Reforms clisthene
reforms of Clisthène With the Life front century J. - C., the Athenian aristocrat Clisthène undertook important political reforms in Attique. The purpose of they were to transform the political system in order to prevent the return of tyranny. However, these reforms did not lead immediately to the democracy. Indeed, the reforms of Clisthène allowed the establishment of the Isonomie, i.e. the equality in front of the law, which was the first step towards the democracy. The reforms related primarily to a new division of the Attic in new tribes as well as the establishment of new measurements always with an aim of preventing the return of tyranny. New functions, in particular that of strategist, came into effect and marked the political institutions of Greece deeply. This revision of the political system touched the Attic whole and transformed the mode of participation in the public affairs. Why the Athenians and the population of the Attic fear did as much the return of tyranny? Into what the reforms did transform the institutions into place? Which was the impact of these reforms on the life of the people? We will try to answer these questions in the pages to come.
Tyranny
The reforms of Clisthène were applied after the failure of tyranny in Athens. Tyranny, with the opposition of the legislation, was founded on only one person who was based on the force to remain with the capacity. For the Greeks, tyranny, term borrowed from the Lydian barbarians, were a form of monarchy. The term `' monarchy'' must be seized within the meaning of government of only one. Traditionally, the Greek royalty was aristocratic and the bond between the king and the people took the form of a contract. For its part, tyranny was arbitrary and was absolutist. Generally, the tyrant reversed the oligarchical government in place. In certain moments, in various Greek cities, it directly replaced the king. In Athens, tyranny was regarded as an alternative with the crisis generated by the legislators in place. Everywhere in Greece, the old authors realized that the families of tyrants never remained several generations with the capacity. They came from there to the conclusion which the principal failure of tyranny was its incapacity to remain with the capacity and thus creating dynasties.The mode of the tyrants was in opposition with the aristocracy. However, this assertion should be moderated. At the time of their coups d'etat, the tyrants were often based on a family of aristocrats. In spite of these rare moments of alliance between the tyrants and the aristocrats, the tyrannical policy remained hostile with richest. The means generally used against the aristocrats was the proscription. However, the banishment of a person did not involve the banishment of its family. Thus, even if Alcméonide Mégaclès were constrained to be exiled, Clisthène, a member of the same clan, was archonte a few years later.
The policy of the tyrants related especially to great work. This work was interpreted like a means to divert the attention of the citizens of the political life. Several of them undertook a wave of work, especially to counter the effects of the agrarian crisis and to provide an activity to people who did not have any more ground.
The first tyrant of Athens was Pisistrate, come to power thanks to his trick. Before its come to power, the political system of Athens was divided into three `' parties''; Pédiens which formed oligarchy, Paraliens which represented the new rich person and finally Diacriens which represented the poor farming community. Even if he were an aristocrat, Pisistrate became the chief of Diacriens. After some vexations, it had to be exiled in Thrace where, thanks to the mines, it grows rich. With its fortune, it engaged of the mercenaries and took possession of Athens. He undertook, like the majority of the other tyrants of his time, of great public works. However, the policy of Pisistrate did not offer anything again. It was satisfied to stabilize the situation of the peasants in the campaigns and it made advances on the seeds to solve the problem of lack of food. Moreover, under the tyranny of Pisistrate, Athens knew a phase of expansion more close to colonization that simple territorial expansion. The tyrant encouraged the personal companies to found new cities. Moreover, he encouraged the religion thanks to a very active religious policy. The worships of Thésée and especially that of Athéna knew a recrudescence during this period.
