20 wrrooucrion according to their own notions and established er thar we lack contemporary writing of the supplement if not to bal Anstotle sophieal works. Thi re impressed by the ancient political theory of counts offered by Plato theorists still eemained m ey ‘will help to provide a dalogues and Aristotle's ethical and pol all, to their contemporaries that these philosophers addressed their works in the fi the Academy Lyceum. here Aristo ince, Plato establishing a school studied before he later came to set up Janet Coleman (2000). A thstey op Polahec Sk Thought , Rom Ancients Greece Iv arty Ciwistanily — pp: A\- 4A sell 1 Ancient Athenian Democracy Two Hundred Years of Greek Democracy “The Greeks were not Greek. They called themselves Hellenes by the seventh century uc t Achaeans or Argives or Dana, In the fifth century uC the historian Irprobably nor of purely Hellenic origins anda subject ofthe Persian ine what it meant to be self consciously Greek (10 Ha in which popular ule was adopted to replace tyatnies, If démokatia sn invention it was uid to be of Greek origin, although we have noted me have argued for even earlier tribal democracies. Democracy was even more consciously elaborated and introduced into Athens by Kleisthenes in 508/7 aca developed through numerous ref te period of Demosthens speeches in 355-322 ac and Aristotle's description of democracy in general and Athe~ nian democracy in paticular ¢ 330 ne Etymologicilly dmokravia means power or rule (kraoi) by the people (dios). Some scholars have made much of the fict that che evolution of democratic insicuions and ideals most notably occurred during a period of nearly two hundred years in which ‘Athens engaged in wate: restance to two Persian invasions of Greece (490, 480) ‘with Athens (and alles victorious; the Peloponnesian war against a coalition headed by Sparc (431-404) with Athens defeated and her empire dissolved: wars agains P Macedon ending with the Batde of Khaeronea (338)? The demecratic polis has been as one successful arrangement for collective action ena, 2 Hero, Te ion,2 _ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY ns after Philip of Macedon's about ewo hundred years. Te al ler the Great, had died. This means it asted slko means that ancient democracy was brought to an end not throu bar by extemal incervention.* Between «30 RC and ¢. aD 1800 democracies were only momentary realities: some have suggested twelfth to thirteenth-ct Swiss cantons from dhe thir teenth century, possibly Florence duting brief periods in the mid-thireenth and later fourteenth centuries, A ‘radical republic’ the more accu constitution." Us century the Western world preferred £0 those pol favoured “mixed constitutions, republics with nited monarchies, because these corresponded ok than did teenth century a direct to fourth centuries BC was regarded democracy, by which was meant its apparent lack of any me ions ranks of men’ of which i¢ was believed any nat * Greek “poorer because poor, fce citizens received sate payment for performing their public duties. Ie was Be- lieved that this was a society without che economic mutual dependence between ranks ould Jead toa ‘common national inter- nocracy was taken to be no more than a which alone, for eighteenth-cent iy, thescles repre ancient to modern ti Hence, ‘Ancient Athenian Democracy in General During the Fifth and Fourth Centuries ac Because Athenian democracy inscribed is state documents on stone (most regulaely fiom. 460 onwards) and Athenians (and non-Athenians who lived in Athens) produced 2 great deal of literature in the fih and fourth centuries, we have more information ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 23 about Athens than about any other classical Greek 4 politcal system and asa ser of deals ancient Atheni ike indirect democracies which cenere on elect cy asa political syst These documents show that a democracy was not represen ws of representatives, Ath ‘as direct rule by the jority. usualy bya show af hands afer open debate ished to participate. Nor was there any stare bureaucracy to ie slaves who acted a officials to keep copies of tw were responsible for cial to bearing and rising ch they supervised the household economy and the work ofsiaves. And there is ample evidence that many wor produce in che nian Greeks and other ee alins who were legally rs ea citizen protector or patton (pst) and were lable to taxation and miliary service." Athens could conte etzenship n asa mark of favour but they had no right & dents. rhs bes fourth centuries the they were excluded from what went on in the law court theatre, agont (civic centre and cient Greek sources ofall kinds nevertheless insisted that izens were privileged above the private a the sense that each could id equality of public speec! lineage or wealth, The pols concerned with commainal mat their duties were the job, Rosati numbers of citizens inp ced tenure encounaged the involvement of large activities. Selection of most office holders by lot24 ANCIENT ATHEMAN DEMOCRACY, sas meant to limit the possibilities of the emergence of one powerfil individual or faction, Before taking up office eac nary scrutiny (okie before a jury court to determine bi membership (see below, 26), whether he teated his parents wel, paid in ary expeditions, ies ‘they ask whether he has an ancestral Apollo 2 Aer his year in office the private and public