Aristotle, The Creation of the Democracy in Athens
This treatise, an analysis of the workings of the Athenian system of government, was attributed to the philosopher Aristotle, but it was more likely the work of one of his students in the 4th century BCE. It is composed of a history of the development of democracy in the city, and then a detailed analysis of how the system functioned, in the writer's own day. The following excerpt describes the revolution against Athens' tyrants, and it explains the role of Cleisthenes in creating democratic government in the city (c. 509 BCE).Source: Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution, translated by P. J. Rhodes (New York: Penguin Books, 1984), 63-65.
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(1) When the tyranny had been overthrown, strife broke out between Isagoras son of Tisander, a friend of the tyrants, and Cleisthenes of the Alcmaeonid family. As Cleisthenes was getting the worse of the party struggle, he attached the people to his following ,by proposing to give political power to the masses. (2) Isagoras then fell behind in power, so he called back Cleomenes, with whom he had a tie of hospitality, and since it appeared that the Alcmaeonids were among those who were under a curse, persuaded Cleomenes to join him in driving out the accursed. (3) Cleisthenes withdrew; and Cleomenes came with a few men and solemnly expelled seven hundred Athenian households. After doing this he tried to dissolve the council and make Isagoras and three hundred of his friends masters of the city. However, the council resisted and the common people gathered in force; the supporters of Cleomenes and Isagoras fled to the Acropolis; the people settled down and besieged them for two days, but on the third made a truce to release Cleomenes and all the men with him, and recalled Cleisthenes and the other exiles. (4) Thus the people obtained control of affairs, and Cleisthenes became leader and champion of the people. The Alcmaeonids bore the greatest responsibility for the expulsion of the tyrants, and had persisted in opposition to them for most of the time. (5) Even earlier, Cedon of the Alcmaeonids had attacked the tyrants, and so he too was celebrated in drinking-songs: Pour to Cedon also, steward, and forget him not, If wine is to be poured to valiant men.
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(1) For these reasons the people placed their trust in Cleisthenes. Then, as champion of the masses, in the fourth year after the overthrow of the tyrants, the archonship of Isagoras [508/7], (2) he first distributed all the citizens through ten tribes instead of the old four, wanting to mix them up so that more men should have a share in the running of the state. This is the origin of the saying 'Don't judge by the tribes', addressed to those who want to inquire into a man's ancestry. (3) Next he made the council a body of five hundred instead of four hundred, fifty from each tribe (previously there had been a hundred from each old tribe). He refused to divide the Athenians into twelve tribes, to avoid allocating them according to the already existing thirds: the four tribes were divided into twelve thirds, and if he had used them he would not have succeeded in mixing up the people. (4) He divided the land of Attica by demes into thirty parts - ten parts in the city region, ten in the coast and ten in the inland - and he called these parts thirds, and allotted three to each tribe in such a way that each tribe should have a share in all the regions. He made the man living in each deme fellow-demesmen of one another, so that they should not use their fathers' names and make it obvious who were the new citizens but should be named after their demes: this is why the Athenians still call themselves after their demes. (5) He instituted demarchs, with the same responsibilities as the old naucrari; for he made the demes take the place of the naucrariae. He named some of the demes after their localities, and some after their founders (not all founders of the demes were known any longer). (6) He left the clans, brotherhoods and priesthoods each to retain their traditional privileges. He appointed ten eponymous heroes for the tribes, chosen by the Delphic priestess from a pre-selected list of a hundred founding heroes.
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(1) When this had been accomplished, the constitution was much more democratic than that of Solon. Many of Solon's laws had been consigned to oblivion by the tyranny, through not being used, and Cleisthenes enacted other new laws in his bid for popular support, among them the law about ostracism. (2) First, in the eighth year after this settlement [501/0], the archonship of Hermocreon, the Athenians imposed on the council of five hundred the oath which it still swears today. Then they appointed the generals by tribes, one from each tribe; but the leader of the whole army was the polemarch. (3) In the twelfth year after this, the archonship of Phaenippus [490/89], they won the battle of Marathon. They waited two years after their victory, and then [488/7], now that the people were confident, they used for the first time the law about ostracism: this had been enacted through suspicion of men in a powerful position, because Pisistratus from being popular leader and general had made himself tyrant. (4) The first man to be ostracized was one of his relatives, Hipparchus son of Charmus, of Collytus: it was because of him in particular that Cleisthenes had enacted the law, since he wanted to drive Hipparchus out. The Athenians, with the tolerance normally shown by the people, had allowed those friends of the tyrants who had not joined in their crimes during the disturbances to continue living in the city, and Hipparchus was the leader and champion of these. (5) Immediately afterwards, in the next year, the archonship of Telesinus [487/6], for the first time since the tyranny the nine archons were appointed by lot on a tribal basis, from a short list of five hundred elected by the members of the demes: all the archons before this were elected. Also Megacles son of Hippocrates, of Alopece, was ostracized. (6) The Athenians continued for three years to ostracize the friends of the tyrants, on account of whom the law had been enacted; but after that, in the fourth year [485/4], they took to removing anyone else who seemed too powerful: the first man unconnected with the tyranny to be ostracized was Xanthippus son of Ariphron. (7) In the third year after that, the archonship of Nicodemus [483/2], when the mines at Maronea were discovered and the city had a surplus of one hundred talents from the workings, some men proposed that the money should be distributed to the people, but Themistocles prevented this. He refused to say what he would do with the money, but urged the Athenians to lend the hundred richest citizens one talent each: if they were satisfied with the way in which the money was spent, it should be put down to the city's account, but if not, the money should be reclaimed from those to whom it had been lent. When he had obtained the money on these terms, he had a hundred triremes built, each of the hundred men taking the responsibility for one; and with these ships the battle of Salamis was fought against the barbarians. At this time Aristides son of Lysimachus was ostracized. (8) In the third year [481/0], the archonship of Hypsichides, all those who had been ostracized were recalled, on account of Xerxes' invasion: and for the future it was resolved that anyone who was ostracized should live within the limits of Geraestus and Scyllaeum, or else was to be absolutely outlawed.