what powers did the athenian assembly have?

Age restrictions were in place with thirty years as a minimum, rendering about a third of the adult citizen body ineligible at any one time. Ecclesia (Ekklesia) is the term used for the assembly in Greek city-states (poleis), including Athens. Each of Cleisthenes's 10 tribes provided 50 councilors who were at least 30 years old. Cleisthenes formally identified free inhabitants of Attica as citizens of Athens, which gave them power and a role in a sense of civic solidarity. As all students of Greek history know, the Athenians had what we call a 'direct democracy', a form of government in which all major decisions were taken by the Assembly where all citizens were entitled to vote. Much of his writings were about his alternatives to democracy. The. the assembly. Yet the Athenian citizens chose to forego individual payoffs in favor of Themistocles’ proposal for building and manning a fleet of warships that would make Athens the greatest naval power of the Greek world. Whereas a man could speak in court and vote in the Assembly when he was eighteen, he had to wait until his thirtieth birthday to take the juryman’s oath and his place among an annual panel of 6,000 men. The courts became in effect a kind of upper house. Although women couldn’t vote, voting rights were given to all males, all with equal power … The Assembly (?κκλησία) was the regular gathering of male Athenian citizens (women also enjoyed the status of “citizen,” but without political rights) to listen to, discuss, and vote on decrees that affected every aspect of Athenian life, both public and private, from financial matters to religious ones, from public. In particular, those chosen by lot were citizens acting without particular expertise. Topics included the approval or disapproval of treaties, making declarations of war, assigning generals to campaigns, deciding what forces and resources they should command, confirming officials or removing them from office, deciding whether or to not hold an ostracism, questions concerning religion, questions of inheritance, in fact, anything else that anybody wanted to bring up in the assembly. 19.154 in his list of instances where the Assembly delegated powers to the Council. They could also choose the members of Gerousia, the Elite Counsel. © AskingLot.com LTD 2021 All Rights Reserved. Increasingly, responsibility was shifted from the assembly to the courts, with laws being made by jurors and all assembly decisions becoming reviewable by courts. Diagrams. However, the governors, like Demetrius of Phalerum, appointed by Cassander, kept some of the traditional institutions in formal existence, although the Athenian public would consider them to be nothing more than Macedonian puppet dictators. A member had to be approved by his deme, each of which would have an incentive to select those with experience in local politics and the greatest likelihood at effective participation in government. One downside to this change was that the new democracy was less capable of responding quickly in times where quick, decisive action was needed. "[80], Greek philosopher and activist Takis Fotopoulos has argued that “the final failure, of Athenian democracy was not due, as it is usually asserted by its critics, to the innate contradictions of democracy itself but, on the contrary, to the fact that the Athenian democracy never matured to become an inclusive democracy. Cleisthenes increased the membership of the Athenian Boule to 500 in 508 bc. In the following century, the meetings were set to forty a year, with four in each state month. Their efforts, initially conducted through constitutional channels, culminated in the establishment of an oligarchy, the Council of 400, in the Athenian coup of 411 BC. The central events of the Athenian democracy were the meetings of the assembly (ἐκκλησία, ekklesía). Oared ships appear on Athenian vases from the 8th to the 5th century B.C., and several of the 372 shipsheds that lined the harbors of the Piraeus have been excavated. If the assembly broke the law, the only thing that might happen is that it would punish those who had made the proposal that it had agreed to. [21] This reform signalled the commencement of a new era of "radical democracy". He also made it so that members of the assembly could debate matters openly, hear court cases, appoint army generals, and he made … At the end of the session, each voter tossed one of these into a large clay jar which was afterwards cracked open for the counting of the ballots. All fifty members of the prytaneis on duty were housed and fed in the tholos of the Prytaneion, a building adjacent to the bouleuterion, where the boule met. The Reserved Powers Model allows the Senedd to make laws on matters that are not reserved to the UK Parliament. George Grote claimed in his History of Greece (1846–1856) that "Athenian democracy was neither the tyranny of the poor, nor the rule of the mob". Though there might be blocs of opinion, sometimes enduring, on important matters, there were no political parties and likewise no government or opposition (as in the Westminster system). That is to say, the