Cleisthenes of Athens

Athenian statesman

• Born: c. 570 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Unknown
• Died: After 507 b.c.e.
• Place of death: Unknown

The famous lawgiver and reformer Cleisthenes was the real architect of Athenian democracy. His statesmanship created radical innovations in the constitution: the representative principle and the idea of political equality.

Early Life

Cleisthenes (KLIZ-thah-neez) was a son of the Athenian Megacles, a member of the illustrious Alcmaeonid family, and a non-Athenian, Agariste, daughter of Cleisthenes of Sicyon. Little is known of his personal life. The Alcmaeonidae had been in exile during the tyranny of Pisistratus but regained favor by their generosity in the rebuilding of the temples, and the oracle of Delphi pressed on the Spartan king, Cleomenes I, for their reinstatement. Hippias, the tyrant leader of Athens, was overthrown by the Spartans in 510 b.c.e., leaving Athens at the mercy of the powerful families.

Cleisthenes returned to Athens and realized that he would not be accepted as a leader of another oligarchy, nor would the people tolerate another tyranny. Cleisthenes did not covet personal power but wanted to benefit the city. Although the way seemed open for Athenian self-government, the problem of competing families or clans would have to be overcome. His initial attempt at reform met with aristocratic resistance. Cleisthenes had to retreat but returned after the opposing Cleomenes IIII6IIII and Isagoras were forced out by the demos, that is, the people.

Life’s Work

Unlike Solon and Pisistratus, Cleisthenes did not work within the existing system but introduced a completely new scheme that he thought out in detail. He did not abolish or destroy existing institutions; instead, he insisted that the government function within the new plan. He systematically introduced into the constitution a well-coordinated and harmonic operation of government founded on political equality of all the citizens and the representation and participation of all.

The age-old division of Attica into four tribes, each with three brotherhoods and ninety clans, based on blood, led to many conflicts of loyalties. Cleisthenes’ objective was to direct Athenian loyalty to the community. A long period of time would seem necessary for this transfer of loyalty, but Cleisthenes brought the transfer very quickly. He developed an artificial plan for public loyalty.

Cleisthenes’ basic plan abolished the four ancient tribes and created ten new ones in their place. He also persuaded the god Apollo to tell him after what legendary heroes he was to name them. The new tribes represented national, not local, interests and unity. The marketplace of Athens had a statue of each tribal hero. Each tribe also had its own shrine and its own hero cult but was not controlled by a particular family or local group.

Cleisthenes was able to destroy the old territorial loyalties of the Coast, the Plain, and the Hill. Before Cleisthenes’ reform, the adult citizen population was 10,800. After the changes introduced by Cleisthenes, fifth century Athens numbered between 20,000 and 30,000 citizens.

To take the place of the old ship districts, Cleisthenes created a new unit of local government called the deme, or village. More than one hundred such villages were established, divided into ten groups to correspond with the ten tribes. Membership in the deme was made hereditary, and a family maintained its name wherever it moved. Blood ties were weakened, because one was now recognized as “Cleisthenes of Athens,” for example, rather than as “son of Megacles.” This artificial arrangement separated and weakened the authority of strong families and encouraged the enrollment of new citizens. The old, established aristocracy, with its agricultural concerns, would gradually have to share its influence with the seafaring commercial population of the coast.

Each of the ten tribes was made up of three trittyes (thirds), and the trittyes of demes. The deme corresponded geographically to a district of the city and was the local administrative unit. Membership in the deme guaranteed citizenship. The trittyes were divided into three geographical groups—coastal, inland, and city—and each tribe contained one from each group. The city itself had six demes in five different tribes, and the other five tribes were in the suburbs and the coast.

The Athenians were mistrustful of entrenched representatives or experts; they preferred that the government be run by intelligent amateurs. According to Athenians, the person of ordinary intelligence was capable of political responsibility. Thus, the people were the supreme authority and gave in the assembly their vote to all acts. All business was discussed prior to the assembly in the Boule, or council, and passed on to the assembly for ratification. The council was composed of five hundred members elected annually, fifty from each tribe. Each deme, according to the number of citizens on its rolls, elected candidates for the council, and from these candidates, council members were elected by lot, fifty being selected from each tribe. The council was divided into ten committees, one of which was on duty for the tenth part of each year. This committee of fifty members, called a prytany, held office for a tenth of the year under a chairman who sat for one day and was chosen by lot. He was acting head of the government and had the keys to the Acropolis, the state seal, and the archives. He could not be reelected. Part of the prytany remained on duty day and night, eating and sleeping in the Tholos, a round building provided for this purpose. The council prepared matters for the assembly and was also responsible for fiscal policy, receiving an account from all civil officials leaving office.

