Athenian democracy and Spartan oligarchy as political systems. People's Assembly

5th century BC e. entered the history of ancient Greece under the name of "golden". This is the heyday of democracy - the power of the people, realized through the holding of popular assemblies. It was on them that laws were adopted, rulers were elected and judgment was held on the citizens of the republic. Similar forums were in all ancient states. Among the Germans it was a ting, in ancient Russia it was a veche, among the Turks it was a kurultai, in ancient Rome it was a comitia. What was the name of the national assembly in ancient Greece and what is its essence?

Members

It all started with tribal gatherings, which in the city-states grew into meetings of citizens who decided the main issues of life. Their origin dates back to the 6th century BC. e. The forums met with a frequency of up to 10 times a year, and later became regular, and took place at least three times a month. Who was invited to a popular assembly in Ancient Greece? Political rights belonged only to men. There are two conditions: they must be free citizens included in special lists and be over 20 years old. Slaves, meteks (settlers), women and children were not allowed.

Approximate calculations of historians are as follows: out of 450 thousand inhabitants of Attica, only 35 enjoyed civil rights at the time of their heyday. Only a few thousand were present at the meetings. The ancient Greeks did not maintain a quorum, but at least 6,000 citizens were required to make important decisions.

The main achievement of democracy was the absence of a property qualification. Moreover, at the end of the "golden age" the participants of the national assembly were paid little money. This was done so that peasants, small merchants and artisans could break away from work without harming themselves. At the main forum, one could simultaneously meet noble and wealthy citizens in luxurious himations and poor peasants in mantles, felt hats and with staves in their hands.

Three places are known where the most important gatherings in Athens took place:

hillside Pnyx, located near the Acropolis;
market place, or agora;
Piraeus, a small port suburb of the capital of Ancient Greece.

The meeting place was surrounded on all sides with a red rope. The strongest slaves, armed with daggers and whips, acted as police officers. Special controllers checked those entering behind the cordon and compared them with the lists. Outsiders, on their orders, the slaves drove away. Benches were set up on the Pnyx hill, but more often people sat down right on the ground, where they drank and ate during the day, because the people's meeting in Ancient Greece began in the early morning and ended at dusk. According to tradition, the ritual of offering sacrifices to the gods was performed. The priests carried the dead piglets among the gathered, after which a prayer was read, announcing the beginning of the forum.

Main questions

An epistat was chosen for each day. It was the chairman of the meeting, who kept the keys to the treasury and the seal, led the reception of ambassadors. It was impossible to be elected to this post twice. From 510 BC e. the leadership of the city-states in the break between meetings was carried out by the "Council of Five Hundred". executive branch was chosen by lot. From each of the 10 districts - fil, lists were formed for 50 people. What other questions were considered by the people's assembly of Ancient Greece?

Among his main powers were the following:

Meaning of the word

The popular assembly in ancient Greece was called an ekklesia. The authority of the forum serves as a clue as to how the given word is translated from the Greek language. This is an “appeal”, “meeting”, and in fact, it is the main authority of a democratic republic. During its heyday, the leaders had to turn into real orators, because they faced the task of convincing and leading the Athenian citizens. Pericles was a true master of eloquence. They said about him: being put by the enemy on both shoulder blades, he would still be able to convince the listeners that he had won. During his tenure, pay was introduced for some government positions so that poor people could be elected to government without fear of losing their main source of income.

In the oligarchic republics that replaced them, what was the popular assembly in Ancient Greece? The definition gives the answer that it still remained one of the attributes of power. Although it is far from being its highest body. The rights of the assembly were limited to councils and boards, where noble and wealthy citizens played the main role. True democracy ended with the end of the "golden age".

The main and decisive body of power in Athens was the People's Assembly. The National Assembly gathered all citizens, regardless of their property status, who lived in the city of Athens, Piraeus, Attica, and in other territories that were part of Athenian state(for example, the inhabitants of the islands). Women were not allowed to participate in political and public life.

The People's Assembly had broad powers. Here were accepted state laws, the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace, the results of negotiations with other states were approved, treaties with them were ratified. At the National Assembly, officials, magistrates of the Athenian state were elected, reports were discussed after their yearly administration, matters were decided on the food supply of the city, renting was controlled state property, lands and mines, the largest wills were approved. It exercised control over the upbringing of young men preparing for civil rights.

In the competence of N.S. included the holding of such an emergency measure to protect the state system from the intrigues of noble persons as ostracism, i.e. expulsion for 10 years of any person suspected of intending to overthrow the democratic system.

The most important thing N.S. there was discussion and approval state budget, granting citizenship to foreigners, although this happened extremely rarely. It acted not only as the legislative body of its state, but also controlled the situation in the areas of management and administration.

N.S. in Athens was going to strictly certain deadlines: once every 9 days or 4 times in 36 days, and the entire annual activity consisted of 10 cycles. In order to streamline the work of N.S., each of them brought up its own important questions. For example, at the first stage, military, food, emergency declarations were discussed, and the correctness of the election of the relevant magistrates was checked. At the second stage, petitions on personal and public affairs were considered, etc. The agenda was previously prepared and discussed by the Council, the chairmen of the meeting were elected for one day by lot.

In N.S. a rather democratic procedure for discussing the agenda was adopted. Every citizen could speak on the issue under discussion, but obscene behavior on the oratory platform was not allowed. Every Athenian citizen, regardless of his property status, had the right to submit a draft law for discussion, which could be adopted by N.S. . Athenian citizens actively participated in the consideration of all issues, they carefully checked the reports officials and especially the spending of public money.

Participate in the work of N.S. every Athenian citizen, including the poor, had the right, but not all the poor could really take part in quite numerous meetings, sometimes lasting all day. After all, they had to feed their families, earn the necessary funds for this. To involve N.S. the lowest layer of Athenian citizenship, at the beginning of the 4th century BC. a law was passed (at the suggestion of Aguirria), establishing a reward for visiting N.S. in the amount of 3 obols, the average wage of an Athenian craftsman per day.

However, despite Taken measures, not all persons who had civil rights could take part in its work. After all, many citizens lived far from Athens, and it was difficult for them to come there. Usually the regulars at public meetings were citizens living in Athens, Piraeus or their environs, so that out of a total number of citizens of 30 - 40 thousand, usually about 3 - 5 thousand people were present at the people's meetings. That is why a quorum of at least 6,000 people was required to resolve particularly important matters, and this number was gathered not without difficulty.

1. General Features. The concept of Athenian citizenship. According to their political structure, the structure of state bodies, the Greek policies of the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. divided into two main types: policies with a democratic system and policies with oligarchic rule. The presence of a democratic or oligarchic system in certain policies was not an accident, a temporary confluence of circumstances, but, as a rule, reflected significant differences in the socio-economic relations that developed within these policies. Policies with high level economy, intensive agriculture, developed handicrafts and active trade gravitated towards democratic forms of government. The democratic system, as it were, crowned an intensive economy, a dynamic social structure of trade and craft policies.

