Part 14 - The appearance and construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

Having discussed the Council of 500, in the next several posts I will do same for the other key components of Athenian democracy in the fourth century: the Council of the Areopagus, the Magistrates, Defense, Finance, the Courts, and the Assembly.

The Council of Areopagus

As a reminder, the Council of Areopagus had lost most of its power in the middle of the fifth century due to the concerns about the aristocratic nature of the Council. After having little role in public affairs for the remainder of the century, some power was restored to the Areopagus early in the fourth century.  It was given the responsibility for making sure that magistrates only applied established laws as well as for being the guardians of the law generally.  This was yet another example of the determination of the democracy to support the rule of law in as  many ways as possible.  Even though the Areopagus continued to be seen as a symbol of oligarchy, it did still maintain some respect and authority.

The Assembly sought the assistance of the Areopagus in particular when it had  concern about the safety of the state.  This was frequent in the early to middle part of the fourth century when the power of Phillip of Macedonia was growing along with internal divisions.  “A new judicial procedure was introduced, known as Apophasis, under which the assembly might ask the area pages to investigate charges of treason and reported findings to the assembly.  the Areopagus might itself also initiate such actions.”(Mitchell)  

The most significant increase in the power  of the Areopagus resulted from a decree by Demosthenes that gave total authority to the Areopagus to punish anyone who offended against the laws.  However, due to some continuing concern, this was countered  by a confirmation of the earlier reform focused on subversion of the democracy or holding public office following such subversion.  As part of this, members of the Areopagus were specifically singled out for loss of civic rights and property if they were involved in any efforts to overthrow the democracy.  This was a clear warning to the Areopagus that they were not above popular retribution.  Throughout the remainder of the fourth century, the Areopagus never constrained rule by the people. 

The Magistrates

As mentioned previously, the number of magistrates increased substantially in the fifth century and this continued in the fourth. Magistrates were selected in two ways.  First, about 100 were elected by the Assembly with candidates proposed at a meeting and voting by a show of hands.  This group was for the positions of all senior military commanders, leaders of training for citizenship (moral, military, and religious training) for youth, senior financial officers, and some religious leaders.   Second, up to 1,100 (including the Council of 500) other magistrates were chosen by lot from citizen volunteers who were over 30 and had not previously had any rights taken away.  There were specific procedures for the selection of Councillors (Council of 500) and Archons.  Councillors were still chosen by the demes (towns).  Each deme was assigned representatives on a proportional basis according to its number of citizens. Those chosen  became a group of 50 that each of the ten tribes contributed to the Council.  For archons, each tribe selected ten candidates by lot, one of whom was selected by a centralized allotment to form a group of ten archons. 

Magistrates typically functioned as a board of 10, with one member from each tribe.  The primary administrative departments of the state were religious affairs, the marketplace, fair-trading regulations, public works and facilities, rural affairs, the justice system, custody of prisoners, implementation of sentences, military affairs, and public finances.   The last two require more specific discussion due to their central importance and the fact that they underwent the greatest change in the fourth century.

Defense

There were notable reforms intended to make the army more professional.  This was not as needed with the navy - Athens was a longstanding great naval power and citizens were skilled in seafaring at an early age. A number of reforms were made to address strengthening the army. By the middle of the fourth century, an intensive two-year program had been developed focusing on military, moral, and ethical education and training.  The second year was focused entirely in military service and further training. This is an interesting blending of civilian citizenship training and military training - something worthy of considering today?

Due to losses in wars and the plague, there were frequent manpower shortages.  This was dealt with by increasing use of mercenaries.  It was clear the in addition to losses, military service put significant demands on citizens, particularly farmers who were unable to attend sufficiently to their crops. Despite  the growth of mercenaries, citizens continued military service in quite significant numbers.  The position of General was developed further with more specific areas of responsibility for each.  Most of the military leaders of the fourth century were professional solders who focused entirely on the business of war.  This resulted in an increasingly common separation between the role of general and politician.  Military leaders had their hands full with in a time of changing military tactics and technology as well as long absences from Athens reducing opportunities to build political skills and influence. On the non-military side there were increasing requirements for skills in rhetoric and in administration of an increasingly complex state apparatus. The time of great generals dominating the political sphere, as Pericles had done, was over by the fourth century. 

Finance

Significant changes took place in the fourth century concerning the organization and management of the finances of the state.  This was primarily due to the extreme economic contraction that occurred due to internal upheaval, war losses and the subsequent decline in state income. Tribute from allies and all other imperial income ended abruptly.  As part of this, Athens lost its role as the marketplace of the ancient world.  It no longer had the power and wealth to be a center of trade and investment. “It is difficult to quantify the precise extent of the economic crisis of the fourth century or to determine how long it lasted. Figures in the sources are a rarity. But there is sufficient evidence to show that private capital had diminished, that poverty was widespread and the economic issues were very much to the fore.”(Mitchell) Clearly the event of the last thirty years of the fifth century (see The appearance and construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece, Part 10) had left Athens with a significant reduction in private wealth, population, and public income. During the first half of the fourth century, Athens had great difficult meeting its obligations and could not undertake many initiatives of note.  

Finally, in the late 350s there was an era of peace and an era of economic recovery began.  Various changes were made in the management of state revenues including great efficiency and control of income and expenditures. In addition, for the first time, Athens had to impose direct taxation and a temporary property tax. The wealthy were taxed the most, generally based on their overall wealth. There is also some evidence that the middle and lower classes had tax obligations at least to some degree.  In addition, creates emphasis was placed on the historical voluntary financial contributions that the wealthy were expected to pay. One result of the financial crisis and these subsequent changes was that financial offices took on increased political influence. This did not, however, diminish the power of the people in public affairs.

The next post will focus on the Courts and the Assembly before moving on the Athenian Democracy’s final days.