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"Solon the Lawgiver By the early 6th century B.C. social tensions in Athens had become acute, pitting the poorer citizens against rich and powerful landowners. Many citizens were reduced to the status of share croppers, and others had actually sold themselves into slavery to meet their debts. To resolve the crisis the Athenians appointed Solon as archon (magistrate) to serve as mediator and lawgiver. Plutarch and Aristotle describe in some detail the constitution devised by Solon, who then went into voluntary exile to avoid being pressured into amending this legislation. Solon canceled most debts and freed those Athenians who had been enslaved, but he refused to redistribute property or to deprive the aristocracy of most of the political power. As he tells us in his own words: For to the common people I gave as much power as is sufficient, Neither robbing them of dignity, nor giving them too much; and those who had power, and were marvelously rich, even for those I contrived that they suffered no harm. I stood with a mighty shield in front of both classes, and allowed neither of them to prevail unjustly. (Plutarch, Life of Solon 18.4) Solon's new constitution was based on ownership of property. This notion of political rights or citizenship depending on property is one found in many societies until relatively recent times. All the people were divided into four classes, and political power was distributed among them. 1.The pentekosiomedimnoi, those whose land produced at least 500 medimnoi (measures) of grain a year which equals 730 bushels. These were eligible for the highest offices. Athenian (Attic) Geometric chest with five model ""granaries"" on the lid, mid-9th century B.C. H.: 0.253 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 27646. This unusual chest comes from the same burial as the jewelry described earlier. The five cone-shaped objects on the lid have been identified as model granaries and may refer to the woman's status as a member of the highest class, the landed aristocracy designated by Solon pentekosiomedimnoi, whose land produced 500 medimnoi (measures). Each of the five granaries would thus represent 100 medimnoi. Both the chest and the granaries are decorated with meander patterns, a favorite Geometric ornament. 2. The hippeis (knights), those who could afford the expense of maintaining a horse and whose property produced 300 medimnoi a year. Athenian (Attic) Geometric horse pyxis (box), mid- 8th century B.C. H.: 0.16 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 5061. This round box has three horses on the lid. Ownership of horses required a certain degree of wealth and allowed the man who owned them to assume a role in defending the city as a member of a fighting cavalry, the knights. Thus, horses became a status symbol and sign of wealth. 3. The zeugitai (teamsters), those who maintained a pair of oxen for plowing and whose land produced 200 medimnoi a year Terracotta figure of a pair of oxen driven by a man, 6th century B.C. H.: 0.10 m. Athens, National Archaeological Museum 18876. This image stands for Solon's third class of citizens, the zeugitai, who could maintain a pair of oxen for plowing and who served as heavy-armed infantrymen in time of war. 4. The thetes or common laborers. Iron pick, date uncertain. Preserved L.: 0.127 m. Athens, Agora Museum IL 1287. Such a pick might have been used by a member of Solon's lowest class, the thetes, or common laborers. All other native-born citizens now possessed an important and basic right: they could not be enslaved by their fellow citizens. As early as the time of Homer, to be a thete was regarded as only just above a slave: ""I would rather follow the plow as thete to another man, one with no land allotted to him and not much to live on, than be King over all the perished dead"" (Odyssey 2.489-491). Members of this lowest class were not allowed to hold office, but were given the right to sit and vote in the assembly and to sit as jurors in the lawcourts. Over time this last right became exceedingly important. An important concept clearly laid out for the first time in Solons political poetry is the notion that political participation was the duty of the citizen, not just a privilege to be exercised or not as one chose: He saw that the state was often in a condition of factional strife, while some of the citizens were content to let things slide; he laid down a special law to deal with them, enacting that whoever when civil strife prevailed did not join forces with either party was to be disenfranchised and not to be a member of the state.(Athenian Constitution 8.5). While Solonian reforms did not establish democracy, they were a crucial step on the Athenian road to democracy. Solons constitution, consisting of moderate redistribution rather than a revolutionary transfer of political power, nonetheless granted important rights to the lowest class of citizens. This middle course pleased no one, as he himself tells us: Wherefore I stood at guard on every side, A wolf at bay among a pack of hounds. (Athenian Constitution 12.4). Within a generation of Solon's reforms, factional strife among the powerful families led Athens once again to the brink of civil war, setting the stage for the next phase of Athenian political development.","","http://agathe.gr/democracy/solon_the_lawgiver.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:1c9ed7cadcdde1c789066cfe9e24c231","Birth of Democracy: Solon the Lawgiver","",""
