Thursday, December 01, 2005

two encyclopaedia entries on athens/attica

DEMES [*dêmoi*], local communities or parishes in Attica, eventually numbering about 170. In the reforms of Cleisthenes, they replaced kinship groups as the basis of the democratic constitution in Athens. Cleisthenes arranged the demes into ten tribes [*phulai*], and each tribe into three thirds [*trittues*]. In each tribe one *tritus* comprised demes from the city region, another demes from the interior, and the third demes from the coast. In this way each tribe was made representative of the whole. Each deme had its own finances and its 'demarch' or deme leader, elected by its assembly [*agora*] whch dealt with local affairs. After Cleisthenes, membership of a deme was hereditary and did not change with change of residence. On reaching the age of 18 every male Athenian citizen was registered in his family deme.

CLEISTHENES [died after 507 BCE], the founder of Athenian democracy, grandson of Cleisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon. He was archon under the tyrant Hippias in perhaps 525 BCE. When Hippias was expelled by the Spartan king Cleomenes I in 510 and those exiled had returned, there was a movement in favor of oligarchy by the aristocracy in Athens, led by Isagoras and supported by Cloemenes. At this point Cleisthenes put himself forward as the champion of democracy, and overthrew the aristocrats. He then proceeded to pass far-reaching political reforms of a democratic nature. He brok up what remained of the old political organizations based on family groups, and substituted a new system based on topography. He divided the territory of Attica, including the city of Athens, into DEMES, local communities or parishes, possibly on the basis of existing demes. Cleisthenes then grouped all the demes into ten new tribes so as to ensure that no tribe had a continuous territory or represented a local interest; on the contrary, each contained groups of demes [*trittues*] from the city region, from the coast, and from the interior. By these means groups of people in various parts of Attica were brought together and required to act in common, and the old parties acting out of purely local interest were abolished. The organization of the army depended on the tribes, each of which contributed a regiment of hoplites and a squadron of cavalry. Cleisthenes subordinated the *boulê* and the Areopagus to the supreme authority of the *ekklêsia*, the 'assembly' of all the citizens, which met regularly and might deal with any important state matter.

[taken from M. C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature]