The democratic political system in Athens was finally formed under the famous ruler Cleisthenes, who dealt a powerful blow to the domination of the old tribal nobility.
After the death of Pisistratus, his sons Hippias and Hipparchus took power into their own hands. In fact, Hippias was engaged in state affairs, while Hipparchus devoted himself to literature and art. The regime became more severe. In 514 BC. e. a conspiracy arose among the Athenian aristocrats, the purpose of which was the overthrow of tyranny. Two conspirators - Harmodius and Aristogeiton - attempted to kill Hippias and Hipparchus during the Panathenaic festival, but only Hipparchus was killed. The memory of Harmodius and Aristogeiton as fighters against tyranny was honored by the Athenian democrats for a long time. The surviving Hippias brought down cruel repressions on the heads of his opponents. During this period, many Athenians left their homeland.
Hippias' position was complicated by foreign policy difficulties. In 519 BC. e. Athens annexed the Boeotian border city of Plataea to its possessions. This led to a break with the Thebans. At the same time, Argos, an old ally of Peisistratus, is weakening, and aristocratic Sparta, hostile to him, is strengthening. To top it off, Athens lost control of the straits, which passed into the hands of the Persian power of the Achaemenids.
The power of the Peisistratids was opposed by the tribal nobility and the leaders of the trade and craft circles, the leaders of the paralia Alcmeonids. Opponents of the tyrant brothers enlisted the support of aristocratic Sparta and influential Delphic oracles. In 510 BC. e. the Spartans entered the city, and the tyrant was expelled from Athens.
And immediately a struggle began between the Eupatrides and the Paralyas. The nobility was led by Isagoras, and it was he who, naturally, was supported by the Spartan king Cleomenes. Cleisthenes, the leader of the paralia party, was now expelled from Athens, explaining this by “cleansing the city from filth”. The fact is that Cleisthenes belonged to the Alcmeonids, who were cursed back in the 7th century. BC e., because in the fight against the usurper Kilon, representatives of the family committed sacrilege against the sacred temple. Together with Cleisthenes, another 700 families of his supporters were forced to leave the city. The Spartans tried to restore the power of the tribal aristocracy by placing Isagoras at the head of the state. But the inhabitants of Attica opposed. Peasants quickly flocked to Athens, who, in alliance with the townspeople, locked the Spartans and local supporters of Isagoras on the Acropolis. Eupatrides were forced to surrender, Cleomenes left the city. Cleisthenes returned to Athens, who was elected the first archon, as Solon had once been. It happened in 508 (507) BC. e., he was about 60 years old.
The most important reform of Cleisthenes was the division of all citizens of Attica into new phyla. Prior to this, the whole people was divided into four phyla, each of which included three phratries. At the head of each phratry was a noble family, who was in charge of its cult affairs. Ordinary members of the phratry were obliged to submit to the religious and political authority of the nobility, supporting it in all its enterprises. Cleisthenes broke this system. He divided the entire territory of Attica into three districts: the city, the central plains and the coastal strip. Each district was divided into ten smaller districts - trittium. Then ten phyla were formed, each of which included one tritia from each district. Philae united only during voting and nominated 50 people each to a transformed bule (respectively, now it was the Council of Five Hundred), one person to a new body - the College of Ten Strategists (who in turn served as commander-in-chief of the army), formed three detachments (sailors, foot soldiers and horsemen) for the Athenian army. Each of the ten phyla was named after one of the mythological heroes. The main feature of the new phyla was that its representatives lived in different places. Cleisthenes, in the words of Aristotle, "mixed the Athenian people." Of course, the tip of this reform was directed against the Eupatrides. The archonteponym left behind the old tribal phyla only religious functions.
