Questions and Answers
What was the primary objective of Cleisthenes' reforms in ancient Athens?
To create a mixed polity of citizens for securing the unity of the state without the need of a tyrant.
What was the role of the prytaneis in ancient Athens?
Summoned the Ecclesia (assembly), received envoys and letters addressed to the state, and conducted other day-to-day business.
What was the primary purpose of the law of ostracism in ancient Athens?
To remove tyrants and their followers.
How many votes were required for an ostracism to take place in ancient Athens?
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What was the duration of exile for a person ostracized in ancient Athens?
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What was the role of the Boule (citizen's council) in ancient Athenian democracy?
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What was the procedure of voting used in the law of ostracism in ancient Athens?
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What was the consequence for a person who was ostracized in ancient Athens?
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Why was ostracism introduced in ancient Athens, according to Aristotle?
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What was the frequency of the vote on ostracism in ancient Athens?
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Study Notes
Cleisthenes' Reforms
- Cleisthenes introduced changes related to the new social classes and the growth of the hoplite army, reflecting a higher standard of living.
- His reforms, known as isonomia, established equality of rights among all citizens, but not yet rule by the people.
The Athenian Citizens' Council (Boule)
- The council acted as a probuleutic and advisory body, bound by the final decisions of the ecclesia.
- It was composed of 500 members, with 50 representatives from each tribe (10 tribes), serving for one-tenth of the year.
- Each prytany (group of ‘presidents’, executives of the Boule) had a chairman (epistates) who served for 24 hours, ensuring a general and continuous turnover.
Electing the Strategi
- First time that army leaders, the strategi, were elected (10 of them).
The Law of Ostracism
- Cleisthenes introduced the law of ostracism, a measure against powerful individuals and possible tyrants.
- The procedure involved a secret ballot, with a simple majority deciding, and a quorum of 6,000 votes needed.
- Ostracism aimed to prevent internal strife and remove individuals who threatened the peace of the community.
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Description
Cleisthenes was not, like Solon, a man to whom extraordinary power was granted. Having been first archon in 525, he could not aim at that office again. Everything he wanted to carry out had to be confirmed by the assembly, so that his reforms were at the same time the first example of democratic methods. He was opposed by the relatives and supporters of the Peisistratids, and above all by the majority of the aristocracy. But if he certainly tried to gain and to maintain power for himself and the Alcmaeonids, that was not his only, probably not even his chief, aim. Power was to him a means of creating the constitutional framework for a society on the verge of becoming democratic, and of securing the unity of the state without a tyrant. Naturally he tried to find support among the non-nobles, by outlining plans which would give them a decisive say in the state. He soon restored law and order, and then embarked on the creation of a new social order and a new form of government.
