UNIT 14 DEMOCRATIC POLITY IN

GREECE*
Structure
14.1 Objectives
14.2 Introduction
14.3 Who were the Greeks?
14.4 Geographical Spread of the Ancient Greek Civilization
14.5 Early Greek Civilization
14.5.1 Minoan Civilization
14.5.2 Mycenaean Civilization
14.5.3 ‘Dark Age’

14.6 Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Greece: Experiments with Democratic Politics
14.6.1 Slavery and Greek Civilization
14.6.2 Trade, City-States, Agricultural Production, Slavery

14.7 Greek Polity, Its Meanings and Structures: From Archaic to Classical Greek
Civilization
14.7.1 The Transition Period: Archaic Age and Tyranny
14.7.2 Democratic Politics in Classical Greece: Athens, Corinth, Sparta
14.8 Women in Greek Society
14.9 Summary
14.10 Key Words
14.11 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
14.12 Suggested Readings
14.13 Instructional Video Recommendations

14.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
 Describe the chronological and geographical extent of the Greek civilization;
 List the diverse sources of Greek civilization;
 Identify the main elements of Greek society, economy and polity, and their inter-
linkages;
 Explain how and why slavery was the foundation of Greek civilization;
 Estimate why Greek civilization is characterized as urban civilization, with a primary
rural base;
 Outline the distinctions in polity through the years and in different areas, particularly
the nature of its democracy; and
 Identify the diversities inherent in Greek civilization that shaped the modern
civilization of Europe.

* Dr. Nalini Taneja, School of Open Learning, University of Delhi, Delhi. 267
Ancient Greece
14.2 INTRODUCTION
When we speak of the ancient Greek civilization it is not the modern Greek nation-state
that we speak of, which came into being in early nineteenth century in the era of modern
nationalism. In speaking of the Greek civilization of the ancient period we refer to a
shifting geographical entity, with the Mediterranean Sea as its core, which encompassed
a small area, then expanded as a result of conquests and then further as a result of being
conquered and assimilated, and finally being part of a much larger entity as part of the
expansion of Alexander’s Empire. The elements that went into shaping the Greek
civilization then, were influences that could be called ‘external’ as well as those that
came with accommodation to new areas conquered.
Conquests and shifting boundaries were a characteristic feature of the Greek civilization,
although broadly we can classify the period of Greek civilization chronologically into
early Greece, the ‘Dark Ages’, and the classical Greece. Continuity and change remained
the hall mark of Greece’s civilizational profile throughout the three periods although
some economic and political features dominated in a particular stage while other aspects
pervaded the entire antiquity associated with Greek civilization.
Moreover, we must appreciate that diversity is the hallmark of even ancient civilizations
and is not something that comes with modernity. In this sense diversity is different from
pluralism. While pluralism denotes a voluntary and sometimes conscious and informed
embracing of diverse influences, diversity can exist separately, as separate units, mostly
unconscious though sometimes also accompanied by an awareness of it. In the case of
the Greeks, while most of the population may have simply followed patterns of life
without knowledge of their origins or sources, the Greek thinkers and philosophers
were quite aware of the influences of different cultures on Greek civilization, as you will
learn in the next Unit dealing with Greek cultural traditions.
The sources that underline the diversity of the ancient Greek civilization for us are
linguistic, literary and archaeological sources. In recent times they have helped tilt
historiography on Greece towards an appreciation of this diversity rather than the
nineteenth century emphasis on Greece as ‘western’ in its origin. In fact, this western
component was seen as crucial element in the birth of Modern Europe and Western
Civilization. The sharp divide between East and West, and Greek civilization as being
essentially Aryan and as the foundation of modern Europe no longer rings credible in
the face of new developments in historiography, which sees human history as diverse,
and marked by simultaneous developments and with multiple sources. Human history is
no longer seen as a straight line of European origin through Greek civilization and neither
is European Greece seen as the foundation of modernity via the Renaissance and
Enlightenment. The concept of World History as opposed to European history as the
index of human civilization reflects this shift. Perceptions of Greece are, therefore, crucial
to this shift, as we will understand during our reading of this Unit.
It is noteworthy that the renowned Greek philosophers and thinkers were themselves
very aware of and expressed their appreciation and influence of the eastern element
such as of the Egyptians, Phoenicians and the transitions taking place in Mesopotamia
and Asia Minor. The indigenous European developments were, therefore, important
but not the only elements in facilitating the Greek civilization to evolve and prosper.
In the ancient past many different developments were taking place in different regions
around the same period of time. Greek civilization, as most other civilizations, was a
result of regular interaction and diffusion of ideas and material culture across regions
268 and societies. A flavour of these differing perceptions, with an emphasis on the Afro-
Asiatic roots of Greek civilization, is available in the work of Martin Bernal (Black Democratic Polity
Athena. The Afro-Asiatic Roots of Classical Civilization). in Greece