suits and impeachment (esangeli). Certain military officials who commanded the army and mavy, most notably the ten sinatigo: or generals were, however, elected by the Assembly rather than put in office by Jot and these men could be re-elected and build up experience and influence. In a society geared to warice this was seen as a necessiy." But che making of policy and administrative decisions in the Assembly, which all citizens were entitled to attend and for which they were paid from the 390s, characterized the exercise of democracy. ‘Athens had been given a fire code of laws by Drako (621) and a second by Solon (6594/3). Uuil ee farther laws were enacted and the Assembly made decrees i, inscribed om stone pillas and erected on the Acropolis and in the Agora forall to see. At the end of the fifth century the laws were republished and a revised code was completed.” This means that che Assembly acted under the rule of law. Where changes 0 the law were proposed, the Assembly Could initiate the change only after due consideration." The fundamental laws and insti- tutions (nomei) of the pois were not easily disregarded by, for instance, votes to alter them by a decree in asingle Assembly.” Indeed, every year inthe Assembly, aftr. 400, there was a vote of confidence in the laws. Justice according to the laws was dispensed by citizen juries, members of which were chosen by lot and paid for daily attendance, 1) were not simply Athens’ legal system’, The nomot did not differen therefore they encompassed customs and 'a way of ie, moral misdeeds, In- the peasant farmer 3 appears to have been an ideal peculiar co classical an problem for modem scholarship has been 10 assess the degree to whi realized in practice, ity (and rarely zepeated). The this ideal was Preto Xenophon. athe Deve and La (13) usted by Aes, Oe Ape, 437 a PJ Rhos, Te Gk i Se ‘ane nando, 1986) p 124 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 25 “The Attic countryside in casical times comprised numerous small properties owned and worked by peasants and their families. Some would be abe to afford a save oF wo ihose main work Was inthe house but who would also help in che fields, especially at Ranves dime. These saves, mostly non-Grecks, were acquired as chattel, by capture or chase. The relatively few large estates owned by wealthy citizens were supervised ther directly by the landowner or by estate managers who oversaw theit stock of Ipbouters comprising slaves and casual hired labour. The ised of propertyless titizens oF stall irmers whose own proper support their fam ties Apart from the large numbers of slaves iver mines at Laureios ‘enabled the expansion of navy but cemporarily went cmon recor of vs and et so sce bank employe Soe sent Athenian tt now though be tov much ofan ovesimpiaon to deste he nian economy snp asd on the save mode of producto. Rate, should teen acesngon the Atvenancizen who was bth the eodactve a’ a the fou of te pola sem. The dependence of ctnens a Bee ne, whee he ‘moderately poor citizens the leisure suffic of sate’. Eighteenth-century European commentators were distresed by the possibil f-sch men being admitted co deliberations on ‘matters of state’. As we shal see, Pato and Aristotle also argued against the engagement in political deliberation by these sors ‘of unleisuted amateur; for the political philosophers, statesmanship was2 skill hat could only be perfecced either by a small group of natueally talented and higily erined men (Plato) or by those with sufficient leisure to enable them co have experences beyond those of private economic survival so that they could then develop the kind of habicual bbehaviour that was considered suitable co men engaged in political deliberation on the ‘ommnon good (Aristotle) raeace os iy ake 026 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY Citizens: The Historical Emergence of the Athenian Democratic Constitution of the poet-legis- sdage loans on the security ofthe debt- fe, ent oF tribute an urban démes appeared and a city nes, in part seeking to acquire power for himself and his own, i fztion in the late sixth century, de- contributed a quot which set the agenda for the Assembly. Through his deme a man becam ANCIENT ATHEN DEMOCRACY 27 se cerals (strat eo in eligibility tof Teadership in Athens, into wage-eamers (an obser a breed of sycophants who plead their own cases withis Someone to help them in wri by increasing his fo28 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY ANCIENT ATHEWAN DEMOCRACY 29 Ta the fourth century, the ideal of public Equality: Of What and of Whom? who noted that equality of public speech, was intimately ted to democ expecially in contrast t tyrann ‘unique characteristic of democracy tht allowed exch 2 unigue kind of that aman speaks only at interval ma jes because ofthe cal of the houe and forthe common, making 2 “The types of people with a varity of pei grounds who sought power and influence in ‘Eineuries of expanding democracy. Ifin th Gated by aritoctats, greater account was taken of the ordinary (dng the fifth century, some of whom increasingly participated in debs the sembly. The coos ginning in 462/1 sc, brought foto being what some were to regard asthe full democracy, 50 that Perikles could thete~ afer argue that det at the conduct of Athenian affairs was entrusted to many. instruction was offered by Sophists (gee below, pp. 45-9) in che a speaking. Those who 1 could pay for the services of a pr {fonal speech-writer to help them speak on their own behalf in court, prospeted in theit nay bave offen in ‘engage in debate prior co col sry that Achensan public ambitions. At the end ofthe fifth century some ofthese aml Jacked traditional aristocratic birch but they had acquired sufficie rmaniaficturing enterprises, Such men became the démas 50 that by the fourth century hardly any political leader was of aristocratic descent. This meant thatthe ordinary citizens, collectively, enjoyed the last word in major d ymateur could not realistically hop sand expertise, owing much to ‘were upheld, As we shall ce, Anstotle wa which prevented some men from cea ‘nomi on the other hand, or equality through the law, equality before the aw, ensuted that men of differing we femmes and eloquence were t0 be treated equally by the laws and axe according | nut abilty. Poverty does not debar 3 ‘were free and Ic makes no difference whether a heit deep respect whether 3 good man oF a bad man30. ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY to have been argued in democratic Athens w se that all men were the sume, Satisfied wi and ever-concemed with pol part accepted economic inequality. No one de il luck to be so. They also accepted an inequal reference to merit. The ‘che kind of wealth that could sustain more chan average leisure fot 3] engagement on the part of the ambitious who sought leadership and promi- nneace through debate in the Assembly. Observing retrospectively the behaviour of those public use. As Demosthenes dom was preserved by the c the sense of an eqh democrats had no i more worthy of Those who had ther large and. Upp, 1965-70 Laws of bykourgos and Ags ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 3 hyd some power of de whe arcdzensin the Abin ae yn chat idec yng as they ‘own goods s0 lone: could be liberated by the walled Lykourgos was also have descended from Herakles (Hercules) there was a group of five Ephors (overseers) who were the sible for day to day affrs, elected for one year from thy Spartites. Xenophon ssid the Epos could, ke tyrants, prevent a man from completing, and they could punish “To Lykourgos was l attributed the distinctive Spartan system of training by32 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY age-classs, Spartan fithers did not have the sight to decide to rear their offipring, Their infant was inspected by elders and ifthe child was “il born or deformed! ie was sent co 'a plice with pits by Mount Taygetus’ and exposed to die.” If ‘well-built and robust however, the child was reared at home, But from the age of seven boys were taken from ‘heir frmilies and placed in “herds with boy leaders, while older men watched them play and provoked chem to fight and quarvel so that “they leamed about character and stage te only so fa as literacy was necessary ining in responsiveness to command, endurance in hardship and ‘Then their hair was cropped, they went about barefoot and played naked. Ar twelve they lived without tunics and were given only one cloak for che year. They slept in barracks on rush paless which they made with their own hands. The older 1y were fithers, tutors and commanders ofall the boys and they encour aged them to take leaders from among the mose valiant of the older boys. At twenty, young Spartate rook command in battle while the younger boys served him at dinner and elsewhere. Dinners were provided for in messes and each member contributed monthly contributions of produce co be shared collectively. Only at thirty did they retum home to their families, but they continued to dine in the military mess, #8 no Spartiate was allowed to dine at home, ‘While Spartan women did not go into barracks they received an education, based on physical exercise, that was similar to the men. They were noc expected fo weave or spin, not allowed jewell and they mixed freely and nied women could, with their husband's permission, bear children by men ian theit husbands in order to ensure a supply of young Spartans for 0 * When we read Plato's Repullle we will need to recall this ‘The Spartan consttusion showed antidemocrats how a strong, polis tained without stasis (civil serif) or tyranny. Almost all che debates which attracted the attention of non-Spartan sources dealt with foreign policy and here, although decisions ‘were taken by shouting approval in the Asembly, the proposals and speeches were almost invariably made by kings, elders and Ephors. Many matters that, in Athens, were decided by the Assembly, in Sparta were left to Epors and the Gerosia. Plato observed that the power of the Ephors was tyrannical” but, as we shall se, other aspects of theit constitution would be paralleled in the provisions Plato made for the education of his guardian clas in the Republi Where Perikles had praised the individuality and di ny foci of loyal to fi seemed to stand for opposing values that allowed an in service to che whole c ity of Athenian life with its in economic afsits, Sparta dual to succeed only through munity, that i, through military service, patriotism, courage 1 pois over individual and devotion to 53. Pach, phe 16, the expe of ned int ‘ui Spr we nom 51 P Coed, Spun Wie Spon Ln 85. 