The main political, economic and administrative unit was the dem (one or several villages or a quarter of Athens), trittia were divided into them. Under Cleisthenes, there were about a hundred such demos. Dem was a self-governing community with its own assembly, court, treasury and an elected headman demarche with broad administrative and police powers. Here, lists of births were compiled, demarchs were in charge of collecting taxes, mobilizing young members of the dema. In the deme, the members of the jury were also determined by lot. Getting into the lists of dema automatically led to civil rights. By the way, when compiling the lists of demotes, many meteks (restricted in the rights of the descendants of settlers) and freedmen were included there, which increased the number of Athenian citizens.
Under Cleisthenes, the importance of the People's Assembly, bule and jury trials was restored, through which every citizen could defend his rights. The most important law against tyranny was, perhaps, the law on ostracism adopted precisely under Cleisthenes. According to him, the People's Assembly was convened annually to resolve an important issue: is there a person among the Athenians who stands out for his authority so much that he can seize sole power. If the meeting believed that there was, a second meeting was appointed to carry out the ostracism procedure (from “ostracon” - a shard). Each Athenian present at the ekklesia could write on a clay shard the name of the most dangerous person, in his opinion. It could be a successful commander, a popular politician, etc.; moreover, it could be, in principle, a completely worthy citizen who did not stain himself in any way. But the People's Assembly had the right to decide that he was a danger to civil liberty. An Athenian who was ostracized by a majority vote was expelled from the policy for a period of ten years without confiscation of property. His family remained in the city, and he himself immediately received back his civil rights upon his return.
Democratic Athens was opposed by a coalition of Greek states, where the power still belonged to the nobility, who feared the "bad example" of Attica for their people. The coalition included Thebes, Sparta, Chalkis and Aegina. The Alcmeonids tried to find support from the Persians and even agreed to recognize the supreme power of the Persian king, but the people of Attica categorically refused to ratify such an agreement. In 506 BC. e. Allied troops invaded Attica. But the Athenians managed to inflict a crushing defeat on them. Moreover, they crossed over to the island of Euboea and there they took possession of Chalkis. Democracy has triumphed.
Biography
Fight against tyranny
The first mention of Cleisthenes (however, this cannot be considered completely proven) is contained in a fragment of an Athenian inscription with a list of archons, from which it follows that Cleisthenes was an archon of 525 BC. e. This contradicts the ancient tradition, according to which the Alcmeonids were expelled by the tyrant Peisistratus and since then have constantly fought against tyranny and leads scholars to assume that Cleisthenes, among other Alcmeonids, was returned to Athens by Peisistratus, or rather by his sons Hippias and Hipparchus and again expelled after the murder Hipparchus Harmodius and Aristogeiton in 514 BC. e. From that moment on, the Alcmeonids, headed by Cleisthenes, really develop an active struggle against tyranny: they strengthen the town of Lipsidrius, and after a military defeat suffered there, they bribe the Delphic oracle, which orders the Spartans to liberate Athens. The command was carried out in 510 BC. e. with the active help of the Athenian opponents of tyranny; the sources do not say anything about the specific role of Cleisthenes in the events, but it should have been considerable.
Fight with Isagor
In the liberated Athens, a struggle for power began between Cleisthenes and Isagoras, elected archon for 508/507. At the same time, Isagoras adhered to the oligarchic direction and relied on aristocratic "partnerships" (geterii), while Cleisthenes, in contrast to him, appealed to the masses and proposed a plan for broad democratic reforms. Isagoras, for his part, asked for help from Sparta. The Spartan king Cleomenes I sent envoys demanding that the Athenians expel those tainted by the "kilonian sin"; Cleisthenes secretly fled, but nevertheless Cleomenes came to Athens with a detachment and expelled 700 families, and even the bones of the dead were thrown out of the graves. After that, he tried to disperse the Council and transfer power into the hands of Isagoras and 300 of his supporters, the oligarchs. The result was a general uprising; Cleomenes with the Spartans and oligarchs was besieged on the Acropolis and forced to retire; Isagoras withdrew with him, and his adherents (according to various reports) either left Athens in the same way, or were killed. After this, Cleisthenes returned to the city and carried out a series of reforms that established Athenian democracy.