In terms of material culture and social formations, the rise of Greek civilization is tied
with the introduction and widespread use of iron, as emphasized by Gordon Childe
(1986) and Moses I Finley (1987). It has also been underlined by most scholars that
the Greek society was essentially a slave society, although other forms of labour co-
existed. This aspect was the edifice on which stood the grand cities, the urban life,
culture, and intellectual achievements of Greece, for which it is so well renowned. While
developments in agriculture point towards greater diffusion of methods and crops, settled
agriculture too developed independently in many regions of the world with the use of
iron which was crucial in the spread of urban civilizations. The spread of this technology
was local in areas around the Mediterranean Sea which formed the core of Greek
civilization. With the widespread use of iron, the pace of development and change,
relatively, in the context of ancient societies, picked up pace. The achievements of
ancient Greece reflect this advance in various spheres of life.
An aspect in which the Greek civilization was exceptional is that, in an age of formation
of states and empires, it did not develop into an Empire. It remained a collectivity of
independent city-states, never united politically or territorially, but nevertheless
constituting a civilizational unity. Its classical age, marked by high achievements in art,
science and philosophy lasted from circa 500 BCE to about 338 BCE, when the
Macedonian armies of Alexander conquered the Greek states. Its beginnings can,
however, be traced to around 2000 BCE when Crete, with a significant component of
Greek population, emerged as the first Bronze Age civilization of Europe. In this context,
we will talk of the Minoan Civilization (2000-1400 BCE), the Mycenaean civilization
(1600-1200 BCE) and the ‘Dark Age’ (1200- 800 BCE), before going on to discuss
Archaic (800-500 BCE) and Classical and Hellenistic Greece (500-100 BCE). We
are discussing here, then, almost 2000 years of history, with the pace of change much
greater towards its latter half, but nevertheless nothing as compared with our modern
age, when within a lifetime of a single individual there is a sea change in technology,
society and knowledge.
In this Unit, we will discuss the features that characterized the economy, society and
polity of the classical age, although you would also learn how the earlier centuries
helped lay the foundations of the classical civilization, which marked an advance from
the bronze age to an iron based civilization, that classical Greece essentially was. We
will also see in some detail how the features of economy and society shaped the
democratic polity in ancient Greece, and its basic features.

14.3 WHO WERE THE GREEKS?

Finley (1987: Chapter 1) has pointed out that people speaking ‘proto-Greek’ (earliest
form of Greek language) first migrated into what we know as the Greek peninsula
before the beginning of the second millennium BCE, perhaps as early as 2200 BCE.
Their advent helped create the Mycenaean bronze age civilization (1600 BCE-1200
BCE), with a rudimentary script now referred to as Linear B, which was an early form
of Greek. But over the centuries it became difficult to disentangle what were called
Greek elements from those that were considered ‘pre-Greek’ in the area, just as it
became impossible to separate the mixed biological stock. ‘Race, language and culture
had no simple co-relation with each other in the region’ (Finley, 1987:15). Just as we
could today, in the light of recent historiography, say in the case of our ancient heritage
in India.
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Ancient Greece Although wars and conquests were important components of these interactions, and
the term popularly used is also ‘colonization’, this was not so in the modern sense, and
some historians have preferred to see the phenomenon as migration. Both wars and
intense migration around the Mediterranean Sea, throughout the 2000 years that we
are referring to, contributed to the emergence of what we identify as classical Greek
civilization from fifth century BCE, despite the intervening centuries referred to as ‘Dark
Age’, when the script disappeared, or at least no traces of it have been found for this
period by historians. The skills in metallurgy, agriculture and language survived through
what is called the ‘Dark Age’ into the classical Greek civilization.
The dialects spoken through these ages and in different areas contained words from
various language sources, but there was always a demarcation between what was
considered ‘others’ or ‘barbarians’. The Greeks themselves, in their own dialects, did
not refer to themselves as Greeks, argues Finley. In Mycenaean times they were known
as Achaeans, one of the several names also referred to in Homer’s poems. During the
‘Dark Age’ the term ‘Hellenic’ came to define some of the social and cultural elements
shared in the region, and finally ‘Hellas’ became the nomenclature by which they became
known, across the various city-states and in the entire region around the Mediterranean
Sea and the areas conquered by Alexander. In all these demarcated areas they had the
consciousness of belonging to a similar culture and way of life, diverse in many ways,
but distinct from that of non-Greeks as they saw it (Finley, 1987: 15-18).