55. nn 72d ANCIENT ATHEMAN DEMOCRACY 33 “Jere the ones that lef the rest of Greece in their debs when, at Thermopylae, and Uapite being massively outnambered, che Spartans led the Greek resistance to the in~ Siding Persians atthe beginning of the fifth century we, And Sparta was able to defeat When at the end of the fh century 9c, Into the fourth century ec Sparta would continue to try to replace democracies with compliant oligarchies.* ‘Athenians Reject Oligarchy angen between democrats and oligarchs worked ise through the event ofthe Tk century te Those who daring se vent seven yeas ofthe Peloponnesian war taf spur 3-108) insted thatthe operations ofl democracy esr the ack of Wikcotr neces, not atin prosecuting nar, wet able bil to enginceranoligchic seston in S11 But wih te violent excess conte by thse align in rin de violence commined bythe o-aled Thy Tyan who wee imposed Sythe Spartan vcore in 40473 onde ab ‘Thane deretersoceslyeited an ejected lige 3 pact ale {iEmocray. The democratic stance othe larhy, le fom ote Ades by 4 foal of eal, muny of whom were ans and shopkeeper” had eneed the poli eames defeated ihe combined forces othe Saran and he UPincor Among those who ded were Pato liver nd anos red 403/2n somewhat es rad for han previo. Al for national and an amnesty or those who ha sds with he Thy (nee tei ‘sce aso) wa acompanied by an inesienon of nacre ling” But i good bith was ovr not een nec Pl mess of wea, inetd or sequrt apeas to have been a porequite formes of hoe who sre inorder to sun more tan average pol Onna Athenians appea to have bie tht all Athenian zens and probably an Gree, early hed» mess of use and good sense The fre sls neces tary fr pareiating inthe pos coud be taught and developed through jx leg 3d pola arangemens, But ony in avery min eat of ature’ among male czes, nd this Bellin anima natal equaiy ang that hey considered all ze se ths nay appear to 8 be the actos of one’ for civic honours hat was undoubeedly chan wealth were the rules was a major cha famed by different34. ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY and conventions, that is, the laws, which safeguarded the politial activity of fee agents ‘within a communiey that practised a distinc form of political rule: rule by all. Therefore, fundamental co this democracy was the notion of freedom, in Greek eleutheria, a word ‘whose resonances are only in pare grasped by the modern English word ‘liberty’ Freedom Greck freedom (eleuteria) meant (1) not to be enslaved, not to serve another It describes the autonomy of the self-sufficient peasant-irm bbeen noted that the emergence of this concept of an aistonomous individ servitude, allows for and perhaps depends on its cleatly defined opposite: the legal lave ‘who, as an individual, was deprived of all rights to autonomy." ‘The ancient world in general was comprised of slave-owning culeures and here the Greeks were no exception, embarrassing a this fact may have been to some modern Scholars who could hardly believe that so extraordinary a culture, concerned 25 it was ‘with justice, equality and feedom, could adhere to so evident an abuse. But classical Grove would have been very differe 1d not had slavery. Untree peoples were part ofits 130/79) the Greeks became increasingly disdainfil of non: wey called barbarians fRom their evaluation of the sounds foreigners made (‘bar-ba ‘when they spoke their own language, fo say nothing oftheir inferiorly developed px calsystems. Slaves were overwhelmingly, though not exclusively barbarian’ non-Greeks, for the most part war captives, and offen associated with Thrace and Thracians to the north. As we have seen, i¢ 6 not simply chat slaves were expedient forthe classical Greek economy; they seem to have been necessary as an intellectual category by which 2 Greek could determine his own identity as fee’ and as autonomous © of course, of natural dependencies which, none the less, must never com over. A Greck man defeated in batle was ideally never to allow himself ro be eapeured and enslaved by the victors; he would prefer to die even 3t his own hands because life the way che ideal was represented by elves to be slavish mentary. Bue even is own day there was much ANCIENT ATHEMAN DEMOCRACY 35 Jreusion about whether enshvement could ever be justied on any grounds other than force and expediency ee and nen and sve worked lone one an es joa dave-owing cen an Beto Goat Ss 5 aa ve to be misteated, he had no recourse t0 legal ction wehrely dependent on bis master’s good will and ithe slave comm iy afi, whereas etizen who broke the Ia had his goods confiscate, pad losthenes in the fourth century BC saw this as the real Greck freedom ako n other, a fvedom ofthe pe autonomous in its sel-rule and cherefore to ee nvr fit, The preservation of one's own state's autonomy was not seen as inconsst~ ent, however, with depaving another state of it. “Adied to this, however, was (3) a distinctiv cod only with tres werent but ako with feedon of poll participation im dhe publi sphere where Soltne, eather than an individual of fctionsl group, were sovereign. This fieedom ree, nr ave onegens fp po rj, igi hy Bees 0 Tener pooteretzens dependency onthe snagnaninty of vietous, andown Pimroms” The pls abo came to provide oter forms of public pay fr and rowing in the feet. indeed, for iotenane rants forthe dbl. Even~ jo fears, Linked 0 holding publ poorer citizens there were sat tually, there was even a fund to enable poor citizens to ater the democratic unders private spheres of valued by oligarchies or