The oligarchy, on the contrary, in most cases formalized the conservative agrarian economy and archaic social relations in the political sphere. At that time, the political organization of Sparta became the standard of the oligarchy.

Athenian democracy is considered the most developed, the most complete and the most perfect form of the democratic system of ancient states. The golden age of Athenian democracy was the century from the middle of the 5th to the middle of the 4th century. BC e. The formation of the system of political organs of the Athenian democracy was the result of a long historical period since the reforms of Solon. “Our political system,” said Pericles, one of the illustrious leaders of the Athenian democracy, “does not imitate other people's institutions: we ourselves serve as a role model for some rather than imitate others. Our system is called democratic, because it is based not on a minority, but on a majority of citizens.”

Any political system, including Athenian democracy, is aimed at regulating relations both between classes (in the interests of the ruling class) and between social groups, including between individuals that make up a given society. In Greek policies (and Athens is one of the classic examples here)

169

the basis of the entire socio-economic and political organization was the collective of citizens, which together form the ancient community. The civil collective did not constitute the entire population of one or another policy, in particular Athens. In addition to citizens, there were meteki in Athenian society, numerous slaves, who together accounted for more than half of the total population. However, the Athenian polis system was based on the citizen and was created primarily for the Athenian citizen.

The achievement of Greek political thought and the polis worldview was the development of the very concept of "citizen". In the ancient Eastern despotisms, such a concept practically did not exist. In the ancient Eastern monarchies there were “subjects”, whose legal capacity was poorly ensured by legislation and could be infringed at any moment by representatives

A Greek citizen, on the other hand, is a person endowed with some inalienable rights that form the basis of his life.

A full-fledged Athenian citizen could be a resident of Attica, both of whose parents had civil rights, and his name was entered in a special list maintained in demes - the lowest administrative units of Attica. The lists included boys and girls upon reaching the age of 18 after a thorough check by a special commission. Young people included in the civil lists of demos gathered from all over Attica in the Piraeus region and here for a year they were trained and received a certain education under the guidance of special teachers - sophronists, chosen from among the most respected Athenians. Under their guidance, young men (they were called ephebes) were trained in fencing, archery, javelin throwing, handling throwing weapons, and physical exercises. Much attention was paid to the moral education of young people.

After the end of classes, the teachers reported on their activities in the National Assembly, and the ephebes in the theater, according to Aristotle, “show the people combat techniques and receive a shield and a spear from the state. After that, they guard the borders of the country, being on duty all the time at guard posts ... After these two years, they are already on the same level with the rest of the citizens. Thus, the upbringing and preparation of ephebes for the performance of civic duties were considered as an important state matter, were under the close supervision of the People's Assembly and the authorities. The importance of educational work is evidenced not only by the fact that sophronists were selected from among the most respected citizens, but also by their high payment: the sophronist was entitled to support one drachma per day, as well as a member of the most important body of Athenian democracy, the Council of 500.

By the age of 20, the ephebe completed the compulsory course of military educational training and became a full citizen. Civil full rights included a combination of both certain rights and duties. The most essential rights of a citizen were the right to freedom and personal independence from any other person, the right to a land plot in the polis territory and economic assistance from the state in case of material difficulties, the right to bear arms and serve in the militia, the right to participate in the affairs of the state , i.e., participation in the National Assembly, the Council, elected bodies, the right to honor and protect domestic gods, to participate in public festivals, to protect and patronize Athenian laws.

A kind of continuation of these rights was the formation of the duties of a citizen: he was obliged to protect his property.

170

yours and work on the land, come to the aid of the policy in emergency situations, defend your native policy from enemies with weapons in your hands, obey the laws and elected authorities, take an active part in public life, honor the fatherly gods. The ideal of the Athenian full-fledged citizen was a free man who had a plot of land and had a certain wealth, a physically developed person who had received a certain upbringing.

2. National Assembly in Athens. The main and decisive body of power in Athens was the People's Assembly. All citizens, regardless of their property status, who lived in the city of Athens, Piraeus, Attica, and other territories that were part of the Athenian state (for example, residents of the islands) gathered at the National Assembly. Women were not allowed to participate in political and public life.

The People's Assembly had broad powers. State laws were adopted here, the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace were approved, the results of negotiations with other states, treaties with them were ratified. At the National Assembly, officials, magistrates of the Athenian state were elected, reports were discussed after their annual administration, matters were decided on the food supply of the city, the leasing of state property, land and mines was controlled, and the largest wills were approved. It exercised control over the upbringing of young men preparing for civil rights. The competence of the People's Assembly was to carry out such an emergency measure to protect the state system from the intrigues of noble persons as ostracism, that is, the expulsion for 10 years of any person suspected of intending to overthrow the democratic system.

The most important business of the People's Assembly was the discussion and approval of the state budget, the granting of citizenship rights to foreigners, although this happened extremely rarely. It acted not only as the legislative body of its state, but also controlled the situation in the areas of management and administration.

171

magistrates. At the second stage, petitions on personal and public affairs were considered, etc. The agenda was preliminarily prepared and discussed by the Council, the chairmen of the meeting were elected for one day by lot.

The People's Assembly adopted a fairly democratic procedure for discussing the agenda. Every citizen could speak on the issue under discussion, but obscene behavior on the oratory platform was not allowed. Every Athenian citizen, regardless of his property status, had the right to submit a draft law for discussion, which could be adopted at the National Assembly. Athenian citizens, according to sources, actively participated in the consideration of all issues, they carefully checked the reports of officials and especially the spending of public money. Every Athenian magistrate, no matter how high his position, looked forward with fear to the day when he had to report to the assembly. Plutarch says that the most respected and most authoritative head of the Athenian state, the first strategist Pericles, prepared so carefully for a report to the citizens that for several days he did not allow anyone close to him. Participation in the activities of the National Assembly developed the oratory skills of many Athenians, shaped their thinking, civic consciousness. Aristophanes in the comedy "Acharnians" well conveys the general atmosphere in the Athenian People's Assembly, shows how freely and boldly many issues were discussed there. Its hero - a peasant Dikeopolis, an Athenian citizen living in the village - decides to go to the next People's Assembly and seeks to conclude peace with the Spartans (the play reflects the period between Athens and Sparta).

Every Athenian citizen, including a poor person, had the right to participate in the work of the People's Assembly, but not all the poor could actually take part in quite numerous meetings, sometimes lasting all day. After all, they needed to feed their families, earn the necessary funds for this. In order to attract the lowest layer of Athenian citizenship to the work of the National Assembly, at the beginning of the 4th century BC. BC, a law was passed (at the suggestion of Aguirria) establishing a reward for attending the National Assembly in the amount of 3 obols, the average wage of an Athenian artisan per day.

However, despite the measures taken, not all persons who had civil rights could take part in its work. After all, many citizens lived far from Athens, somewhere in Eleusis, Marathon or Cape Sounios, on islands such as Lemnos, Imbros or Skyros, and it was difficult for them to come to Athens. Usually the regulars at public meetings were citizens living in Athens, Piraeus or their environs, so that out of a total number of citizens of 30-40 thousand, about 3-5 thousand people were usually present at the people's meetings. That is why, in order to solve especially important cases, for example, to carry out ostracism, a quorum of at least 6 thousand people was required, and this number was collected not without difficulty.

3. Council of 500 and the Areopagus. The decisions of the People's Assembly, which became state laws, usually began with the words "Resolved by the Council and the people." This legal formula shows the great role of the Council (Bule) in the system of state organs of the Athenian democracy. The council in Athens was just as powerful and authoritative as the National Assembly.

The Council consisted of 500 people, 50 from each of the 10 Athenian phyla. Each member of the Council was chosen by lot from several candidates, which ruled out the possibility of bribery or any pressure from above. Equal representation from each phylum ensured the interests of those living there

172

population. The most important tasks of the Council of 500 were the organization of the work of people's assemblies and the performance of their functions during breaks between meetings. First of all, the agenda of the meetings was prepared, projects were discussed possible solutions(including the draft peace treaties), the budget, the supply of food and military equipment, the legality of the election of officials and their orders were checked. The council oversaw the construction of warships and the construction of public buildings. A wide range of issues discussed made it necessary to meet daily. Members of the Council received a salary of 5 obols, that is, twice as much as for visiting the People's Assembly.

The Council of 500 was made up of all ranks of Athenian citizenship. Council members were elected for one year, re-election was allowed after several years, so that every year the Council was renewed anew.

Along with the Council of 500 in the system of Athenian democracy, there was also the Council of the Areopagus. The Areopagus is one of the oldest public administration bodies in Athens, its traces date back to the 9th-8th centuries. BC e., to the council of tribal lords.

The Areopagus, unlike the Council of 500, was an aristocratic body. It consisted of several dozen members (perhaps up to 60-70 people), co-opted (rather than elected by the people) mainly from among the Athenian aristocrats for life (for a member of the Areopagus, “good education” was required, which implied aristocratic origin). The leaders of the Athenian democracy did not dare to destroy the Areopagus, but skillfully adapted it to the performance of such state functions that were outside the powers of the elected magistrates. Areopagus in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. became one of the courts - dealt with cases of premeditated murder, arson, violations of religious precepts. The Areopagus was also supposed to oversee the state of morals and the protection of paternal foundations.

4. Elected officials. Athens was the political center and hegemon of a large union of Greek cities (the First Athenian Maritime Union in the 5th century BC and the Second Athenian Maritime Union in the 4th century BC). A large population lived in Athens, there was a life full of various events. This posed many problems for the state in the management and organization of the administrative apparatus.

City government was carried out with the help of elected magistracies, special officials. The Council of 500, in turn, directly controlled their activities. The highest magistrates in Athens were the colleges of archons and strategists. The College of Nine Archons was one of the oldest government bodies dating back to the 8th century. BC e. The competence of the archons was quite wide: the year was named after the first archon, the archons had influence on military affairs, controlled the most important religious ceremonies and festivals, determined the procedure for considering numerous court cases, both private and public order, including the granting of civil rights or accusations of overthrowing the state system.

One of the most authoritative government boards in Athens was the board of 10 strategists. The strategists led the military organization of the Athenian state, recruited troops, commanded them during hostilities, and led the garrisons. The strategists were responsible for military financing, they also disposed of the captured booty. In the conditions of constant wars in the V-IV centuries. BC e. board of strategists focused on

173

in his own hands, leadership of key issues of state policy, and the most prominent political figures of the Athenian state occupied the post of strategist, and not archon. Other elected persons also helped the strategists in the management of military affairs: 10 taxiarchs who commanded the hoplite contingents, 2 hipparchs - cavalry commanders, 10 philarchs - commanders of smaller cavalry detachments. All these military posts were selected by citizens who had shown abilities for military affairs, who had received special training. They were elected by open vote, while all civil positions were appointed by lot. An open vote was supposed to eliminate the risk of choosing a person incompetent or incapable of command for a responsible military post.

The governing bodies also included numerous financial boards, and this is understandable: in the conditions of intensive economic life and active state policy, budgeting, financing numerous events was of particular importance. Financial support the Athenian army took a very great place in the activities of strategists. In the system of Athenian democracy, there were several special colleges that led various aspects of financial activity. So, the guardians of the entire state treasury were 10 treasurers of the goddess Athena; the main concern of the 10 flights was the control of revenues to the treasury (from the leasing of state property to the receipt of tax amounts and other revenues); 10 apodects noted in the lists all receipts to the treasury and gave out to officials the sums due to them; 10 logisticians regularly checked the financial statements of officials. It must be said that the establishment of several financial colleges that control each other was also effective way combat embezzlement and other financial abuses of officials. Such a system, if not completely eliminated, then minimized corruption, the possibility of embezzlement of public funds.

There were also many different colleges of magistrates in Athens, the main functions of which were the organization of the management of inner city life. 10 astynomes monitored the sanitary condition of the city, 10 agoranoms observed the observance of the rules of market trade, 10 metronomes were responsible for the correctness of measures and weights, 10 sitophilaks, bread overseers, constantly monitored the prices of bread (the importance of this board is evidenced by the fact that in the middle IV century BC, the number of its members increased from 10 to 35: 20 supervised the grain trade in Athens, and 15 in Piraeus.) Police functions, including supervision of prisons, execution of death and other sentences, carried out board of 11 members. At their disposal was a detachment of 300 state slaves armed with bows, who were called Scythian arrows (although there could be slaves of other nationalities). Other boards of officials were also elected. According to Aristotle, up to 700 different officials were elected annually to the college in Athens.

In general, it was a rather numerous, branched administrative apparatus. But it was not bureaucratic, separated from the mass of Athenian citizenship. First of all, all boards of officials were elected for only one year. It was forbidden to be elected to the same position twice (an exception was made for the military). All magistracies were collegiate, and the possibility of concentrating power in one hand was excluded. Athens adopted a democratic election procedure:

174

175

in addition to the military magistracies, candidates for all other positions were chosen by lot from representatives of all property categories, including poor citizens. For sending magistracies, a fee was set in the amount of the daily wage of an artisan or slightly higher (from 3 to 5 obols), which provided real conditions for participation in the management of citizens of the lowest property category. Since re-election was excluded, and the boards were numerous, practically every citizen could be elected to one or more posts and thereby take a direct part in the state administration of his policy.

