Athens in the time of
Pericles (the great Greek leader who rebuilt the city after the destruction of the Persian Wars and was in charge of Athens at the start of the Peloponnesian War) was a democracy where citizens -- free males born in Athens -- voted for a variety of officials. If you are taking the new Classical Civilizations exam in the UK, Athenian Officials, Archons, Strategoi, and the Council of 500, are topics in section 10.3 The Athenian Constitution in the Time of Pericles, according to the
Assessments and Qualifications Alliance (AQA).
Archon
The
archons were chief magistrates not just in Athens, but in many of the Greek city-states. In Athens, the eponymous
archon gave his name to the year and calendars were dated by his archonship. An
archon may have been in charge of both the Athenian
boule (council) and the
ekklesia (assembly). The number of
archons varied. One of the
archons was in charge of war. He was called the
polemarch combining the Greek for war and
archon. Before entering office, which came to be awarded by lot and only for a limited time, the
archons were subjected to fitness tests, including birth qualifications.
Strategos
Eventually supplanting the
polemarch as military leader of Athens, the
strategos was an elected military leader or general. Originally there was one
strategos in charge of each of the 10 tribes of
Cleisthenes' division of Attica. The
strategoi (pl. of
strategos) exerted influence in foreign affairs as well and may have been able to call up the
ekklesia (assembly). Unlike the
archons, the
strategoi could be elected indefinitely.
Boule - Council
The
boule or council was the deliberative body in ancient Athens and the other city-states of Greece. Solon is said to have created a council of 400 to help the
ekklesia (assembly) in 594. In 508 Cleisthenes increased membership to 500. The
boule was elected by lot each year with each of the 10 tribes contributing 50 councilors. The
boule's primary task was to create the agenda for the
ekklesia.
Ekklesia
The
ekklesia (
ecclesia) was the assembly. In Athens, the the
ekklesia had the power to try
archons after their year in office. Since the
ekklesia probably selected the
archons, and since, in time, it became common practice to make legal appeals to the
ekklesia, the
ekklesia (i.e., the people) had the supreme power.