Reforms of Cleisthenes
Territorial division
Cleisthenes destroyed the traditional division of Athens into four territorial and tribal districts - phyla, which was the mainstay of the influence of the tribal nobility and its groups. The basis of the division was the "village" - dem; demes united into 30 trittia, and trittia - into 10 new phyla, cut arbitrarily and did not have a continuous territory. Herodotus determines the initial number of demes at 100; then their number increased.
The demes were named either by the names of the localities they occupied, or by their mythical founders, or, finally, by the noble families that lived in one or another deme (for example, the dem Filaids). The Athenian now became a member of the civic community not through belonging to a clan, but through belonging to a deme; in his deme, upon reaching the age of majority (18 years old), he was included in the civil lists. In official documents, he was referred to by the name of the dema (for example: Demetrius from Alopeka); it is believed that Cleisthenes wanted this name to supplant traditional patronymics. However, the name of the deme quickly lost its connection with the actual place of residence and only reminded to which deme his ancestors were assigned under Cleisthenes.
In terms of population and space, the demes differed greatly from each other, since when they were formed, Cleisthenes proceeded from the original division of Attica into settlements. Dem enjoyed self-government in local affairs; in public administration, the demos participated mainly through phyla.
The Demarch, with his demarches and other local authorities, with his general demotic meetings, lands, and cult, educated the citizen for activity in the broader national arena. It was not difficult for the legislator to introduce new citizens into the new divisions - foreigners who settled in Attica and freedmen.
Several demos made up the tritia. In total, there were 30 trittia: 10 in the city and its surroundings, ten in Paralia (on the coast) and 10 in Mesogeia (the inner region of Attica). The trittia were distributed by lot among 10 phyla, so that in each phylum there was one city tritia, one Paralia tritia, and one Mesogeia tritia. Thus, the old tribal-territorial ties were broken and the formation of parties like pediai, paraliai and diacria was prevented.
Cleisthenian divisions can be traced back to the middle of the 4th century BC. AD (and then there were already 13 phyla and up to 200 demos). At the direction of the Pythia, 10 domestic heroes became patrons of the Klisfen phyla, who gave their names to the phyla.
The reform of the territorial division led to the reform of the City Council. According to the constitution of Solon, the Council was formed by 100 people from each phylum, and thus represented the Council of Four Hundred. The new Council of Five Hundred consisted of 50 people from the phyla, elected in demes; the entire composition of the council was divided during the year into 10 sections (pritany) according to phyla; the official boards usually consisted of 10 magistrates, one from each phylum; The 6,000 jurors were also chosen by phylum; the infantry was divided into 10 regiments, and the cavalry into 10 squadrons, etc. Thus, not a territorial, but a political unit was put at the basis of state administration.
Other reforms
Cleisthenes did not destroy the old tribal divisions of Attica; clans, phratries, Ionian phyla continued to exist after him. He even increased the number of phratries, changing their personal composition: in addition to the ancient clans, they included members of religious associations who did not belong to the clans; all the frators were united by the cults of Zeus the phratry and Athena the phratry. Belonging to a phratry determined the rights and title of an Athenian citizen up to the age of 18. However, these tribal divisions ceased to play a political role.
Cleisthenes also created a board of 10 military leaders - strategists (1 from each phylum), into whose hands in subsequent years all military power passed from the archon-polemarch; unlike the archons, in which only representatives of the two highest property classes were elected, representatives of all classes could become strategists, except for the last - fetes.
To prevent new attempts to seize tyrannical power, Cleisthenes introduced ostracism.
