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[English version] (5.Jh. v.Chr.). Der persische Angriff auf Griechenland war 480-79 v.Chr. zurückgewiesen worden, aber niemand konnte Ende 479 wissen, daß die Perser niemals wiederkommen würden. 478 setzten die Griechen den Krieg unter Führung Spartas fort, aber der spartanische Kommandeur Pausanias machte sich bald so unbeliebt, daß Athen von sich aus (Aristot., Ath. pol. 23,4) oder auf Anregung durch die Verbündeten beschloß, die Führung zu übernehmen (Thuk. 1,94-5). Daraufhin gründete Athen ein…

[English version] (διωβελία). Eine Zahlung von zwei oboloí in Athen. Dem Autor der aristotelischen Athenaion Politeia zufolge (28,3) wurde die d. von Kleophon eingeführt, worauf ein gewisser Kallikrates versprach, die Summe zu erhöhen, die d. aber tatsächlich abschaffte. Die d. ist für die Jahre zwischen 410 und 406/5 v.Chr. durch Inschr. bezeugt (406 zeitweise auf einen Obolos reduziert) und wurde 405/4 wohl durch eine Getreideverteilung ersetzt. Die Grundlage der Zahlung ist ungewiß, doch wurde sie wahrscheinlich während des Dekeleischen Krieges als Unterhaltszuschuß…

[English version] (χειροτονία, “Handaufheben”). Form der Abstimmung in Volksversammlungen und anderen griech. Gremien. Wahrscheinlich wurden in großen Versammlungen die so abgegebenen Stimmen nicht gezählt; vielmehr hatte der Vorsitzende zu entscheiden, für welche Seite die Mehrheit stimmte. Abzuheben von der ch. ist die Abstimmung durch psēphophoría (“Einwurf von Stimmsteinen”), die präzise Stimmenzählung und geheime Abstimmung ermöglichte. Ungeachtet der tatsächlich benutzten Form bestand in Athen und im allg. die Tendenz, bei Wahlen den Begriff cheirotoneín und b…

[German version] [1] Greek official The lexical meaning of epískopos equates to ‘supervisor’. In the Greek world, episkopos habitually referred to an official, similar to   epimelētaí and   epistátai , but used less frequently. The Delian League sent epískopoi, who were Athenian officials, into allied cities, e.g. in order to set up a democratic constitution (Erythrae: ML 40; cf. Aristoph. Av. 1021-1034). Rhodian officials also included episkopoi (Syll.3 619), Massilia appointed an episkopos for its colony of Nicaea (ILS 6761), and Mithridates VI sent one to Ephesus …

(Αὐτοκράτωρ; Autokrátōr). [German version] A. Greek The meaning ‘exercising control over oneself’ expresses the opposite of subjugation to the will of another. The Thebans used this argument to claim that their support of the Persians in 480 was attributable to a ruling   dynasteia , not to the whole city, which acted as its own autocrator (Thuc. 3,62,3-4). Envoys and officials are often described as autokratores when entitled to more power than is usual in these positions. This background is evident, for example, when the Athenians declare the leaders of th…

(συνέδριον/ syn(h)édrion, lit. 'sitting together'). [German version] I. Greek Term used for various kinds of meetings and of bodies capable of holding meetings. Thus in Athens it can be used of the Areopagus and the Council (Boule) of Five Hundred (Aeschin. In Ctes. 19–20), of the archons (Archontes) and their paredroi (Dem. Or. 59,83), or of any official doing business in his place of business (Lys. 9,6; 9,9). There are several particular uses of the term. Many individual states called their council synhedrion (e.g. Corinth 4th cent., Diod. Sic.16,65,6–8; Elate…

[German version] I. General The term bureaucracy has no roots in the political terminology of antiquity, but is a modern French-Greek hybrid formation (Old Fr. ‘bure’, ‘burrel’ from Lat. burra). Bureaucracy refers -- also in a critical sense -- to specific organizational structures of modern states [1]. As an ‘ideal type’ in Max Weber's definition, bureaucracy in general terms refers to a special form of legal rulership: its rulers employ officials in their administration, who -- in full-time salaried positions with a clear…

(κοινόν; koinón). [German version] I. General In the Greek world, koinon may refer to any type of ‘community’. As a political term, koinon is used, on the one hand, for small units (such as the interior divisions of a polis or of a community dependent on a polis) (e.g. Mycenae, referred to as a kṓmē of Argus, SEG 3,312; in Rhodes, demes or parts of demes may be called koiná, e.g. IK RhodPer [IK, inscription of the Rhodian Peraea] 201; IG XII 3,1270), and on the other hand, for extensive political units in non-urban regions as well as urban areas with poleis (e.g.…

(κοσμητής; kosmētḗs, ‘steward’). [German version] [1] Athenian official responsible for the training of the ephebes In Athens, the official responsible for the training of the ephebes after the reorganization of the ephēbeía around 335/334 BC. The kosmētes was chosen by the people, presumably from those citizens over 40 years of age ([Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 42,2). During the two-year training period, a kosmētes was probably responsible for a contingent of ephebes for both years. He is named in many lists of ephebes from the 4th cent. BC to the 3rd cent. AD; …