"The Unenfranchised I - Women Numerous people resident in Athens and Attica had little part in the political life of the state. Most glaring by modern standards was the exclusion of women, although a similar exclusion persisted into the 20th century in Western society: Women only received the vote in all states of the United States in 1920, in France in 1945, and in Switzerland in 1971. Though protected by numerous laws regarding her property and rights, Athenian women had no vote and were not allowed to participate actively in political life. Women were not expected in the Agora, and it is not entirely clear that they were allowed to attend the theater. The proper Athenian lady was expected to spend almost all her time at home, and her primary function was to bear and raise the children. Perikles' comment on women in his great funeral oration is illuminating: If I am to speak also of womanly virtues, referring to those of you who will henceforth be in widowhood, I will sum up all in a brief admonition: Great is your glory if you fall not below the standard which nature has set for your sex, and great also is hers of whom there is least talk among men whether in praise or in blame. (Thucydides 2.45) Athenian (Attic) red-figure fragment of a kylix (drinking cup), late 6th century B.C. H.: 0.055 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 23133. The fragment shows the upper part of a nude woman, probably reclining on cushions at a symposion. She holds a castanet in her left hand and wears disk earrings. She is probably a hetaira, or courtesan, a woman accomplished in the arts of music, conversation, and sex. In addition to her duties as mother, the average Athenian woman was expected to run the household, an extraordinarily time-consuming operation. In addition to cleaning and preparing, food, this meant making most of the family clothing on the loom and fetching drinking water from one of the local fountain houses. Only in the area of religion did women have a direct role in public life. They were active participants in most of the cults and their associated festivals. Several of the significant cults had priestesses rather than priests as the chief religious functionaries. Athenian (Attic) red-figure fragment of a vase, about 460 B.C. H.: O.O57 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 29766. In contrast to the hetaira, this woman appears to be a properly dressed Athenian lady. The fragment preserves the upper part of her body and shows us that she wears a tunic, cloak, and headband. Needless to say, there were exceptions to the rule, and the famous women of Athens about whom anything was written were infamous, including -- ironically -- Perikles' own companion Aspasia: Sources claim that Aspasia was highly valued by Perikles because she was clever and politically astute. After all, Sokrates sometimes visited her, bringing along his pupils, and his cose friends took their wives to listen to her -- although she ran an establishment which was neither orderly nor respectable, seeing that she educated a group of young female companions to become courtesans. Aeschines says that Lysikles the sheep-dealer, a man lowly born and humble of nature, became the most important man of Athens by living with Aspasia after the death of Perikles. (Plutarch, Life of Perikles 34.3-4),","","http://agathe.gr/democracy/women.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:8215b26d0ead85c21d46314d7c1ef95e","Birth of Democracy: Women","",""
"Photography A photograph made using the traditional silver halide process is a visual record largely unaltered by the photographer. It is this quality of capturing a mirrored image of the scene that lends itself to archaeological photography. Photography has been an essential component of the documentary process from the beginning of excavations at the Agora. The photograph, whether taken by the excavator or by the staff photographer, is an irreplaceable visual record of the excavation’s progress. Stored in the project’s photographic archive are over 300,000 images documenting the excavations and catalogued objects. The image was taken on the afternoon of May 25, 1931, and illustrates the work accomplished during the first day of excavations in Section Ε. The buildings on the west side of the Agora had been demolished in preparation for excavation, resulting in an unobstructed view from the Church of Panagia Vlassarou toward the Hephaisteion. From the beginning of excavations, the photographic record can be divided into the use of large format and small format cameras. Herman Wagner, a member of the German Archaeological Institute, was the first staff photographer. He was primarily responsible for the large format photography, using a view camera that required 18 x 24 cm glass negatives. These large format images, even to this day, are unequalled for the amount of information that can be transmitted in a single image. An enlarged