Limited Democracy in Ancient Athens Quiz

Answer: Council of Areopagus

Each Greek polis similarly progressed through a typical sequence of government, beginning with a hereditary monarch. Eventually, in Athens, a government (aristocracy) run by the wealthiest citizens, called archons, emerged. After an archon completed his term of office, he became a member of the Council of Areopagus, which was an advisory group.

This group continued to hold power as a limited democracy was developed in ancient Athens. They had jurisdiction over homicide cases and other serious crimes; their office, however, was more pretigious than politically powerful.

Answer: Ecclesia

In order to participate in the limited democracy of Athens, a person had to meet citizenship requirements - male, 18 years or older (some sources claim 20 years - this probably takes into account the two years of required military service before service was allowed), with both parents born in Athens or citizenship awarded for distinguished service.

The Ecclesia made laws, appointed foreign diplomats, and elected some of the government officials. It has been estimated that of a population of approximately 250,000 in ancient Athens, 30,000 met the requirements of citizenship.

Some matters required a quorum of 6,000 in attendance for a vote; many times voting was a show of hands (!), although white stones (yes) and black stones (no) were also used.

Answer: Boule

Cleisthenes established ten artificial tribes throughout Athens in order to create a unified polis, with each tribe having members from the different factions that had previously made governing Athens difficult. Each of the ten tribes had a lottery of the citizens who were thirty or older, and contributed 50 men to serve for the following year. So - for 1/10th of the year, 50 men were chosen by lottery to serve; their responsibilities included drafting the agenda for discussions in the Assembly and preparing legislation to be debated.

A new leader of the group was chosen by lottery every day. Once a citizen had served on the Boule for two terms, he was no longer eligible to participate in that particular lottery.

Answer: Strategoi

One general from each tribe was elected to form the Board of Generals; they could be re-elected to the position as often as they remained popular. It is said that the great Pericles was re-elected to the office thirty times during the period known as the Golden Age of Athens.

This office was extremely important to the war-like Greeks. Needless to say, being a "strategoi" gave a person more power and status that just being a military leader. Some historians would argue that during the Golden Age, for example, Pericles was so popular that he was easily able to sway the vote; they even question if Athenian government can even really be called a limited democracy at this time.

Answer: Eponymous Archon

One of the three main archons in the 8th century BC Athenian aristocratic government, the office continued to be filled during the time of Athens' limited democracy. Holding office for one year, the Eponymous Archon was the chief archon, presiding over the meetings of the Assembly and Council of 500, even though his power was not as great under the limited democracy as it had been during the aristocracy.

Answer: Jury

Many of the offices in the limited democracy were filled by citizens who received no pay; this practice did tend to leave out some of the poorer citizens who really needed to work more than they needed to attend political meetings. Those who "won" the lottery for jury duty were citizens who were at least thirty years old; 600 jurors were chosen from each of the 10 tribes, making a jury pool of 6000 people.

It was not necessary for such a large group to hear all cases, however. It was typical for a jury to have 1000 or 1500 jurors, and sometimes all 6000 did hear a case.

The jury had the final say in all cases; no appeal was allowed. Only lasting one day, each case was decided by sunset!

Answer: Basileus Archon

Many historians believe the office of Basileus Archon was the last remains of the hereditary monarchy in Athens. The official presided over religious festivals, such as the official sacrifices made to the gods, as well as homicide cases. Allowed to hold the office for just a year, after his term was over the Basileus Archon would take his place in the Council of Areopagus.

Answer: Hendeka

The "Hendeka" were chosen by lottery, as were many of the officials in ancient Athens. In charge of the prison of Athens, they also carried out the executions of prisoners who were sentenced to death by the court. Criminals who were caught in the act of committing a crime were either imprisoned or executed. If the prisoners were not caught in the act and did not confess their guilt, the eleven would preside over the trial. Once guilt was established, the sentence was swiftly carried out.

Answer: Hellenotamiae

After the second Persian War, Athens was chosen to be the leader of the city-states, and as such, formed the Delian League to protect them from future attack. Some of the city-states, such as Sparta, did not choose to join the League. However, those that did join were expected to pay a fee.

The "Hellenotamiae" not only collected the money, but also decided how to spend it. Imagine how the other members felt when it was revealed that Athens had chosen to use the League's money to rebuild the Acropolis and their city, both of which had been severely damaged during both wars with Persia.

Answer: Thesmothetai

There were nine archons who held position in the limited democracy: Basileus Archon, Eponymous Archon, and The Polemarch, which evolved into the position of general; the six remaining archons were called the "Thesmothetai". The "Thesmothetai" heard private and public cases that were not heard by a higher official, and also decided when the jury would hear a case.

Although there were positions higher than the "Thesmothetai", it was a prestigious office to hold, as the Athenians trusted justice by the court.