14.4 GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD OF THE ANCIENT

GREEK CIVILIZATION
As pointed out earlier, when we speak of the ancient Greek civilization we refer to an
area much larger than present-day [Link] Ancient Greek expanse covered western
Anatolia, Thrace, the islands of the Aegean Sea, Crete, Cyprus, mainland Greece,
southern Italy and Sicily. It was mainly the region around the Mediterranean Sea and
the Aegean Sea, that was, geographically speaking, quite crucial in framing its features.
The features that characterize it are climate, physical features, law of the land, and
above all, the significance of the sea in providing ports and avenues of trade and transport,
apart from facilitating heavy traffic of migrators and tribals with settlement opportunities.
Most of the Greek cities, throughout its history, were found not far inland from the sea
coast.
The mainland Greece itself is a peninsula surrounded by the sea on all sides, its
southernmost part called the Peloponnese, connected to the mainland by a gulf that
housed the city of Corinth. The other major city, Athens, is situated in Attica region,
almost bound by the Aegean Sea. Towards the north west of Attica is the area called
Boetia, with its city known as Thebes. Further north, moving towards the east are
Macedonia and Thrace and then towards Turkey, across the Sea of Marmara is Western
Anatolia. The Greek Peninsula and Western Anatolia thus lay on opposite sides of the
Aegean Sea, with a large number of islands in between, of which one of the most
important is Crete. Southern Italy and Sicily too housed some Greek population.
Please look at the accompanying Map 14.1 showing the areas and cities under Classical
Greece:

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in Greece

Map 14.1 : Territories under Greek Control: Classical Greece

Source: MHI-01: Ancient and Medieval Societies, Block 3, Unit 12, Map 2, p. 34.

14.5 EARLY GREEK CIVILIZATION

The communities that inhabited early Greece developed their culture and patterns of
livelihood in different areas of the region. These livelihood patterns had some distinct
features of their own, while others were carried over time and space.
The evolution of the ancient Greek civilization coincides with the transition from bronze
age to the age of iron proper. The first traces of iron in this region were found in the
Minoan civilization, which was also the first bronze age civilization in a region inhabited
by Greeks. The Mycenaean civilization, on the other hand, developed independently in
mainland Greece.
Both these carried within them the influences of the Mesopotamian and Phoenician
culture, as well as of the independent developments taking place in the Anatolia and
eastern Mediterranean societies over a long period. Like Mesopotamia and Egypt,
Central Anatolia had also developed a mature bronze civilization.
The extensive trade and the interactions of various tribes with communities of settled
agriculture, therefore, led to the development of two sets of languages: Semitic and
Indo-European in their origin. Traces of both can be found in the various Greek dialects
of the period we are talking about. Slavery was a feature of Greek economy and
society from these earliest times, and an important aspect of continuity.

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Ancient Greece 14.5.1 Minoan Civilization
Named after the legendary king Minos of Crete mythology, the Minoan civilization
(2000 BCE-1400 BCE) was discovered in the early 20th century through archaeological
excavations of Sir Arthur Evans. The excavations furnished large palaces that appeared
to be centres of political authority and residences of the upper classes, and also the
nucleus of economic activity, that involved agricultural production of wheat, olives and
grapes, and sheep rearing and wool production. These point towards an important
feature of the developing Greek civilization which is the close association of rural economy
with an urban civilization and town life, and a flourishing trade in the region of the
Mediterranean and beyond. Pottery was well established and the island had a number
of cities, well known at the time.
Although their script has not yet been deciphered, it is known that they had a script,
which was used in their active interactions with Egypt, Anatolia, the Lebanese coast,
Cyprus and Aegean. Such interaction and the traffic of goods and people and migration
(or colonization as popularly called) eventually contributed, despite its sudden end around
1400 BCE, to a new phase of bronze age civilization, which incorporated much from
this Minoan historical [Link] Minoan script has been named as Linear A,
although another script referred to as Linear B was also in use, and another known as
Cretan hieroglyphic. There were thus three distinct scripts in early Greece, with some
borrowings and similarities with each other. The oldest versions of the script prevalent
in the region were the Cretan hieroglyphs, which were pictorial and developed around
2000 BCE. Linear A made its appearance during the Minoan civilization around 1700
BCE, and Linear B prevailed from around 1450 BCE and remained in use during the
Mycenaean civilization. The hieroglyphics appear mostly on clay tablets and are yet to
be deciphered. While Cretan hieroglyphs have a pictorial appearance, Linear A has a
linear appearance, i.e. a syllabic writing system: most documented clay tablet Linear A
inscriptions are arranged in square fields, typically four to nine lines long. They are
found mostly in Cretan sites, a few outside Crete.