monarchies, nor by pé often attached them to these regimes. Disparagingly, dom at anarchic, lawless, iberty ‘to do what one forced by the myth that Athenians were autochthonous, that i, bom of the s re descendants of ancestors who came from other lands, The Athenian wwasako ffee from a regular direct tax and had aright to own land. But his right to attend the Assembly was not conditioned by his ownership of land, tn the sphere of law, he enjoyed ‘unrestricted capacity: atzighteen he was enrolled in the deme register, atewenty hhe could atten all meetings of ehe Assemibly and paricipate in discussions and voting, ry he was entitled offices of state and fiom twenty to eweney-nine 7 Ano, AP.38 ANCIENT ATHENAN DEMOCRACY fr agriculture, lived and worked side by side with women and chiliren, saves and foreigners and work colleagues ~ some fee citizens, athers ffee and Greek but not Athenian and therefore, non-citizens. The public, political sphere ofthe pois regulated those social activites thac were judged to be conrected with the city-state: is Laws (on, marrage, legitimacy, property), its policies of wat and peace, is religious rituals and belief. Politics was not primarily about the reallocation of private economic resources, despite the considerable state transfers of money to poor citizens to enable them to in jury service and Assembly attendance. Politics was about the activities in snich citizens participated when they were engaged in ruling and being ruled. Beyond this, the negotiation of economic well-being was a privat, familial concern. The pals then, was an exclusive society of citizens whose own politcal activities were marked off from their activities in other spheres of life im the community and family. Once again, the polis of Athens wus the Athenian citizens and not its territory or inhabitans in gen- etal, Here, the well-ordered city-state was believed to be realized through the publicly scrutinized behaviour of ambitious men whose ideal was meant to be the overriding of factional interests ofrich and poor inthe society. They were meant to serve the good life of the whole community in its interests as these were determined by collective public ddebace and decisis ‘The polis was conceived as standing outside evident presence in sociery. Indec tivity and there were no parties afilated. The democraey’s political goals were meant to tanscend faction (sas) and objectives were meant to express collectively held moral norms as well 36 t0 be prag~ One of the most distinctive of the collectively held moral norms in Achens was the expectation of civic courage, fora fee man to die on behalf of his polis whereupon his children would be publicly supported by the city until chey came of age. This is empha- sized in Thucydides’ representation of ‘the quintesential Athenian civie discourse’, che funeral oration of Perikles delivered in 430 8c ata sate function to honour Athens’ war «dead, one yeat into the Peloponnesian wat. Here Perkles expressed the ideals for which they had died, He also pointed to chose collectively held moral ideals for which Atheni- incersts despite their for pol ‘We find it posible forthe same people to and notwithstanding our varied occupation For we are unique in regarding the man who does noc participate 84 mian who minds his own Business but a5 welt, ANCIENT ATHEMAN DEMOCRACY 39, at ec etre ny eto sod th ecu bern ta deteh rents temporary or specific circumstances would not be reversed by the next. hhave found it difficult to imagine ordinary men having been actively the degree implied by Athenian ideals. There has simi~ led che Assembly, perhaps to sit there I shetoric deployed nd relating (0 cen ml tay a onl othe offen faucou crowd export the poe ea sapecies hat, nage democracies ike Ati ia fe seat rsoutcer halen, ver too much re pay which enabled ther to pat ot ben dhe ch who sie ado pay en reat oxe to devote thee ine opalxopty ® Bue forthe fourth centary ra epee to show hts wh were bl to the propery ex tha pad for Wats dd ce cmb in ge mami, An he payment which saduced he poorer ct ae en the fry oF move meting of the Assembly cach year ems 0 cate fs derocrcy, eure ugh pate weak pbc ta eucal in involving 2 crwsecton of Athens inthe communal Tedeed, one of the maths of 4 developed democr i950 327, 1294 40-1, 1258, 18), pre ations of the po out, it would not be fea truly democratic tatesnsan without access to continuous state funds for payments mi ‘omsider how the poor may be saved from excessive poverty. Otherwise corruption wi hot be avoided. He suggests (Pol. 1320a 17-b4) thata central fund be set up by the richer {virwous) citizens from which fands may be given to those in need so that they can buy ‘small plot or set up in tide. If Aristotle supposes a scenario where state funds ate simply hens and imp society’s real virtue can oly be exercised by private, voluntary charity to the poor, others ‘would argue even more vigorously char the sate, no matter how wealthy, ought not 10 provide public pay. Indeed, oligarchs repeatedly eed to abolish pay for public officials ivity to smaller numbers (e.g. in 411 9c). But if it is argued that © operate, we need reminding that vee Athens was on the verge of bankruptcy, this was not because ofthe democratic ic expenditure but because of the high costs ofits wats, Leadership Whatever the extent of ordinary politcal engagement, however, it was accepted that