Topic 1: Athenian Political and Social Culture Flashcards
Structure of Athenian society - Metics
- XENOPHON - POROI - \\n\on-Athenian geeks living in the city of Athens. They had to have an Athenian sponser and pay a monthly tax.
- XENOPHON - Expected to fight for thei country but could not own land so had commecial jobs which were impotant for trade.
- They had no ploitcal but some legal rights.
- OLD OLIGARCH - CONSTITUTION OF ATHENS - They shouldnt be rich but it is reasonable to give them freedom of speech.
Slaves
- There arent sny accountd left by slaves so its had to gain a detailed undestanding on slavery.
- The life of the slave depended on the treatment from their masters.
- They had no political and very limited legal rights - they could take sactuary in a temple if they thought they were being treated badly and th state could force their masters to sell them.
- They worked on farms and mines, or as domestic slaves, earining wages fo their masters - the Athenian system relied on slaves.
- THUCYDIDES - women and children are slaves too, he seems sympatheitc.
- OLD OLIGARCH - Thinks that slaves and metics dress like ordinary people, so they are treated too well.
Women
- We dont have any accounts of women either.
- Their primary role was to produce legitimate children to pass property to.
- Respectable Athenian women had to stay in the house snd cover their faces when they left as adultery wa a more seious offence than rape.
- Women had to perform all domestic dutied so the men could go voteand socialise so they were basically slaves.
- Athenian drama and comedy often had strong female characters. ARISTOPHANES THESMAPHORIAZUSAE taks about issues that women faced.
- Women had no political rigths and couldnt represent themsekves in court.
- Metic women would have more education and freedom.
Citizens
- A man over 18 with a citizen father was an Athenian citizen, until Pericles’ reforms in 451 when both parents hadto be Athenian.
- They could vote, socislise in the agora and symposiums.
- Symposiums were parties held in prrivate in which one would eat, drink, sing, and discuss varius topics. Music would be played and it was only for the wqealthiest people.
- In return for rights you would have to perfom your duties, such as fighting for thei polis (city-state).
- They could also sit on thw jury after reaching a cetain age.
- Citizens would belong to a tribe of whoch thee were ten, and also a village called a deme.
Historical development of the Democratic system in Athens -
Oligarchs ,Solon ,Tyrants.
- Leading families ruled selfishlyaand ordinsry people were unhappy.
- Mostly aristcratic families.
- Solon reformed Athenian political system to encouage social mobility.
- He abolished debt slavery and erased the Horos.
- Changed qualifications for political power to wealth to undermine aristocratic power.
- Hippias driven out so temporary sole rule was made.
- Many nobles didnt want to lose their power so fluctuated between tyrants and oligachs.
Cleisthenes, Ephialtes and Pericles.
Aristoltle - Athenian constitution.
- Offered popular reforms that would give people more power and victory against the Persians strengthened this.
- He created the first government ofthe people, for the poeple and by the people.
- He divided Attica into tribes to break up traditional family ties whoch created a sense of unity.
- Ephiates emoved pwoer from Areopagus, who were forrme Archons that selected new Archons.
- Akll power from the Areopagus was given to public officials, like the boule, which is the council of 500.
- Pericles in the 450’s raised the status of Athenian citizens.
- And introduced payment for the jurymen.
How Athenian democracy worked
- Assembly (eccelsia)m met on Pnyx hill, needed minimum 6000 citizens to vote (quorum).
- The assembly met 4 times each prytany, so each 35/36 days when prytanies werre on call at the Tholos.
- The assembly reached decision by reading the agenda out and then voting accordingly.
- The boule (500) supported the government and advised the assembly. They wee chosen by lot annually by tribes, 50 each.
- The prytanies would prepare the agenda for the assembly and the new tibe to be the prrytany was chosen by lot.
- A well as 500 councillos there are 7000 magistrates (archons) who serve for one year, and are held accountable throuhg scrutiny (Dokimasia) the year before and after they serve.
- The epistates was the president of the council and chairman of the assembly.
The Athenian legal system and workings of the law courts.
- Accusrs ans defenders had a strict time measure to deliver thwir speeches and could pay someone to write it for them.
- Thee was no proffesional judge, the juro would decide and then the accuser and accused would present punishments.
- They could bring two type on cases to court: Dike - alawsuit from one citizen to the other, and Graphe - a public lawsuit, against magistrates and whatnot.
- The OLD OLIGARCH was critical of the legal system as it took a year to settle disputes since they had so many festivals. But he does admit that it is harder tobribe them as the power is ditributed fairly.
- ARRISTOPHANES’ WASPS portrays the juy as being dominated by conservative old men who had nothing better to do.
- It about a dog alled Labes tried for stealing cheese.
- It shows that they were often biased and less about justice, more about serving their own interests.
Athens’ treatment of its empire -
The Mytilene debate
Thucydides
• During the outbreak of plague Mytilene revolted, said to be encouraged by a Spartan fleet.
• Mytilene was a ship contributimg ally, as well as men. They were somewhat indeoendant but there was tension in terms of the role played in the alliance.
•THUCYDIDES is unlikely to have copied down the speceches given in the Mytilene debate as he doesnt give speeches from thr first debate so might have amalgamated multiole speeches.
•Athenians began to change their minds after the first debate because it qas made out of anger, lots of people were in Athens that werent nirmally there, and a few influencial people voiced their issues.
•Cleon gave 4 points in his speech: That tyranny is maintained theough strength and not compassion, cities are better seved by bad laws as long as they stick to them, dont waste time thinking just follow forst instinct, and not to lsiten tonintellectuals, rather a man of the ppl who may not know much but has common sense.
•Athens justified their first debate by saying that the law of nature is that the strong do what they well, and the weak suffer what they must.
•Diodotus argues against this, saying that making decisions oht of anger and not rationality is bad, and by being too cruel it would trigger further revolts.
•As a result, a second boat was sent after the first, they interrupted the geberal reading out the instructions just in time to save them.
Athenian leadership
•Pericles died of the plague in 429BC.
•Nicias lost a naval battle suring the Sicilian expidition so was executed for fleeing with Demosthenese.
•Peave of Nicias with Pleistoanax.
•Cleon
•Alcibiades was tried for sacrilige so ran to Persia and worked against them before coming back and the beung exiled again.
•People balmed the failure of the Sicilian expidition on Nicias and on Athens for exilimg their best general Alcibiades.
Old oligarch - The constitution of Athens
• slaves dressed and looked like citizens.
•metics should have freedom of speech as they row the rriremes for Athens.
•slaves were treated too well because they coukdnt be hit
Aristotle - The Athenian constitution
•700 magistrates as well as 500 council (boule)
