Aristotle’s The Athenian Constitution traces Athens’ political development and institutions, including reforms attributed to Draco and Solon. This deck covers early Athenian social classes, magistracies, Draco’s qualifications for office, and Solon’s debt relief, property classes, laws, and departure from Athens.
1 / 76
Chapter 1 · Question
Who were the Pelatae or Hectemori in early Athens?
WakeCards · wakecards.com · Big ideas. Quick review.
Chapter 1 · Answer
They were the poorer classes—men, women, and children—who were serfs of the rich, cultivating the rich men's lands at a rent. If tenants failed to pay, they and their children could be seized into slavery, since loans were secured on the debtor's person until Solon's time. The author says their serfdom was the hardest and bitterest part of the constitution to the masses.
WakeCards · wakecards.com · Big ideas. Quick review.
Arrow keys move between cards. Space or Enter flips.
All questions and answers
Every card in the deck, in reading order. Click a chapter to expand. The reviewer above uses the same content.
Section 14 cards
Who were the Pelatae or Hectemori in early Athens?
They were the poorer classes—men, women, and children—who were serfs of the rich, cultivating the rich men's lands at a rent. If tenants failed to pay, they and their children could be seized into slavery, since loans were secured on the debtor's person until Solon's time. The author says their serfdom was the hardest and bitterest part of the constitution to the masses.
Chapter 1
What were the three earliest magistracies, in order of precedence?
The King, the Polemarch, and the Archon. The King's office existed from ancestral antiquity; the Polemarch was added because some kings proved feeble in war, prompting Ion's invitation; the Archon came last, though authorities differ on whether under Medon or Acastus. The Archon's lack of part in ancestral sacrifices shows it was the latest created.
Chapter 1
What qualifications did Draco's constitution set for officeholders?
The franchise went to all who could furnish military equipment. The nine Archons and Treasurers were elected from those with unencumbered property of at least ten minas; lesser officials from those with military equipment; generals and cavalry commanders from those with at least a hundred minas and children over ten born in lawful wedlock. A Council of 401 was chosen by lot from the franchise.
Chapter 1
What was the Areopagus's role under the early constitution?
Its constitutionally assigned duty was protection of the laws, but in fact it administered the greater and most important part of the government, inflicting personal punishments and fines summarily on wrongdoers. This followed from Archons being elected on birth and wealth and the Areopagus being composed of former Archons—the only office that remained a life-magistracy to the author's day.
Chapter 1
Section 24 cards
What was the Seisachtheia and what did it do?
The Seisachtheia, or 'removal of burdens,' was Solon's measure cancelling all debts, public and private, and prohibiting loans secured on the debtor's person. This liberated the people once and for all. Some accused Solon of sharing in a fraud whereby friends borrowed money to buy land before the cancellation, but the author argues this accusation is false given Solon's moderate, public-spirited character.
Chapter 2
How did Solon divide the population by property?
Solon divided the population into four classes by property: Pentacosiomedimni (five hundred measures), Knights (three hundred measures, or those able to maintain a horse), Zeugitae (two hundred measures), and Thetes (the rest). Magistracies were assigned to the first three classes in proportion to property value; the Thetes received only a place in the Assembly and the juries, and were not eligible for any office.
Chapter 2
What role did Solon give the Council of the Areopagus?
Solon assigned the Council of the Areopagus the duty of superintending the laws, acting as guardian of the constitution in general. It watched over the most important state affairs and corrected offenders, with full powers to inflict fines or personal punishment, bringing fine money into the Acropolis without stating the reason. It also tried those who conspired to overthrow the state, under a process of impeachment Solon enacted.
Chapter 2
What law did Solon make about civil factions?
Seeing the state often engaged in internal disputes while many citizens from sheer indifference accepted whatever might turn up, Solon made a law aimed at such persons: anyone who, in a time of civil factions, did not take up arms with either party would lose his rights as a citizen and cease to have any part in the state.