detail from the 18 x 24 cm negative above. During this first season, Wagner returned to the same vantage point and took a series of images illustrating the progress of the work through time. In this way a step-by-step visual record was made of the excavations. Early June 1931 June 19, 1931 July 22, 1931 Whereas the staff photographer was called upon to photograph the most important features with a large-view camera, the excavators were given a 35mm camera (a Leica) to record the day-to-day details of the progress of the excavations. This handheld camera was easy to carry about and use more spontaneously. These Leica images reveal a more candid view of the work on the excavation. View looking southeast across Section Ε on July 7, 1931, at 5 p.m. The photograph above was taken from Poseidon St. (the west side of the Agora) looking southeast across Section Ε. The photographer was most likely Frederick O. Waagé, the excavator of Section Ε in 1931. In the foreground is the newest area of the section to be opened up; the Church of Panagia Vlassarou is visible in the middle, the Acropolis behind. Waagé labeled the photograph as an “extracurricular photo of Acropolis.” The content of the image combines both archaeological and contemporary historical details. Sometimes the photographer himself has been captured on film while at work. T. Leslie Shear, director of the excavations and an accomplished photographer, was caught recording the discovery of a herm (S 33). “In 5/A at -2.50 was found a herm lying on its side; it had formed the support of a large statue of a draped woman? holding a child on the left arm which rested on the top of the Herme, child’s body preserved up to just above waist. Total height preserved: 1.36 m” (Nb. Ε I, p. 140; June 4, 1931). The herm as photographed by T. Leslie Shear, June 4, 1931, 11 a.m.","","http://agathe.gr/overview/photography.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:aa7510225862255c67ac9cfb4be1ad56","Overview: Photography","",""
"Sokrates The philosopher Sokrates was one of many Athenians critical of the people and their control over affairs of state. His probing public debates with fellow citizens led to his trial for impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens, his approach and opinions having exceeded the limits on freedom of speech acceptable to the Athenians. The Agora, as the political center of Athens, was the scene of many of the events played out in the drama of his teaching, trial, and death. According to custom, youths were not expected to spend time in the great square; the gymnasia of the city -- the Academy and Lyceum -- were their proper haunts. Sokrates, therefore, met them in a shop near the Agora, according to Xenophon (Memorabilia 4.21), and Diogenes Laertios preserves the name of Simon as the owner of the establishment where these meetings took place: ""Simon, an Athenian, a shoemaker. When Sokrates came to his workshop and discoursed, he used to make notes of what he remembered, whence these dialogues were called 'The Shoemakers""' (2.13.122). Regrettably, the shoemaker dialogues have not survived, but in the excavations of the Agora, a small house of the 5th century B.C. was excavated east of the Tholos, just outside the Agora boundary stone. Within it were found bone eyelets and iron hobnails dearly used for shoemaking, and nearby was found the broken fragment of a drinking cup, inscribed with the name of the owner, ""Simon.' The archaeological evidence suggests that we have here the very shop, visited by Perikles, which Sokrates used as an informal classroom, meeting here those students too young to frequent the square. Photograph of the House of Simon the Shoemaker. Athens, Agora excavations. The photograph shows the foundations of a house to the left of a roadway. It has been identified as a shoemaker's establishment by the discovery in the rooms of iron hobnails and bone shoelace eyelets (below). The base of a black-glaze drinking cup found in the roadway is inscribed ""of Simon,"" so it seems likely that this was the house of Simon the Shoemaker to whom the literary texts refer. Bone shoelace eyelets, Sth century B.C. D.: 0.015-0.025 m. Athens, Agora Museum BI 738. Iron hobnails, 5th century B.C. L. of shafts: 0.015 m. Athens, Agora Museum IL 1361. Base of an Athenian (Attic) black-glaze kylix (drinking cup), 5th century B.C. D.: 0.073 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 22998. The inscription ΣΙΜΟΝΟΣ, ""of Simon;' is scratched on the upper surface of the cup base. The cup can be dated by details of its shape to about 460 B.C., a time rather earlier than would be consistent with the Simon known to Sokrates and mentioned in the literary sources. It has been suggested that by the end of the 5th century, the base had become separated from the bowl of the cup and had been reused as a door knocker. The name Simon thus indicates whose house it was, and the findspot in the roadway is logical. The preliminary indictment leading to Sokrates' trial took place in the Royal Stoa and he was tried before a jury of 501 Athenians, in one of the lawcourts of the city, not as yet excavated. The trial was fairly close: 221 to 280 votes, according to Sokrates; in the penalty