LINEAR A LINEAR B
Developed by Minoans, it was the first Developed during the Mycenaean
written system of Europe. It was in use civilization, it is considered the earliest
between 1800 BCE and 1450 BCE. form of a script identified by modern
It had roughly 77 to 85 phonetic scholars as written Greek, and is found
symbols, and has also not been on a larger number of clay tablets,
deciphered. But from the combination mostly on the mainland. There are also
of sign sequences and numbers, it inscriptions, accounting records listing
appears to have been used mainly for materials. It is also written from left to
listing of goods of trade. Its syllabary right, and consists of logograms that
and signs represent sounds, concrete are almost pictograms, thus sharing
objects and abstract thought. It has some characteristics of hieroglyphics
also been found on sites associated and of the Linear A script. There were
with religion and ritual. It was written 90 syllable signs, that have been
from left to right, horizontally. identified by modern scholars.
Source: [Link]

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Figure: 14.1 : Linear A tablet from the palace of Zakros, archeological Museum of Sitia
Credit: Olaf Tausch
Source: [Link]

Figure : 14.2: Linear B tablet from the palace of Zakros, archeological Museum of Sitia
Credit: vinatgedept
Source: Flickr: Clay tablet inscribed with Linear B script
[Link]
with_Linear_B_script.jpg

14.5.2 Mycenaean Civilization

From 1600 BCE onwards, independent developments in mainland Greece around the
Peloponnesus Peninsula contributed to the birth of another civilization, known after its
main excavated site (Mycenae), as the Mycenaean civilization (1600 BCE-1200 BCE).
It originated from waves of migrations of different tribes to the area that led to distinct
settlements and separate states ruled by warrior chiefs. In due course of time, around
1400 BCE, they also conquered the island of Crete, which had hosted the Minoan
civilization, and incorporated under their rule, as separates states, many of their famous
island cities. These settlers were speakers of various forms of Greek dialect, which
evolved as a language during their rule, and they also came to adopt the Linear B script,
including in Crete. The Linear B script is thus the language of Mycenaean civilization,
and it came to be known as Mycanaean Greek. Mostly on clay tablets, it documents 273
Ancient Greece economic transactions of the palace administration, and sometimes military activity.
The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries ([Link]
writing/[Link];[Link]
The Mycenaean civilization was discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in the late nineteenth
century, and the clay tablets found there are major sources of written records for the
period. The clay tablets show the prevalence of extensive overseas trade, pottery,
textiles and oil, and use of gold, copper and tin, which was mainly imported.
Although palace complexes dotted the urban centres, as in the case of the Minoans, the
cities here were dominated by fortified fortresses, pointing towards big warring chiefs
who ruled from their palaces in the urban centres. The warrior chiefs constituted the
landed aristocracy as well and controlled both political power and the economy through
evolving bureaucratic structures. This involved the collection of taxes and tribute from
smaller subordinate towns and rural areas, the production of bronze, weaving of woolen
cloth and also the maritime trade in both agricultural produce and artisanal production.
They kept extensive records of all this economic activity. Their wealth and power are
evident from the remains found at the burial sites of Mycenae and also the remains
Tiryns, Athens, Thebes, Gla and Pylos (Kashlinsky et al, 1995).
While the rate of extraction of income in the form of surplus most certainly increased as
compared with the Minoan civilization and political control was also greater, the political
entity in this period also remained that of independent states – a significant feature of
Greek civilization in the age of empires.
The Mycenaean civilization declined as a result of increasing migrations and warfare
around 1200 BCE, and perhaps some natural disasters, or as part of the general crisis
affecting the fragility of the weak agrarian base during the twelfth century BCE. Historians
of Greek history have not been able to agree on any one cause. But this near collapse
caused the sharp loss of control by the ruling military lordship, of revenue and political
authority, and is said to mark the beginning of what came to be known as ‘Dark
Ages’(1200-800 BCE).

14.5.3 ‘Dark Age’

It is believed that around 1200 BCE onwards Greece returned to a more primitive level
of culture and society, that lasted until 800 BCE. In the immediate aftermath of the
Mycenaean decline, some cities lost their lustre and there was a depopulation of flourishing
centres of economic activity. Some of the cities were sacked and totally destroyed. The
Greece of this period was poorer, more rural and more simply organized, its ruling
classes consisting of petty warriors raiding each other and fighting amongst themselves.
The political set-up included very small states in which the ruling warriors shared power
with other elites. This marked the beginnings of what in the later periods emerged as
oligarchy. There was a great deal of stratification and conflicts between the warrior
chiefs and the elites they were forced to share power with, and with the peasantry that
formed the bulk of the producing and oppressed population.
Economy showed some self-sufficiency but archaeological evidence reveals that there
was a decline in long-distance trade in the crucial items of tin and copper. The burial
places were smaller and evidenced less luxurious goods when compared with the
Mycenaean burial places. The Linear B script also disappeared and with it any written
record for this phase became unknown.
But by 1000 BCE there was a revival of the economy and language, and most important,
there was the introduction of iron and the technology associated with it. The use of iron
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in making simple tools helped overcome the burden of loss of trade of tin and copper, Democratic Polity
and soon became pervasive. This was a decisive development. There was a great deal in Greece
of social mixing with Greek speaking people beginning to inhabit areas in Asia Minor,
the Aegean islands, and western coast of Anatolia. This led to the development of three
major dialects: Ionic, Doric and Aeolic. During the end of the period there was also
revival of writing, borrowed from the Phoenicians, with a script running from right to
left, which was well adapted to the Greek language.
Thus, like all ‘Dark Ages’known in history, this period of Greek history was not uniformly
a dark age at all. It was just that some features of society that appeared to be on the
ascendance received a setback, or things did not remain as people were used to. Also,
there were new developments and achievements that got known only much later. So,
as often happens, the period was considered ‘dark’ only because little was known
about it for a long time, and because the sources for knowing it did not become accessible,
or because our vantage point did not appreciate much that was happening. Most
importantly, today, it is well accepted that a period cannot really be termed ‘dark’ if
some great literature was being created during that time and in this period, Greece
produced two celebrated epics of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Thus, much like
the medieval period of Europe, this long phase of the ancient past of Greece is no
longer seen as stagnant or unchanging. In fact, the period, even if in small ways, set the
stage for what is known as the classical Greek civilization.
Check Your Progress Exercise-1
1) List the names of some important cities in early Greece, and explain how the
geographical expanse of Greece was favourable for its early development.
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2) What were the two scripts in use in early Greece?
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3) What were the major differences between the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations?
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Ancient Greece 4) What were the developments that have led some historians to conclude that the
‘Dark Age’ in Greece was not so dark after all?
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14.6 ARCHAIC, CLASSICAL AND HELLENISTIC