Chapter 2
Section 34 cards
Which three features of Solon's constitution does the chapter call most democratic?
The chapter names three: first and most important, the prohibition of loans secured on the debtor's person; second, the right of anyone who wished to claim redress on behalf of another person who was being wronged; third, the institution of appeal to the jury courts. The chapter says it was this last, according to some, that gave the masses their strength most of all.
Chapter 3
Why did some believe Solon made the laws indefinite, and does the chapter agree?
Some believed Solon deliberately made the laws indefinite so the final decision would rest with the people. The chapter rejects this as not probable, arguing the real reason was that it is impossible to attain ideal perfection when framing a law in general terms. It adds that we should judge Solon's intentions from the general tenor of his legislation, not from present-day results.
Chapter 3
What changes did Solon make to weights, measures and currency?
After his legislation, Solon increased the standards of weights, measures and currency. The measures were made larger than those of Pheidon, and the mina, previously set at seventy drachmas, was raised to a full hundred. The standard coin in earlier times had been the two-drachma piece. He also made weights to correspond with the coinage, with sixty-three minas to the talent, the odd three minas distributed among the staters and other values.
Chapter 3
Why did Solon leave Athens, and what did he hope to achieve?
Harassed by people criticizing and questioning his laws, Solon wished neither to alter his decisions nor to incur ill will by staying, so he set off for Egypt, combining trade and travel, saying he would not return for ten years. He thought there was no call to expound the laws personally; everyone should obey them as written. The chapter adds that both the upper class and the masses were alienated from him.
Chapter 3
Section 44 cards
What three parties existed in Athens after Solon's departure, and who led each?
The party of the Shore, led by Megacles son of Alcmeon, was considered to aim at a moderate form of government; the men of the Plain, led by Lycurgus, desired an oligarchy; and the men of the Highlands, led by Pisistratus, were looked on as extreme democrats. The party names were derived from the districts where they held their lands.
Chapter 4
How did Pisistratus first seize power, and what did Solon say about it?
Pisistratus wounded himself, claimed his political rivals had done it, and persuaded the people, through a motion by Aristion, to grant him a bodyguard of 'club-bearers.' With them he attacked the people and seized the Acropolis, thirty-one years after Solon's legislation. The author relates that Solon opposed the request, saying he was wiser than those who did not see the tyranny coming and braver than those who saw it and kept silent.
Chapter 4
How did Megacles bring Pisistratus back to Athens the first time?
Megacles, in difficulties in a party struggle, proposed that Pisistratus marry his daughter and brought him back by a primitive device. He spread a rumour that Athens was bringing Pisistratus back, dressed a tall, beautiful woman named Phye in garb resembling the goddess, and brought her into the city with Pisistratus on a chariot. The inhabitants, struck with awe, received him with adoration.
Chapter 4
How did Pisistratus disarm the Athenians and secure his tyranny?
After winning the battle at Pallene he captured Athens. He ordered a parade in full armour in the Theseum and began a speech; when the people said they could not hear him, he bade them come up to the Acropolis entrance. While he spoke at length, appointed men collected the arms, locked them in the Theseum chambers, and signalled him. He then told the people what had happened and said he would manage all state business himself.
Chapter 4
Section 54 cards
How did Pisistratus use loans and taxes to weaken city politics?
He advanced money to poorer people to help them farm, so they would be scattered across the country rather than gathered in the city. Being moderately well off and busy with their own affairs, they would have neither wish nor time for public business. He also taxed all produce at one tenth, increasing his revenues through thorough cultivation of the land.
Chapter 5
What happened when Pisistratus was summoned before the Areopagus on a homicide charge?
Pisistratus appeared in person to make his defence, observing the laws without claiming exceptional privileges. The prosecutor was afraid to present himself and abandoned the case. The author cites this law-abiding conduct, along with his kindly disposition, as reasons he held power long and easily regained it whenever expelled.
Chapter 5
According to the author, why is the story of Pisistratus as Solon's youthful favourite rejected?