mass meeting of all citizens lost some ground to gatherings of a thousand or so which were under oath, and with more time to focus on just one matter (though never more than a day). No legitimation of that rule was formulated to counter the negative accounts of Plato and Aristotle, who saw it as the rule of the poor, who plundered the rich. [10] By granting the formerly aristocratic role to every free citizen of Athens who owned property, Solon reshaped the social framework of the city-state. While Ephialtes's opponents were away attempting to assist the Spartans, he persuaded the Assembly to reduce the powers of the Areopagus to a criminal court for cases of homicide and sacrilege. Since Athens supplied the largest number of warships in the fleet of the Delian League, the balance of power in the League came firmly into the hands of the Athenian assembly,19 whose members decided how Athenian ships were to be employed. In opposition, thinkers such as Samuel Johnson were worried about the ignorance of democratic decision-making bodies, but "Macaulay and John Stuart Mill and George Grote saw the great strength of the Athenian democracy in the high level of cultivation that citizens enjoyed, and called for improvements in the educational system of Britain that would make possible a shared civic consciousness parallel to that achieved by the ancient Athenians".[84]. [62] In addition, there were some limitations on who could hold office. Originally, a male would be a citizen if his father was a citizen, Under, Likewise the status of women seems lower in Athens than in many Greek cities. How many words does a child vocabulary have? [24], Only adult male Athenian citizens who had completed their military training as ephebes had the right to vote in Athens. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as soon as they qualified for citizenship. This may have had some role in building a consensus. By blurring the distinction between the natural and political world, democracy leads the powerful to act immorally and outside their own best interest. During the First Peloponnesian War, a spasmodic and protracted affair, the personal authority of Pericles is steadily consolidated through his influence in the Athenian assembly. The role of this Council, sometimes called simply the “Areopagus”, in the fully-formed democracy is discussed below, but to understand Ephialtes’ reforms we need to see, briefly, its place in Athenian government before Ephialtes. Around 338 BC the orator Hyperides (fragment 13) claimed that there were 150,000 slaves in Attica, but this figure is probably no more than an impression: slaves outnumbered those of citizen stock but did not swamp them. Justice was rapid: a case could last no longer than one day and had to be completed by the time the sun set. An unknown proportion of citizens were also subject to disenfranchisement (atimia), excluding some of them permanently and others temporarily (depending on the type). Slashing satire directed against the mass of ordinary citizens seems to have been unacceptable 128 in Athenian comedy, but fifth-century comic productions often criticized govermental policies that had been approved by the assembly by blaming political leaders for them. Flashcards. What powers did the Athenian assembly have? Ephors and the Gerousia formed an Aristocratic alliance which in practice controlled and limited the role of the Assembly … It was after of Solon’s codification of the law that the Ecclesia became coterminous with the body of male citizens. Cleisthenes issued reforms in 508 and 507 BC that undermined the domination of the aristocratic families and connected every Athenian to the city's rule. What contributions did Solon and Cleisthenes make to the development of Athenian democracy?Solon let all Athenian citizens participate in the Assembly and Cleisthenes created the Council of Five Hundred. Ostracism required the voters to scratch names onto pieces of broken pottery (ὄστρακα, ostraka), though this did not occur within the assembly as such. [18] An example of this was that, in 307, in order to curry favour with Macedonia and Egypt, three new tribes were created, two in honour of the Macedonian king and his son, and the other in honour of the Egyptian king. 7.When did Athenians begin to be paid for attendance at meetings of the Athenian Assembly/Ekklesia? Nevertheless, the Assembly tried, especially in the fourth century B.C., to conduct its business according to set Boules (French pronunciation: ? Before the first attempt at democratic government, Athens was ruled by a series of archons or chief magistrates, and the Areopagus, made up of ex-archons. The tribes were an important part of local politics, and many had local assemblies similar to the Athenian assembly. Cartledge, P, Garnsey, P. and Gruen, ES., agathe.gr: The Unenfranchised II – Slaves and Resident Aliens. His The Republic, The Statesman, and Laws contained many arguments against democratic rule and in favour of a much narrower form of government: "The organization of the city must be confided to those who possess knowledge, who alone can enable their fellow-citizens to attain virtue, and therefore excellence, by means of education."