GREECE: EXPERIMENTS WITH
DEMOCRATIC POLITICS
While some variations in society and political organization vary over space and time,
this entire period can be treated as a whole for many reasons. There is a great deal of
continuity and overlapping in various aspects of society, economy and culture. This
period constitutes the core of antiquity, with which the achievements of Greek civilization
are identified. This is also the period essentially talked about in the context of Greek
experience with democracy in the ancient world.
The Archaic period (800 BCE-500 BCE) signaled the links between the emergence of
democratic polity and the social and economic edifice that stood upon the slave system
of production. This was further strengthened during the Classical period (500 BCE-
323 BCE), and Athens is a prime example of the most oppressive form of slavery
coinciding with the most democratic form of the city-state in the ancient world.
The idea of freedom for the community as distinct from the power of the landed nobility
that ruled and the chieftains based on clans crystallized in these years. During the course
of the Archaic period many states evolved into democracies, its form and content
depending on the degree of participation in governance for the general population. The
struggle between the landed classes and others, i.e. those who derived their wealth
from trade and the peasantry and artisans and small manufacturers, was crucial in
determining the degree of participation of non-nobles in the institutions of the states.
In the Classical period, the Councils and Assemblies that characterized the practice of
ancient democracy were prevalent everywhere in the Greek world. There was an entire
spectrum between those that were similar to oligarchies and on the other hand Athens,
which was the most democratic of them all. But there were similarities too that bound
them within the framework of ancient relations of production, of which slavery was
most crucial. We will outline these differences and similarities, and the achievements in
democracy as well as their limitations, in the later sections of this Unit. We will also
trace the developments in some states for purpose of illustration and examples.
Before we discuss this thread of the emergence and crystallization of the city state in the
different areas that constituted ancient Greece, it would be fruitful to understand the
social economic foundations of ancient Greece and their linkages with the practice of
democracy in the ancient world. In this context we will speak of the institution of slavery
and maritime trade in the Mediterranean region.
The conquests of Alexander and the Macedonian Empire marked a sharp break in
terms of politics, if not in culture. It may be seen that while many cultural achievements
of Greece in the Classical period influenced ways of life and art and culture of the
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larger Empire and beyond it, and Greece proper too gained from this encounter. In Democratic Polity
political terms, the conquests led not only to the incorporation of Greek states into the in Greece
Macedonian Empire, but also the end of the city-state as we know it and its structures
of democracy.