Cleisthenes established ostracism in a systematic manner as a safeguard against conflict. The assembly voted once a year whether to have an ostracism. An affirmative vote meant that each member would write on a piece of pottery, ostrakon, the member he would like to see exiled. The person who received the most votes, six thousand or more, went into honorable exile for a period of ten years without loss of property. This measure may well have been a deterrent in neutralizing opposition; there is no record of its being used until 487 b.c.e., after Cleisthenes’ time.

Legislative powers were in the ecclesia, or assembly that discussed and passed laws. Judicial authority was with the heliaea, the court of popular representatives, elected by the tribes in the same manner as the council. Judicial functions were controlled by people’s juries, selected from an annual panel of six thousand citizens chosen by lot from the same units.

The magistrates, the nine archons, and the colacietae and strategoi were elected from among the wealthier citizens. The former were concerned with finance; the latter commanded ten companies of militia. This organization may have been reasonable, as the state did not pay citizens in discharging their public duties.

Each tribe supported a regiment of infantry and a squadron of cavalry who were commanded by elective officers, called taxiarchi and hipparchi. Each of the ten strategoi commanded the army in turn. The army was similar to a national militia. Cleisthenes, however, did not reform the navy.

Significance

The constitution of Cleisthenes of Athens was put into effect in 502 b.c.e. While it did not end the conflict between parties or the unequal distribution of wealth, it did mitigate many of the problems. The government was no longer something external or alien but identified with the life and goals of each citizen. At the time of Cleisthenes’ death, the demes were the real rulers of Athens, although they were led by the aristocracy. Cleisthenes created a strong and well-organized state and constitution. At the end of the Peloponnesian War there was a brief oligarchic reaction, but Cleisthenes’ reforms were restored in 403.

Cleisthenes is credited with the complete breakdown of the patriarchal idea of the state as a corporation. It was never restored in Athens. He established new tribes, enrolled aliens as new citizens, and contributed to the idea of free communication and interchange between different peoples. This idea, together with the principles of representation and of political equality, strengthened democracy.

Bibliography

Aristotle. The Athenian Constitution. Translated by P. J. Rhodes. New York: Penguin, 1984. Contains the great philosopher’s brief history and description of the Athenian state with a helpful commentary. This 208-page work is an essential source for the workings of Cleisthenes’ constitution. Aristotle provides a good introduction to study of Cleisthenes.

Davies, John Kenyon. Democracy and Classical Greece. 2d ed. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1993. This study was the clearest reexamination of the present state of knowledge about democratic ideas in Athens. It emphasizes archaeological evidence in social and political history.

Ehrenberg, Victor. From Solon to Socrates: Greek History and Civilization During the Sixth and Fifth Centuries B.C. New York: Methuen, 1973. An excellent illustrated political textbook on the central period of Greek history during the sixth and fifth centuries b.c.e. Contains good references to primary and secondary sources.

Forrest, William G. The Emergence of Greek Democracy, 800-400 B.C. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966. This work is a clear, lively interpretation of the reforms of Cleisthenes and provides a general account of his time. It is written in an interesting style and describes the social and political developments and the transition from aristocracy to democracy in Athens. The notes are especially good.

Highnett, Charles. A History of the Athenian Constitution to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1975. Scholarly treatment of the development of the Athenian constitution, discussing its successive phases of growth from the early monarchy and aristocracy to the decline of the Athenian Empire. An important and thought-provoking analysis of the beginnings of Athenian democracy.

Staveley, E. S. Greek and Roman Voting and Elections. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1972. This study illuminates many practices in the Athenian government and the spirit of public service over several centuries.

Zimmern, Alfred. The Greek Commonwealth: Politics and Economics in Fifth Century Athens. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1961. This classic work presents an interesting analysis of fifth century Athens but lacks an adequate bibliography. Important aspects of Cleisthenes’ career and the cultural background of this period are discussed.