(δῆμος; dêmos). [German version] [1] The entire citizenry Demos, meaning ‘people’, could refer to either the entire citizenry of a community or only the ‘common people’ as distinct from its more privileged members. As an extension of the first meaning it also served to designate the popular assembly, so that political decisions in many states were seen as being ‘issued by the council and the people’ (ἔδοξεν τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ). Adjectives such as dēmotikós and the description of a democratic leader as προστάτης τοῦ δήμου (‘champion of the people’; e.g. in Thuc. 3,82,…

[German version] (λογογράφος; logográphos). Writer of Greek court speeches. The ten classical Attic rhetors were called logográphoi. The word was, however, also frequently used in a derogatory sense (e.g. Aeschin. 1,94; 3,173). As in principle the parties in the proceedings in Athens had to represent the matter themselves before the court, the ‘orator’, if he was not appearing on his own matter, remained undetected in the background: he was not a representative of a party or an attorney ( syndikos ), but a ‘speech writer’ (which is how logographos should be literally translated). H…

(Δήμαρχος; Dḗmarchos). Holder of office with political and/or religious duties in Greek communities. Rhodes, Peter J. (Durham) [German version] I. Greece until late antiquity (1) In Athens the demarchos was the highest office-holder in each of the 139 demes ( Demos [2]), into which Cleisthenes had divided the polis ([Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 54,8). By no later than the 4th cent. BC the demarchos was elected by lot in each   dḗmos for one year; the demarchos for Piraeus on the other hand was appointed by the polis (Ath. Pol. 54,8). He convened and chaired the assembly of th…

(ἐκκλησία; ekklēsía). Assembly of the adult male citizens, which was entitled to the ultimate decision-making authority in the Greek states. At times also called (h)ēliaía (with differences due to dialect) or agorá. The frequency of meetings, the areas of authority, the degree to which independent actions were restricted by the officials' and/or the council's realm of authority, and the number of members of the ekklesia varied depending on the type of the political organisation; thus, oligarchies can exclude the poor from the ekklesia by requiring a minimum of wealth. In the Homeric…

(Κλεισθένης; Kleisthénōs). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Sicyon c. 600-570 BC Tyrant of Sicyon ( c. 600-570 BC), son of Aristonymus, from the family of Orthagoras, whose tyranny lasted about 100 years ( c. 665-565 BC.; Aristot. Pol. 1315b 11ff.; cf. Nicolaus of Damascus FGrH 90 F 61). During the war with Argus C. pursued an anti-Argive domestic ideology, including prohibition of the presentation of the Homeric epics because they favoured Argos. The Argive hero  Adrastus [1] was replaced by the Theban hero  Melanippus (Hdt. 5,6…

(διοίκησις ; dioíkēsis, Lat. dioecesis). [German version] I. Greece ‘Housekeeping’ in the sense of administration, especially in the financial realm. Dioikesis is used for the administration of the state in general (fo…

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(πρόεδρος/ pró(h)edros, pl. πρόεδροι/ pró(h)edroi) denotes that person who (in a leading position) 'sits in front' ('chairman' or 'president'). [German version] I. Greece in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods In early 4th cent. BC Athens, the duty of the chairman of the council ( boulḗ ) and the people's assembly ( ekklēsía ) was passed from the prytaneis to a newly created collegium of nine pró(h)edroi. The pró(h)edroi were summoned each for one day, one from each phyle of the council, excepting the prytany conducting business at just that time. One could be pró(h)edros only once du…

(νομογράφος/ nomográphos, ‘law-writer’) [German version] I. Greece In some Greek cities individual, specially qualified men were entrusted during the archaic period with the task of writing laws for the pólis. This could include writing down the existing legal practice as well as creating new laws. Known nomográphoi are, for example, Zaleucus in Locri Epizephyrii, Charondas in Catane, Draco [2] and later Solon in Athens. At times, but not always, this commission was associated with a regular office of state. Thus, Solon was at the same time an árchōn (Archontes [1]) in Athens but D…

[English version] (λογογράφος). Verfasser von griech. Gerichtsreden. Logográphoi nannte man die zehn klass. att. Rhetoren. Das Wort wurde aber auch häufig abwertend gebraucht (z.B. Aischin. 1,94; 3,173). Da in Athen die Prozeßparteien ihre Sache grundsätzlich selbst vor Gericht vertreten mußten, blieb der “Redner”, sofern er nicht in eigener Sache auftrat, unerkannt im Hintergrund: Er war nicht Parteienvertreter oder Anwalt ( syndikos ), sondern “Redenschreiber” (wie l. wörtlich zu übersetzen ist). Er schrieb seinen Klienten Plädoyers “auf den Leib”, welche d…

(πρόεδρος, Pl. πρόεδροι/ próhedroi) bezeichnet eine Person, die (in leitender Funktion) “vorne sitzt” (“Vorsitzender”). [English version] I. Griechenland in klassischer und hellenistischer Zeit In Athen wurde im frühen 4. Jh. v. Chr. die Aufgabe des Vorsitzes in Rat ( bulḗ ) und Volksversammlung ( ekklēsía ) von den Prytanen auf ein neugeschaffenes Kollegium von neun p. übertragen. Die p. wurden jeweils für einen Tag bestellt, je einer aus jeder Phyle des Rates, ausgenommen die gerade geschäftsführende Prytanie. Man konnte nur einmal p. während einer Prytanie sein und nur e…