14.6.1 Slavery and Greek Civilization

When we talk of Greek civilization as an urban civilization with city-state as its main
form of political organization, we must not forget that these city-states were based on
and sustained by an essentially agrarian base built on slave labour. Perry Anderson
(2013) puts it very clearly and simply: ‘Behind this urban culture and polity lay no urban
economy in any way commensurate with it: on the contrary, the material wealth which
sustained its intellectual and civic vitality was drawn overwhelmingly from the
countryside… Agriculture represented throughout its history the absolutely dominant
domain of production, invariably furnishing the main fortunes of the cities themselves’
(Anderson,1974:19). The towns did not consist mainly of communities of manufacturers,
traders or craftsmen, but of landowners, the agrarian proprietors, who dominated the
cities. This was true of democratic Athens to oligarchic Sparta. In short, Greek civilization
exemplified a specific relationship between town and countryside, between city, urban
polity and rural economy since early Greece, as noted in Sections above.
Relatively, the fiscal revenue that came from rural production was much higher than
from urban production. A thriving trade existed in luxury items consumed by the ruling
aristocracy. A lot of money went into the manufacture of beautiful artefacts and the
splendour of cities, its architecture, the pottery, sculpture and organization of splendid
sports (these features are discussed in detail in Unit 15). All this would not have been
possible without the extraction of surplus derived from the agrarian economy and the
peasants who laboured on it. Equally, the democratic polity of Greece, the institution of
the city-state, and the working of the assemblies and councils – that we discuss in this
Unit – were sustained by the wealth and surplus that economies of ancient Greece
generated.
How was so much derived or extracted from an agrarian economy which was rudimentary
in its level of development? Slavery as an aspect of production, in agriculture and
manufacture, in domestic labour, in construction, and for military power, was crucial in
Greek society. For the first time in history, slave labour or unpaid bonded labour was
used extensively in production, both in agriculture and urban economy: in mining,
handicrafts and in all types of cultivation. Acquisition of slaves, apart from plunder and
tribute was a central objective in conquests, and geographical expansion. This in turn
enabled more conquests, settlements and reproduction of the privileges of the landed
aristocracy and glories of the many city-states.
The slaves themselves became commodities, their very circles and their families including
children added to the pool of ownership of those who acquired them. Other means
were debt bondage and prisoners of war. When free peasants could not pay of their
debts, they were simply enslaved. Women were a significant component of the slave
population from earliest times. Homer also refers to them in his poems. With reference
to the early Myceaean civilization there is reference in clay tablets to about 550 women
slaves engaged in textile production, and many more in the palaces.
The working conditions and lives of slaves were pitiable. With a large number of labour
in their control, the owners found little incentive in improving inputs and technology. On
the other hand, there was an obvious limitation to what could be extracted from the
exploitation of human labour. So when expansion through conquests became difficult,
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Ancient Greece the slave system itself underwent a crisis. It is worth noting that the rise and decline of
the Greek civilization is intrinsically tied to that of the slave system.
Apart from slavery, there also existed other types of labour. This included free peasantry
that not only paid tribute but a huge part of this section was in debt bondage. However,
it was primarily the extraction of surplus from slavery that enabled the ruling classes to
maintain their privileged lifestyle throughout Greek history in the ancient period. An
important part of that privilege and luxury was political debates, philosophical ideas,
enquiries into and experimentation with what has been characterized as first examples
of democracy in history, although these democratic set ups were very rudimentary and
not at all in keeping with our modern notions of democracy.
However, from the above discussion one must not arrive at the conclusion that the
social scene was uniform with the prevalence of slavery everywhere. There was a basic
difference between those who were free and could be participants in the political
arrangements and those who were unfree or slaves and therefore not considered citizens.
But beyond this divide, Greek society was a deeply graded society across the different
city-states.
The nature of power sharing between the privileged differed, the intertwining of economic
roles differed, and even the relationships with the slaves differed across the states,
depending on their size, military prowess and the specific economic activities. For
example, the slave owners could range from big landowners and military men and
warrior chiefs to medium and well-off peasantry. On the other hand, a slave could be a
chattel slave (system in which a slave was owned as property by their master) working
in agriculture, a domestic slave and all the way to being a supervisor. He/she could be
Greek and of the same stock as the city state he/she lived or a ‘foreigner’ enslaved
during war and conquest.
Finley mentions that most of the slaves in the different city-states were foreigners, he
describes their gradations and their specific roles in different occupations within the
larger non-citizen status of a slave. He describes production areas that were mixed,
with free and unfree labour or those in bondage. He points out that those called free
labour were free only in the sense of being non-slaves; it did not mean they could
negotiate as free hired labour in modern societies. There was an easy slide from the
status of debt bondage to that of a slave, and so on. Historians have given varied data
and figures that invariably point to the different conditions, as well as numbers that point
to the significance of slavery in the extraction of surplus from the producer or worker,
even domestic workers who were sometimes involved in textiles and handicrafts. In
short, there were distinctions in the slave system between different city-states, and a
complexity within states.
For the sake of clarity and brevity, we will refer to the states of Athens and Sparta.
Sparta was using slave labour extensively by the end of the ‘Dark Age’ itself and in
Athens slavery expanded with conquests. However, there was distinction between Sparta
and Athens. In Sparta, slaves were collectively owned by the state and were part of a
system called helotry, while in Athens they were mostly privately owned, and could be
bought and sold in the market as commodities. In Sparta they were assigned to different
households, the basic units of production, or to military chiefs and the landed ruling
classes, in keeping with the gradation of the society and social scale, contributing to the
maintenance and reproduction of the ruling pacts. But they did not belong to those
whom they were assigned. Due to that, the system was, perhaps, just a little bit less
oppressive in Sparta because the slaves were not separated from their families. In
278 Sparta the basis of the social compact and their political system was the medium and
small peasant producers while in Athens the labour and production base was primarily Democratic Polity
formed by chattel slaves. They were treated by their masters as commodities and faced in Greece
a different scale of oppression. The nature of slave ownership or assignment also
influenced the degree to which the citizens in these respective city-states could spend
time, energy and talent in the exercise of political governance. It seems that both wealth
and nature of economic obligations determined the degree of privilege of political
participation and political dominance in the state structure and institutions.
Thus, some historians have pointed out that Athens known for its democracy actually
had the severest form of slavery, while Sparta, which was oligarchic in its political set
up, saw developments in which the peasantry enjoyed greater self-sufficiency. Or it
could be put the other way around: the most oppressive forms of slavery, chattel slavery,
produced a political structure that gave more political participation, freedom and leisure
to those who enjoyed the status of citizens, particularly the most privileged; while helotry
and a more self-sufficient peasantry produced an oligarchic political structure. Many
historians have commented on this, and we will talk more about it in further discussion
on Greek polity.