5. Trial by jury - helium. One of the most important organs of Athenian democracy was the Helium Jury. According to legend, it was created in the time of Solon, at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. The role of helium in the V-IV centuries. BC e. increased, and its influence in public life became quite high. The Athenian Helium was elected in the amount of 6 thousand citizens, and persons not younger than 30 years old, with certain life experience and some knowledge, as a rule, the fathers of families, could be elected to its composition. Members of the helium were distributed among 10 chambers (dicasteries) of 600 people each (500 people dealt with cases, 100 people were considered spare). The large number of members of the entire helium and individual chambers can be explained both by the abundance of various court cases in such a large and crowded city as Athens, and by the desire to prevent bribery of judges (bribery big number judges are difficult, besides, the Athenians distributed court cases between the chambers by lot). Some particularly important cases were considered at a joint session of several (up to three) chambers. Heliea was the highest judicial body of Athens, and therefore its competence was very wide. In essence, helium unloaded the National Assembly from court cases and thus, as it were, supplemented it.

It was possible to be elected to helium several times, which led to the accumulation of experience among the heliasts in conducting court cases, increased their professionalism, and the competence of decisions. Litigation in helium was conducted jointly with the respective magistrates. An archon, a strategist or a member of some other collegium presided over a meeting of one or another chamber, conducted a preliminary investigation, which improved the procedure for the trial, introduced the necessary order into it.

In Athens, there were no public prosecutors and specialist defense lawyers, as in the courts of modern and recent times. The accusation and defense were of a private nature. The accuser made a statement to the relevant magistrate and brought the accused before him. The magistrate conducted the preliminary investigation, referred the case to the court and presided over its analysis in the appropriate chamber. The trial was based on the adversarial principle: the accuser cited evidence of guilt, the defendant refuted it. After listening to the speeches of the accuser and the defendant, the heliasts voted; a case was considered decided if more than half of the members of the House voted for it. The defendant was either released from the charge or subjected to punishment: imprisonment, confiscation of property, a fine; the most severe were sentences of exile or death, disenfranchisement.

The carefully designed procedure of the trial, a large number of experienced judges, thoughtful measures against bribery made the Athenian judiciary an effective organ of the democratic system. We have no data at our disposal about unfair decisions of the Athenian courts, about abuses or judicial

176

arbitrarily. On the contrary, even political opponents Athenian democracy were forced to pay tribute to the objectivity and competence of the Athenian courts. Every citizen of Athens during his life, regardless of his property status, could become a member of the Helium and use his abilities in various legal proceedings.

In addition to various court cases, helium was entrusted with the responsible task of protecting the entire system of Athenian democracy. Thus, the Athenian constitution was protected with the help of a special trial called "graphe paranomon", or complaints against illegality. Its essence was as follows: every Athenian citizen had the right to make a statement that the law adopted by the People's Assembly contradicts existing legislation or was adopted in violation of the established order. As soon as such a statement was received, the action of the contested law was suspended, and a special chamber of helium, chaired by archons, began a thorough investigation of the complaint. If the complaint was considered fair, then it is wrong adopted law was cashed out, and its author was sentenced to a large fine, exile or even the death penalty for misleading his fellow citizens, participants in the People's Assembly. The ability to file a "complaint against illegal" protected the Athenians from being included in the National Assembly

177

ill-conceived bills. At the same time, if the “complaint about illegality” was not confirmed, then the initiator of the complaint was held liable for litigation. The institution of the graphe paranomon thus gave every citizen the right to defend the existing laws, the entire system of Athenian democracy.

Another protective measure of the democratic system was a system of constant and strict accountability for almost all Athenian officials. Before resigning from his post after a year of office, each magistrate reported either to the People's Assembly, or to the Council of 500, or to special commissions, and in case of detected abuses, he was brought to the most severe responsibility. Such a system of accountability was necessary because the frequent turnover (every year) of officials could lead to irresponsibility, corruption and abuse of power.

In general, the Athenian democracy in the V-IV centuries. BC e. was a well-developed, thoughtful, carefully designed system that successfully operated in difficult historical conditions, solved a variety of problems of socio-economic, political and cultural life.

6. Social policy of Athenian democracy. The democratic system assumed the widest participation in government of all categories of Athenian citizenship. Athenian citizenship in the V-IV centuries. BC e. was not homogeneous in property and social terms, the division into four property categories was preserved, and the position of each category in society was not the same. There were serious differences between the representatives of the Athenian aristocracy, who were part of the five hundredths, and the poor Fet. To provide real participation in state affairs of Athenian citizenship, a system of various measures was needed aimed at maintaining a certain material wealth, educational level, psychological climate, a certain unity within the civil collective as a whole. To address all these issues, a certain social policy of the Athenian democracy was developed. It included a number of measures: the introduction of payment for elected positions, for participation in the work of the Council of 500, helium and the People's Assembly, for the maintenance of sailors and hoplites employed in campaigns. In Athens, constantly (especially in the 5th century BC), they made sure that the number of farmers did not decrease, that citizens were not dispossessed of land. To do this, the Athenian authorities widely practiced the withdrawal of land-poor or landless citizens in cleruchia outside Attica. In the 5th century BC e., during the existence of the first Athenian maritime union, over 10 thousand Athenians were settled in such colonies (that is, at least a third of the total number of Athenian citizens).

The Athenian authorities closely followed the food supply of the urban population, especially the grain trade: price gouging, speculation in bread were considered a serious state crime and were often punishable by death - primarily because they hurt the poorest sections of the population. In order to somewhat smooth out property differences among citizens, a system of duties - liturgies - was developed in Athens. The system of liturgies was organized in such a way that the mass of poor citizens, listening to the choir, watching the competition of athletes or being on a ship equipped with the rich, felt with their own eyes a certain unity of the civil collective, where rich citizens at least partially share their income with the low-income part of the citizenship.

178

Athenian democracy took care of the education and upbringing of citizens. Starting from Pericles, that is, from the 40-30s of the 5th century. BC e., the authorities began to distribute the so-called theatrical money or special tokens to poor citizens, which could be used to go to a theatrical performance. A visit to the theater, where the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, the wonderful comedies of Aristophanes and other playwrights were performed, was an excellent school for the upbringing and education of Athenian citizenship.