The author argues it is mere gossip, because the ages of the two men and their dates of death will not harmonize. He notes Pisistratus died a natural death in the archonship of Philoneos, thirty-three years after first establishing himself as tyrant, nineteen of those in power and the rest in exile.
Chapter 5
What triggered Harmodius and Aristogeiton's plot against the tyrants?
Thessalus, violent and headstrong, became enamoured of Harmodius and, failing to win him, prevented Harmodius's sister from serving as a basket-bearer in the Panathenaic procession, alleging Harmodius was of loose life. In a frenzy of wrath, Harmodius and Aristogeiton acted with confederates, killing Hipparchus near the Leocoreum but ruining the design as a whole.
Chapter 5
Section 64 cards
Why did Hippias fortify Munichia, and how was he expelled?
After his brother Hipparchus's death, Hippias grew harsh and distrustful, executing and banishing many. About three years later, feeling insecure, he began fortifying Munichia to establish himself there. While still at work, he was expelled by Cleomenes, king of Lacedaemon, because the Spartans were continually incited by oracles to overthrow the tyranny.
Chapter 6
How did the Alcmeonidae secure Spartan help against the tyrants?
Having failed by force—including the disaster at Lipsydrium—the Athenian exiles led by the Alcmeonidae took the contract for rebuilding the temple at Delphi, obtaining ample funds they used to secure Lacedaemonian help. Meanwhile the Pythia continually urged Spartans consulting the oracle to free Athens, until she impelled them to act despite their hospitality ties to Pisistratus's house.
Chapter 6
What were Cleisthenes's main reforms after the tyranny fell?
Three years after the tyrants' expulsion, Cleisthenes distributed the population into ten tribes instead of four to intermix members and widen the franchise. He enlarged the Council from four hundred to five hundred, fifty per tribe. He divided the country into thirty trittyes—ten city, ten coast, ten inland—assigning three by lot to each tribe, and made deme membership official while allowing family, clan, and religious rites to remain.
Chapter 6
Why did Cleomenes expel seven hundred Athenian families?
After the tyranny fell, Isagoras, a partisan of the tyrants, was beaten by Cleisthenes, who won the people by giving the franchise to the masses. Isagoras invited Cleomenes, bound to him by hospitality, and persuaded him to 'drive out the pollution,' since the Alcmeonidae were supposedly under a curse. Cleomenes expelled seven hundred families as polluted; Cleisthenes withdrew.
Chapter 6
Section 74 cards
Why was the law of ostracism originally passed, and who was first ostracized?
The author says ostracism was originally passed as a precaution against men in high office, because Pisistratus used his position as popular leader and general to make himself tyrant. The first person ostracized was Hipparchus son of Charmus of Collytus, a relative of Pisistratus, on whose account especially Cleisthenes had enacted the law to get rid of him.
Chapter 7
How did Themistocles use the Maroneia mine profits, and what did the ships accomplish?
When some advised distributing the hundred talents from the Maroneia mines among the people, Themistocles prevented it. He refused to say how he would spend the money but told them to lend one talent to each of the hundred richest men; if the use pleased the people the state would bear the cost, otherwise the borrowers would repay. With the money he had a hundred triremes built, one per man, and these fought at Salamis.
Chapter 7
What did Aristides advise the people to do, and how were allies treated afterward?
Seeing the state growing in confidence and wealth, Aristides advised the people to seize the leadership of the league and move from the country districts into the city, where all could earn a living through army service, garrisons, or public affairs. The advice was taken; the Athenians then treated allies more imperiously, except the Chians, Lesbians, and Samians, whose constitutions they left untouched.
Chapter 7
How did the Areopagus regain power after the Persian wars?
The author says the Council of Areopagus regained strength and controlled the state after the Persian wars, not by any formal decree but because it had caused the battle of Salamis to be fought. When the generals were at a loss and told everyone to see to his own safety, the Areopagus donated money, distributing eight drachmas to each ship's crew member, and so persuaded them to board.