Reforms
In 510, Hippias, one of wire of Pisistrate, were driven out capacity by a formed coalition aristocrats. Among them Clisthène, a family member of Alcméonide was. After an interlude where a return to oligarchy was considered, two groups delivered a fight for the capacity. On a side was Isagoras, an aristocrat reactionary supported by Sparte, and other side, Clisthène which was rather progressist. With this fight of factions, popular sovereignty started to progress. Indeed, under tyranny, the people could not express themselves since the equality and the participation were unimaginable. Since the departure of the tyrants, the population started to be made hear more. Thanks to a popular rising, Clisthène could found its reforms. The principal idea of its reforms was to found a greater isonomy between the citizens i.e. to create a more levelling mode. So that the system is more equal, it had to restrict the capacity of the aristocrats, in particular with the Learned assembly. This institution was used as court and its members were all old archontes. It was thus a highly aristocratic place. Solon, a legislator of the Life century, had tried to restrict the capacity of the Learned assembly by founding the council of the four hundreds, but in any moment this group was not able to counterbalance the capacities of the Learned assembly.
The first important reform was the new division of the Attic. Traditionally, the territory of the Attic was divided into four tribes. The main issue of this division is that it reinforced the political power of the citizens of the city and the regional factions dominated by aristocrats who controlled the remainder of the territory. Clisthene divided the Attic into more than one hundred dèmes, approximately hundred thirty-nine, of unequal population. A dème could represent a district, a city or a village. These small territories became the basic unit of the reforms. The male citizens of more than 18 years were there to be made accept at the time of a vote by the fellow-citizens of the dème, the démotes. At the time of Aristote, the men were registered on a register and were to make two years a military service. Thus, each citizen had an identical civic state and was named by the name of sound dème and that of his father. That represents the beginning of the equality between the citizens. Thereafter, the assembly of the démotes named the magistrates who went managed the dème.
After division in dème, Clisthène distributes them in three various areas. There were the dèmes area of the coast (paralia), those of the interior (mésogeios) and those of the city (asty). Each area was divided again thereafter in ten parts, the trittyes. Thus, the territory of the Attic was divided into thirty trittyes. To form new tribes, Clisthène gathered three together trittyes; one of each area. Thus the ten tribes were formed. Each tribe bore the name of a local hero; Erechtheis, Oineis, Aigeis etc In spite of geographical division, each tribe had a specific role. It was the place of recruitment of the majority of the magistrates of Athens, the judges, the army, etc
In order to leave the crisis without having recourse to tyranny, the population needed to become aware of its capacity and the rights which it had. With this intention, Clisthène created the council of the five hundreds also called the Ball. This new council replaced the council of the four hundreds of Solon which did not manage to affirm its rights. The decision to create such a council is made into 508/507 but was not applied immediately. To become member of the Ball, the candidates were to be at least thirty years old and could come from the countryside, of the city or the coast. Since the number of members was very high, the bouleutes never sat all at the same time. There was thus never plenary council. The council consisted of fifty members of the same tribe. Thus, since there were ten tribes, the political year was divided into ten periods. These periods were named prytanies and lasted the thirty-six one at thirty-seven days. Each year, the order of the prytanies was drawn with the fate. For this period, the prytanes had many functions. They were to prepare the meetings of the bouleutes, to prepare the meetings of the assembly i.e. to prepare the subjected projects the popular assembly (ecclésia), to make the management of the go concern like helping and supervising the magistrates. They were the relay between the communities and the capacity. All in all, they had the role of central administration.
The ecclésia, is the assembly of the people, existed already under Solon. On the other hand, at the time of the reforms, Clisthène gave him more importance because it shared the supreme capacity with the Ball. The main role of the ecclésia was the organization of the city. She voted the laws as well as the decrees and she could elect certain magistrates, strategists and treasurers. Thus, it held the judicial, legislative powers like financial. It is also at the time of the meetings of the ecclésia that ostracism was voted. This measurement will be approached and explained during the next pages. The ecclésia was made up of the men of more than eighteen years and it met approximately forty times per annum, that is to say three to four times by prytanie. At the time of a meeting, all the citizens had the right to speak and to propose amendments, on the other hand, they are mainly the large speakers who addressed to the assembly. To make it possible to the poorest citizens to take part in the assembly, a system of compensation was set up.