Thus, Athenian democracy was based on broad participation in government. various categories citizenship, ensured his social activity, created conditions for the development of the political consciousness of the citizen, a kind of political climate. “We live a free political life in the state,” said Pericles, “and we do not suffer from suspicion in the mutual relations of everyday life, we do not get annoyed if someone does something for our own pleasure, and we do not show annoyance, although harmless but still a depressing other. Free from all coercion in private life, we are in public relations we do not break the laws most of all out of fear of them and obey those in power at this time.

The Athenian democratic system was a great achievement of the political life of Ancient Greece, but it cannot be idealized and considered a kind of model of democracy in general, suitable for all times and peoples.

Athenian democracy ensured the political participation of only the civilian population, and, as mentioned above, there were hardly more than 30-40 thousand citizens in Athens out of a total population of 250-300 thousand people. First of all, Athenian democracy was a civil democracy, i.e., a system from which the entire population, who did not have civil rights, was excluded. Consequently, not only slaves could not take part in the management, but also the so-called meteki, persons of non-Athenian origin permanently living in Athens. Women did not have the right to participate in the work of state bodies, although they were considered citizens.

179

Moreover, not even all Athenian citizens who have the right to participate in the work of all bodies of the Athenian state, different reasons(for example, a distant place of residence or a distressed financial situation) could exercise this right. In the system of Athenian democracy itself, many authoritative positions (almost all military positions requiring special training) were actually given into the hands of aristocratic families, who became conductors of oligarchic sentiments.

Government of Sparta

1. General features. People's Assembly (apella). In Sparta, as in Athens, the political system embodied the basic principles of the polis structure. Therefore, in both of these policies, one can see some common foundations: the concentration of political life within the framework of a civil collective, the existence of the ancient form of property as the collective property of citizens, the close connection between the political and military organization of citizenship, the republican nature of the state system. However, there were also deep differences between the state system of the Athenian and Spartan policies. In Athens, the political system took shape as a developed system of a democratic republic; in Sparta, the political system had a pronounced oligarchic character.

The aristocratic nature of the state structure of Sparta was not a coincidence, but grew out of the peculiarities of socio-economic relations. The dominance of natural production, the weak development of handicrafts and trade, the military nature of Spartan society determined the originality of the political structure of Sparta, the increasing role of military administration and education, and the small number of civilian administration bodies proper.

supreme body state power in Sparta (as in any Greek policy) there was a People's Assembly of all full-fledged Spartan citizens. The popular assembly (it was called the apella) approved peace treaties and the declaration of war, elected officials, military commanders, decided on the inheritance of royal power, if there were no legitimate heirs, approved the release of the helots. Major changes in legislation also had to be approved by the Spartan apella. However, in the general system of state bodies, it played a much smaller role compared to the Athenian ecclesia. First of all, because the participants in the appeal could only accept or reject bills, but not discuss them. Only members of the Council of Gerontes and ephors had the right to introduce a bill. The Spartan apella met irregularly, from time to time and by decision of officials. Not discussed at the meeting financial questions, the activities of magistrates were not controlled, court cases were not dealt with. Such an order of activity of the People's Assembly created favorable opportunities for the Spartan oligarchy to influence its work, to direct its activities in the right direction. If in Athens the National Assembly was a body expressing not only formally, but also in reality the interests of the majority of Athenian citizenship, then the apella protected the interests of only its top.

Moreover, in Spartan legislation there was a law according to which the decision of the appeal was cassated if the Council of Gerontes considered this decision unacceptable for any reason.

2. Gerussia and the college of ephors. The Council of Gerontes, or Gerussia, played a decisive role in the government of Sparta. It consisted of 30 members. 28 were faces

180

over 60 years old (in Greek, gerontes are old people, hence the name of the Council). Gerontes were elected from among the Spartan aristocracy and held positions for life. In addition to 28 gerontes, the Gerussia included two Spartan kings (regardless of age). Gerussia was not subordinated to or controlled by any body. It existed along with the People's Assembly, but was not accountable to it. Moreover, Gerussia had the right to cancel the decisions of the People's Assembly, if it considered them incorrect for any reason. If in Athens the Council of 500 was the working body of the ecclesia - it prepared its meetings and formalized decisions, then in Sparta, on the contrary, all decisions were made by the gerusia, only sometimes submitting them for formal approval by the appella. As a sovereign body of state power, Gerussia had almost unlimited competence, it met daily and managed all affairs, including military, financial, judicial, Gerussia could sentence to death, exile from the country, deprivation of civil rights, initiate prosecution even against the Spartan kings, included in its composition. Gerussia received reports from the almighty ephors when they completed their office. Almost all the threads of state administration were concentrated in the hands of the gerontes or were under their control.

No less authoritative body of the Spartan state was a board of five ephors ("guards"). Ephors were elected for 1 year by an apella from the entire composition of the Spartans, and not from a narrow circle of the Spartan aristocracy, like the gerons. However, this legal rule was by no means always respected; it was common to elect representatives of noble families to ephors. The election of the ephors, as well as the gerontes, took place in Sparta in a manner that Aristotle calls childish. A small college of special electors closed in a dark room. Candidates for the position of geront or ephor were escorted past this room, and the Spartans, who gathered at the apella, shouted or silently “voted” for each. Electors sitting in the room recorded the “vote results”, and, according to their conclusion, those candidates whose approval was the most noisy were approved for office. Naturally, with such a peculiar election, the most arbitrary decisions were possible, used by the Spartan oligarchy in their own interests.

The college of ephors had enormous power, Aristotle compares the power of the Spartan ephors with the power of tyrants, the sole rulers of Greek policies in the 4th century. BC e. By the name of the senior ephor, the year was called in Sparta, as in Athens by the name of the senior archon. The College of Ephors was considered an independent body from the Appella and Gerussia. The ephors were responsible for the strength and stability of Spartan legislation in general and therefore had the power to control the actions of officials. Great importance was given control over the activities of the Spartan kings. It was the ephors who were supposed to prevent the strengthening of royal power and the development of the Spartan oligarchy into a monarchy. According to the Spartan laws, the ephors once a month took the oath of the kings to observe the existing laws. Two ephors were obliged to accompany the kings during military campaigns, they sought to cause disagreement between the kings, believing that mutual suspicion and enmity would force the kings to control each other. The ephors had the right to bring the kings to the court of the gerussia, they could negotiate with the ambassadors of other states, convene and preside over the meetings of the appeal and even the gerussia. A very important function of the ephors was to monitor the entire system of Spartan education - the basis of the life and behavior of the Spartans. If they found any retreat-

181

leniya, they brought to justice both officials and individual citizens.

The competence of the ephors included the functions of supervision and supreme control over the perieks and numerous helots. In particular, upon taking office, ephors had to confirm old law about the announcement of the so-called cryptia, i.e., a war consecrated by ancient custom against the helots.