Chapter 7
Section 84 cards
How did Ephialtes attack the Areopagus, and who assisted him?
Ephialtes, leader of the people, first ruined many Areopagus members by bringing legal actions over their administration. Then, in the archonship of Conon, he stripped the Council of its acquired prerogatives and assigned them to the Council of Five Hundred, the Assembly, and the law-courts. Themistocles assisted him, fearing trial before the Areopagus on a charge of treasonable dealings with Persia.
Chapter 8
Why did Pericles institute pay for jury service?
Pericles' private property could not match Cimon's regal-scale generosity, so on the advice of Damonides of Oia he made gifts to the people from their own property by instituting jury pay. The author notes some critics accuse him of deteriorating jury character, since common people rather than men of better position sought jury selection, and bribery arose afterward, Anytus being first.
Chapter 8
What change in archon eligibility followed Ephialtes' death?
Five years after Ephialtes' death it was decided that candidates submitted to the lot for the nine Archons could be selected from the Zeugitae as well as from the higher classes; the first archon from that class was Mnesitheides. Previously all archons came from the Pentacosiomedimni and Knights, while Zeugitae were confined to ordinary magistracies except where evasion of the law was overlooked.
Chapter 8
How does the author characterize Cleon's effect on the democracy?
The author argues Cleon, son of Cleaenetus, seems more than anyone else to have caused the corruption of the democracy by his wild undertakings. He was the first to use unseemly shouting and coarse abuse on the Bema and to harangue the people with his cloak girt up short, whereas predecessors had spoken decently and in order. The author also says the people eventually detest those who beguiled them.
Chapter 8
Section 94 cards
Why did the Athenians abolish the democracy after the Sicilian disaster?
After the disaster in Sicily, with the Lacedaemonians strengthened by their alliance with the king of Persia, the Athenians were compelled to abolish the democracy and establish the constitution of the Four Hundred. The motion was proposed by Pythodorus of Anaphlystus and recommended in a speech by Melobius, but the argument that persuaded the majority was the belief that the Persian king would more likely ally with an oligarchical constitution.
Chapter 9
What did Cleitophon propose regarding Cleisthenes' ancient laws?
Cleitophon concurred with Pythodorus's motion but moved that the committee should also investigate the ancient laws enacted by Cleisthenes when he created the democracy, so they could have them before them and decide wisely. His suggestion implied that Cleisthenes' constitution was not really democratic but closely akin to that of Solon.
Chapter 9
What protections did the committee grant before drafting the new constitution?
The committee first required the Prytanes to put to the vote any motion offered on behalf of the public safety. They abolished all indictments for illegal proposals, impeachments, and public prosecutions so every Athenian could freely give counsel. They decreed that anyone imposing a fine or prosecuting another for such acts would, on information laid, be arrested and brought before the generals, who delivered him to the Eleven for execution.
Chapter 9
How was the Four Hundred Council to be composed and what powers did it hold?
There was to be a Council of Four Hundred, as in the ancient constitution, forty from each tribe, chosen from candidates over thirty years of age selected by the members of the tribes. It was to appoint the magistrates and draw up the form of oath they took, and in matters of laws, examination of official accounts, and other affairs it could act at its discretion. It had to observe laws enacted about the constitution but could not alter or add to them.
Chapter 9
Section 104 cards
Who were the chief promoters of the oligarchic revolution that established the Four Hundred?
The author names Pisander, Antiphon, and Theramenes as the chief promoters of the revolution, describing all three as men of good birth with high reputations for ability and judgement. The Four Hundred entered office on the twenty-first of Thargelion, after the existing Council of the year of Callias was dissolved before completing its term, and the oligarchy was established in the archonship of Callias.
Chapter 10
What event led the people to depose the Four Hundred and transfer power to the Five Thousand?