Result
The reforms of Cleisthenes completed the unification of Attica, begun, according to legend, by Theseus, and the formation of an organic whole from disparate and warring population groups. According to Aristotle, Cleisthenes made Athens more democratic, and Herodotus puts in a causal relationship with the Cleisthenian organization of the republic the successes of the Athenians that soon followed it in the wars with the Boeotians and Chalcidians: under the yoke of tyrants, they were negligent, “because, as if they were working for the master, and then, when they became free, they willingly took up the matter, pursuing their own interests ”(V, 78).
Notes
Literature
Links
- Vladimirskaya O. Yu.%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82<=>%5B>https:%E2%95%B1%E2%95%B1web.archive.org%E2%95%B1web%E2%95%B120070312073801%E2%95%B1http:%E2%95%B1%E2%95 %B1centant.pu.ru%E2%95%B1aristeas%E2%95%B1monogr%E2%95%B1vladim_o%E2%95%B1vlad_o01.htm<%5D<)+%7D">Alcmeonides and Philaeides of Athens
An Athenian politician, he carried out a number of important reforms that undermined the influence of the tribal nobility and established a democratic system in Athens.
Descended from the well-known Athenian genus Alkmeonids; his father is Megacles, his mother is Agarista, daughter of the tyrant Sicyon Cleisthenes. In 524/3 BC served as archon when Athens was ruled by the Peisistratids, sons of the tyrant Peisistratus Hippias and Hipparchus. Subsequently, apparently, the Alcmeonids had a conflict with the tyrants, Cleisthenes was forced to retire into exile and became one of Hippias' ardent opponents. In 510 BC with the help of the Spartans and the Spartan king Cleomenes I, the Athenians expelled the tyrant, and it can be assumed that Cleisthenes played an active role in these events. Competition to Cleisthenes in Athens liberated from tyrannical power was made by the politician Isagoras, archon of 508, who was guided by Sparta. The "Kylonian filth" lying on the Alcmeonids was again pulled out into the light as a pretext for the expulsion of Cleisthenes and his supporters. When Isagoras tried to disperse the Council of 400 (boule) and send another 700 families into exile, an uprising occurred in Athens (some historians call it a "revolution"). The Athenians laid siege to the Acropolis, where Isagoras and the Spartans took refuge; those, having negotiated a free passage for themselves, left the city; and Cleisthenes, who returned from exile, soon after these events carried out his reforms. It is not known whether he held any position at the same time, and what period of time was required for the transformation; they are usually dated to 508/7. BC. We do not have further information about the life of Cleisthenes, which led to the assumption of his death c. 507-506
The first of the Cleisthenian reforms was the administrative-territorial reform: Attica was divided into three districts (Athens with the adjacent territory, the coastal part, the hinterland); each district - by 10 trittia (i.e. there were 30 in total); then, by lot, three trittia, one from each district, constituted one phylum, in which all three parts of Attica were thus represented; in total, there were 10 new phyla, which received the names of the legendary Athenian heroes. in total, under Cleisthenes, there were 100 of them. The dem became the fundamental unit of the civil community: lists of citizens, lists of candidates for office were now kept in dem; at a meeting of demotes (members of the dema), a demarch was elected - the headman of the dema; even if the Athenian did not live on the territory of his deme, he retained his belonging to it. The official Athenian name now included demotikon (δημοτικόν) - the name of the deme, whereas earlier it was obligatory πατρωνυμικόν - patronymic (father's name in the genitive case). The reform of the phyla Cleisthenes undermined the position of the tribal aristocracy; mixing the people, the reformer actually nullified the political confrontation on a regional basis that had taken place in Attica before.
The Solon Council of 400 was transformed into the Council of 500 - 50 bulevts from each new phylum. A board of 10 strategists was created (one from the phyla). The strategists commanded the Athenian militia, taking on the duties that the archon-polemarch had previously performed. Cleisthenes proposed ostracism as a measure that could prevent the emergence of a potential tyrant in the future. By "voting potsherds" at the people's assembly, citizens had to decide whether this or that politician was dangerous for the stable development of the state, whether his influence threatened to exceed the norm acceptable in a democracy. However, the first known ostracism occurred only in 487 BC.