The ephors, as a rule, acted jointly with the gerontes, it was before the gerousia that the ephors initiated legal prosecutions, they could preside over some meetings of the geronts. The ephors submitted bills for approval of the appeal, which they coordinated with the gerontes. These were the bodies of the Spartan oligarchy, which led all aspects of the life of Spartan society. Their small number made it possible to bribe the gerontes, which took place in the history of Sparta in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. So, Aristotle reports that the ephors “could be easily bribed, and in former times such facts of bribery often happened, and even recently they took place in the Andros case, when some of the ephors, tempted by money, ruined, at least from the whole state depended on them. The abuses of power on the part of the ephors and gerontes were also facilitated by the fact that they were practically uncontrollable, bound by mutual responsibility and it was impossible to bring them to justice.

3. Institute of royal power. military posts. One of the influential political institutions of Sparta was the institution of royal power. Sparta was ruled by two kings belonging to two dynasties - Agiad and Eurypontides. The origin of these dynasties dates back to ancient times, back to the time of the final settlement of the Dorians in Laconia in the 10th century. BC e. In the V-IV centuries. BC e, these dynasties were the two most noble and wealthy families among the Spartan aristocracy. The Spartan kings were not the bearers of the supreme sole power, and the Spartan political system was not a monarchy. Each king enjoyed the same power. Unlike the monarchs, the Spartan kings were subject to the will of the apella, the decisions of the gerusia, of which they were members as ordinary members, but they were subjected to especially strict and daily control by the collegium of ephors. Nevertheless, the Spartan kings had quite a lot of power, and their role in state affairs should not be underestimated. The prerogatives of the kings were the supreme military command and the leadership of a religious cult, and these state functions in the society of Sparta were of particular importance. During military campaigns outside of Sparta, the power of the king as commander-in-chief was completely unlimited. The tsars were members of the Gerussia and, as such, took a real part in the decision of all state affairs. In addition, even in peacetime, the units of the Spartan army (pestilence, suckers, enomotii) retained their structure and, of course, they were dominated, if not legally, then in fact, by the authority of their commander in chief.

When the king was retinue, which constantly supported his political authority. Two Pythia accompanied the king, were present at his public meals, and it was them that the king sent to Delphi to the famous Delphic oracle. The growth of the authority of the kings was also facilitated by the performance of priestly functions, those signs of honor that they were entitled to by law: the kings were the largest landowners and, according to Xenophon, “in the cities of the perieks, the king is allowed to take a sufficient amount of land for himself.” At public meals, the king was given a place of honor, a double portion, they received on certain days as an honorary

182

183

of the best animal and a fixed amount of barley flour and wine, they appointed proxenos, married heiress brides who had lost relatives. The high authority of royal power was also manifested in the provision of special honors to the deceased king. “As for honors,” Xenophon wrote in the 4th century. BC, e., - rendered to the king after death, then from the laws of Lycurgus it is clear that the Lacedaemonian kings were honored not as ordinary people, but as heroes. With such a position of kings in the state, there was always a real danger of strengthening royal power, up to its transformation into a real monarchy. That is why the kings were given so much attention.

Spartan society was a militarized society, and therefore the role of the military element in government was high. The Spartan apella, as the supreme body, was an assembly of Spartan warriors to a greater extent than the popular assembly of Athens or any other Greek policy.

The Spartan army had a well thought out organizational structure, including a large command corps, which enjoys a certain political influence. One of the highest military positions was the position of navarch, commander of the Spartan fleet. The post of navarch was not permanent. Aristotle calls the navarchy "almost a second royal power", and considers the navarchs as commanders and politicians to be the real rivals of the Spartan kings. It should be noted that, like the kings, the Spartan navarchs were under the constant control of the ephors. For example, the noble Spartiate Lysander, according to Plutarch, “the most powerful of the Greeks, a kind of ruler of all Greece”, who controlled the fate of a huge fleet, an impressive army, many cities, strictly followed all the instructions of the ephors, on their orders dutifully returned to Sparta, where with with great difficulty he was able to justify his actions.

In structure ground forces a permanent staff of various military commanders was envisaged. According to Xenophon, who served in the Spartan army and knew his orders well, the command staff in Sparta was quite numerous. It included the commanders of the units into which the Spartan army was divided: the polemarchs commanding the mora (from 500 to 900 people), the lohags commanding the loch (from 150 to 200 people), the pentecosters commanding the pentecostia (from 50 to 60 people), and the enomotarchs, enomotie commanders (from 25 to 30 people). The polemarchs made up the closest retinue of the king and his military council, they were constantly near the king and even ate with him, were present at the sacrifices. The royal retinue also included selected soldiers who performed the functions of modern adjutants, fortunetellers, doctors, and flutists. Here were the Pythians, as well as the commanders of the allied detachments, mercenary units, and the chiefs of the convoys. Special officials helped the kings in managing the army: various military crimes were examined by Hellanodic judges, special treasurers helped manage finances, and lafiropolises were engaged in the sale of military booty. The royal person was guarded by a detachment of 300 "horsemen" - young Spartans (in fact, they were foot soldiers, the name is conditional), its three commanders - hippagreta - were part of the king's inner circle. There is little information in the sources about who appointed the numerous military commanders in the Spartan army and how such a well-functioning system operated in peacetime. It can be assumed that they were elected in the appellation (in the assembly of the same Spartiate warriors), but on the recommendation of the kings. The length of time in office, apparently, depended on the will of the king as commander of the army. A special place among the Spartan

184

the commanders were occupied by harmosts appointed as chiefs of the garrisons of Laconica or to the nearest islands of strategic importance, for example, to the island of Cythera. In general, the Spartan state system as an oligarchic system was a combination of civil and military authorities, in which the power of the Spartan oligarchy was balanced by the authority of military commanders headed by the kings, with whom the Spartan Gerusia and the ephorate were forced to reckon.

4. The system of state education of the Spartans. An organic part of the political organization of Sparta was the system of state education and training of the younger generation. It provided for the training of well-trained and physically developed warriors capable of defending the country from internal and external enemies. The Spartan warrior is, first of all, a disciplined warrior, he endures difficulties and hardships, obeys his commanders, obeys the elected authorities. Less importance in this system of education was given to education itself - it was reduced to the ability to read and write.

The system of Spartan education consisted of three stages. The first step was the upbringing of boys from 7 to 12 years old in the so-called agels (herds). Here is what Plutarch wrote about this: “Lycurgus did not allow the children of the Spartans to be brought up by bought or hired educators, and the father did not have the right to raise his son at his own discretion. He selected all the children who were seven years old, united them in agels and brought them up together, taught them to joint games and study. At the head of the agela, he put the one who was the smartest and bravest in fights. The children took his example in everything, carried out his orders, suffered punishment, so that all training consisted in instilling obedience in children. The old men watched their games and, constantly introducing discord into their environment, caused fights: they carefully studied what inclinations of courage and courage are contained in each, whether the boy is brave and whether he is stubborn in fights. They studied literacy only to the extent necessary. The rest of the upbringing was

185

to be able to obey implicitly, endure hardships patiently, and win battles.” The general control and management of the upbringing of boys was entrusted to a special official - a pedonoma. This position was considered important, and persons who were, according to Xenophon, "allowed to occupy the highest positions in the state" were appointed to it.

