CLASSICS 2LW3 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Olive Oil, Heliaia, Phyle
28 Jun 2018
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Overview of Athens
Located in the Attic peninsula, natural harbours, clay for pottery making, and good mineral resources benefited
the city of Athens, though poor farmland compared to fertile Sparta led to differences in the city's growth.
Athens was more modern, cosmopolitan, and proto-capitalist; it was a centre for commerce, and its laws
reflected the importance of individual rights and communal safety.
A great deal of archaeology and inscriptions survive to this day, and literary sources ranging from Solon,
Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Aristotle provide a wide range of information about the ancient city.
Athens remains inhabited to this day.
One of the archons was appointed the Polemarch, the leader of the military
▪
Another was the Eponymous Archon, who give his name to the year where he held office
and presided over the council and assembly
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Another was the Archon Basileus, who presided over religious rites and homicide trials
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The rest of the archons were judicial officers
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9 elected magistrates Archons were derived from the eupatridae
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It was an open air court, due to the belief that miasma, a ritual pollution attached itself to
religious taint, so that the miasma could dissipate
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Served as a court for deliberate homicide and religious crimes
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The Council of the Areopagus was composed of former archons/elder aristocrats and the
Areopagus is the most ancient standing court
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The Eupatridae, "offspring of good fathers" were the ancient nobility in Attica
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Early Aristocratic Government of Athens
700 BC -Stasis, a form of civil unrest between the aristocrats led to various civil wars and the
establishment of tyrannies in several cities, most notable that of Peisistratos in Athens
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The first reliably dated event in Athenian history was marked by Cylon's attempt to seize power in
the city and begin tyranny
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The Athenian archons, led by Megacles opposed the coup, and though Cylon escaped, his
followers hid in Athena's temple until being persuaded to leave and stand trial
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They were instead killed; Megacles and his kin the Alcmaeonidae were exiled and cursed with
miasma
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632 BC - Conspiracy of Cylon
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Wives, children, and the poor were slaves to the rich, and liable to seizure
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Metechein tes poleos meant "to share in the polis" and a polites was an "agent with access to public
things"
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Made serious crimes a public rather than private affair in response to the Tyranny of Cylon, and
offered severe penalties (same penalty for theft of a vegetable and murder)
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Literary tradition claimed that the laws mitigated tensions between land owners and farmer
tenants
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Enacted set of substantive laws with penalties for specific crimes
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409 BC - Law concerning homicide was inscribed and attested in the courts - speeches reveal that
the penalty was death
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Mandated that the murder of a murderer would result in the same penalty as murder of any other
Athenian, ensuring that personal vendettas were set aside so that the crime could be tried in
public
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620 BC - Draco, one of the legendary law-givers of Athens codified his Draconian Laws
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Chosen for his impartiality and moderation, a "mighty shield against both sides"
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Boundary stones horoi at the edge of the agora violated the principle of communal land
ownership
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He aimed to settle civil unrest between the rich few, and the many poor who were unable
to pay debts - he was a moderate, not a populist
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Increasing economic disparity, sharecroppers hektemoroi, and debt slavery were symptomatic of
justice issues in the archaic period
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Reforms inscribed on revolving wooden boards axones and kubries in the agora and included:
594 BE - Solon was appointed sole archon and known as the umpire aisynmetes or mediator diallaktes,
leading to legal, political, and economic reforms
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Early Historical Events at Athens
Draco and Solon
October 24, 2017
5:09 PM
Ancient Law Page 1
Document Summary
Located in the attic peninsula, natural harbours, clay for pottery making, and good mineral resources benefited the city of athens, though poor farmland compared to fertile sparta led to differences in the city"s growth. Athens was more modern, cosmopolitan, and proto-capitalist; it was a centre for commerce, and its laws reflected the importance of individual rights and communal safety. A great deal of archaeology and inscriptions survive to this day, and literary sources ranging from solon, Herodotus, thucydides, xenophon, and aristotle provide a wide range of information about the ancient city. The eupatridae, "offspring of good fathers" were the ancient nobility in attica. 9 elected magistrates archons were derived from the eupatridae. One of the archons was appointed the polemarch, the leader of the military. Another was the eponymous archon, who give his name to the year where he held office and presided over the council and assembly.