Herodotus in his "History" described Cleisthenes as the man who established "phyla and democracy" in Athens, Aristotle calls him "the leader and prostate of the people." In modern science, most often it is Cleisthenes who is considered as the "founding father" of Athenian democracy; the past magnificent celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the birth of democracy had its reforms as a starting point. Of course, the political system under Cleisthenes differs from the much more radical social order that was established in Athens as a result of the reforms of the 80s-60s. 5th century (especially the creation of the fleet and the reform of Ephialtes) and the emergence of the Athenian maritime power, so some researchers call Cleisthenian democracy "hoplite", meaning that its basis was the middle strata. The definition most likely used in the era of Cleisthenes (the concept of “democracy” appeared later) is more suitable for it: “isonomy” - “equality”, i.e. equality before the law, equal right to participate in the management of the policy.
Historical sources:
Herodotus. History, V-VI;
Aristotle. Athenian polity, 8.
Illustration:
Cleisthenes. Modern bust. Sculptor: Anna Christoforidis.
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Fight against tyranny
The first mention of Cleisthenes (however, this cannot be considered completely proven) is contained in a fragment of an Athenian inscription with a list of archons, from which it follows that Cleisthenes was an archon of 525 BC. e. This contradicts the ancient tradition, according to which the Alcmeonids were expelled by the tyrant Peisistratus and since then have constantly fought against tyranny and leads scholars to assume that Cleisthenes, among other Alcmeonids, was returned to Athens by Peisistratus, or rather by his sons Hippias and Hipparchus and again expelled after the murder Hipparchus Harmodius and Aristogeiton in 514 BC e. From that moment on, the Alcmeonids, headed by Cleisthenes, really develop an active struggle against tyranny: they strengthen the town of Lipsidrius, and after a military defeat suffered there, they bribe the Delphic oracle, which orders the Spartans to liberate Athens. The command was carried out in 510 BC. e. with the active help of the Athenian opponents of tyranny; the sources do not say anything about the specific role of Cleisthenes in the events, but it should have been considerable.
Fight with Isagor
In the liberated Athens, a struggle for power began between Cleisthenes and Isagoras, elected archon for 508/507. At the same time, Isagoras adhered to the oligarchic direction and relied on aristocratic "partnerships" (geterii), while Cleisthenes, in contrast to him, appealed to the masses and proposed a plan for broad democratic reforms. Isagoras, for his part, asked for help from Sparta. The Spartan king Cleomenes sent envoys demanding that the Athenians expel those tainted by the "kilonian sin"; Cleisthenes secretly fled, but nevertheless Cleomenes came to Athens with a detachment and expelled 700 families, and even the bones of the dead were thrown out of the graves. After that, he tried to disperse the Council and transfer power into the hands of Isagoras and 300 of his supporters, the oligarchs. The result was a general uprising; Cleomenes with the Spartans and oligarchs was besieged on the Acropolis and forced to retire; Isagoras withdrew with him, and his adherents (according to various reports) either also left Athens, or were killed. After this, Cleisthenes returned to the city and carried out a series of reforms that established Athenian democracy.
Reforms of Cleisthenes
Territorial division
Cleisthenes destroyed the traditional division of Athens into four territorial and tribal districts - phyla, which was the mainstay of the influence of the tribal nobility and its groups. The basis of the division was the "village" - dem; demes united into 30 trittia, and trittia - into 10 new phyla, cut arbitrarily and did not have a continuous territory. Herodotus determines the initial number of demes at 100; then their number increased.
