[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: The Boule

http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_boule.html

The Boule (The Senate) The Athenian legislature also included a deliberative body known as the Boule. It was made up of 500 members -- 50 from each of the 10 tribes -- who were chosen by lot and served ... Birth of Democracy: The Boule

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: Bouleuterion

http://agathe.gr/guide/bouleuterion.html

Bouleuterion Just uphill from the Tholos was the Bouleuterion, meeting place of the boule, or senate. Five hundred Athenian citizens were chosen by lot to serve for a year, and met in this building every ... Bouleuterion Just uphill from the Tholos was the Bouleuterion, meeting place of the boule, or senate. Five hundred Athenian citizens were chosen by lot to serve for a year, and met in this building every day except during festivals to prepare legislation for the meetings of the ekklesia (assembly of all citizens), which met at the Pnyx every ten days.

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 4 2004: Citizenship Tribes and Demes

http://agathe.gr/democracy/citizenship_tribes_and_demes.html

Citizenship: Tribes and Demes Every male Athenian, above and beyond the regular universal military training for service in the citizen army, was subject to universal political service. Besides being a ... Besides being a member of the Assembly, he was almost certain, at least once in his lifetime, to be chosen by lot as one of the Council (Boule) of 500 and to serve for a year in this body which prepared legislation for the Assembly and coped, by means of smaller committees, with the day to day exigencies of administration. ... The number within each mark records the number of representatives sent each year to the Council (Boule) from that deme.

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: Tholos

http://agathe.gr/guide/tholos.html

Tholos The south half of the west side was given over to the major administrative buildings used to run the Athenian democracy (Fig. 14). The buildings are poorly preserved, but the identifications are ... The Tholos, recognizable by its round shape, served as the headquarters of the prytaneis (executive committee) of the boule (senate of 500), according to Aristotle (Ath.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: Political Organization of Attica

http://agathe.gr/democracy/political_organization_of_attica.html

Political Organization of Attica: Demes and Tribal Representation Each tribe was divided into three parts, and each third (trittys) was from one of the three regions of Attica, plain, coast, or hills ... The number within each symbol indicates the number of senators sent annually from that deme to the Boule. In some cases, when traditional ties between demes were particularly close, as, for instance, between Marathon and Probalinthos on the east coast of Attica, the new system usually had them assigned to separate tribes in an attempt to break such alliances. Surviving lists of tribesmen serving in the Boule (Senate) show that large demes regularly sent several representatives to serve each year, while small demes sent fewer, just as the number of congressmen and congresswomen from each state in our House of Representatives is determined by the population of the state.

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: Monument of the Eponymous Heroes

http://agathe.gr/guide/monument_of_the_eponymous_heroes.html

Monument of the Eponymous Heroes Across the street from the Metroon lie the remains of the Monument of the Eponymous Heroes (Fig. 21). When Kleisthenes created the democracy in 508/7 B.C., he assigned ... Citizenship depended on membership in a tribe, the army was arranged in tribal contingents, one served in the boule as a member of one’s tribe, and festivals were held in honor of one’s tribal hero; the tribal system was the foundation on which the new Athenian democracy was built.

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 4 2004: Athenian Currency

http://agathe.gr/democracy/athenian_currency.html

Athenian Currency Many of the specialized administrative boards have left material traces of their activities. Most prolific of these were the moneyers, or Overseers of the Mint. Throughout her history ... If anyone brings forward [foreign silver coinage] which has the same device as the Attic, [if it is good], let the Tester give it back to the one who brought it forward; but if it is [bronze] or lead at the core, or counterfeit, let him cut it [immediately] and let it be sacred to the Mother of the Gods, and let him deposit it with the Boule (Council)” (missing words are restored in square brackets).

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: Sources and Documents

http://agathe.gr/democracy/sources_and_documents.html

Sources and Documents Our understanding of the workings and history of Athenian democracy comes from a variety of sources. Most useful, perhaps, are the ancient literary texts that survive, many of which ... The records and decrees of Athens were stored in the Old Bouleuterion where the Boule met during the 5th century B.C.