phase of the trial, however, he was condemned to death. According to Athenian law, the defense could propose an alternate penalty. Plato, in the Apology, tells what Sokrates suggests: What penalty do I deserve to pay or suffer, in view of what I have done? ... I tried to persuade each one of you not to think more of practical advantages than of his mental and moral well-being, or in general to think more of advantage than of well-being in the case of the state or of anything else.... What else is appropriate for a poor man who is a public benefactor and who requires leisure for giving you moral encouragement? Nothing could be more appropriate for such a person than free maintenance at the state's expense (Apology 36B, translated by Hugh Tredennick). Sokrates' confinement and execution in the state prison of Athens are described in some detail by Plato, and his description corresponds in several respects to a large building lying southwest of the Agora square. Here were found the thirteen little clay medicine bottles that may have held the poison hemlock with which the Athenians dispatched their political prisoners, and here, too, was found the small marble statuette that closely resembles the known portraits of Sokrates. Set of thirteen clay medicine bottles, 4th century B.C. H.: 0.036-0.042 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 20858. These small bottles are of a type generally used for drugs and medicine. This set of thirteen, found in the annex to the state prison, may have been used to hold the hemlock that was measured out in the exact dose necessary to cause death. After his trial in 399 B.C., recorded in Plato's Apology, Sokrates was executed in this manner. Fragmentary marble statuette, 4th century B.C. H.: 0.105 m. Athens, Agora Museum S 1413. Only one statue of Sokrates is recorded in ancient literature. After executing him, the Athenians felt such remorse that eventually they commissioned a bronze statue of Sokrates, the work of the renowned sculptor Lysippos, which they set up in the Pompeion in Athens (Diogenes Laertios 2.43). A bust in Naples may reproduce the original by Lysippos. This small statuette found in the state prison may have been a memento recalling the Lysippan bronze.","","http://agathe.gr/democracy/sokrates.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:8307df62c572f791a374e632a40f4710","Birth of Democracy: Sokrates","",""
"The Church of the Holy Apostles Though several churches were removed in the clearing of the site for excavation, it was decided to save and restore the little Byzantine church dedicated to the Holy Apostles. View of the restored Church of the Holy Apostles from the southwest, April 2006 The church, with an unusual tetraconch interior plan and decorative tilework on the exterior, is among the oldest in Athens, probably to be dated just before A.D. 1000. It was surely the focal point of an extensive neighborhood in the Byzantine period, the remains of which were recorded and removed in the course of the excavations. The eastern half of the church was relatively untouched, but several additions, the latest dating to the late 19th century, had damaged and obscured the western end. After excavation, these later additions were removed and the church restored to its original form. The work was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and supervised by Alison Frantz. With the Stoa of Attalos, this reconstruction was completed and dedicated in 1956. The festival of the Twelve Apostles is still celebrated at the church every June 30th. Restored plan of the original layout of the church, showing its unusual tetraconch design. Drawing by W.B.D. Jr. “On February 12, 1954, the Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Education approved the request for permission to demolish the modern addition to the Church of the Holy Apostles, with a view to restoring the church in its original form. On February 22 two workmen began stripping the plaster from the walls to determine the extent of the original walls. Good Byzantine masonry, similar to that of the eastern part of the church was exposed on the lower part of the north wall as far as the door and bell tower. The original length of this wall is so far unclear. The south wall seems to have suffered at least one major destruction, and from a point ca. 2 m. west of the southern apse little original masonry remains above the lower course. There is so far no trace of early work west of the door on either side” (Nb. HA I, p. 2). View of the Church of the Holy Apostles from the southwest, August 1954, after demolition of the later additions had been completed Interior of the church before the start of the restoration project, March 2, 1954. Before the restoration began the floor was removed and excavations were carried out to determine the church’s history. The structural elements of the church—the walls, columns, and vaulting—had been restored by late summer of 1955. Still much work had to be done before the dedication ceremony, planned to coincide with that of the Stoa of Attalos on September 3, 1956. The roof of the narthex was built, the interior walls plastered, the marble floor paving laid, the original marble elements of the windows