However, the ecclésia always lived Athens and the citizens remaining in the mountainous regions could put up to eight hours to go to the city. Thus, for the people who were to work, to go to the assembly an enormous waste of time and of money represented. Therefore, only people of Athens and the surroundings took part. By a simple calculation, it becomes clear that the political power was in the hands of a minority. Indeed, at the time of an assembly, four thousand people presented themselves. However, the whole of the citizens was of forty thousand. Thus, only 10% of the citizens took part. At the time of the vote, each citizen represented a voice. The way of voting was generally done by a show of hands, sometimes by acclamation and seldom by secret bulletin, except at the time of the vote for ostracism.
The reforms of Clisthène were elaborate into 508/507, on the other hand of other measurements entered in action a few years later. In other, the function of a strategist per tribe was established. The role first of the strategists was to defend the city, they thus had an immense military capacity. Elected ten, that is to say one by tribe, they were chosen by the population of their respective tribes. Since they were elected, they could make an electoral campaign very well, which showed their various plays of influence. Also, this magistrature was not offered to all the population. To be strategist, the man was to belong to the first class censitaire, while to be archonte, the members of the second class were also accepted. The four classes censitaires had been worked out by Solon and Clisthène preserved them. Contrary to the other magistratures, the strategists were to give an account of their competences during an examination of aptitude, the dokimasia. They were to also explain their acts with the ecclésia. Obviously, being members of the first class censitaire, the strategists came from the richest classes, but it is not because they were rich that they could do what they wanted. In the event of errors of their shares, they could be made withdraw their fortunes. Finally, even if their mandate were one year, they could be re-elected with life, thus, the rich person had control quasi eternal of the army. In addition to their military role, the strategists held also a role in the policy of the Attic. They could convene the popular assembly for extraordinary meetings and could also take part in the meetings of the Ball. To the Peloponnesian War, the ten strategists have similar capacities. Then, the command of the army was entrusted to only one person, mainly for practical reasons.
Another reform applied after 508-507 attracted with ostracism. According to Aristote, this measurement was applied by Clisthène into 510, but was used only into 487-485. The principle of ostracism was very simple. At the time of the sixth prytanie, the assembly decided if somebody were threatening, i.e., if somebody were considered dangereous because of the public opinion. If the assembly estimated that a citizen represented a danger, at the time of the seventh prytanie, she voted. The vote was held on the agora, the members of the assembly registered on shards of pottery, ostrakon in Greek, the name of the person whom they wanted to see banished of the political activity. So that the vote is valid, a minimum of 6.000 votes was necessary. If a person is ostracized, it was to leave the city in the ten days following the vote, and this, for one ten years period. However, ostracism did not involve a judgment or of judgment and the person could also be recalled by the members of the assembly. Also, the family of exiled was not touched by ostracism. Among the citizens having been ostracized, one counts Aristide, Thémistocle and Cimon.
In 487, for the first time, the archontes were drawn with the fate among the citizens from first class, the pentacosiomédimnes. Pulling had been instituted at the time of the reforms of Solon, but since tyranny, the archontes were elected. However, in what milked with the functions of the archontes, Clisthène left them intact. Thus, the number of archontes remained with new is a archonte éponyme, a polémarque archonte, a archonte king, six archontes thesmothètes as well as a secretary.
Conclusion
With its reforms, Clisthène transformed the mode of participation in the policy as well as the accession with the loads. Although imperfect, inter alia in what milked with the poorest citizens who had more difficulties in take part, the reforms imposed themselves during years. Certain reforms took more importance than others. After some time, the strategists concentrated many capacities between their hands. Most known of all is undoubtedly Périclès, which was strategist during fifteen years. The original intention of the reforms of Clisthène was to prevent that a person can monopolize all the capacities. One can thus, in the long run, perceive certain faults in the reforms. However, at the time of their establishments, the reforms brought a peace relating to Athens and the Attic. But from great upheavals were going to come to shake the new structure; medic wars.
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