athenian democratic reformers

context for solon's appointment (3)

• solon had been appointed aponymous archon to mediate between the eupatridae, the aristocrats, and the poor.

• debt bondage was a key element of this; the hektemoroi were also conceivably being abused by wealthy landowners.

• draco's writing the laws down suggested there were demands for greater transparency from the poorer.

when was solon appointed archon?

594/3 BC

solon's political reforms (3)

• introduced a new class system that determined individual's standings in society according to the measures of agricultural product (medimnoi) they yielded every year.

• everyone could attend the assembly or participate as jurors.

• citizens were limited in what areas of governance they could participate in according to their class.

what were the effects of solon's political reforms (2)

• transformed athens from an aristocracy into a plutocracy

• unlike an aristocracy, this new system did leave room for possibility of some social mobility.

who were the pentakosiomedimnoi?

the highest political class in solon's new system, those who yielded 500 medimnoi. they could participate in all areas of governance.

who were the hippeis?

the second highest political class in solon's new system, those who could afford to maintain a horse. they could participate in all areas of governance except holding the position of state treasurer.

who were the zeugitai?

the second lowest political class in solon's new system, those who could afford to yoke 2 oxen. they could only participate in lesser offices of state, in addition to attending the assembly or being a juror.

who were the thetes?

the lowest political class in Solon's new system, the poorest in athenian society. they could only attend the assembly or be a juror.

who were the hektemoroi?

farmers who were forced to pay one sixth of their harvest to their tenant

solon's legal reforms (4)

• a new category of lawsuits, graphe (public lawsuits,) which allowed any citizen to bring forth prosecutions even if they were not alone directly affected.

• the right to appeal to a trial by jury in a court known as the 'helaia'

• revised draco's legal code so that minor crimes, such as petty thievery, no longer warranted the death penalty.

• these updated laws inscribed on rotating kyrbeis in the agora

what was the effect of the graphe?

encouraged greater participation in the judicial process but also in the political process as a 'grabbe' could be filed against a public officer if they were thought to be committing a crime against the state.

what was the effect of the helaia?

the idea that a jury of ordinary citizens could decide a case just as validly as the council of the areopagus, who had previously decided all cases, could was radical.

what was the effect of inscribing draco's laws on the kyrbeis?

increased transparency to the legal system.

solon's economic reforms (5)

• introduced seisachtheia and permanently outlawed debt bondage.

• ended the hektemoroi system.

• according to plutarch, solon prohibited all exports excluding olive oil.

• solon encouraged poorer athenians to diversity their trade.

• solon standardised the weights and measures, making trade with other greek polis easier.

context for cleisthenes coming to power

isagoras, cleisthenes' aristocratic rival, had been elected eponymous archon, so cleisthenes appealed to the common people - promising them reforms that would increase their power - to supplant him.

when did cleisthenes implement his reforms?

508/7

clesithenes tribal reforms (5)

• rehauled the old tribal system and created 10 new tribes, each of them consisting of one 'trittys' from athens' three regions

• each tribe had its own eponymous hero and they would compete against each other in state-sponsored events

• created 139 demes, which in turn generated more, opportunities to participate

• the deme became the defining point of citizenship and would be passed down regardless of whether or not you actually lived there.

• retained the tribes from the old system, but their function became purely religious.

what positions were available in one's deme?

each had an assembly, officers, treasures and an annually elected demarch

what were athens' three regions?

coast, inland, and city.

what was ostracism?

a process whereby any citizen could be expelled from Athens for ten years if 5,000 of his fellow citizens voted to do so. these were intended to be a safeguard against tyrants, who posed a threat to democracy.

when was the first ostracism held?

488 BC

why was sortition radical?

sortition ensured that all Athenian citizens had equal opportunities to participation (also can be said to have implied that all citizens were all sufficiently competent to work in government.)

why was sortition limited without pay?

better educated and richer men were still more likety to put themselves forward because they had not only the confidence but also the means to work without a salary.

what was the boule?

the council of the 500, which was responsible for setting the ekklesia's agenda as well as executing their decisions.

what positions were excluded from sortition?

archons (cleisthenes) and strategoi

how did the boule affirm the new tribal system?

each tribe sent 50 men to the Boule each year — each tribe would also serve as prytaneis, president of the council, for one prytany.

what was the battle of marathon?

fought in 490BC, this battle was a remarkable victory for athens' zeugitai class, who supplied the majority of 'hoplite' soldiers responsible for the marathon's outcome.

what was the impact of the battle of marathon? (2)

• can infer that this led to an increase in their confidence as they had delivered a great victory for their state — this potentially manifested itself in the first recorded ostracism in 488/87. - it is also thought that this contributed to sortition being introduced for archons.

what was the impact of a new seam in a silver mine being discovered in attica in 483/2 BC?

allowed the athenians to increase the number of triremes in the athenian navy, which, in turn, led to their victory at the battle of salamis in 480 BC.

what was the battle of salamis?

fought in 480BC, this battle was a remarkable victory for athens' thete class, who rowed the triremes.

when was ephialtes elected archon?

461/2

what were ephialtes' reforms? (3)

• prior to ephialtes' reforms, the areopagus had remained 'guardian of the law court,' meaning that it had ultimate jurisdiction over the legal system. ephialtes redistributed all of these powers except for its jurisdiction over homicide and certain crimes of sacrilege, such as the destruction of sacred olive trees.

• scrutiny of public officials was transferred from the areopagus to the boule.

• archonships were still, at this point, closed to zeugitais and thetes. by transferring these powers to bodies that these classes could participate in — the boule and the law courts - this reform increased 'people power!

when is the creation of the delian league dated?

the transferral of the delian league from the neutral delos to athens in 454/453 BC.

how did the empire create a stream of income? (4)

• all the contributions greek poleis made to the delain league became tributary payments to athens

• having a powerful naval empire allowed athens to put a tax on all goods which passed through the piraeus (the city's harbour).

• the establishment of the empire resulted in an influx of metics, skilled foreigners who came to athens in search of work.

• trials of capital cases of allied cities had to be held in athenian courts, which brought more money to the athenian economy due to influx of visitors, as well as more work for jurors to do.

how much did metics have to pay?

each metic required an Athenian patron and had to pay a monthly tax of one drachma (half a drachma for women.)

pericles' reforms (3)

• pericles opened up archonships officially to the zeugitai class, but inscriptional evidence indicates that thetes were also selected to be archons.

• pericles introduced payment for the boule, jurors, archons and other lesser magistracies. this made participating in government more accessible.

• pericles tightened the criteria of athenian citizenship — had to be the son of two legitimate athenian parents.

how long did the peloponnesian war last?

431-404 BC

when was the peace of nicias?

421 - 413 BC

what was the sicilian expedition?

failed military expedition in 415-413 BC which restarted the peloponnesian war

what portion of the population are metics thought to have made up?

one third