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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. Pol. 43.3). |
http://agathe.gr/overview/the_archaeological_site.html The Athenian Agora The Agora of Athens was the center of the ancient city: a large, open square where the citizens could assemble for a wide variety of purposes. On any given day the space might be used ... It is during this “Classical” period that the Agora and its buildings were frequented by statesmen such as Themistokles, Perikles, and Demosthenes, by the poets Aeschylos, Sophokles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, by the writers Thucydides and Herodotos, by artists such as Pheidias and Polygnotos, and by philosophers such as Sokrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Together, they were responsible for creating a society and culture that has set a standard against which subsequent human achievements have been judged. ... The Academy, founded by Plato, and the Lyceum, founded by Aristotle, continued to flourish. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_jury.html The Jury The jurors for each trial were chosen from a large body of citizens available for jury duty for the period of one year. At the beginning of the year, each juror was given a bronze pinakion, a ... According to Aristotle, a pair of such kleroteria stood at the entrance to each court (Athenian Constitution 63). ... According to Aristotle, the juror on entering the court received a token, or symbolon (Athenian Constitution 65, 68, 69). |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/tyranny.html Tyranny As happened in many other Greek states, a tyrant arose in Athens in the 6th century B.C. His name was Peisistratos, and after several unsuccessful attempts he seized power in 546 B.C. and ruled ... (Athenian Constitution 16.1-2) Aristotle has further praise for the tyrants, at least in their early days: And in all other matters too he gave the multitude no trouble during his rule but always worked for peace and safeguarded tranquility; so that men were often to be heard saying that the tyranny of Peisistratos was the Golden Age of Kronos; for it came about later when his son succeeded him that the government became much harsher. ... Matters changed with the death of Peisistratos when his two sons Hippias and Hipparchos took over in 527 B.C. Aristotle describes the characters of the two brothers: Affairs were now under the authority of Hipparchos and Hippias, owing to their station and their ages, but the government was controlled by Hippias, who was the elder and was statesmanlike and wise by nature; whereas Hipparchos was fond of amusement and lovemaking and had literary tastes; it was he who brought to Athens the poets such as Anakreon and Simonides, and the others. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/practice_of_ostracism.html Ostracism Soon after their victory over the Persians at the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., the Athenians began the practice of ostracism, a form of election designed to curb the power of any rising tyrant ... Inscribed ΜΕΓΑΚΛΕΣ ΗΙΠΠΟΚΡΑΤΕΣ, Megakles son of Hippokrates. Aristotle reports the ostracism of Megakles son of Hippokrates, and goes on to say that "the Athenians continued for three years to ostracize the friends of the tyrants, on account of whom the law had been enacted" (Athenian Constitution 22). ... Inscribed: ΧΣΑΝΘΙΠΠΟΣ ΑΡΡΙΦΡΟΝΟΣ, Xanthippos son of Arriphron. Aristotle says that after three years of concentrating on ostracizing the friends of the tyrants, the Athenians "took to removing anyone else who seemed too powerful: the first man unconnected with the tyranny to be ostracized was Xanthippos son of Arriphron" (Athenian Constitution 22). |
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 ... It was written almost a century before Aristotle and is a much shorter description of the democracy written by an unsympathetic, antidemocratic observer. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/military_service.html Military Service After the 18-year-old was registered in his deme as a citizen and was approved by the Council, he entered military service as a young conscript (ephebe) with other members of his tribe ... These take the ephebes and after first making a circuit of the temples then go to Piraeus and some of them garrison Munichia, others Akte” (Aristotle). When the ephebes’ military service was over, it was customary for decrees honoring them for their faithful service to be inscribed on stone, with the list of their names appended. |
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 ... Found inside the remains of the South Stoa, this inscription is a record of the metronomoi, the inspectors of weights and measures, of whom Aristotle wrote in the Athenian Constitution (51.2): "There are ten metronomoi appointed by lot, five for the city and five for Piraeus. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_athenian_aristocracy.html The Athenian Aristocracy Before democracy, from the 8th to the 6th century B.C., Athens was prosperous economically but no more significant than many other city-states in Greece. Silver deposits south ... Social prestige and political office were linked to property and military prowess, and most of the population had virtually no role in the political life of the city. Aristotle describes the situation in the 7th century B.C. as follows: Appointment to the supreme offices of state went by birth and wealth; and they were held at first for life, and afterwards for a term of ten years. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_speakers.html The Speakers Litigants spoke on their own behalf, although occasionally using speeches prepared by trained professionals; skillful rhetoric was necessary in order to sway a jury. The speeches written by ... Time was therefore allotted to the speakers according to a set schedule and measured carefully by means of klepsydrai (waterclocks): "There are klepsydrai that have small tubes for the overflow; into these they pour the water by which the lawsuits must be conducted" (Aristotle, Athenian Constitution 672). |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/slaves_and_resident_aliens.html The Unenfranchised II - Slaves and Resident Aliens Also excluded from political participation were two other large segments of the population: slaves and metics (resident aliens). Slavery was common in ... Many of the great contributors to Athenian cultural preeminence, such as the philosopher Aristotle and the painter Polygnotos, were not Athenian citizens. |
http://agathe.gr/guide/history_of_the_agora.html History of the Agora The excavations of the Athenian Agora have uncovered about thirty acres on the sloping ground northwest of the Acropolis (Fig. 3). Material of all periods from the Late Neolithic to ... Recovery in the 2nd century was fueled by Athens’ reputation as the cultural and educational center of the Mediterranean, and the philosophical schools founded by Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and Epicurus flourished. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/overthrow_and_revolution.html Overthrow and Revolution In 514 B.C. the tyrant Hipparchos was stabbed to death. The murder, actually the result of a love feud, was quickly deemed a political act of assassination and the perpetrators, ... The reign of the remaining tyrant, Hippias, became increasingly severe, as Aristotle records: After this it began to come about that the tyranny was much harsher; for Hippias' numerous executions and sentences of exile in revenge for his brother led to his being suspicious of everybody and embittered. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_verdict.html The Verdict After the speeches and other evidence had been presented, the members of the jury voted by casting ballots. A series of vase paintings of the early 5th century B.C. show a mythological story, ... (Aeschylos, Eumenides 740-743, translated by Richard Lattimore) By the mid-4th century B.C. the system had changed to that described by Aristotle: There are bronze ballots, with an axle through the middle, half of them hollow and half solid. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/state_religion.html State Religion: The Archon Basileus There was no attempt in Classical Athens to separate church and state. Altars and shrines were intermingled with the public areas and buildings of the city. A single ... A single magistrate, the archon Basileus or king archon, was responsible for both religious matters and the laws; appointed by lot, he served for a year. Aristotle describes his varied duties as follows: The basileus is first responsible for the Mysteries, in conjunction with the overseers elected by the people ... also for the Dionysia at the Lenaion, which involves a procession and contest. . . . |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/solon_the_lawgiver.html Solon the Lawgiver By the early 6th century B.C. social tensions in Athens had become acute, pitting the poorer citizens against rich and powerful landowners. Many citizens were reduced to the status of ... Plutarch and Aristotle describe in some detail the constitution devised by Solon, who then went into voluntary exile to avoid being pressured into amending this legislation. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_athenian_army.html The Athenian Army From the very beginning, the Athenians were compelled to fight for their new democracy. Their dramatic victories over the Boiotians and Chalkidians in 506 B.C. led many to attribute Athenian ... When the two years are up, they now are members of the general body of citizens. (Aristotle, Athenian Constitution 42.2-5) Richer Athenians enrolled in the cavalry, as always, a smaller elite military force made up of those wealthy enough to own and maintain a good mount. |
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