From the age of 12 came new stage training and education. Now teenagers joined silts (detachments) led by irens. These were, as a rule, older authoritative young men. The general management of the upbringing of adolescents was entrusted to special officials. The classes were in the nature of military training. “As they grew older, they were brought up more and more severely, cut their hair short, taught to walk barefoot and play naked. When they were 12 years old, they stopped wearing a chiton, receiving a cloak once a year, went dirty, did not wash themselves and did not anoint their body with anything, except for a few days a year when they were allowed to use all this. They slept together on silts and ages on bundles of reeds, which they themselves brought to themselves, breaking with their bare hands the tops of the reeds that grew along the banks of the Eurotas. In winter, they put the so-called lycophone, interfering with the reed, as they believed that this plant warms. It was at this age that the young Spartans underwent a difficult course of military training: possession of weapons, working out the formation of the phalanx, speed of movement and tactical tricks. Special attention was devoted to fostering a sense of social superiority in relation to the helots. And this was done very original way. “So they (the Spartans. - V.K.) forced the helots to drink unmixed wine in large quantities and, bringing them to sissitia, showed the young men how disgusting the vice of drunkenness is. They forced them to sing obscene songs and dance ugly dances: dances and songs that were in use among the free were forbidden to the helots. The education of a feeling of disgust for the helots was supplemented in more cruel ways. It was the detachments of older youths who were entrusted with carrying out the so-called cryptia, that is, secret murders of helots sanctioned by the state. According to the educators, these events were supposed to show the dexterity, cunning, obedience and military training of the younger Spartans.

By the age of 20, the third stage in the upbringing of young men began. The young Spartiate was allowed to join the sissitia. In other words, the young man became the owner of a plot of land with several carnal households, from

186

which he had to live, maintain his house, bring a certain amount of products into the system: barley and wheat flour, wine, oil and olives, cheese and fruits. Sissitia were an important socio-political institution in the system of Spartan statehood. Each sissitia was a kind of military unit, numbering about 15 people. The young men ate together, spent most of their time in joint conversations and military training, although each member of the sissitia had his own house and family, where he returned in the evening. Participation in the sissitia was obligatory for the Spartiate, as well as making a food contribution. If a Spartiate, due to poverty, could not pay the fee, he lost the right to participate in the sissitia and was deprived of almost all civil rights. Until the age of 30, a Spartiate was limited in civil status, for example, he was not allowed to go to the market and he could only make purchases by attracting relatives. On the shoulders of the young Spartans fell the brunt of the security service, the inconvenience of small military campaigns. By the age of 30, a Spartiate usually acquired a family, his own home, the restrictions were lifted and the navel was opened "to command posts and government positions,

The system of education of the younger generation, which was under strict state control, provided special training spartiat - the basis of Spartan statehood - a skilled professional who feels his privileged position, unquestioningly obeying the authorities, but also demanding that they take into account and realize their social interests.

2. National Assembly in Athens

The main and decisive body of power in Athens was the People's Assembly. All citizens, regardless of their property status, who lived in the city of Athens, Piraeus, Attica, and other territories that were part of the Athenian state (for example, residents of the islands) gathered at the National Assembly. Women were not allowed to participate in political and public life.

The People's Assembly had broad powers. State laws were adopted here, the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace were approved, the results of negotiations with other states, treaties with them were ratified. At the National Assembly, officials, magistrates of the Athenian state were elected, reports were discussed after their annual administration, matters related to the food supply of the city were resolved, the leasing of state property, land and mines was controlled, and the largest wills were approved. It exercised control over the upbringing of young men preparing for civil rights. The competence of the People's Assembly was to carry out such an emergency measure to protect the state system from the intrigues of noble persons as ostracism, that is, the expulsion for 10 years of any person suspected of intending to overthrow the democratic system.

The people's assembly in Athens met on strictly defined dates: once every 9 days or 4 times in 36 days, and the entire annual activity consisted of 10 cycles. In order to streamline the work of the People's Assembly, each of them brought up its own important questions. For example, at the first stage, military, food, emergency declarations were discussed, and the correctness of the election of the relevant magistrates was checked. At the second stage, petitions on personal and public affairs were considered, etc. The agenda was preliminarily prepared and discussed by the Council, the chairmen of the meeting were elected for one day by lot.

Remains with the names of Themistocles and Cimon

Every Athenian citizen, including a poor person, had the right to participate in the work of the People's Assembly, but not all the poor could actually take part in quite numerous meetings, sometimes lasting all day. After all, they had to feed their families, earn the necessary funds for this. In order to attract the lowest layer of Athenian citizenship to the work of the National Assembly, at the beginning of the 4th century BC. e. A law was passed (at the suggestion of Aguirrius) establishing a reward for attending the National Assembly in the amount of 3 obols, the average wage of an Athenian artisan per day.

However, despite the measures taken, not all persons who had civil rights could take part in its work. After all, many citizens lived far from Athens, somewhere in Eleusis, Marathon or Cape Sounios, on islands such as Lemnos, Imbros or Skyros, and it was difficult for them to come to Athens. Usually the regulars at public meetings were citizens living in Athens, Piraeus or their environs, so that out of a total number of citizens of 30-40 thousand, usually about 3-5 thousand people were present at the people's meetings. That is why, in order to solve especially important cases, for example, to carry out ostracism, a quorum of at least 6 thousand people was required, and this number was collected not without difficulty.

From the book Entertaining Greece author Gasparov Mikhail Leonovich

Pisistratus in Athens A new spectacle appeared in Athens: tragedy. The poet Thespis, who composed chants for rural holidays in honor of the god Dionysus, decided not only to tell in songs, but also to represent myths about heroes in faces. For example, the choir dressed up as companions of Hercules and sang

From the book Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece (ill.) author Kun Nikolai Albertovich

PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY. THERSITES Set out according to Homer's poem "The Iliad". The immortal gods slept serenely on the bright Olympus. Immersed in a deep sleep and the camp of the Greeks, and the great Troy. But Zeus the Thunderer did not close his eyes - he thought about how to avenge the insult to Achilles.

From the book Journey to the Ancient World [Illustrated Encyclopedia for Children] author Dinin Jacqueline

Life in Athens Acropolis. Religion. Theatre. Democracy. Medicine During the classical period, art, philosophy and science flourished in Greece. At this time, Athens, the city-state, reached its highest peak. The city was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC, but then rebuilt.