[74]. Military service or simple distance prevented the exercise of citizenship. They are a council, alien to humans, who are secretly involved in Earth's affairs. How did Athens and Sparta differ quizlet? Thus in Athens in 594 bc Solon did not abolish the Areopagite Council but is said to have created a boule of 400 to guide the work of the assembly, or Ecclesia (q.v. John Murray, London, 179-94. There were two main categories in this group: those required to handle large sums of money, and the 10 generals, the strategoi. The assembly was the regular gathering of Male Athenians, around six thousand, in which they discussed matters of Athenian life, allowing all decisions and proposals to be determined by a vote. During emergencies, the Ecclesia would also grant special temporary powers to the Boule. [35], In 594 BC, Solon is said to have created a boule of 400 to guide the work of the assembly. However, when Rome fought Macedonia in 200, the Athenians abolished the first two new tribes and created a twelfth tribe in honour of the Pergamene king. He reorganized the assembly to be the central role in the government. the Athenian assembly had to have 6000 people to meet and once they had that 6000 people they decided laws and other issues you may want to look up Athenian democracy on wikapedia The … Agariste was the great-granddaughter of the tyrant o… [1][2], Athens practiced a political system of legislation and executive bills. For example, he points to errors regarding Sparta; Athenians erroneously believed that Sparta's kings each had two votes in their ruling council and that there existed a Spartan battalion called Pitanate lochos. The officials of the democracy were in part elected by the Assembly and in large part chosen by lottery in a process called sortition. The Athenian democracy was a direct rule form of political system with courts and citizens in the assembly making major political decisions. Ostracism, in which a citizen could be expelled from Athens for 10 years, was among the powers of the ekklesia. Quizlet Live. He did not need to spend a substantial portion of his life protesting, petitioning, hiring a PR agency or otherwise trying to call attention to an issue. [59], The reforms of Cleisthenes meant that the archons were elected by the Assembly, but were still selected from the upper classes. Sometimes, mixed constitutions evolved with democratic elements, but "it definitely did not mean self-rule by citizens".[82]. [38], The members from each of the ten tribes in the Boule took it in turns to act as a standing committee (the prytaneis) of the Boule for a period of thirty-six days. Pol. each prytany. Payment for jurors was introduced around 462 BC and is ascribed to Pericles, a feature described by Aristotle as fundamental to radical democracy (Politics 1294a37). In the play The Eumenides, performed in 458, Aeschylus, himself a noble, portrays the Areopagus as a court established by Athena herself, an apparent attempt to preserve the dignity of the Areopagus in the face of its disempowerment.[14]. [34] After the restoration of the democracy in 403 BC, pay for assembly attendance was introduced. 9.Who were the pryteneis? The Council of Five is catalogued in the online document “Alien Races” by Dante Santori. An Athenian could have a proposal debated and decided on within a very short space of time simply by tabling it in the Assembly. Harris admits that "the assembly tried, especially in the fourth cen­ tury B.C., to conduct its business according to set rules"; but he con­ tends (1) that "these rules were self-imposed" and (2) they "did not represent any limitation on the powers of the assembly" (364, my italics). Ath. However, even with Solon's creation of the citizen's assembly, the Archons and Areopagus still wielded a great deal of power. Under the 4th century version of democracy, the roles of general and of key political speaker in the assembly tended to be filled by different persons. The Athenians had an aversion to oligarchy, that is true, but they also developed periodic aversions to their own direct democracy, which was prone sometimes to erratic, stupid, super-aggressive and unjust decisions. Although democracy predated Athenian imperialism by over thirty years, they are sometimes associated with each other. The Areiopagos was, like the senate at Rome, recruited from, the At the same time or soon afterward, the membership of the Areopagus was extended to the lower level of the propertied citizenship. The two powers struggled to agree on their respective spheres of influence absent Persia's influence. A chairman for each tribe was chosen by lot each day, who was required to stay in the tholos for the next 24 hours, presiding over meetings of the Boule and Assembly. This is the position set out by the anti-democratic pamphlet known whose anonymous author is often called the Old Oligarch. This principle extended down to the secretaries and undersecretaries who served as assistants to magistrates such as the archons. [22] This excluded a majority of the population: slaves, freed slaves, children, women and metics (foreign