Lisarow High School Ancient History
Historical Period 500-440 BC 24
Carnovale
How was Athenian democracy developed?
· 500 - Oath taken by bouletai - Indicates increased importance of the Boule
· 500 - First strategoi (10 Generals) elected to advise the polemarch
- Weakened the power of the archons and the Areopagus
- At Marathon, Polemarch was still Chief but the strategoi no longer needed Polemarch.
· 488 - Ostracism law introduced
- Five men from the family of tyrant Peisistratus and Alcmaeonids were ostracised.
· 487 - Klerosis ek prokiton
- Made lottery part of the process of electing archons
- Redundancy of Polemarch by strategoi caused downgrading of archons
- 9 archons chosen from a list of 500 - 50 put forward by each tribe
- “Appointment to office by lot was central to democratic theory and practice” Aristotle
· 483 - Naval bill had political implications
- Opened up citizenship for more than just the hoplites
- The creation of a new navy shifted the military epicentre away from the hoplite class to the people as a whole” Murray
· 462 - Areopagus (Ephialtes)
- Made Areopagus in control of only homicide and sacrilege
- Hade been made up of less advantageous members due to the archons being chosen by lot, Powers were acquired – not given by constitution
- Proposed at time when 4000 wealthier Athenians (hoplites) were in Sparta – these people would have opposed the reforms. Absence of Cimon.
- Gave the people the duties that the Areopagus had once had, Made the people meet more often to increase power
· 461 - Graph paranomen (Ephialtes)
- Introduced law to enable any citizen to be questioned when they introduced a measure than was in conflict with existing law
- The person bringing up graph paranomen would be rewarded and mover of unconstitutional proposal would be fined
- However, if the graph paranomen did not get at least 1/5 of the votes, they would be fined 1000 drachmas and loose civic rights.
· 453 - Deme judges
- Thirty deme-judges were appointed - Minor disputes at a local level
· 451 - Mithos (Pericles)
- Payment for dikasts, magistrates and boule (commitment as a dikast (jury member) needed wealth, as days were lost to hearing the cases)
- “Pericles bribed the multitudes, one and all, with theatre ticket and fees for dikasts and other forms of misthos” Whitehead
· 451 - Laws restricting citizenship (Pericles)
- Only people who’s parents were both Athenian citizens were considered citizens - Reduced citizen numbers
- Pericles gained popularity – Athenians felt part of an exclusive club
· 457 – Archonship opened up to Zugitae
How democratic was Athens?
· Democratic features
- “fundamental principals of democracy – accountability the lot and payment for office” Buckley
- Misthos
- Ostracism stopped tyranny and had accountability
- Klerosis ek Prokiton
- The Boule (the people) balanced power of Areopagus
- Increased Authority of Ecclesia enhanced prestige of Boule
- Proposed reforms went to the Ecclesia via the Boule.
- There was political activity at deme level.
- Payment allowed poorer people to have power
- Deme judges brought in justice for the people in rural Attica
· Aristocratic features
- Power of archons not reduced
- Even though Areopagus was restricted, it still had some power
- Areopagus remained restricted to ex-archons
- Oligarchy – the strategoi were elected and those that were known were elected
- Absence of state pay precluded thetes and poorer people from standing for election to Boule.
- Ostracism could be corrupted as they were often pre-prepared and people could not read
· Democracy for Athens, tyranny for the empire?
- “Athenians guiding their polis with the moneys which (Greece) had to be compelled to contribute for the war”
- Exploited their empire
· Isonomia
- Equality under the laws, but not a true democracy
How was the Delian League transformed to Athenian Empire?
· The Delian league
- “Retaliating for what they had lost” from the Persians – Thucydides
- Founded in 477 after the defeat of Persia
- States who had defended Greece – members of the Hellenic League minus Sparta “snatched the hegemony from Sparta” Thucydides
- Independent allies, but with Athens as the predominant member
- To liberate Greek states (Ionia) and also to preserve their liberty
- Each state in the league had a vote on any issue raised.