The demes were named either by the names of the localities they occupied, or by their mythical founders, or, finally, by the noble families that lived in one or another deme (for example, the dem Filaids). The Athenian now became a member of the civic community not through belonging to a clan, but through belonging to a deme; in his deme, upon reaching the age of majority (18 years old), he was included in the civil lists, in official documents he was called by the name of the deme (for example: Demetrius from Alopeka); it is believed that Cleisthenes wanted this name to supplant traditional patronymics. However, the name of the deme quickly lost its connection with the actual place of residence and only reminded to which deme his ancestors were assigned under Cleisthenes.
In terms of population and space, the demes differed greatly from each other, since when they were formed, Cleisthenes proceeded from the original division of Attica into settlements. Dem enjoyed self-government in local affairs; in public administration, the demos participated mainly through phyla.
The Demarch, with his demarches and other local authorities, with his general demotic meetings, lands, and cult, educated the citizen for activity in the broader national arena. It was not difficult for the legislator to introduce new citizens into the new divisions - foreigners who settled in Attica and freedmen.
Several demes made up a tritia; there were 30 trittiums in total: 10 in the city and its surroundings, ten in Paralia (on the coast) and 10 in Mesogeia (the inner region of Attica). The trittia were distributed by lot among 10 phyla, so that in each phylum there was one city tritia, one Paralia tritia, and one Mesogeia tritia. Thus, the old tribal-territorial ties were broken and the formation of parties like pediai, paraliai and diacria was prevented.
Cleisthenian divisions can be traced back to the middle of the 4th century BC. AD (and then there were already 13 phyla and up to 200 demos). At the direction of the Pythia, 10 domestic heroes became patrons of the Klisfen phyla, who gave their names to the phyla.
The reform of the territorial division led to the reform of the City Council. According to the constitution of Solon, the Council was formed by 100 people from each phylum, and thus represented the Council of Four Hundred. The new Council of Five Hundred consisted of 50 people from the phyla, elected in demes; the entire composition of the council was divided during the year into 10 sections (pritany) according to phyla; the official boards usually consisted of 10 magistrates, one from each phylum; The 6,000 jurors were also chosen by phylum; the infantry was divided into 10 regiments, and the cavalry into 10 squadrons, etc. Thus, not a territorial, but a political unit was put at the basis of state administration.
Other reforms
Cleisthenes did not destroy the old tribal divisions of Attica; clans, phratries, Ionian phyla continued to exist after him. He even increased the number of phratries, changing their personal composition: in addition to the ancient clans, they included members of religious associations who did not belong to the clans; all the phrators gg were united by the cults of Zeus the phratry and Athena the phratry. Belonging to a phratry determined the rights and title of an Athenian citizen up to the age of 18. However, these tribal divisions ceased to play a political role.
Cleisthenes also created a board of 10 military leaders - strategists (1 from each phylum), into whose hands in subsequent years all military power passed from the archon-polemarch; unlike archons, to which only representatives of the two highest property classes were elected, representatives of all classes could become strategists, except for the last - fetes.
To prevent new attempts to seize tyrannical power, Cleisthenes introduced ostracism.
Result
The reforms of Cleisthenes completed the unification of Attica, begun, according to legend, by Theseus, and the formation of an organic whole from disparate and warring population groups. According to Aristotle, Cleisthenes made Athens more democratic, and Herodotus
- Ostwald M. Cleisthenes Reforms // Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean ca. 525-479 BC e. Ed. J. Boardman and others. Trans. from English. A. V. Zaikova. M.: Ladomir, 2011. S. 368-416. (Series: The Cambridge History Ancient World. Vol. IV) - ISBN 978-5-86218-496-9
- Sheffer V. Athenian citizenship and the people's assembly. M., 1891. I, pp. 310-432.
- Francotle L'organisation de la cité athénienne et la reforme de Clisthenes. Paris, 1893.
- Hug. Studien aus dem class. Alterth. I, Freiburg, 1881.
- Schoell. Ueber die Kleisth. Phratrian. 1890.