The constitution of the Four Hundred lasted about four months. After the loss of the naval battle of Eretria and the revolt of all Euboea except Oreum, the people's indignation exceeded that at any earlier disaster, since they drew far more supplies from Euboea than from Attica. They then deposed the Four Hundred, committed affairs to the Five Thousand, consisting of persons with military equipment, and voted that no pay be given for public office.
Chapter 10
What did the Thirty do at first, and how did their rule change?
At first the Thirty behaved with moderation and pretended to administer the state according to the ancient constitution. They took down the laws of Ephialtes and Archestratus on the Areopagite Council, repealed obscure Solon statutes, and abolished the supreme power of the law-courts, claiming to restore the constitution. The city was pleased, thinking their motives good. Once more firmly in control, they put to death eminent citizens and killed not less than fifteen hundred persons.
Chapter 10
What criticisms did Theramenes make of the Thirty's list of Three Thousand?
Theramenes objected first that while the Thirty claimed to give all respectable citizens a share in the constitution, they actually gave it only to three thousand, as though all merit were confined to that number. Second, he said they did two inconsistent things: they based the government on force yet made the governors inferior in strength to the governed. The Thirty ignored him, long delayed publishing the list, and kept altering its names.
Chapter 10
Section 114 cards
What two laws did the Thirty introduce into the Council to remove Theramenes?
The first gave the Thirty absolute power to put to death any citizen not on the list of the Three Thousand. The second disqualified from the franchise anyone who had helped demolish the fort of Eetioneia or acted against the Four Hundred. Theramenes had done both, so once ratified he was excluded from the franchise and the Thirty had full power to kill him.
Chapter 11
What were the main terms of the reconciliation under Eucleides?
Those remaining in the city could settle at Eleusis with civil rights, self-government, and their property. The Eleusis temple was common ground under the Ceryces and Eumolpidae. Settlers and Athenians could not enter each other's territory except at the mysteries. Secessionists paid their share for common defence. There was a general amnesty except for the Thirty, the Ten, the Eleven, and the Piraeus magistrates, who were included if they submitted accounts.
Chapter 11
How did Archinus act in a statesmanlike manner after the reconciliation?
The author notes three actions. Seeing many of the Thirty's supporters delaying registration, Archinus cut off the remaining days for the list, compelling many to remain as citizens unwillingly. He later prosecuted Thrasybulus for illegality over a motion granting the franchise to all who returned from Piraeus, some notoriously slaves. He also had an amnesty violator executed without trial, after which no one broke the amnesty again.
Chapter 11
How did the Athenians handle the debts the Thirty borrowed for the war?
The treaty required each party, the city and Piraeus, to repay separately the money it had borrowed for the war. Yet the Athenians repaid the Lacedaemonians out of the public purse the money the Thirty had borrowed, because they thought this a necessary first step toward restoring harmony. The author contrasts this with other states, where democratic parties instead redistribute land.
Chapter 11
Section 124 cards
How many changes to the Athenian constitution does the author count, and which is the present one?
The author counts eleven changes. The first was Ion gathering the people into a community with four tribes and tribe-kings; later ones include Theseus, Draco, Solon, Pisistratus, Cleisthenes, the Areopagus after the Persian wars, Aristides/Ephialtes, the Four Hundred, the restored democracy, and the Thirty. The eleventh followed the return from Phyle and Piraeus and continued to the author's day.
Chapter 12
What did Agyrrhius and Heracleides do about Assembly pay, and why was pay introduced?
At first Athenians refused to allow payment for Assembly attendance, but the result was that people did not attend. After the Prytanes tried many devices in vain to get the populace to come and ratify the votes, Agyrrhius first provided one obol a day; Heracleides of Clazomenae, nicknamed 'the king', raised it to two obols, and Agyrrhius again to three.
Chapter 12
How were eighteen-year-olds enrolled as citizens, and what happened if the court rejected them?
The franchise was open to those of citizen birth by both parents. At eighteen they were enrolled among demesmen, who voted on oath whether candidates were of the legal age and free born of lawful parentage. If rejected, a candidate appealed to the law-courts; if the court ruled he had no right to enrollment, he was sold by the state as a slave. If he won, he was enrolled without further question.