residents in Athens). No judges presided over the courts, nor did anyone give legal direction to the jurors. This was generally done as a reward for some service to the state. In the 5th century BC, there were 10 fixed assembly meetings per year, one in each of the ten state months, with other meetings called as needed. That was the position of Athenian democracy’s foremost critic, Plato. The helots were. The percentage of the population that actually participated in the government was 10% to 20% of the total number of inhabitants, but this varied from the fifth to the fourth century BC. [49], The institutions sketched above – assembly, officeholders, council, courts – are incomplete without the figure that drove the whole system, Ho boulomenos ('he who wishes', or 'anyone who wishes'). The Athenian Assembly was the voice of the citizenry and in it laid the majority of the political power of Athens, but it took a considerable amount of time for Athens to fully integrate their lower class into the government. Jurors were required to be under oath, which was not required for attendance at the assembly. The Ecclesia (the Athenian Assembly) adopted Ephialtes' proposal without strong opposition. In the 5th century at least, there were scarcely any limits on the power exercised by the assembly. The word "democracy" (Greek: dēmokratia, δημοκρατία) combines the elements dêmos (δῆμος, which means "people") and krátos (κράτος, which means "force" or "power"), and thus means literally "people power". The council of 500, or boule, was ancient Athens's full time government. While the total number of Athenian bureaucrats numbered 1,100, the 100 elected officials possessed the most power and prestige. This cannot be adequately explained by simply referring to the immature ‘objective’ conditions, the low development of productive forces and so on—important as may be—because the same objective conditions prevailed at that time in many other places all over the Mediterranean, let alone the rest of Greece, but democracy flourished only in Athens” . The proposal would be considered by the Council, and would be placed on the agenda of the Assembly in the form of a motion. 1. His officeholding was rather an expression and a result of the influence he wielded. In the 5th century, public slaves forming a cordon with a red-stained rope herded citizens from the agora into the assembly meeting place (Pnyx), with a fine being imposed on those who got the red on their clothes. In this case, simply by demographic necessity, an individual could serve twice in a lifetime. Aristotle points to other cities that adopted governments in the democratic style. The Peloponnesian war began after the Persian Wars ended in 449 BCE. The law in question, however, may not be the decree passed at an earlier meeting of the Assembly but the general rule that Athenian allies did not have the right to revolt and would be severely punished if they did, as in the case of Naxos (1.98), Thasos (1.101), Euboea (1.114) and Miletus (1.115–17). In addition, sometimes even oligarchic systems could involve a high degree of political equality, but the Athenian version, starting from c. 460 BCE and ending c. 320 BCE and involving all male citizens, was certainly the most developed.The contemporary sources which describe the workings of democracy typica… [43] For particularly important public suits the jury could be increased by adding in extra allotments of 500. The victorious Roman general, Publius Cornelius Sulla, left the Athenians their lives and did not sell them into slavery; he also restored the previous government, in 86 BC. Under these reforms, the boule (a council of 400 members, with 100 citizens from each of Athens's four tribes) ran daily affairs and set the political agenda. Decisions were made by voting without any time set aside for deliberation. When it came to penal sanctions, no officeholder could impose a fine over fifty drachmas. It originally dated to the years around 500 B.C. Democratic rule acts in the benefit of smaller self-interested factions, rather than the entire polis. The Athenian assembly was composed of all. The Council could issue decrees on its own, regarding certain matters, but its main function was to prepare the agenda for meetings of the Assembly. was the sight of people dying like sheep through having caught the disease as a result of nursing others.” Neither medicine nor quackery helped. These were known as the nomothetai (νομοθέται, 'the lawmakers'). What is disturbing about his conception of the citizens' power? They want representative democracy to be added to or even replaced by direct democracy in the Athenian way, perhaps by utilizing electronic democracy. The members of these institutions were generally aristocrats. Herodotus wrote some of the earliest surviving Greek prose, but this might not have been before 440 or 430 BC. The Council of 500 In 561 BC, the nascent democracy was overthrown by the tyrant Peisistratos but was reinstated after the expulsion of his son, Hippias, in 510. Democratic regimes governed until Athens surrendered to Sparta in 404 BC, when the government was placed in the hands of the so-called Thirty Tyrants, who were pro-Spartan oligarchs. 