were either restored or modern copies of designs contemporary to the building were set, the surviving frescoes were conserved and installation of frescoes removed from the Church of Aghios (Saint) Spyridon and Aghios Giorgios were installed in the new narthex. Building the centering for the vaults of the central saucer dome and completing the ribbing, February 21, 1955 Theophanes Nomikos carving the marble lunette for the central doorway, March 8, 1956. The interior walls have been plastered; the southern window of the narthex restored; frescoes have been installed. View from the narthex into the interior, December 1955. Frescoes from the Church of Aghios Spyridon were reset in the walls of the restored narthex. The fresco of Saint Spyridon was set on the left side of the central door leading into the interior and the fresco of Saint Anthony was set on the right side. Watercolors of Saint Spyridon and Saint Anthony by Piet de Jong made before the frescos were removed from the chapel of Aghios Spyridon, in the 1930s. Piet de Jong, an extraordinary archaeological illustrator, joined the staff of the Agora Excavations in 1932. The two watercolors represent just a tiny fraction of the work he left behind. They also illustrate the remarkable talent he had of coaxing details and colors from the object he was illustrating that the casual observer would most likely ignore. View of the northwest corner of the church after restoration, September 1956","","http://agathe.gr/overview/the_church_of_the_holy_apostles.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:a244c669c51f44e8f67f3c533248b5ea","Overview: The Church of the Holy Apostles","",""
"State Religion: The Archon Basileus There was no attempt in Classical Athens to separate church and state. Altars and shrines were intermingled with the public areas and buildings of the city. A single magistrate, the archon Basileus or king archon, was responsible for both religious matters and the laws; appointed by lot, he served for a year. Aristotle describes his varied duties as follows: The basileus is first responsible for the Mysteries, in conjunction with the overseers elected by the people ... also for the Dionysia at the Lenaion, which involves a procession and contest. . . . He also organizes all the torch races and one might say that he administers all the traditional sacrifices. Public lawsuits fall to him on charges of impiety and when a man is involved in a dispute with someone over a priesthood. He holds the adjudications for clans and for priests in all their disputes on religious matters. Also all private suits for homicide fall to him. (Athenian Constitution 57) Fragmentary Athenian (Attic) red-figure kylix (drinking cup), about 47S B.C. H.: 0.097 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 42. It was important for Athenian citizens, especially warriors departing for battle, to render the gods their due. Here, a young warrior offers a libation at an elaborate altar topped with scrolls and a palmette finial and smeared with the blood of previous sacrifices. The warrior holds a spear in one hand and a phiale (libation bowl) in the other. He wears a short tunic with a cloak over his shoulders, a helmet, and greaves. His shield, shown in a perspective, three-quarter view, is behind him. The king archon held office in the Royal Stoa, a small colonnaded building along the west side of the Agora square. It was built at about the same time as the Kleisthenic reforms, in about 500 B.C. In addition to housing the king archon, the stoa served also to display the laws of Athens. In the late 5th century B.C. the Athenians inscribed their constitution on stones and set them up inside and in front of the Royal Stoa so any Athenian could come and read the laws of the city. The Royal Stoa (Stoa Basileos) in the late 6th century B.C. Model by Fetros Demetriades and Kostas Papoulias. Athens, Agora Museum. The earliest and simplest of the stoas that bordered the Agora, the Stoa Basileos had eight Doric columns between its two end walls; the stumps of the columns can still be seen. There were four inner columns evenly spaced within the length of the building; these, too, were Doric. Continuous benches ran along the back and across the ends of the building. The 2nd-century A.D. traveler Pausanias identified the stoa clearly: ""The first (building) on the right is the stoa called Basileos, where sits the 'King' (Basileus) when he holds the annual magistery called 'Kingship'"" (Description of Greece 1.3.1). Pausanias describes several clay akroterion figures on the roof of the stoa; fragments of these have been found. They represented the Athenian hero Theseus hurling the brigand Skiron into the sea, and Eos, goddess of dawn, carrying off Kephalos (compare 5.1). In addition, several ancient texts refer to the great unworked stone (lithos) found in place in front of the building (19.3), which was used by the king archon when, as chief of the religious magistrates, he administered their oath of office: ""They took the oath near the Royal Stoa, on the stone on which were the parts of the (sacrificial) victims, swearing that they would guard the laws"" (Pollux 8.86) and ""the Council took a joint oath to ratify the laws