Chapter 12
What was the ephebic training and its privileges during the two years?
After examination, fathers chose three tribesmen over forty as candidates, and the Assembly elected one guardian per tribe plus a director. Youths toured temples, garrisoned Munichia and the south shore, and were taught heavy-armour fighting, bow, javelin and catapult. Guardians received a drachma for keep, youths four obols. In the second year they displayed military evolutions, received shield and spear, patrolled the country and held forts, exempt from taxes and from most lawsuits.
Chapter 12
Section 134 cards
What limits did the people place on the Council's power to punish?
Formerly the Council could inflict fines, imprisonment, and death. After Eumelides of Alopece rescued Lysimachus from execution, arguing no citizen should die except by a court's decision, Lysimachus was tried and acquitted. The people then stripped the Council of power to impose death, imprisonment, or fines, requiring the Thesmothetae to bring its sentences before a law-court, whose verdict is final.
Chapter 13
What role does the Council play in the Assembly's legislative process?
The Council takes preliminary cognizance of all matters brought before the Assembly, and the Assembly cannot vote on any question unless the Council has first considered it and the Prytanes have placed it on the programme. A person who carries a motion in the Assembly without this is liable to an action for illegal proposal.
Chapter 13
How are the treasurers of Athena selected, and what does the law require?
Ten treasurers of Athena are elected by lot, one from each tribe. By Solon's law, still in force, they must be Pentacosiomedimni, but in practice whoever the lot falls on holds the office even if quite poor. They take over charge of the statue of Athena, the figures of Victory, other temple ornaments, and the money, in the presence of the Council.
Chapter 13
What are the duties of the Poletae, the Commissioners for Public Contracts?
Ten Poletae, one by lot from each tribe, farm out public contracts. With the Military Treasurer and Theoric commissioners, in the presence of the Council, they lease mines and taxes, grant mines (workable ones for three years, others under special agreements), and sell confiscated and exiled persons' property. They list taxes on whitened tablets and record farms and dwellings sold by court order, payable over ten and five years respectively.
Chapter 13
Section 144 cards
What happens to an Apodectes debtor who fails to pay an installment?
The Receivers-General note the default on the tablet, and the debtor must pay double the deficiency or be imprisoned. The Council has full legal power to exact these payments and impose the imprisonment. They collect all installments on one day, apportion the money among magistrates, and report the apportionment the next day on a wooden notice-board read aloud in the Council-chamber.
Chapter 14
How could a charge be brought against a magistrate after he passed his audit?
Within three days of passing, anyone could enter on a whitened tablet his own name, the magistrate's name, and the alleged malpractice, plus a proposed penalty, and give it to the tribe's Examiner of Accounts. The Examiner, if he judged it proved, passed private cases to the local justices and public cases to the Thesmothetae, who could bring the accounts before a law-court whose verdict was final.
Chapter 14
What did the Council do with horses judged unfit or unsteady?
The Council inspected state horses. A man keeping a good horse in bad condition lost his corn allowance; horses that could not keep up or shied and would not stand steady were branded with a wheel on the jaw and disqualified from service. The Council also inspected scouts and infantry serving among the cavalry, and those it rejected lost their horse or their pay.
Chapter 14
What support did the law provide for infirm paupers, and under what conditions?
A law provided that persons possessing less than three minas who were so crippled as to be unable to do any work should, after examination by the Council, receive two obols a day from the state for support. A treasurer appointed by lot attended to them. The Council also examined infirm paupers as part of its broad cooperation in most duties of the other magistrates.
Chapter 14
Section 154 cards
What happens when a prisoner brought before the Eleven denies the charge?
If the prisoner pleads guilty, the Eleven execute him; if he denies the charge, they bring the case before the law-courts. If the court acquits him, they release him; if not, they then execute him. The Eleven also handle claims to state-property farms and houses and informations against allegedly disqualified magistrates.