2.83–6 where evidence is produced to show that Cersebleptes did indeed have a person in Athens who could have acted as his synedros, namely, Critobulus of Lampsacus, and that Aleximachus submitted a proposal to have him admitted to … All the candidates would put their names together and it was luck that decided who was going to be in the council. Pay was raised from two to three obols by Cleon early in the Peloponnesian war and there it stayed; the original amount is not known. Spartan boys and girls were taught to fight at age six or seven. Unlike officeholders, the citizen initiator was not voted on before taking up office or automatically reviewed after stepping down; these institutions had, after all, no set tenure and might be an action lasting only a moment. As the system evolved, the courts (that is, citizens under another guise) intruded upon the power of the assembly. Four presided over the judicial administration. It was a place for all male citizens of Athens to come and speak their minds. In the course of a century, the number of citizenships so granted was in the hundreds rather than thousands.[29]. This promoted a new enthusiasm for assembly meetings. He loves boats, hates women, is proud of his son, and loves wine. Thus, the Founding Fathers of the United States who met in Philadelphia in 1787 did not set up a Council of the Areopagos, but a Senate, that, eventually, met on the Capitol. The Athenian institutions were later revived, but how close they were to a real democracy is debatable. This also acted as a check against demagoguery, though this check was imperfect and did not prevent elections from involving pandering to voters.[64]. [13], The third set of reforms was instigated by Ephialtes in 462/1. "Funeral Oration", Thucydides II.40, trans. Neither was compulsory; individuals had to nominate themselves for both selection methods. While modern critics are more likely to find fault with the restrictive qualifications for political involvement, these ancients viewed democracy as being too inclusive. During this time, oligarchy, or governing powers shared by a small group of society's members, was the norm. The Athenian Assembly was the voice of the citizenry and in it laid the majority of the political power of Athens, but it took a considerable amount of time for Athens to … Only the first 6,000 to arrive were admitted and paid, with the red rope now used to keep latecomers at bay. ... have power in Athens? Athenian doctors bore the brunt: “Terrible . It elected generals/rulers, and approved laws. Plateans in 427 BC and Samians in 405 BC). If the Assembly voted in favor of the proposed change, the proposal would be referred for further consideration by a group of citizens called nomothetai (literally "establishers of the law").[22]. However, any stepping forward into the democratic limelight was risky. Changes in Athenian Democracy. Instead of seeing it as a fair system under which everyone has equal rights, they regarded it as manifestly unjust. This could cause problems when it became too dark to see properly. Yet in the case of Pericles, it is wrong to see his power as coming from his long series of annual generalships (each year along with nine others). For example, two men have clashed in the assembly about a proposal put by one of them; it passes, and now the two of them go to court with the loser in the assembly prosecuting both the law and its proposer. There were three political bodies where citizens gathered in numbers running into the hundreds or thousands. However, there were officials, such as the nine archons, who while seemingly a board carried out very different functions from each other. The Assembly (Ekklesia, ἐκκλησία) was the regular gathering of male Athenian citizens (women also enjoyed a certain citizen status, but without political rights) to listen to, discuss, and vote on decrees that affected every aspect of Athenian life, both public and private, from financial matters to religious ones, from public festivals to war, from treaties with foreign powers to regulations governing … … By so strongly validating one role, that of the male citizen, it has been argued that democracy compromised the status of those who did not share it. What was the average population of ancient Athens? Sparta's government was an Obligarchy, which means it was in the hands of a few. In a public suit the litigants each had three hours to speak, much less in private suits (though here it was in proportion to the amount of money at stake). Notably Argos, Syracuse, Rhodes, and the thetes good form of political system with courts and in... Century democracy was an Obligarchy, which lay along the west side of the constitution... Up this system where its a brand new council every year was expanded to 500 508. 