The Spark that set the world A Light
The Creation of the Athenian Democracy
During the turbulent era of the City States of Ancient Greece there were many types of Government that ruled the lives of the countless Polis or City States, many of these have been forgotten in the sands of time, but the unique government of the Athenians the world’s first Democracy is remembered and used all be it in varying forms by Nations of the 21
st Century.
What were the conditions that allowed this type of government to dominate Athenian political life and who were its fathers?, Well in this article we shall attempt to answer some of these questions and look at the Athens in the 5
th Century in a broader view whilst attempting to understand how such a unique development could take place.
Like many other Polis, Athens prior to the establishment of the Democracy shared a type of government prevalent amongst many of the other City States, namely a Oligarchic system of governance that saw positions shared between the wealthy ancient aristocratic families of Attica, the geographical region where Athens was the central power. Although Attica had many smaller towns and villages it was Athens where power resided.
These wealthy and aristocratic families would share the political offices of the time, The Legislative; Executive and Judicial split were split between elected officials known as Archons and a unelected council known as the Areopagus whose members were made up exclusively of ex-Archons. This was a common practice in City States during the era between the Dark ages and the Classical period of Greek History.
A view of the Areopagus from the Acropolis
The Archons of whom there were nine in number had a number of responsibilities; these included the
Eponymous archon who acted as the Chief Magistrate and with whom the years would be named after, the Polemarch who was head of Military affairs and Athens War Leader and Archon Basileus who oversaw the religious rites of the state and important legal cases such as Homicide Trials. After these important offices were filled the remaining six Archons were known as Thesmothétai and they acted as Judicial Officers in other less important trials.
The Archonship as we have seen was often filled by Aristocrats whom would be elected by their fellow Aristocrats, access to the Political system for the poorer classes was barred. The powerful and conservative Areopagus further isolated the Athenian Political system from the poorer Citizens by its make up being only made of Ex-Archons.
The Areopagus wielded great power, they were responsible for the passing of laws, the acceptance of treaties and other important functions, in reality the Areopagus were the central governing body of Athens prior to establishment of the Democracy holding both Executive and Legislative power.
It was a good time then to be Aristocratic; however the Status quo could not be maintained for long. Despite their hold on the Political Offices of the Athens factors out of the Wealthy Elites control would began to change the Political Landscape beyond their narrow recognition.
The seeds of change began with the emergence of the Hoplite Class; The Hoplites were in effect small land holding farmers who began to amass a small amount of wealth, enough to allow them to serve as Hoplites in the Athenian Army. As the Hoplite Class became more prominent they began to desire their own representation not only in Political terms but also within the Athenian Courts.
At this time an Athenian Citizen would have access to the courts through his tribe of which Attica had many, at this tribal level the decision of the Archons; often the local Aristocrat would be final. To these small landowners whom the defence of the Polis now began to rest upon this began to be unacceptable and many called for equality before the law and the right to appeal the one off judgements of the unelected and often Aristocratic Judiciary.
Alongside the grievances of the Hoplites there was also growing alarm at the plight of the poorer Thetes (The Lowest Class of Citizen, but still higher than Women and Metics, or resident Aliens) and some portions of the Hoplite Class. Many of the poorer Athenians income rested upon Agriculture, this reliance could in times of bad harvests have a devastating effect upon them. Many whose fortunes rested upon Agriculture could find themselves in severe economic turmoil if a crop failed, often they would lose their lands, their homes and often their freedom.
Athenian Law at this time allowed for Creditors to seize debtors as slaves as payment, often the poor farmers would offer up their children up whilst attempting to salvage what little they had but even after this terrible loss they would in turn themselves be seized as they failed to keep up with Payments.
This practice of the enslavement of their fellow Citizens, who were often sold in foreign markets and were thus separated not only from their families but also their homeland began to be a great shame to the Athenians, however not all elements of Athenian Society were exposed to these enormous pressures, the wealthy elite continued to hold onto power and often benefited from the plight of the poor farmers by owning the majority share of the lands of the bankrupt farmers.
It would be this explosive combination of the enslavement practice and the calls for economic, political and judicial reform that would in the period of the late 6
th Century BC that would usher in a period of
Anarchia (Literally translating as year without an Archon or ruler and the basis for our modern word Anarchy).