the polis needed to be led and Greek writers distinguished between good and bad40 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY character types who displayed certain essential of leadership, Foremost was the nothing ese in mind but the incts of the people’, who at- pejorative conno- divided the tached to the ne tation. Demagagues w! 9 factions. leaderlead? ‘own power ‘ame ako to right of fice spoke in the Assembly, came ro mean for the crates in the fourth century Uc, nothing more than slanderous behav 1e character type of Athenian leaders underwent a great change: ‘war ended with the Spartan viewory leaders had largely been drawn ftom aristocratic families and architects of the eforms which completed che democracy itself. But after Perikles, ‘es came from different ancestry with diferent outlooks, Likewise, Thucydides (2 ling over a norsinal des and Perikles' successor ciety underwent alterations from being rms ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 4 Tad and he Os 2 cdo have eed eran Senn pou cone ae adin ge pt pon he onoured His ot42 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 4 man's life can only be reversed co some «9 recognized that a respect for law and justice sul exist admicers ‘must be institutionally and legally re forms of Solon and Kleisthenes are thought recogni this co je may be well dicermed 68-74) If eatlier the king was said to be the divine Zeus's punish Solon we se justice ‘naturalized’. Solon’s poetry and his laws, though surviving today only in fragments, seem to indicate that he believed that pol legitimate sphere agency, Furthermore, he reminds his ice that he declined the opportunity to become a tyrant (fag, 32-7) and for this. 4 red for having believed thatthe good for the Athenian polity statesman, the man of excellence.” was the responsibil summary ofthe evolution (Orestes is aca where the principle of recbution will be modified by an appeal tothe c the recognition heroic virtues which insisted on the advancement of the hero's inte supporters through aggressive and competitive behaviour atthe expe rity had co be constrained and neutralized, This gradually appears ‘with Kleisthenes and subsequent reformers who co-opted the people ‘ratic local government. Thereafier, the civic version ofthe epic hero became a domi force in the consolidated polis; now he could se it as his task to construct a central polity a8 a monument to his own excellence. Furthermore, the heroic view in which justice meant helping one’s friends and harm ing one’s enemies was known to lead to unending cycles of retribution down the 1s. An appeal o the common interest had to override the allegiance co fact life was to be established. By 458 ac this is the view that i expressed in right Aeschylus.” Buc here, the oversih tive good required the decisive intervention of the goddess critical consideration of public values, most noubly through fifth to huad helped to redraw the rigid boundaries beew fors were concered with the question of how humans may sdge and trath, and Parmenides in parieular attacked an umthinki ‘on sense perception as a guide to reality. Knowing, on the one hand, shy gt, 2 vole (Oxf, 1971-2, 5; ao quoted in Are, AP 12,44 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY opinion, on the other, were said ro come from diferent sources whic enabled thinkers in the filth century to conast our ordinary sense perception of particular things in the external world with reasoned ref kind. By emphasizing rex. soned reflection they proposed t isalteady god-like. Knowledge that is revealed by reason is a kind of ‘divine knowledge’ and there is nothing better of the kind * ‘And so i came to be said: [The ealy Athenian) conducted the city's afi in the Gee men, by kw honour right, and reasoned speech the means of pet 2ction to these evo power ~ law thir king and reso edo his life in the democracy that had ssieeeson, aristocratic notions of an ued to exist side by side with developing notions of citizen excellences, The excellences of citizens were seen to be 4 matter not of bieth but of ‘education and experience, enshtined al expectations of the average man ‘with subsidized leisure, who engaged not as 2 civie hero but as an amateur in politics, But the civically modified Homeric values til held sway for those with status and wealth, For them, the reconciliation of personal aims with the aims of the social order was circumscribed by an ideal of political leadership which was characterized by what was taken to be a good man’s virtuous sel-actuaization, his acti, within the political arena, ‘We can observe this in the fifth century when the rich were required to undertake certain ‘public works’ (liturgies), for insance, paying for and arranging a group of per- formers ina festival or paying fora ship inthe navy. Liturgies were seen as opportunities for men of wealth and good birth co compete in public spiritedness and there is evidence that some men performed liturgies in more extravagant ways than were expected." Furthermore, ic was said that one could recognize this character type, the man of ar from afar by his indifference to ordinary self-interest in his pursuit of some grand public cause. And in his indifference to his own economie well-being and that of his house~ hhold, he displayed a magnanimiry co the les fortunate in wealth as in knowledge. ‘Cimon, the Athenian aristocrat who