14.6.2 Trade, City-States, Agricultural Production, Slavery

It is important to underline the specific inter-linkages between trade, agricultural
production and slavery, which made possible the viable and flourishing city-states in the
seventh-fifth centuries BCE. As pointed out, the urban citizenry drew its wealth from
the soil, lived in cities without any participation on their land, and did their commodity
purchases in the towns. Their income was derived from corn, wine, and oils, all
commodities produced in estates outside the physical limits of the cities. Thus, a large
part of the profits was derived from urban exchange even of rural products, apart from
textiles, furniture and glassware. This exchange took place via the water transport; the
trade between cities; and trade with the Near East.
The coastal character of the civilization, with no city being beyond twenty-five miles
inland, made possible not only the incomes of landed proprietor being realized through
trade, but also the sustenance and grandeur of city states, whose residents constituted
primarily farmers and landowners – a hallmark of Greek civilization. A great part of this
grandeur was reflected in the collective and public rituals of power, political debates,
and arenas of assemblies and councils that formed the visual and participatory aspects
of democratic politics. We can even say that some of the earliest spectacles of democratic
politics aimed at promoting ideas of self-governance and demos and of an awareness
of a great civilization, as they called it, as different from that of the glorification of a
monarch in the Empires.
By the mid 6th century BCE there were 1500 Greek cities, linked by slavery, commodity
production from agriculture and inter-city trade, which supported the wealth creation,
profits and leisure of an urban ruling class in times of a predominantly rural economy of
simple implements and the entire edifice of politics and governance in the form of city-
states.
Check Your Progress Exercise-2
1) Discuss the importance of the Mediterranean and sea trade in the development of
Greek civilization.
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279
Ancient Greece .....................................................................................................................
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2) Explain the importance of slavery in Greek civilization.
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3) Did you understand where the costs of running the city-state and its institutions
come from?
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14.7 GREEK POLITY, ITS MEANINGS AND

STRUCTURES: FROM ARCHAIC TO
CLASSICAL GREEK CIVILIZATION
A major source for information on the polity in ancient Greece is Aristotle’s Constitution
of Athens, which deals with both history and contemporary politics. He is said to have
compiled about 158 constitutions of the period, for purposes of comparison and study
primarily of Athens. But being a contemporary, with his own political inclinations as
member of the elite classes, and because he too relied on many sources that he could
not have verified, his information needs to be supplemented and corroborated by modern
historical research.
As mentioned earlier, the political, social and cultural transformation that occurred during
the Archaic Age and the classical period of Greek civilization (based on the linkages
mentioned above) contributed to the growth of city-states – rather than empire – took
different forms across the Greek world. The social tensions between the landed ruling
classes and the peasantry were a feature of this period and were resolved differently,
with varied social and political compacts – that nevertheless preserved the power of
the urban-based landowners and the very distinct cleavage between the citizen and the
slave. Wars, political conflicts and social problems of the age contributed to the direction
of political change over the centuries. This was clearly reflected in the political set up
and dynamics of democratic politics in the different city-states.
Polis and demos were important and widely prevalent ideas across the Greek world.
Both terms – polis and demos – had specific meanings in the Greek context. Polis was
used more in community terms than state terms, the bonding being experienced in
280 common self governance and participation, rather than institutions. It did not signify the
territory either, although the community occupied certain areas: thus Athens, when empire Democratic Polity
could encompass more than one polis, as also Sparta after its conquests. in Greece