With the growing amount of Social-Economic resentment the Aristocrats of Athens began to be fearful of their privileged position, during this period many of the Oligarchic regimes of their fellow Polis had been overthrown in bloody revolutions that had installed Tyrannical Government in their place. Now these Tyrannies whilst sharing some similarities with our modern ideals of a Tyrannical government actually varied in character and nature, often they took the form of a leading Politician replacing an Oligarchic council and placing the Legislative and Executive powers of the state in their own hands.
Athens had seen an attempted Tyrannical coup in recent memory, only 30 years prior to the
Anarchia in 623BCa noblemen and former Olympic Champion named Cylon unsuccessfully attempted to install himself as Tyrant. With this attempt still fresh within their minds and the proximity of a number of Local Tyrannies such as in Megara, Corinth and Cicyon the Aristocratic families began to fear that they would soon be replaced following clashes between them and the lower orders.
To offset the rising resentment the Aristocracy realised if they were to survive a bout of revolutionary bloodletting compromise and period of reform was essential, to undertake this they decided with lower classes upon the election of a sole Archon instead of the usual nine for one year, whom was chosen by who they believed possessed the wisdom to settle the growing class disputes and legislate the reforms to ensure they took place in a peaceful and equitable manner. The Sole Archon who would undertake this task was Solon.
Solon, The Father of Democracy
Solon in his reforms laid the foundations of what modern historians call the first Athenian Democracy, The reforms themselves were of both a political and economic nature. The Political reforms saw the formation of the
Ekklesia or Assembly from where all Athenian Citizens could participate in the governance of their polis. In the
Ekklesia Athenian Citizens would be able to not only vote on proposals and decree’s but also make proposals of their own, Solon proposed that this be open to lower orders and saw not only the Hoplite Farmer Class gain access but also the
Thetes the lowest rung of Athenian Society next to Women, Metics (Resident Aliens) and slaves.
In affect Solon’s restructuring of the
Ekklesia gave this body the Executive powers of the Athenian State, the Legislative powers would reside in another of Solon’s reforms namely the
Boule, or council whose responsibility it would be to create the proposals and decree’s that the new, more open and democratic
Ekklesia would vote on. Solon also saw to it that the Athenian Judiciary would now be open to the lower orders; the
Heliaia or Law Courts would allow all Athenian Citizens access to justice and the right to appeal and would replace Aristocratic Judges or magistrates i.e. the Archons with democratic juries made up of the Athenian Citizenry
These new bodies greatly reduced the power of the Archons and likewise the conservative and aristocratic
Areopagus, whom were now reduced to status of a Crown (In the UK) or Supreme (US) board of judges who sat on the most important cases and were responsible for guarding the laws of the State. Solon’s economic reforms saw the reorganisation of the Athenian class system; new classes were instituted whilst Metics whom possessed a trade that would benefit the Polis would be granted Athenian Citizenship. This Class reorganisation was coupled with the opening up of Political offices to certain tiers of the new system. Perhaps his most stark economic reform was the abandonment of the system that allowed rich landlords to enslave the poor, small farmers whom often fell victim and would more often than not see their lands seized and their families sold into slavery.
The Athenians agreed to adhere to Solon’s reforms for a period of ten years, Solon recognised that whilst his reforms would address many of the problems facing Athens they would inevitably make him incredibly unpopular, many of the powerful Aristocrats would be stripped of power and office whilst his economic reforms would see sources of revenue closed to the large wealthy landowners. There was also the risk that should of his reforms fail he would be held directly responsible, to that end Solon handed over his powers at the end of Archonship and wisely left Athens on a self-imposed exile.
Pisistratus and the Athenian Tyranny
Following Solon’s departure the Athenians adhered to his reforms, however after 4-5 years problems began to arise. Unforeseen administrative issues were compounded by a growth in regional factionalism, three rival groups began to emerge and from one of these groups Pisistratus would emerge as Athens first Tyrant. These regions were characterised the geography of Attica, namely that of the Plains or
Pedieis whom were the largest faction not only in terms of numbers but also in political and economic power. The Coastal or
Paralioi &
Hyperakrioi or Mountainous regions combined could not muster as much men to meet the
Pedieis head on and would become natural allies in their opposition to their dominance. Each of these groups were headed by members of old Aristocratic families, the
Pedieis by Lycurgus, the
Paralioi by the
Alcmaeonidae and their current leaderMegacles and finally
Hyperakrioi whose leader was Pisistratus
These figures would become rivals for leadership of Athens, it would be Pisistratus whom would emerge as the victor, following a successful military action against Athens ancient and hated rival the Polis of Megara, Pisistratus won himself great renown that led him to become a celebrated figure amongst the Athenian Citizenry. Pisistratus recognised that he lacked the political power to overcome the dominant
Pedieis, he therefore resolved to gain control of the state through the use of force. A staged Assassination attempt was made upon Pisistratus, he appealed to the
Ekklesia to be allowed an armed Bodyguard within the City to which the enamoured
Ekklesia duly agreed. It would be this force that Pisistratus would use to seize control of the Acropolis however this alone would not allow him to name himself Tyrant, Pisistratus then turned to the
Hyperakrioi natural allies the
Paralioi and their leader Megacles.