dominated the political scene at the end ofthe second quarter ofthe fifth century ac, was described by Theopompus, the fourth-cen- tury historian (ag, 89), inthe following way, a upes of magnanimity and aristocratic (Cimon che Athenian stationed no guard over the produce in hs flde or gtdens so chat ny tigen who wished might go in and harvest an help himself ithe needed anything on he threw his house open to all so that he regulary supplied an Inexpensive meal to many men andthe poor Athenians approached him nd dined. And he ANCENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 45 rae par yyy ke om ee gt gdp peep geet ae aaa east ta aer ay ae eens An Indo, however, Cimon was osacied by demcras who wished oni the power of deneame be diced whether or not nan was born with this kind of cc which then could be persed by a appropriate ange ofeatvely exc cecan This chatacter type as then contrasted wath anether that fH ro sed hs wean oy o buy afm hose who professed 0 “These profesor were sid to make money out of \Fopiions concerning what wa ght and wrong The Sophists is time as the major intellectual and artistic centte for Greece, The economic transformation of the city-state during the fi fevolution, a the economy of the polis became an economy of empie a and the development of trade agreements and a protection alliance, st League of poles, with Adhens in charge. As private afluence in building programmes made Athens a city of great elegance (the Par- Jarly notable), individual teachers, known in general a Sophists from ig exper’), arrived from all over the Greek world co offer their career brientated services to the rich (if not always well-bom), especially during the “age of Perikles’, Indeed, Perikles was one oftheir main patrons and ifthe later Plutarch isto be believed, the Sophiss Anaxap Imagine Athens Ansiodle, They were, instead, che culmination ofa long tradition of political theo which had advanced co provide, noc least, che foundations forthe developmen rmocracies and an understanding of procedural justice in communities.” Pla logues, too, ae filled with men who were in real life ether patrons or clients of Sophiss, or Sophists themselves; they are Plato's main philosophical antagonists. eis Largely eheir views which must be overcome. In the actual life of the city Sophists do seem to have set the agenda of Athenian debate in almost all areas of intelectual enquiry. From a political perspective it was precisely the variety of Sophist positions that required assessment and, in Plato's view, sraction, In this, Plto appears to have shared some of the views of many of ‘ontemporaties but for reasons that were not necessarily theirs. Indeed, Sophist 97 Cie fom 28 GB Keres 98 Fortine Sipe (Combe.46 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY teachings were not often well-received in the cities they visited: 2 bes jn comedies, and at worst, as during the second half of the fifth cent they were prosecuted ~ some believe ~ in astonishing numbers, seat into exile and, possibly, their books burnt. The fill democracy of Athens, this rich and affluent city whose citizens were equally entitled 10 exercise the feeedom of publ engage in debate and the taking of collective decisions, found cera techniques of persuasive publ taught concerning such 3 man’s moral principles and values prior to his entry into public debate over policy iste ofthe day? And ifie was held that art or the kind of excellence that merits public office can be caught, then was there any natural gift required by the pupil in onder that he might benefit ftom the ceaching? Or was money sulficient for anyone posessing it © come along t© learn how to ‘inert’ high office and attain i ‘Were there personal qualities that 2 man, seeking to lead the be expected to possess of acquire? The appearance of cerain Sophists in Ad only about what ap ceded to know but also about what ro be From Plato's presentation of some of the Sophist postions they offered various answers to these questions, not all of Whi for democratic principles and equality of pportunit hey treated we can see that whatever their final conclusions, Sophists were belief and values of a previous generation and subjecting tadition £0 cexumining sctutiny, if not co outright atack. Plato presents some of their views as capable of be- coming those of the majority if they had not already done so. And we are reiant on Plato's generally hostile analysis of a variecy of Sophist postions because Sophsts’ works have survived only in fragments." appears chat the Sophist agenda overlapped with that ofthe pre-Socratc natural= ‘expecially where some of them discussed not only the important problems con cute of \ thei relation to appearances, Some of them were concerned with whether moral values are relative to experience and social circumstance or are fixed despite these contingencies. Some of them wondered whecher a knowledge of the gods ‘wat posible for humans or whether the human conception of the gods was necessarily based on and limited by the hunam conception of heroic humans. Some proposed the 95M. Unerteine a they were mocked” tens itl 4 ANCIENT ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY a7 : respect gn of fered equal in their relevar ro mul so! they can re-enter society a¢ responsible citizens? Some asked sore and «well-known Sophists were Protagorss (c485~415 nc), t who came to Athens in 427 86 fhuch admired for his rhetoric. [¢ appears that there was a dlference berweet Fachets called Sophists who spoke on all subjects, and thetori tic speeches, praising and blaming, and taught Athen Socrates, these were che major figures in that tess historians of political thought h cosmological and metaphysical feat the ih oF how things are ‘an be proved one way or the “Two of the associate of Perkles, and Gorgias (from phase of Greek phi Tf the whole prev ha asd that tonal argument an Gorgias in particular appears to have a other. Argument does not produce t le to make an equally satsfying case for every position. 