of Solon, and each of the thesmothetes swore separately at the stone in the Agord' (Plutarch, Life of Solon 25.2). The stoa was the setting for events that led to the trial and death of Sokrates in 399 B.C. The philosopher was tried for impiety, for importing new gods into the city, and for corrupting the youth of Athens. These were religious matters and as such fell under the jurisdiction of the king archon. Preliminary arguments were held in the Royal Stoa, as we learn from Plato, quoting Sokrates: ""Now I must present myself at the Stoa of the Basileus to answer the indictment which Meletos has brought against me"" (Theatetos 201D) Photograph of the Lithos, or Oath Stone, late 6th century B.C. L.: 3.0 m. Athens, Agora excavations. Although its top is level and smooth, the stone is unworked, a condition appropriate to its sacred function. The stone lies in front of the Royal Stoa and is clearly the stone on which magistrates stood to take the oath of office. Reconstruction drawing of the northwest corner of the Agora, ca. 300 B.C. Drawing by W B. Dinsmoor, Jr. The Royal Stoa is at the upper left. At the upper right is the Painted Stoa, birthplace of Stoic philosophy, and in the foreground is a crossroads shrine. Aerial view of the northwest corner of the Agora showing the Royal Stoa (left) and the Crossroads Enclosure (right).","","http://agathe.gr/democracy/state_religion.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:9d689a60f01ed8b811cd72653dbee8f5","Birth of Democracy: State Religion","",""
"Ostracism Soon after their victory over the Persians at the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., the Athenians began the practice of ostracism, a form of election designed to curb the power of any rising tyrant. They were probably inspired at least in part by the fact that their old tyrant Hippias, who had been thrown out years before, accompanied the Persian fleet to Marathon, hoping to be reinstalled in power in Athens once again. The procedure of ostracism was simple. Once a year the people would meet in the Agora and take a vote to determine if anyone was becoming too powerful and was in a position to establish a tyranny. If a simple majority voted yes, they met again in the Agora two months later. At this second meeting each citizen carried with him an ostrakon (potsherd) on which he had scratched the name of the person he wished ostracized. if at least 6,000 votes were cast, the man with the most votes lost and was exiled for ten years. Ostrakon of Megakles (left), ostracized in 486 B.C. Max. dim.: 0.11 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 14490. Inscribed ΜΕΓΑΚΛΕΣ ΗΙΠΠΟΚΡΑΤΕΣ, Megakles son of Hippokrates. Aristotle reports the ostracism of Megakles son of Hippokrates, and goes on to say that ""the Athenians continued for three years to ostracize the friends of the tyrants, on account of whom the law had been enacted"" (Athenian Constitution 22). More than 4,000 ostraka bearing Megakles' name were found in one deposit in the Kerameikos (the potters' quarter of Athens) and have been associated with the ostracism of 486 B.C., although the rude comments that accompany his name on some of these ostraka concentrate on his morals rather than on his tyrannical tendencies. Ostrakon of Xanthippos (right), ostracized in 484 B.C. Max. dim.: 0.073 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 6107. Inscribed: ΧΣΑΝΘΙΠΠΟΣ ΑΡΡΙΦΡΟΝΟΣ, Xanthippos son of Arriphron. Aristotle says that after three years of concentrating on ostracizing the friends of the tyrants, the Athenians ""took to removing anyone else who seemed too powerful: the first man unconnected with the tyranny to be ostracized was Xanthippos son of Arriphron"" (Athenian Constitution 22). The procedure was used frequently in the 480's and less often thereafter. While an interesting idea, it did not really work to curb ambition in the long run, for a prominent man, if powerful enough, could use it to eliminate his chief rival. Such an occurrence is recorded in 443 B.C., when Perikles was facing vociferous criticism of his policies, especially his building program. An ostracism was held, which resulted in the exile of his main opponent, Thucydides the son of Melesias (not Thucydides the historian). Plutarch describes the final ostracism and the abandonment of the procedure in 417 B.C.: Now the sentence of ostracism was not a chastisement of base practices, instead it was speciously called a humbling and docking of oppressive prestige and power; but it was really a merciful exorcism of the spirit of jealous hate, which thus vented its malignant desire to injure, not in some irreparable evil, but in a mere change of residence for ten years. And when ignoble men of the baser sort came to be subjected to this penalty it ceased to be inflicted at all, and Hyperbolos was the last to be thus ostracized. It is said that Hyperbolos was ostracized for the following reason. Alkibiades and Nikias had the greatest power in the state and were at odds. Accordingly, when the people were about to exercise the ostracism, and were clearly going to vote against one or the other of these two men, they came to terms with one another, united their opposing factions, and effected the ostracism