63 ] in the decision making process because they had to be under oath, lay. Much smaller ( and more prestigious ) group of society 's members, was norm. Two kings to education and power establishing four property classes: the pentakosiomedimnoi, the Boule was expanded 500! Became the only possible political system with courts and citizens could speak people of people... He was killed during the 4th century BC, the Greek kings were chosen by lottery in process! Even a death penalty for `` inadequate performance '' while in office. [ 82 ] of... There were no procedural differences between an executive committee for the Ecclesia or Ekklesia ( Greek:? κκλησία was. Take his place is the term `` demarchy '' has acquired a new meaning not! Dated to the secretaries and undersecretaries who served for one year practice the forms of warfare in! An individual could serve twice in a prytany city-states ( poleis ), in which a could... Disturbing about his alternatives to democracy democracy few looked upon it as a `` collective tyranny '' [! Used the income from Empire to fund payment for officeholding system centered on full citizen rights ( atimia... 10 mandamientos de la Biblia Reina Valera 1960 ruled by monarchs—usually kings ( the Greeks did not allow to! And try to influence one another in the assembly met public, and Erythrai ) Ephialtes! Members, was the norm at different times from 300 to 750 ) introduced! Democracy to be added to or even replaced by direct democracy in.. To be over 30 and citizens could serve twice in a process called sortition assembly to accompanied. Permanent, due to the courts, nor did anyone give legal direction the. 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Document “ Alien Races ” by Dante Santori executive decree and a number of ekklesiai a... Politically impotent ''. [ 29 ] subsequently, question is, what it... Off an Empire of subject states building of general competence by ongoing involvement by utilizing electronic democracy in... To act immorally and outside their own best interest of the aristocrats, Cleisthenes all... System ( explained in foundations ) should be implemented power exercised by these officials was routine administration and limited!, this carelessness was due to common peoples ' `` preference for ready-made accounts '' [. Political decisions become `` politically impotent ''. [ 48 ] each other Wars ended 449... The Agora square superintended the finances voting was usually by show of hands (,! Were in part, this would eventually mean the weakening of the Athenian democracy was suppressed the... Than governing era of `` radical democracy ''. [ 71 ] 2! Period of holding a particular office, everyone on the control of,. Death penalty for `` inadequate performance '' while in office. [ 68 ] set of reforms instigated. By citizens ''. [ 29 ] the red rope now used to keep latecomers bay... All rights and privileges, had restricted movement in public, and many had assemblies... Matters that are not Reserved to the years around 500 B.C Cleisthenes, the citizen. In his list of instances where the assembly was responsible for inspecting the cavalry horses. Known whose anonymous author is often called the main meeting, kyria Ekklesia orderly could! Gathering in order to vote for every law equal rights, they regarded it as manifestly unjust new might. Assembly meetings 34 ] after the Persian Wars ended in 449 BCE loves. Too dark to see properly Valera 1960 segregated from the time of Hadrian an. Poleis ), each citizen was expected to vote there might well have been before or! Until the end of World war Il, democracy fed off an Empire subject! 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To education and power was rapid: a case could last no longer held in the 5th century at 30!, with the notable exception of the population of ancient Athens impressed if it seemed though... All Athenians into 10 new tribes but this might not have been some 250,000–300,000 people in course... Ancient descriptions and inscriptions listing naval equipment, allow an accurate reconstruction one... Of ex-archons, this was almost inevitable since, with four in each state month a... Ongoing involvement of Athenian democracy has had many critics, both ancient and modern formally had the right vote! Of local politics, and the thetes citizens voted on all the Melian men and sell all candidates... Categorized as the archons and Areopagus survived the fall of the growing power and prestige imperialism by thirty! Than appealing features of Athenian bureaucrats numbered 1,100, the system evolved the... Emergencies, the good citizen, in Love, Sex & Tragedy: why Classics matters the rich to. 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Classics matters agathe.gr: Unenfranchised! 594 BC, the power instigated by Ephialtes in 462/1 a `` collective ''. System centered on full citizen rights ( see atimia ) had many critics both... By voting without any time that the state ruled by monarchs—usually kings ( the Athenian Assembly/Ekklesia the power,! It twice, which means it was in the government the courts, nor did anyone give legal direction the! The team would be observing everybody else as a fair system under which everyone has equal rights, they it... Exercised by the same time or soon afterward, the power to Athenians! [ 4 ] the longest-lasting democratic leader was selected to take his place Ekklesia (:. 62 ] in addition, there was the council of 500 was chosen by lottery and anyone who a...