Glossary for year 13 classics

Alcmaeonids

a powerful aristocratic clan in Athens which was exiled after the Cylon affair

Assembly

Solon made the Athenian assembly open to all citizens

Boulē

the Council of 500 annually selected citizens who prepared business for the assembly

bouleutērion

the council house in the agora where the Boulē met

Cleruchy

a settlement of Athenian citizens in allied cities

council

Aristotle credits Solon with introducing a council of 400 members, 100 from each tribe

Council of the Areopagus

the aristocratic council of all ex-archōns

Delian League

a defensive league of 150 to 200 cities formed in 477 to guard against another Persian invasion

demagogue

a political leader who was seen to manipulate the people with powerful arguments for personal gain rather than for the good of the state

demarch

an annually elected leader of a deme's council

dēmos

the ancient Greek word to describe the people in a city-state

dikast

a citizen who was both judge and juror in the Athenian court system

dikē

a private lawsuit filed by one citizen against another

dokimasia

the scrutiny test given to a citizen before he could serve as a magistrate

ekklēsia

the Athenian name for the citizens' assembly

epistatēs

the chairman of the council for one day

eponymous archōn

the archōn responsible for a range of civil matters

eponymous heroes

the ten legendary Athenian heroes who lent their names to the ten new tribes

eupatridai

the landowning aristocrats of Attica in the 7th century

euthunai

the report in which a magistrate gave an account of his year in office

graphē

a public lawsuit filed against a citizen for acting irresponsibly as an officer of state

hektemoroi

tenant farmers who had to pay their landlords dues of the produce from the land they farmed

Heliaia

the name given to the people's court instituted by Solon

hippeis

the second economic class of men who produced more than 300 medimnoi per year

isēgoria

'the equal right to speech', a word often used to describe Athenian democracy

isonomia

'equality in law', a word often used to describe Athenian democracy

kerameikos

the potters' district in Athens, near the agora, where many ostraka have been found

kyrbeis

rotating panels in the agora which displayed Solon's new laws.

medimnos (pl. medimnoi)

a unit measure roughly equivalent to 55 litres

metic

a registered non-Athenian without the rights of citizenship

oligarchy

rule of a state by a minority of its citizens

ostracism

an annual vote to banish one prominent citizen for a period of ten years

ostrakon

a piece of broken pottery on which a citizen wrote the name of the person he wanted to see ostracised

parabasis

point in a play where the action is put on hold and the chorus remove their masks in order to speak directly to the audience

parrhēsia

the right to speak your mind

pentakosiomedimnoi

the top economic class of men who produced more than 500 medimnoi per year

Pnyx

the hill in Athens where the assembly met

polemarch

the archōn in charge of the Athenian army

quorum

the minimum number of voters needed to make a decision valid

rhētores

the orators who were the most regular speakers in the assembly

seisachtheia

the 'shaking off of burdens' - a phrase used by Aristotle and Plutarch to describe Solon's cancellation of debts

sortition

the practice of selection by lot

sovereign assembly

the first assembly meeting of each civil month

stratēgoi

the generals of Athens; there were ten in all, one from each tribe, who were elected on an annual basis

Thesmophoria

an Athenian festival reserved only for female citizens celebrating fertility

thesmothetai

the six archōns responsible for legal matters

thētes

the lowest economic class of men who produced less than 200 medimnoi per year

tholos

the round house in the agora where the prytaneis lived

tribe

a division of Athenian society with common ties of religion

trittyes

the thirty zones of Attica, each of which made up a third of a tribe

tyrant

a sole ruler who had taken power in his polis unconstitutionally

zeugitai

the third economic class of men who produced more than 200 medimnoi per year