of Hyperbolos. The people were incensed at this for they felt that the institution had been insulted and abused, and so they abandoned it utterly and put an end to it. (Life of Aristeides 73-4) Ostrakon of Perikles, candidate for ostracism in the mid-5th century B.C. Max. dim.: 0.07 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 16755. Inscribed: ΠΕΡΙΚΛΕΣ ΧΣΑΝΘΙΠΠΟ, Perikles son of Xanthippos. After Kimon's ostracism, Perikles rose to power as leader of the democratic party. Elected strategos (general) year after year, he diverted the funds of the Delian League, established for the defense of Greece, to magnificent building programs in Athens, among them the rebuilding of the Acropolis. He may often have been a candidate for ostracism but was never ostracized. Ostrakon of Thucydides, ostracized in 443 B.C. Max. dim.: 0.13 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 29461. Inscribed: ΘΟΚΥΔΙΔΗΣ, Thucydides. This Thucydides, the son of Melesias, may have been the maternal grandfather of the historian Thucydides. He was opposed to Perikles and especially to his building program. His ostracism left Perikles as the uncontested political leader of the Athenian state. Useless immediately after the counting, the actual ostraka were simply discarded in the street or any convenient hole. Like most baked pottery, ostraka are virtually indestructible; excavations in Athens have produced over 11,000 examples. More than any literary text, the ostraka bring to life a sense of Athenian power politics as waged centuries ago. They preserve the names of all the well-known statesmen as well as several unknown aspirants to political power. Ostrakon of Aristeides, ostracized in 482 B.C. Max. dim.: .0125 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 9973. Inscribed: ΑΡΙΣΤΕΙΔΕΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΤΟ, Aristeides son of Lysimachos. Plutarch tells an anecdote about the ostracism of Aristeides: ... while the votes were being written down, an illiterate and uncouth rustic handed his piece of earthenware to Aristeides and asked him to write the name Aristeides on it. The latter was astonished and asked the man what harm Aristeides had ever done him. ""None whatever,"" was the reply, ""I do not even know the fellow, but I am sick of hearing him called 'The just' everywhere! When he heard this, Aristeides said nothing, but wrote his name on the ostrakon and handed it back. (Aristeides 7, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert) Ostrakon of Kimon, ostracized in 461 B.C. Max. dim.: 0.106 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 18555. Inscribed: ΚΙΜΟΝ ΜΙΛΤΙΑΔΟ, Kimon son of Miltiades. Kimon, influential statesman and soldier of the 470's and 460's B.C., was the leader of an aristocratic faction, which brought him into opposition with Perikles and other democrats and eventually led to his ostracism. He was recalled before five years had elapsed. Ostrakon of Hippokrates, candidate for ostracism in the 480's B.C. Max. dim.: 0.10 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 6036. Inscribed twice ΗΙΠΠΟΚΡΑΤΕΣ ΑΛΚΜΕΟΝΙΔΟ, Hippokrates son of Alkmeonides. This Hippokrates is not otherwise known, but he must have been a member of the Alkmeonid family and, like the father of Megakles (14.1), may have had a connection to the Peisistratid tyrants.","","http://agathe.gr/democracy/practice_of_ostracism.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:f70020a0f0d117f0e80c1cece351acf2","Birth of Democracy: Practice of Ostracism","",""
"Tyranny As happened in many other Greek states, a tyrant arose in Athens in the 6th century B.C. His name was Peisistratos, and after several unsuccessful attempts he seized power in 546 B.C. and ruled until his death in 527, after which he was succeeded by his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchos. Such tyrannies were a common feature of Greek political life as states made the transition from an aristocracy to either a democracy or an oligarchy. The Greek word τύραννος indicates that the individual seized or held power unconstitutionally but does not necessarily carry the negative force the word has today. Often the tyrant arose as the champion of the common people against the aristocracy. Peisistratos, head of one of the large aristocratic families, seized power by force during a period of factional strife. Though many Athenians fled or were forced into exile (Herodotus 1.64), Aristotle's assessment of his tenure is positive: Peisistratos' administration of the state was, as has been said, moderate, and more constitutional than tyrannic; he was kindly and mild in everything, and in particular he was merciful to offenders and moreover he advanced loans of money to the poor for their industries. (Athenian Constitution 16.1-2) Aristotle has further praise for the tyrants, at least in their early days: And in all other matters too he gave the multitude no trouble during his rule but always worked for peace and safeguarded tranquility; so that men were often to be heard saying that the tyranny of Peisistratos was the Golden Age of Kronos; for it came about later when his son succeeded him that the government became much harsher. And the greatest of all the things