- Also the island of Delos served as a treasury for the league. This treasury was contributed to by all states in what was known as phoros
- Each state chose contributing either money or ships to the league.
- As each state joined the league, they had to swear an oath of loyalty in perpetuity. Dropping lumps of iron into sea
- “Consciously and cynically planned the empire” Hornblower
· Revolt of Naxos, in 469bc.
- The Athenians knew that they could not allow anyone to leave the league, so they besieged Naxos until they agreed to re-enter the league. Not a major change as Athens was only enforcing the constitution.
- “I will act and speak and advise as fittingly and best I can concerning the people of the Athenians”
· The second case was Thasos, four years later, in 465bc. This differed from the first test because trade and gold mines in Thasos caused the dispute, which was well beyond the leagues concern.
- Thasos were also besieged and brought back into the league. As a punishment Thasos lost the right of having a choice whether to contribute ships or money to the league.
- It was made a Subject State. This meant that it had to pay tribute. This was a significant change to the league’s constitution, because Athens punished Thasos for reasons outside the leagues concern.
· Military
- Another change we can see gradually developing is enforced military service. Athens claimed use of allies in the wars in Egypt was justified by the constitution because Egypt was rebelling against Persia.
- The war in Egypt was too far away to concern the league - Athens was breaking the constitution by imposing military service on the league.
- Forcing their allies to fight in battles outside the league’s aims.
· Delos
- Initially all members were given an equal vote in a council at Delos
- Treasury kept at Delos
- Because of real or imagined danger the treasury was transported from Delos to the Athenian Acropolis
- The Synod never met again because Athens made all decisions
- Athens took complete control over the leagues funds.
- The league had now become the Athenian Empire
· Tightening power
- Having created her empire, Athens started to tighten her control to make sure she could keep it.
- The first thing she did was to make her allies swear a new oath of loyalty.
- “I will not revolt from the people of Athens, nor will I permit others to do so. ¨
- Athens also started to set up democratic governments in most of the allied states. These were based on her own system.
- Another measure introduced by Athens was the setting up of garrisons in states that had rebelled. The garrison was meant to discourage any other rebellions and also to help protect the inspectors ( Episkopoi), sent to these states by Athens.
- Vowed to “have the same friends and enemies as Sparta”
- Also Athens forced her allies to change to a common coinage and weights system. If they refused, they would be excluded from trade.
- Many of the allies felt bitter at this change and felt they were losing their identity and just becoming a part of Athens Empire.
- The final change in this period was Athens insistence that all major legal cases be heard in Athens, by her own law courts.
· Peace of Callias
- As the treaty of Callias effectively removed the threat from Persia many allies considered the leagues aims complete and felt they should be allowed to leave.
- Athens however was not prepared to give up her empire. This is definitely an important point in the treatment of her allies as it showed the entire original purposes of the league were fulfilled. But Athens was going to hold on whether the allies liked it or not.. Athens was determined to hold the allies to their perpetual oath and in 447 BC the Cleinian decree declared that allies had to continue paying tribute and that tribute ships would be sent out to allied states to collect it.
- Force would be used to get the tribute if payment was refused. The effectiveness of this decree is shown as the following year, the allies started to pay again!
- Pericles, worried at the allies' desires to leave, decided to tighten up control further in 446 BC. He issued the Chalcis decree.
- This declared that all allies must “promise not to revolt, promise to pay tribute and be obedient to Athens.”
Role of Aristides
· As a military leader
- Set an example at Marathon for Generals to defer to Miltiades as the “better man” giving him full credit
- Marathon, fought “in the centre where the struggle was most furious”
- With Themistocles led and destroyed Persian fleet at Salamis
- Helped Themistocles by reporting Persian encirclement of Salamis.
