The constituent institutions of Athenian democracy are known to us essentially thanks to the unexpected discovery, at the end of the 19th century AD. of a Constitution of Athens attributed to Aristotle and his disciples of the Lyceum, and drafted around 330[1]. Although the Athenian democracy never had a formal written constitution, the roles of its institutions were nonetheless clearly known and distinct from each other, and their evolution was therefore the subject of subtle political struggles.
The Ecclesia
Ostrakon named after Themistocles, circa 490-480 or 460, Museum of the Ancient Agora of Athens
Ostrakon named after Themistocles, circa 490-480 or 460, Museum of the Ancient Agora of Athens
It was the assembly of citizens that meets on the hill of the Pnyx. It votes the laws in general with the presence of 5000 citizens if one believes Thucydides. These votes are taken by a show of hands and by simple majority. Any citizen can take the floor (isegoria) and propose a motion. This is the essence of direct democracy. Once voted the law is exposed to the public on the Agora. According to a similar process the Ecclesia can to protect itself from tyranny vote once a year the banishment of a citizen, it is the ostracism, the name coming from the piece of ceramic (the ostracon) on which one registers the name of the person you want to deport. This annual meeting takes place after the one during which the bouleute and heliast magistrates are drawn by lot for terms of one year, it requires the presence of 6000 members, it is the famous quorum 6000. This practice will disappear in 417, after having struck a dozen great Athenian politicians.
La Boulé
La Boulè is the generic name of councils in different Greek diets sometimes spelled Boulê. In Athens, La Boulê was often called the Council of Five Hundred, because, from the reforms of Cleisthenes, it was composed of 500 members (bouleutes) at the rate of fifty per tribe. The bouleutes are drawn by lot from lists drawn up by each deme of volunteer citizens aged over thirty and renewed each year, a citizen can only be a maximum of two bouleutes. This assembly sits permanently. The presidency and the coordination of the work are ensured by the prytanes. Each tribe ensures for a tenth of the year (35-36 days) the prytany, that is to say the permanence. The main work of the Boulé is to collect the legislative proposals presented by the citizens, then to prepare the bills in order to then be able to convene the Ecclesia. La Boulé sits at the Bouleuterion, a building adjoining the Tholos on the agora.
The magistrates
They held executive power, that is to say, managed day-to-day affairs and ensured the application of the laws. Among them the 10 strategists commanding the army and elected for re-election, as well as the 9 archons (literally, the "commanders") drawn by lot among the citizens of the Ecclesia, and forming the equivalent of our governments. Judges must exercise their power collectively and never individually. Magistrates and ambassadors are checked at the end of their mandate. It's accountability. This allows the Athenians to effectively control the magistrates and at the same time avoid tyrannical excesses.
Dokimasia is the preliminary examination that future magistrates undergo to limit the unfortunate effects of drawing lots. This examination makes it possible to verify that the candidate is indeed a citizen, that he is of the minimum age required, that he has never held the position and that he is worthy of it. It takes place either in front of the Ecclesia, or in front of the Helias, or in front of both.
The Areopagus
The Areopagus is a political institution, preceding the advent of democracy and with mythical origins, whose primary purpose was to "preserve the laws", that is to say to ensure respect for the constitution, and having for this purpose extensive judicial powers. It is made up of ancient archons, that is to say former rich and powerful nobles before those were drawn by lot. It is traditionally the least democratic and most aristocratic Athenian institution. It takes its name from the hill of Ares where the Areopagites sit. Its location, outside the Agora which is the heart of the city, has a strong symbolism:crime has, literally, no citizenship.
Dracon's reforms allowed citizens to appeal to the Areopagus against magistrates who had harmed them in the exercise of their functions. Those of Solon further reinforced the power of the Areopagus, which then acted as a council of the Sages, protecting the city not only against internal threats (and thus preventing - paradoxically - plots hatched against democracy) but also external threats. As such, the Areopagus did not report its activities to any other institution. After the reforms of Cleisthenes and the Persian Wars, the power held by the Areopagus therefore became preponderant. Ephialtes and Themistocles worked together to reduce this influence in favor of the Ecclesia, the Boulê, and the new courts of Heliaa. Thus, after 462, the Areopagus no longer had political power but was a venerable institution judging blood crimes and having a role in sacred affairs.
The Helias
This people's tribunal was made up of 6000 citizens, always over 30 years old and divided into ten classes of 500 citizens (1000 remaining in reserve) drawn by lot each year to become heliasts. The accusation was always, in the absence of an equivalent to our "public prosecutors", a personal initiative of a citizen. The latter receiving, in the event of conviction, part of the fine, as compensation and reward for his efforts for justice, certain citizens made informing their profession, these are the sycophants. Despite mechanisms limiting the excesses of this system, it contributed to dividing the city and served as a strong argument for the aristocratic party against the new regime. Using a complicated system and depending on the case, a more or less large number of heliasts are designated by lot (under the supervision of an examining magistrate) for each trial. Thus, for example, for a private trial, 201 judges sat normally, 401 exceptionally. For public trials, they were 501, 1001, see 1501 judges. The task of judging was all the more difficult since there was neither a code of procedure nor a penal code, thus offering great freedom in the interpretation of the laws (which were otherwise few in number).
In addition, the verdicts were final and immediately enforceable, so we understand the important political role that the courts of Heliaa took on. 200 meetings were held per year, each chaired by a magistrate who did not take part in the vote. The court of the Ephetes (51 members) was the one that most monopolized the prerogatives of the Areopagus, it could sit in four different places depending on the type of case:
Voting tokens used by the jurors of Heliaa, Museum of the Ancient Agora of Athens
Voting tokens used by the jurors of Heliaa, Museum of the Ancient Agora of Athens
* at the Prytaneion, they judged everything that could bring death to men (objects, animals);
* at the Palladion, they judged involuntary murders, metics and slaves;
* at the Delphinion, they judged self-defense;
* at Phréattys (on a beach), they judged the exiles who had experienced murder in their exile. The accused is then on a boat offshore.
Balance and competition between the Ecclesia and Heliaa
Over time the courts of Heliaa took precedence over the Ecclesia. Indeed, in 416 the procedure of graphe para nomon (ἡ γραφή παρά νόμων) (impeachment of a law) was introduced, to replace the practice of ostracism last used the previous year. It allows any citizen to have any law that has been passed by the Ecclesia or is being proposed by the Ecclesia reviewed by a court in Heliaa. If the court finds the law or the proposed law contrary to the general laws of the city, not only is it canceled but its author and the epistate directing the debates at the time of its adoption (or proposal) are liable to heavy penalties, ranging from until friendship. If the court was called to judge a law being proposed and declared it compatible with the Constitution, this resulted in its adoption without reconsideration by the Ecclesia. The graphe para nomon therefore offers more than a role of constitutional council to the Héliée, a role previously held by the Areopagus, the Héliée becomes over time a co-legislator, sharing the legislative power with the Boulê and the Ecclesia. Result:from 355 the political struggles no longer take place on the Pnyx, but in the “courts