Chapter 15
What are 'monthly' cases and who introduces them?
The five Introducers of Cases, one per pair of tribes, bring 'monthly' cases to the courts: refusal to pay a dowry, refusal to pay interest at 12 per cent, capital lent for market business, slander, friendly loans or partnerships, and cases about slaves, cattle, trierarch office, or banks. They decide sums up to ten drachmas summarily; larger sums go to the courts.
Chapter 15
How does an appealed arbitration reach the law-court?
If a party appeals the Arbitrator's decision, the Arbitrator seals the evidence, pleadings, and laws in two urns, one per party, attaches his written decision, and gives them to the four justices for the defendant's tribe. They bring the case to a jury of 201 for claims up to 1,000 drachmas, or 401 above that. No other laws, pleadings, or evidence may be used.
Chapter 15
Who serves as Arbitrator, and what happens if he refuses?
Arbitrators are men in their sixtieth year, assigned by lot from the Eponymi of the years of service. Anyone who fails to serve when of age loses his civil rights unless he holds another office that year or is abroad. A party wronged by an Arbitrator may appeal to the whole board, and a condemned Arbitrator loses his civil rights, though he may appeal in turn.
Chapter 15
Section 164 cards
How were the nine Archons examined before taking office?
They were first examined by the Council of Five Hundred, except the clerk, who was examined only in the lawcourt. The nine Archons were examined both in the Council and again in the lawcourt. Formerly the Council's rejection was final, but now there is an appeal to the lawcourt, which is the final authority on the examination.
Chapter 16
What questions were Archon candidates asked during examination?
They were asked their father's name and deme, the father's father, their mother, and the mother's father and deme; whether they possessed an ancestral Apollo and household Zeus and where the sanctuaries were; whether they had a family tomb and where; and whether they treated parents well, paid taxes, and served the required military expeditions. Witnesses were then called, and accusations invited.
Chapter 16
Which homicide cases did the King bring before the Areopagus?
Willful homicide and wounding, killing by poison, and arson were heard in the Areopagus, and these were the only cases that Council heard. Unintentional homicide, intent to kill, and killing a slave, resident alien, or foreigner went to the Palladium; acknowledged homicide with legal justification, such as killing an adulterer caught in the act, went to the Delphinium.
Chapter 16
What duties did the Archon have regarding orphans and wards?
The Archon had care of orphans and wards of state, and of women who declared themselves with child after their husbands' deaths. He could fine offenders or bring cases to the lawcourts. He leased orphans' and wards' houses until age fourteen and took mortgages on them, and if guardians failed to provide necessary food, he exacted it from them.
Chapter 16
Section 174 cards
What does the Polemarch do for aliens, compared to the Archon?
The Polemarch handles private actions involving resident aliens (ordinary and privileged) and agents of foreign states, receiving cases, dividing them into ten groups, and assigning each tribe its group by lot. He personally brings up cases of an alien deserting his patron or lacking one, and inheritances and wards of state concerning aliens. Generally, whatever the Archon does for citizens, the Polemarch does for aliens.
Chapter 17
What powers do the Thesmothetae have over courts and indictments?
The Thesmothetae prescribe the days the lawcourts sit and assign courts to magistrates, who must follow their arrangement. They introduce impeachments before the Assembly, bring up votes for removal from office, challenges to a magistrate's conduct, indictments for illegal proposals or harmful laws, complaints against Proedri or their president, and generals' accounts. They also bring up indictments requiring a prosecutor's deposit, including concealment of foreign origin, bribery, false entry as a state debtor, false testimony, and adultery.
Chapter 17
How was sacred olive oil collected and used for the Panathenaea?
The Archon requisitions oil from owners of farms with sacred olives at three-quarters of a pint per plant. Formerly the state sold the fruit, and anyone who dug up or broke down a sacred olive was tried by the Areopagus and, if condemned, sentenced to death; since the owner pays the oil, that procedure lapsed though the law remains. The Archon hands the oil to the Treasurers for the Acropolis and may not take his Areopagus seat until he has paid in full; they hold it until the Panathenaea, then measure it out to the Commissioners of Games, who give it to victors.