1 concerned with the truth but with the persuasive, therefore but ax more or less plaus 'A similar testing of some of the pre-Socratic arguments about the re reality and appearance, for instance, that how things aris different from how they “ppesr, was aken up by Protagoras. For him, it was not possible to distinguish clearly ‘between how things are and how they seem, so thatall one can say is that what seems to be so to you, isso. Protagoray most famous diceum was ‘ofall things, man is the measure ~ of what is and of what fag. 1). Appearances are all that there are for us not present a sceptical postion48. ANCIENT ATHENAN DEMOCRACY which eliminates che ruth; instead, he argued that the truth is what each of us takes it to be, Ifwe are a member of a minority group in society which thinks it right to break the 1 ofthe wider society, then our beliefs true just as isthe belief of the majority. There is ie erainty which of che different true beliefs we should accept. For Protagorss, there is no way of determining whether one moral out look is euly preferable to another, for each is tre. But he believes that a statesman who isa skilled orztor can substieute ws thac are better (not crue) than others and, for ‘example, can persuade minori ‘ways acceptable to the majority. Hen argues that those practices which seem right and praiseworthy to any particular state, ‘hac is, to any community which decides and judges its own laws and customs, ar so for tha tate so long as it holds by them. Only where the practices or conventions 2, i any parclarease, ansound for thet ye wise man try to substitute ochers that are beter land which appear to be sounder.™ le is evident that the wise man must be able to ‘convince others by his thetorical skill in argument. Each person is, of course, situated in ‘culture with conventions, and so, human convention, which is dependent on culture, is che measure of hove things ate. And ‘how things ar’ is iselfa measure of convention up’ as 3 patern of behaviour, the way child “picks up’ language. A less, have a capacity to ‘pick up ors it is tansmitted by social conventions. Protagoras was an optimist and viewed human nature as capable of civ could be taugh, not by an intellectual discipline but by so However, what Protagoras takes aetéto be is not what S According to Socrates, a man’s excellence or arcinude of mind chat emerges from an wan reality. For Socrates, eetéis not simply habit or the ordinary man’ iments but a branch of scientiie knowledge, proceeding from within t0 guide external bbehaviour and perhaps, in some fundamental sense, it cannot be taught at all, We must rnote that he held this rational view while ako taking both dreams and oracles very seriously ‘As we shall see, there is an important contrast between the Socratic position and that of either of the two Sophists, Protagoras and Gorgias. For both Sophists, how things “really” ae isnot discoverable by enquiry and argument. For chem, philosophical activity simply does noc gee athe truth; for Gorgias ie gets at no tra at al but at more or less ‘good arguments and for Protagoras it gets at 2s many truths as there are men, culturally situated, who experience the world of appearances. “There were practical political consequences of these postions. If, according to some Sophists, all that men can attain is ‘more of les good arguments’ rather than the eruth then an examination of democratic principles might well raise questions abs justification. Better arguments might be put forward in favour of pow. ‘bom. In Athens, che Sophist Antiphon, in favour ofthe oligarchie rev criticized democratic conventional justice along just these lines and argued that demo- cratic las violated nature (psi). Arguments in favour of democratic justice, with their appeal to the interest of others, the weaker, the collectivity, were no more than bad 106 Alkane eng nD. Bock, Pla Than (Ont 1997) and FM Cori Pat's Tha ee Loa 2885. evn, e's Ml TO 338 Act ATMAN DEOCRACY 49 rempa a deeiving and preventing the naturally” songer more able men om par- ha socal sins and het ows more excasi rt woul sic in Pats charcterandons of Thesymachs sls in the Copia, Ore ofthe major questions to be resolved was Were 8 308 Glas (noma) cena in conic with Se espoatr a ie and in the ex year of hs stadt, Pt, the atack on Aine Sorenionl morality (rm) reached a revlutonary pitch, in par dicated Sofa by Spar, Soca, nssing hace was no Soph, took up number er aenres bed bya tage of Soph snd dee cents. With the reinstatement of Sec ae 403/20) he was brought owl, condemned and puto death a 399 sear did he teach and why di Athenian democracy Suing their“ Tre Ge “Ge (New Yok, 1973) 17 Sees on the dues ofierrtng the many meaning 380-3 and A. WH Aki, Mol Pale nd al hase nA ‘siphon,