The history of Athens, like many other cities, was not without conspiracies and upheavals. changed periodically. Its final formation took place during the reign of Cleisthenes. It was he who dealt a blow to the ruling tribal nobility. He actually remade Athens. As a result of his reforms, a democratic society was formed. Solon also made a significant contribution to the structure of the political system. Next, we will analyze in more detail what kind of transformations were made by these people. The article will also give a description of Athens at that time.
The situation at the beginning of the VI century BC. e.
She was quite complex. The free population gradually stratified. This process was due to the development of commodity-money turnover. In a free environment, contradictions began to arise between the impoverished and the rich eupatriads. The former, however, still held power. A stratum of the rich emerged from artisans, merchants and landowners. They aspired to power, using the discontent of small and medium-sized owners, as well as representatives of the poor. To mitigate the contradictions and unite all the free in one dominant layer, radical transformations were required. Their beginning was laid by Solon, the archon, elected in 594 BC. e. The main goal of his reforms was to reconcile the interests of the existing warring free associations. Thanks to his activities, the Athenian land was cleared of debt obligations. From the previous constitution, he retained only a few of the provisions. And everything else was cancelled.
Solon paid special attention to law. So, foreigners who settled in Attica with property and families received citizenship. The entire population as a whole was divided into 4 classes. Inequality was compensated by the distribution of taxes. The last class was exempted from payments altogether. Representatives of the other classes occupied the corresponding positions and paid tribute according to their wealth. The rights of citizens corresponded to their rank. Solon also proclaimed an amnesty. Everyone said goodbye, except for the murderers and traitors. Through his actions, he attempted to combine justice and force. The reigning democracy existed for another three centuries. And during this time, I never had to repeat what Solon did. However, this does not mean that there was no need for transformations. Years later, there were new changes in the life of Attica. The reforms of Cleisthenes were of great importance for the political and social order.
Change of power
History is very eventful. After the death of Pisistratus, power passed to his sons: Hipparchus and Hippias. However, the first devoted himself to art and literature. Hippias also took up state affairs. The regime that existed under Peisistratus became more severe. In 514 B.C. a conspiracy arose in the Athenian aristocratic society. His goal was to eliminate tyranny. Two conspirators - Aristogeiton and Garmdiy - attempted to deal with the rulers at the festival. However, they only managed to kill Hipparchus. Hippias, who survived, brought down cruel repressions on his opponents. At that time, many Athenians had to leave their homeland. The memory of Aristogeiton and Harmodia was honored by the democrats for a long time.
Foreign policy situation
The position that Hippias occupied was rather difficult. It was accompanied by foreign policy difficulties. By 519 B.C. e. Plataea, the Boeotian border town, was annexed to Athens. As a result, there was a break with the Thebans. In the same period, Argos, a longtime ally of Peisistratus, significantly weakened. But the hostile Sparta, on the contrary, strengthened and strengthened its position. Among other things, Athens lost control over the straits, which passed into the possession of the Achaemenids.
Complication of the situation
The power of the Pisistratids was resisted by the leaders of trade and craft societies and the tribal nobility. The opponents of the brothers had the support of the aristocratic circles of Sparta, as well as those who had great influence. In 510 B.C. The Spartans broke into the city and expelled Hippias.
power struggle
After the expulsion of Hippias, a confrontation began between paraly and eupatriads. Isagoras was at the head of the nobility. It was he who was supported by Cleomenes, the Spartan king. As a result of the confrontation, Cleisthenes was expelled from the city. He belonged to the Alcmeonids, who in the 7th century BC. were cursed. The reason was the struggle of the representatives of the family with the usurper Cylon, during which sacrilege was committed in relation to the sacred temple. With Cleisthenes, another 700 families of his supporters were forced to leave the city. Putting Isagoras at the head of the board, the Spartans wanted to restore the power of the tribal nobility. However, the population of Attica showed discontent. Athens quickly filled with peasants, who, together with the city dwellers, locked both the Spartans and their local supporters on the Acropolis. As a result, the Eupatrides had to surrender, and Cleomenes was forced to leave the city. Cleisthenes returned and was elected, as Solon had been in his time, the first archon. This event took place in 508 (507) BC. e. At that time his age was about 60 years.