Athens was now under his control but Pisistratus position was far from secure, the shaky alliance with Megacles eventually gave way for in around 555BC the
Pedieis &
Paralioi overcame there differences and joined forces to oust Pisistratus as Tyrant. His short exile was ended however when the canny Megacles invited him to return to Athens on the condition that he wed his daughter, Pisistratus agreed and duly returned to Athens but not before carrying out a spectacular piece of political theatre. Pisistratus returned to Athens riding in a gilded chariot alongside a beautiful woman dressed in the likeness of Athena, patron deity of Athens, the pious Athenians were awestruck by the spectacle and Pisistratus was able to manipulate the
Ekklesia sentiments and facilitate his return to role as Tyrant.
Pisistratus spectacular reentry into Athens alongside "Athena"
Once again though the relationship between Pisistratus and Megacles figured heavily in the future of Athenian politics, the union between Pisistratus and Megacles daughter had facilitated his return to Athens however the union proved to be a unproductive one. Pisistratus not wanting to jeopardise the succession of his son Hippias refused to fornicate with Megacles daughter and so safeguard his son’s succession. Megacles was angered and took personal offence to what would have been a deep insult to any Father; Megacles spearheaded a faction that would lead to the removal of Pisistratus and his exile from not only Athens but Attica itself.
This would however be Pisistratus last removal from the role as Tyrant, during his exile he was able to secure a number of powerful alliances both inside and outside Attica, these alliances furnished him an army with whom he able to contest the control of Athens near his
Hyperakrioi heartlands at Marathon. With Megacles forces defeated in the field of battle Pisistratus once more took up the role of Tyrant in around 546BC, a role he would hold onto until his death in around 527BC. Pisistratus exiled the Alcmaeonidae therefore eliminating the final barrier to his domination of Athens and proved to be a popular ruler, this popularity allowed his son Hippias to continue as Tyrant however this would begin the process that would see the Tyranny replaced and Athens see the reintroduction of Democracy.
The Tyrannicides and the demise of the Tyranny
Hippias early years were uneventful; with the support of his brother Hipparchus he was able to successfully maintain the Tyranny. However in time the abuses of Hipparchus were beginning to create problems for the Tyrannical regime, an issue arose between Hipparchus and a young aristocrat named Harmodius. The issue involved an incident between Harmodius young sister and Hipparchus in which a great shame was associated with Harmodius sister, reeling from the insult Harmodius became the figurehead of a plot to assassinate the Tyrants at the Panathenaic Games, a day where the bearing of arms would not be suspicious in part to the deeply religious and social nature of the parade.
On the day of the games both Hippias and Hipparchus moved through the parade freely, at this point it seems that between the conspirators there was confusion on the time to strike, Hippias was approached yet not attacked Harmodius and his co-conspirator Aristogeiton fearing a possible betrayal struck at Hipparchus mortally wounding him. Harmodius was cut down on the spot by Hipparchus body guards; Aristogeiton was able to escape but was later caught and tortured to reveal the identities of his co-conspirators, it is alleged he agreed to reveal them only if he could shake the Tyrants hand Hippias shook his hand, Aristogeiton then duly mocked the Tyrant for shaking the hand that had murdered his brother. Suitably enraged Hippias killed Aristogeiton and the nature of the Tyranny was forever changed.
The Grisly demise of Hipparchus by the Tyrannicides
The Tyranny began to become more and more repressive, many aristocratic families were banished and stricter measures were enacted as Hippias attempted to offset any threats to his position. On the Periphery, as always were the Tyrannies adversaries the Alcmaeonidae now headed by Cleisthenes with whom the role of overthrowing the Tyranny would lie.
