Archaeology Of Athenian Democracy

Question 1

What were the 3 governmental structures and powers?

Answer 1

Boule - executive
Assembly - legislative
Law courts - judicial

Question 2

The ekklesia

Answer 2

Males over 20, minimum of 2000 people, 40 meetings in a year

Question 3

Law courts

Answer 3

• all property classes apply
• any citizen could appeal
• 201-2500 jurors
• people pay speech writers

Question 4

Dikastas/jurors

Answer 4

• 6000 citizens over 30
• chosen by lot
• 60 from each tribe
• jury was 200-1000+

Question 5

Name the key places in the Agora

Answer 5

-Peisistratus’ palace - evidence of food being cooked there, it was a larger house than most
500, royal stoa, seat of power for the archon and a place of administration
-stone where magistrates swore oaths
-Bouleuterion, 6th century

Question 6

What is the Attican division?

Answer 6

Cleisthenes divided Attica into 3 regions and created 10 tribes with people from each region - the eponymous heroes statues is where the notifications for these tribes would be

Question 7

Where are the most important areas that represent Athenian democracy?

Answer 7

• Agora
• Tholos - Prytaneia sat here and ensured administration was smooth - each tribe had 50 people run it for a 10th of a year
• Pnyx and Bema - assembly and speaking platform; the assembly was divided into individual trittys

Question 8

What are the main features within the law courts?

Answer 8

• ostracism happened every 10 years using ostracon
• klepsydra - water clock
• kleoterian - jurors put Pinsky in and the drop of a ball decided who is on the jury
• voting disks - hollow=not guilty

Question 9

Academic arguments

Answer 9

Camp

• no evidence of physical law court structure
• psephos demosia - public ballots
• state prison near the agora