Transformations from 508 BC e.: administrative division
These reforms of Cleisthenes are considered the most important of all. All the citizens of Attica were divided into new phyla. Before that, there were only 4 of them. Each phylum included 3 phratries. At the head of the latter were representatives of a noble family. They were in charge of the religious affairs of the phratries. Their rank and file members were obliged to submit to the political and religious authority of the nobility and to support it in ongoing enterprises. The reforms of Cleisthenes completely broke the old device. He divided the territory into three districts. Now Attica included a city, a coastal strip and a flat area. Each district had its own division. Now its territory included ten smaller regions. They were called trittia. Then ten phyla were formed. Each of them included one tritia from the district. The unification of the phyla took place only at the time of voting. 50 people were put forward in the bule (now it was, respectively, the Council of 500), one at a time - in the Board of 10 strategists (each of whom in turn performed the tasks of the chief commander). Three detachments were also formed for the army: horsemen, infantrymen and sailors. These administrative reforms of Cleisthenes, as Aristotle put it, contributed to the "mixing" of the people. The main direction of the transformations was the suppression of eupatrides. Only religious functions were assigned to the former tribal phyla. Such was, in general, the political system of Athens.
Dem
It was the main administrative, political and economic unit. There were about a hundred demos. These were self-governing communities that had their own assembly, treasury, court. They also had an elected headman - demarche. He had fairly broad police and administrative powers. Demarch was in charge of collecting taxes, followed the lists of births, and the mobilization of young representatives. The members were determined by lot. A separate place was occupied by the law of Ancient Athens. When compiling the lists of demos, a large number of labels were included. These were the descendants of immigrants, limited in rights, and freedmen. This, in turn, contributed to an increase in the population. The fact is that those who fell into the lists of demes were endowed with civil rights.
Ostracism
The law of Ancient Athens also underwent changes. In the course of the reforms, the role of the jury, the bule and the People's Assembly was restored. Through these institutions it was possible to defend their rights. Moreover, every citizen could do this if necessary. The laws of Cleisthenes were chiefly directed against tyranny. One of these was the act of ostracism. As this law of Crisfen stated, every year the People's Assembly had to decide the most important issue. Its essence was to identify a person in the city who stood out for his authority so much that he could well seize power in his own hands. If the first meeting considered that there was such a citizen in the city, then a second one was convened. On it, the procedure of ostracism was carried out ("ostracon" - a shard). The Athenians present at the meeting could write on the shard the name of the most dangerous person. They could become a successful commander, a famous politician, and so on. I must say that it could well be an ordinary worthy citizen who did not stain himself. Nevertheless, the People's Assembly might consider him a danger to the city. Such a citizen was expelled from the policy for ten years. His family and property remained in the city. After his return, he immediately regained his rights. These were the main reforms of Cleisthenes briefly.
Triumph of Democracy
Cleisthenes' reforms in Athens caused discontent among the coalition of Greek countries. In these territories, the power was in the hands of the nobility, who, of course, feared a "bad example" for their inhabitants. The coalition consisted of Aegina, Sparta, Thebes and Chalkis. The Alcmeonids tried to get support from the Persians. They were even ready to agree to the recognition of the supreme power of their king. But the population of Attica was categorically against the ratification of the agreement. As a result, in 506 BC. coalition troops invaded Athenian territory. However, they suffered a crushing defeat. The Athenians were not only able to repel the attack, but also crossed to Euboea and captured Chalkis. As a result, democracy triumphed.
Finally
These are the reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes briefly. These two people lived at different times. However, the activities of both of them were of great importance for Attica. and Cleisthenes contributed to the streamlining of the political, social and administrative structure.