said of him was that he was popular and kindly in temper. For he was willing to administer everything according to the laws in all matters, never giving himself any advantage. ... Both the notables and the men of the people were most of them willing for him to govern, since he won over the former by his hospitality and the latter by his assistance in their private affairs and was good-natured to both. (Athenian Constitution 16.7-9) That Peisistratid rule was surprisingly open is borne out by a fragment of a list of archons which shows that in 524 B.C. the future founder of democracy, Kleisthenes himself, held the chief magistracy while the tyrants were still in power, as did another rival aristocrat, Miltiades. For 599/1 B.C. we can read the name of the younger Peisistratos, grandson of the founder of the tyranny. Fragment Of an inscription, about 425 B.C. H.: 0.15 m. W.: 0.195 m. Athens, Agora Museum I 4120. Broken from a large marble block inscribed with a list of archons of Athens, this piece preserves parts of the names of six archons of the 520's B.C.; two of them are members of the family of Peisistratos: In the second line we read Hippias, his son, and in the last line, Peisistratos the younger, his grandson. The inscription also records the names of two other well-known politicians active in the late 6th century B.C.: Miltiades, future hero of the battle of Marathon against the Persians, and Kleisthenes, later to be the initiator of democratic reforms. The letter forms date the inscription to the later part of the 5th century B.C., which means the piece shown here recorded the names of individuals who held office a century earlier. His reign, like that of so many tyrants, was characterized by large public works projects, the first in Athens for centuries. Large temples and altars were constructed for Zeus Olympios, Apollo Pythios, and the Twelve Gods. In addition, an extensive system of aqueducts and fountainhouses brought a reliable supply of good clean water into the city. The impact of this fine new water system is reflected in the fountainhouse scenes painted on dozens of black-figure hydrias (water jars) and other pots in the late 6th century. Model of the Altar of the Twelve Gods. Model by Petros Demetriades and Kostas Papoulias, Athens, Agora Museum. Literary sources tell us that the younger Peisistratos, grandson of the founder of the tyranny, dedicated the Altar of the Twelve Gods when he was archon in 522/1 B.C. This monument was near the middle of the Agora square, the actual center of Athens, and was the point from which distances from Athens were measured. The altar was famous in antiquity as a place of asylum and refuge. No traces remain of the altar itself, but excavation has revealed a foundation of squared blocks supporting a low sill of limestone blocks with the marks of a stone fence on the upper surface which formed the altar enclosure. Nearby is a statue base with a inscription that identifies the structure as the Altar of the Twelve Gods: ""Leagros the son of Glaukon dedicated this to the Twelve Gods."" Athenian (Attic) white-ground, black-figure lekythos (oil container), about SOO B.C. Attributed to the Gela Painter. H.: 0.265 m. Athens, Agora Museum P 24106. Building fountainhouses and thus improving the water supply of the city was one of several civic works initiated under the Peisistratid tyranny. In the picture on this vase, water gushes from a spout shaped like the head of a panther into the water jar (hydria) below. A woman waits for it to fill while another woman goes off with her jar full. The fountainhouse shown here is small, but we know of one fountainhouse built at this time that had nine waterspouts, the Enneakrounos, a building that has not so far been located by archaeologists. As this picture suggests, fountainhouses became meeting places for women whose otherwise circumscribed lives allowed them few such opportunities. Matters changed with the death of Peisistratos when his two sons Hippias and Hipparchos took over in 527 B.C. Aristotle describes the characters of the two brothers: Affairs were now under the authority of Hipparchos and Hippias, owing to their station and their ages, but the government was controlled by Hippias, who was the elder and was statesmanlike and wise by nature; whereas Hipparchos was fond of amusement and lovemaking and had literary tastes; it was he who brought to Athens the poets such as Anakreon and Simonides, and the others. (Athenian Constitution 18.1) Drawing of an inscribed molding from the Altar of Apollo Pytbios. Drawing by William B. Dinsmoor, Jr. Literary sources tell us that the Altar of Apollo Pythios, like the Altar of the Twelve Gods, was built when Peisistratos the Younger was archon, in 522/1 B.C. Inscribed bases from the shrine survive and have been found near the Olympieion, so it is assumed that the altar was in that area. The inscription on the section of molding from the altar illustrated here reads: ""This memorial of his office Peisistratos son of Hippias set up in the precinct of Pythian Apollo.""","","http://agathe.gr/democracy/tyranny.html","","","Webpage","","","Agora","","Agora:Webpage:cfc7e83cc722831a91df2e42e27c41d2","Birth of Democracy: Tyranny","",""