Whilst in exile the Alcmaeonidae had not been idle, there is evidence from the Archon roles that the faction leader Cleisthenes had been involved in the Tyrannical regime serving as Archon however this must have been a temporary situation for following the regimes change in nature it was he who would be the leading light in the opposition to Hippias. The Alcmaeonidae ever the political opportunists tendered a bid to repair the Temple of the Oracle at Delphi following damage inflicted to it following an earthquake, the Alcmaeonidae surpassed the initial assessment of the work required and beautified the temple, this gained them considerable leverage with the Oracle which in turn allowed them to gain political capital with the other Greeks, other Greeks with whom they would look for assistance on overthrowing the Tyranny.
It would be the Spartans who would answer the call after being repeatedly being referred by the Oracle to liberate the Athenians, in around 510BC the Ambitious Spartan King Cleomenes I led an army into Attica and succeeded in trapping Hippias and his supporters upon the Acropolis A negotiated settlement saw Hippias exiled, the Tyranny was over and the battle for the new type of government was about to take place.
Cleisthenes & Isagoras, the Battle for the Democracy
Within the Political vacuum following the collapse of the Tyranny two figures emerged, Cleisthenes head of the Alcmaeonidae and leader of the democratic faction who wished to see the Solonian reforms reinstituted in full and Isagoras who represented the Aristocratic faction that wished to return to a more conventional Aristocratic led from of government. The battleground would take the form of the Archonship for the year of 508BC, Isagoras whose powerbase resided in the Aristocratic political drinking clubs was able to secure victory but Cleisthenes refused to accept the decision and took the unconventional decision to admit the greater number of the people, The
Demos into his own political faction.
Cleisthenes, whose reforms facilitated the survival of the Athenian Democracy
With the
Demos behind Cleisthenes must have thought he would be able to overcome the decision and therefore become the prominent figure within Athenian Politics however Isagoras had another card to play, he called upon the liberator of Athens King Cleomenes I to help him remove Cleisthenes and other democratic figures from the City. Now in a position of power Isagoras attempted to revoke a number of Solonian reforms, Citizenship was to be revoked to those who lacked an Athenian Father whilst the
Boule would be dissolved into a council of 300 would replace and therefore instigate a form of Oligarchy.
With these and other inflammatory reforms in the pipeline the Demos rose up against Isagoras and his Spartan benefactor Cleomenes were forced to flee to the Acropolis and after a period of negotiation allowed to leave Attica unmolested, not before 300 of Isagoras supporters were executed however.
Cleisthenes was now recalled and chosen to head the new government, as its head he reinstituted many of Solon’s reforms whilst also expanding upon them. Cleisthenes recognised that one of the fundamental flaws of the Athenian political model was the regional rivalries that had unravelled the first democracy, to that end the Athenian Tribal system was reorganised from the Traditional four Ionic tribes to ten new tribes that would be called
Demes, The ten
Demes would then be spread across the
Pedieis, Paralioi &
Hyperakrioi in a system known as
trittyes or in effect the division of the Demes into a form of county within a geographical area
. The
Demes would become the Political & Religious bodies of the Polis whilst also serving as Military regiments of Athens with one general now on being selected from each
Deme.
Cleisthenes also abandoned the council of 300 instituted by Isagoras and also that of the
Boule of 400 created by Solon, the Boule would now be made of 500 Citizens, 50 chosen by lot from within each of the ten Demes. This process of the choosing by lot from within each
Deme was also extended to the Judiciary from where Jurors would from now on be chosen by lot to ensure it functioned impartially and democratically.
Cleisthenes was also believed to be responsible for institution of Ostracism, a measure that appears to have been designed by allowing the Demos to vote against individuals whom they believed were acting against the interest of the Democracy; these individuals would be banished for a period of ten years upon which they could return to Athens. This was primarily used against supporters of Pisistratid Tyranny but it was later adapted to those whom they feared would act to make themselves Tyrant or be involved into anti-Democratic activities.
The reforms of Cleisthenes were far reaching and ensured that the Democracy would overcome the problems it had faced in its initial form, there would still be friction between the Aristocracy and the Common people but the Democracy would endure a period of supreme pressure in the later Persian Wars and become a large Empire that stretched across the Aegean. Further Politicians like Ephialtes and Pericles would further expand upon it but in large the reforms of Cleisthenes created the model that led Athens into a Golden Age, an age that still is a wonder to us over 2000 Years later.
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