 10
years, and enjoined his
fellow citizens to work
hard to put his laws
into effect.
Despite Solon’s principled advice, the people
rather promptly failed to follow it. The
powerful still attempted to usurp power, and
the common people opposed them. The power
of the great clans in the countryside remained
intact, and it would take reforms more
revolutionary than Solon's to break them. So it
came to pass that once more the powerful
sought to establish oligarchy, and the poor
democracy.
One of the main
contestants for state
power was one
Peisistratus, who
managed to make
himself Tyrant of
Athens, before
withdrawing
(possibly under
pressure from
Sparta), and settling
in Thrace, where he
prepared for a
return to power.
While political conflict
raged, the Athenian
economy grew
impressively as its
exports and coinage
became widespread and
highly valued, while
immigrants flocked there
in search of citizenship,
swelling Athens
manpower and skill sets.
Despite the foolishness
of many politically,
much was owed to Solon
for his reforms, and the
Athenians would admit
as much.
The reforms of Solon had done Athens a great
service, but more would be needed if it was to
take its rightful place among the great power.
Here we’ll examine the further evolution of
Athens’ form of government, the beginnings of
real democratic practice, and the origins of the
Athenians later imperial glory.
While Peisistratus had been
forced to withdraw he used
his time in exile to plan for
his inevitable return. By 546
B.C. he had assembled
enough wealth and power in
his northern domain to lead
a force of mercenaries back
to Athens, where he
managed to seize power and
once again ensconce himself
in a Tyranny.
However, it must be said in
his defence that by the
standards of Tyrants, he was
a just and considerate one
who helped the common
people and worked to
beautify and strengthen
Athens.
Nonetheless the Athenians,
like all people, would
prefer no master to a good
master. When Peisistratus
died in 528/7 B.C. he was
replaced by his sons, and
while they maintained the
efficient tyrannical system
of rule, influxes of refugees
and returning settlers
(many displaced by the
advance of Persia) caused
social tension. In the
summer of 510 B.C. they
were overthrown and went
into exile.
One of the advantages of the tyranny of
Peisistratus and his kin (besides those already
mentioned) was that the long absence of so
many of the upper class in exile for so long had
weakened the traditional factionalism of the
state, while the promoting of the common
man's interest put value on the individual. As
such, Athens in 510 B.C. was far more united
than during the previous upheavals in its
history. The time was ripe for it to expand its
power in a number of areas, and a new
governing system was needed to facilitate this.
With the exile of
Peisistratus successors,
struggles for power made
it look as if Athens might
yet again fall under an
aristocrat's tyranny.
However, the people
managed to force out the
aspiring usurpers, and to
give power to the
reformer Cleisthenes.
Empowered to reform
the Constitution, he
moved to radically alter
the makeup of the
Athenian state.
While the old divisions of racial tribes and
clans remained in use in the social and
religious spheres, the political divisions were
totally remade. He started at the lowest level,
making the new basic unit of the state the
Deme. Henceforth every citizen would be
registered as belonging to a Deme (of which
there were around 170), and this was to be the
most important unit in a citizen's political life,
being inducted into his father's Deme when he
reached maturity.
Then, at the top level, he divided the land of
Attica into 3 geographical parts (the city, the
coast, and the interior). Cleisthenes then
grouped all the Demes in each region into 10
Trittyes (for perhaps 5 or 6 Demes per
Trittyes), but in such a way that instead of
being a single territorial unit, each of the
Trittyes Demes were spread across the region.
From here, one Trittyes from each of the 3
regions were combined to form a 'Tribe', the
largest of the new political units, for a total of
10 Tribes (Phyle).
While in the past the powerful families had
been able to dominate and intimidate the
populations of their surrounding areas into
supporting them, the new system made this
incredibly difficult (indeed, nearly impossible).
Each Tribe would now consist of perhaps 15 to
20 Demes, each widely separated from each
other, so that in every Tribe no regional interest
would dominate, and the interests of the entire
state would be considered, with every Tribe
having the same general feelings as all the
others.
To give further power to this new system, the
old Council of 400 was replaced by a 'Council
of 500'. Here, each Tribe would select 50
members by lot from its own elected officials to
join the council, and each group of 50 (called
committees) would serve for 1/10th of the year
in constant session, preparing business for the
Council and generally ensuring that the
routines of administration were carried out.
Likewise, a chairman of the serving committee
would be chosen daily (Epistates).
Finally, in 501 B.C. this system was extended into the
military sphere: each Tribe supplied a contingent of
troops and elected a general to lead them, while the
10 generals were in turn subordinate to the Archon
commander-in-chief (Polemarchus).
The true genius of this system was that each
man could only ever serve as a member of the
Council twice and as the Epistates once
between the ages of 30 and 60. Because of this,
the same members could not just be elected
over and over again (as has been the case in
electoral politics in many other systems), and
over the next several decades a large
percentage of the citizen population received
extensive training in government
administration and in responsibility to the
state.
While Cleisthenes had left much of the rest of
the constitution as he found it, the changes he
had made allowed for the Council to take on
far greater powers half a century later, and for
the emergence of popular rule by a majority of
the citizen body (Demokratia).
In 506 A.D. the Spartans organized an attack on
Athens, along with the states of Boeotia and
Chalcis. While this appeared overwhelming,
the political reforms of Athens gave its army
the confidence and morale to rise to the
challenge. When the Peloponnesian forces
withdrew, Athens defeated the Boeotian and
Chalcidian armies in two separate battles on
the same day.
It was after this success that Athens occupied
some Chalcidian territory and planted a
number of its military-aged citizens on it as
farmers. This type of settlement (Cleruchy)
was not independent, and its inhabitant
remained voting, serving citizens associated
with their home Demes. It did however serve
several purposes: it acted as a garrison ready
for action at a moment's notice, reduced
overpopulation by settling refugees and
citizens from Attica, and provided additional
military and economic power to Athens.
While this was not the first time Cleruchies had been
established, the conquest of neighbours and the imposition of
Cleruchies were the first signs of Athenian imperialism, a
phenomenon that would become far more pronounced later
on.