Chapter 17
How are Generals elected, assigned duties, and held accountable?
The ten Generals are elected by open vote, formerly one per tribe but now from all citizens. Duties are assigned by open vote: one commands heavy infantry, one defends the country, two guard Piraeus (Munichia and the south shore), one superintends the symmories and nominates trierarchs. Their appointment is confirmed each prytany; a rejected officer is tried in the lawcourt, and if guilty the people decide the punishment, but if acquitted he resumes office. On active service they may arrest for insubordination, cashier publicly, or fine, though fining is unusual.
Chapter 17
Section 184 cards
What daily pay did jurors, Council members, and Assembly attendees receive?
Jurors at the law-courts received three obols; members of the Council received five obols; Assembly members received a drachma for ordinary meetings and nine obols for the 'sovereign' meeting. The Prytanes got an obol for maintenance, the nine Archons four obols apiece plus a herald and flute-player, and the Archon for Salamis a drachma a day.
Chapter 18
Which offices could be held repeatedly, and which were limited?
The chapter states that military offices may be held any number of times, but none of the other offices more than once, with one exception: membership of the Council may be held twice. This rule on iteration of office is stated alongside the schedule of public payments.
Chapter 18
Who was qualified to serve as a juror, and what happened to the unqualified?
All persons above thirty years of age were qualified, provided they were not debtors to the state and had not lost their civil rights. If an unqualified person served, an information was laid against him and he was brought before the court; if convicted, the jurors assessed the punishment or fine. If fined, he was imprisoned until he paid both the original debt and the fine.
Chapter 18
How did the allotment machinery prevent a juror from choosing his court?
The juror drew a counter from a vase and showed its letter to the presiding Archon, who threw the juror's ticket into the chest bearing that letter, so the juror had to go into the court assigned by lot, not one of his choosing. A staff of matching colour further ensured he entered the correct court, since another court would betray him by colour.
Chapter 18
Section 194 cards
How did Athenian courts prevent tampering with vote-tellers and the water-clock superintendent?
The presiding magistrate drew one ticket per tribe from each chest, threw the ten into an empty chest, then drew out five. One was assigned to superintend the water-clock and four to tell the votes, so no one could tamper beforehand with these officials or cause malpractice. The remaining five handled the order in which jurors collected their fees.
Chapter 19
How much water was allotted for speeches in private cases of different values?
Ten gallons were allowed when more than five thousand drachmas was involved, with three for the second speech on each side. For one to five thousand drachmas, seven gallons for the first speech and two for the second; under one thousand, five and two. Arbitrations between rival claimants got six gallons with no second speech.
Chapter 19
What determined whether a case used a set water allowance or a measured day?
When a case was conducted according to a set measurement of the day, the superintendent did not stop the water; each party received an equal allowance instead. The standard was the length of days in the month Poseideon. The measured day applied when the penalty was imprisonment, death, exile, loss of civil rights, or confiscation of goods.
Chapter 19
How were jurors' votes cast and counted, and what happened on a tie?
Each juror received one pierced and one solid brass ballot. The pierced was for the plaintiff, the solid for the defendant; the counting ballot went into the brazen urn, the unused into the wooden one. Votes were displayed on a reckoning board and counted. The majority won, but if votes were equal the verdict was for the defendant.
Chapter 19
Source and licence
Text used: Project Gutenberg eBook #26095 (Public domain in the United States). Generated from the full text; cards paraphrase the source.
Version: Public domain edition. Retrieved 2026-11-02. Cards reviewed 2026-11-02.
These cards paraphrase the text for study. They are not a substitute for reading the book, and they do not reproduce long passages.
Turn your own notes into cards
Upload a PDF, Word, or text file and get question-and-answer cards for closed-notes practice. Five cards are free, no signup.