From the book The World History without censorship. In cynical facts and ticklish myths author Baganova Maria

Meanwhile, in Athens ... After the appointed time, Solon returned to his native city, but, to his deep regret, did not find peace and harmony there. Troubles took place in Athens, and although the laws of Solon were still in force, everyone expected a coup and desired a different political system.

author Andreev Yury Viktorovich

1. General features. People's assembly (apella) In Sparta, as in Athens, the political system embodied the basic principles of the polis structure. Therefore, in both of these policies, one can see some common foundations: concentration political life within

From the book History of Ancient Greece author Hammond Nicholas

4. Oligarchy in Athens The successive failures of democracy, culminating in the catastrophe in Syracuse, have sowed distrust in democratic institutions in all sections of the people. Active opponents of democracy came mainly from the upper and middle classes, who

From the book Ancient city. Religion, laws, institutions of Greece and Rome author Coulange Fustel de

From the book The Conquest of America by Ermak-Cortes and the rebellion of the Reformation through the eyes of the "ancient" Greeks author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

11. The huge professional army of the aggressor and the people's militia of the defenders, who were inferior in number to it. Nevertheless, the people's militia brilliantly defeated the professionals.

From the book Vote for Caesar author Jones Peter

People's Assembly An independent and competent body that made all the most important government decisions in Ancient Athens was called the People's Assembly (ancient Greek "ekklesia" - literally "those who screamed"). Much later this term became general church. Right

author

From the book History of Roman Law author Pokrovsky Iosif Alekseevich

From the book History of State and Law of Foreign Countries. Part 1 author Krasheninnikova Nina Alexandrovna

§ 1. State in Athens Emergence of the state. The territory of Attica (the region of Greece, where the Athenian state subsequently arose) was inhabited at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. four tribes, each of which had its own popular assembly, a council of elders and an elected

From the book History of Culture of Ancient Greece and Rome author Kumanetsky Kazimierz

LIFE IN ATHENS Gymnasnones and palestras were places not only for physical training, but simply for Athenians to meet. Especially in gymnasiums, where both adults and young people gathered, political and philosophical disputes arose, Socrates and sophists conducted conversations. atmosphere of democratic

From the book History of the Ancient World [East, Greece, Rome] author Nemirovsky Alexander Arkadievich

Tyranny of Peisistratus in Athens Circa 560 B.C. e. as a result of a stubborn struggle, power was seized by one of the Athenian aristocrats, Pisistratus, who managed to use the support of the urban and rural poor, dissatisfied with the influential Eupatrides. Pisistratus established his

From the book General History. Ancient world history. 5th grade author Selunskaya Nadezhda Andreevna

§ 27. The establishment of democracy in Athens Solon's reforms Solon. Ancient Greek sculpture The Athenian demos, reduced to poverty and dissatisfied with their lack of rights, began to fight against the aristocrats. He demanded equal rights with aristocrats in governing the state, the return

From the book Wonders of the World author Pakalina Elena Nikolaevna

Acropolis in Athens The Acropolis, or "upper city", has been located since time immemorial on the sacred hill of the ancient Greek city of Athens. In the 5th century BC e. it was brutally destroyed by the Persians. The ruler of the city, Pericles, ordered to restore it and entrusted this to the famous architect and

The main and decisive authority in Athens
was the People's Assembly. All citizens, regardless of their property status, who lived in the city of Athens, Piraeus, Attica, and other territories that were part of the Athenian state (for example, residents of the islands) gathered at the National Assembly. Women were not allowed to participate in political and public life.
The People's Assembly had broad powers. State laws were adopted here, the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace were approved, the results of negotiations with other states, treaties with them were ratified. At the National Assembly, officials, magistrates of the Athenian state were elected, reports were discussed after their annual administration, matters related to the food supply of the city were resolved, the leasing of state property, land and mines was controlled, and the largest wills were approved. It exercised control over the upbringing of young men preparing for civil rights. The competence of the People's Assembly was to carry out such an emergency measure to protect the state system from the intrigues of noble persons as ostracism, that is, the expulsion for 10 years of any person suspected of intending to overthrow the democratic system.
The most important business of the People's Assembly was the discussion and approval of the state budget, the granting of citizenship rights to foreigners, although this happened
rarely. It acted not only as the legislative body of its state, but also controlled the situation in the areas of management and administration.
The people's assembly in Athens met on strictly defined dates: once every 9 days or 4 times in 36 days, and the entire annual activity consisted of 10 cycles. In order to streamline the work of the People's Assembly, each of them brought up its own important questions. For example, at the first stage, military, food, emergency declarations were discussed, and the correctness of the election of the relevant magistrates was checked. At the second stage, petitions on personal and public affairs were considered, etc. The agenda was preliminarily prepared and discussed by the Council, the chairmen of the meeting were elected for one day by lot.

no matter what position he occupied, he waited with fear for the day when he had to report at the meeting. Plutarch says that the most respected and most authoritative head of the Athenian state, the first strategist Pericles, prepared so carefully for a report to the citizens that for several days he did not allow anyone close to him. Participation in the activities of the National Assembly developed the oratory skills of many Athenians, shaped their thinking, civic consciousness. Aristophanes in the comedy "Acharnians" well conveys the general atmosphere in the Athenian People's Assembly, shows how freely and boldly many issues were discussed there. His hero-peasant Dikeopolis, an Athenian citizen living in the village, decides to go to the next National Assembly and seeks to conclude peace with the Spartans (the play reflects the war between Athens and Sparta).
Every Athenian citizen, including a poor person, had the right to participate in the work of the People's Assembly, but not all the poor could actually take part in quite numerous meetings, sometimes lasting all day. After all, they had to feed their families, earn the necessary funds for this. In order to attract the lowest layer of Athenian citizenship to the work of the National Assembly, at the beginning of the 4th century BC. e. A law was passed (at the suggestion of Aguirrius) establishing a reward for attending the National Assembly in the amount of 3 obols, the average wage of an Athenian artisan per day.
However, despite the measures taken, not all persons who had civil rights could take part in its work. After all, many citizens lived far from Athens, somewhere in Eleusis, Marathon or Cape Sounios, on islands such as Lemnos, Imbros or Skyros, and it was difficult for them to come to Athens. Usually the habitues of popular meetings were citizens living in Athens, Piraeus or their vicinity.
so that out of a total number of citizens of 30-40 thousand, usually about 3-5 thousand people were present in the people's assemblies. That is why, in order to solve especially important cases, for example, to carry out ostracism, a quorum of at least 6 thousand people was required, and this number was collected not without difficulty.