- Aristides led Greek force that “destroyed the flower of Persian youth”
- Commanded Athenian contingent at battle of Plantae which drove Persian army away from Greece
- Commanded Athenian contingent in Hellenic league. Plutarch says Pausanias was antagonistic that allies urged Aristides to take control,
However
- Plutarch idealises him: “Aristides was a quiet, steady man who loved justice and truth and would never lie, flatter or abuse anybody”
- Sealey suggests that due to a sea level rising since antiquity, the channel between Salamis was too narrow so credit for alerting about the encirclement of salamis is impossible.
- Why would allies have suddenly changed their mind about being subservient? This may have been more urging on the part of Athens – or a way to make Aristides look better in the eyes of history.
· As part of the Delian league
- Aristides took over as “chief organiser” (Ehrenberg) of Delian fleet
- Aristotle says Aristides assessed Phoros “fairly”.
- Plutarch reports that Aristides opposed the movement of the Delian treasury to Athens, as it was “unjust but to Athens advantage”
However
- Fairness of phoros? The total sum of 454 talents in the “Athenian quota lists” at the beginning, compared to 490 later indicates that, with an increase in members, the early member were charged a great deal
- How could he be opposed to this movement, as it being dated at 454 it is to late for him to still be alive (Sealey), when it is told by Sealey that he died in 468BC.
· As a politician
- Was a conservative and opposed Themistocles Naval Bill
- Election as archon in 489 following Marathon and was very strict with “opposing anybody breaking the rules of Cleisthenes’ reforms” Ehrenberg
- Aristides the Just
- Ostracised after opposing Themistocles Naval bill
- A law was passed about exiles having to be outside a line between Geraitos and Skyllaion as Aristides was within this
- Plutarch says Aristides had no opposition, but Themistocles did
- Plutarch says that he was so poor (as he did not profit from politics) that his tomb was “built at the public expense”
However
- Aristides the Just – political propaganda – an encomium
- Plutarch is critical of Themistocles, reflecting wide distance in writing – proof that he had become powerful
- Why would he be ostracised if there was no opposition? Ehrenberg
Account for the Persian Wars
· Reasons for the Ionian Revolt
- Persian was exploiting Ionia
§ Severe enough for Greek resentment
- Trade had been disrupted
§ When Persia moved into Egypt, Ionia lost their markets
- Racism
§ Persians were seen as barbarians
- Aristagoras
§ Tyrant of Miletus, placed by Persians
§ Had been given permission to go for a raid on behalf of Persia
· Raid failed
· Feared response by Persia following hi failure
§ Decided to encourage Ionia Tyrants to rise up against Persian authority
· Existing disharmony between Athens and Persia
- Democracy: introduced by Cleisthenes 508-7
§ Athens introduced Democracy but knew Sparta would attempt to invade and end their democracy
· Sparta was most powerful state
· Sparta feared democracy: in their own State, would give way for revolution of helots
§ Athens wanted a powerful Ally to protect her from Sparta
· Cleisthenes sent envoys to Persia for Alliance
· Persia agreed on condition of “Land and water”
o Traditional symbols of Subservience and Submission
· Envoys agreed
§ Breaking the agreement
· Cleisthenes said Persian could not be the Athenian overlord, as the Spartan situation had been resolved
· Athens was now disliked by Persia, as the agreement was broken
· Mardonius’ policy towards Greece
§ Policy of continuing advancement
§ Mardonius-Son-in-law and nephew of Darius
§ Took control of Western operations in 492
§ Established democracies in Ionia
§ Extended Persian Power.
What were the Persian and Greek Strategies prior to the Great Invasion?
· Greek
- All feuds between member states were brought to an end. Particularly Athens and Aegina
- The command of the army and the navy should be given to Sparta
- All states who medized voluntarily and not under compulsion should have their land confiscated.
- Envoys to be sent to Argos, Syracuse, Crete and Corcyra to request military aid.
- Second meeting to be held at Isthmus and 480 when report from spies would be available.
· Persian
- Used Hippias who was an old Tyrant of Athens, knew Athens wand wanted to reclaim position.