Demos signified the common people, all people belonging to a community, emphasis
here too being on members belonging to the polis rather than specific groups within it,
who may dominate its society, economy and politics. Democracy deriving from the
word demos was thus in the name of the whole people and theoretically by the whole
people. This has some connotations that are carried into modern democracy, even as
the content of ancient democracy is far more rudimentary and limited, even with regard
to theory, as we will see, and not merely a distinction between theory and practice. As
Finley has pointed out, ‘direct participation is the key to Athenian democracy’, and we
may add, in many other city states as well. The whole people acted through the large
Assembly in which every citizen had the right to participate through attendance, voting
and debate, on all matters big and small. And even if not of significant proportion,
sometimes the decisions were ratified by members whose numbers on the particular
occasion could run into hundreds or even above a thousand. Besides, there was no
separate bureaucracy or separate police or judicial service to speak of (See discussion
in Finley, 1987: 70-93).
Thus it was not a question of people participating through representatives they had
chosen, but of participating themselves, at whatever level they were authorized to: direct
participation rather than representation was the key to ancient democracy, unlike
in the modern connotations of democracy. Also, there was no separate cadre recruited
and employed as bureaucrats to run the administration, judicial service or police service:
these functions were performed by citizens entitled to perform them, sometimes for a
term period, sometimes elected, and there was payment for participation even in
assemblies during the tenure of the participation, so that the person concerned would
not face economic adversity or become unable to participate because he may not be
able to compensate for his livelihood time given up for public work.
The polis and the demos could accommodate within themselves a substantial amount
of diversity and did not imply a specific structure of state. The oligarchy of the Sparta
type and a constitution basing itself on the ancient notion of democracy both were
accommodated in practice within the polis to which the population of a specific city
state belonged. Independence of a polis in relation to another polis was the hallmark of
Greek democratic politics, and conquests and ‘colonization’ of new areas respected
this. Thus Athens, when it became an empire (few people know that it later became an
empire) ruled its acquired areas ruthlessly, but within the polis areas governance was
independent. Sparta, in the areas conquered by it, established the system of oligarchy
rooted in those areas.
Ideas of democracy and freedom, voiced for the first time in relation to the state, meant
collective rule and responsibility as opposed to the rule of a monarch, and a rule by the
community, however unequal in practice. For the first time, it was again the Greeks
who looked for a notion of purpose and existence that was secular rather than divinely
ordained. By democracy and justice was meant rule of law, and not the will of a monarch,
again however imperfect and unequal in practice.
In response to the structures of state there developed the idea of persuasion by argument,
very much a precursor of the idea of modern political campaigns. Political debate and
persuasion by oratory was a significant aspect of democratic politics, and to be a good
demagogue an asset and matter of respect. Good orators and the sway of votes by
powerful argument was intrinsic to functioning of Councils and Assemblies everywhere.
281
Ancient Greece The clash of rights of individuals, now given significance, in relation to the community
created pressures and conflicts, as did the rights and claims of the different sections that
constituted the community within a city-state. The practice of democratic politics was
then fraught with conflicts, social strife, instability and volatility within the broader
framework of the working political set-up, whether of the Athens type of communal
democracy or the Spartan oligarchy. And there was also the struggle for supremacy
between Athens and Sparta.
By citizenry, in the context of Greek polity, is meant the free population. A slave was
not a citizen; neither were women or foreigners, or those not originally residents of the
city. Apart from slaves, who were not citizens at all, there were the free non-citizens,
called perioikoi in Sparta and metoikoi in [Link], it must be noted that the
majority of the population in these city-states was non-citizens who were barred from
many social rights, including ownership of [Link] non-citizens were also not allowed
to participate in the structures of oligarchy or democracy, although they were, of course,
affected by its workings. Social acceptance and role in the economy of those considered
‘foreigners’ did not imply citizenship and participation in the democratic politics of the
state.
As some historians have shown, and we have also discussed above in the context of
economy and society, the best way to understand this diversity within the ancient social
formation based on slavery throughout the chronological period and geographical spread
of the Greek world is to examine three very different cities – Corinth, Sparta and
Athens. Others corresponded to one or the other with varying degrees of oligarchy and
democracy.

14.7.1 The Transition Period: Archaic Age and Tyranny

Until the mid-seventh century BCE, most city-states were ruled like any state during
the ‘Dark Age’, by an aristocratic clan. Kin relations were the primary legitimate and
social base of political power.
Not much is known about the political constitutions of the Archaic period as they did
not survive into the classical era. But, as Perry Anderson has pointed out, they were
probably ‘based on the privileged rule of a hereditary nobility over the rest of the urban
population, typically exercised through the government of an exclusive aristocratic council
over the city’ (Perry Anderson, 2013: 30).
Subsequently, increasing social tensions arising out of rise in population, colonization of
new areas and changes in economy, led to the city being captured and ruled by a new
group. They were considered usurpers but nevertheless enjoyed public support and
established their claim and rule through tyranny. A new stage came with what is known
as the period of tyrannies. Under them the aristocracy based on birth and lineage no
longer monopolized power. This period formed the bridge between monarchies and
ancient democracies of classical Greece, most notably in Athens.
The word tyranny, though it involved rule by strict authority, was not participatory, as in
later centuries when some city-states evolved into democracy. Still this rule had the
support of people and therefore does not carry all the negative connotations that the
word tyranny carries today. The tyrants displaced the traditional aristocratic clans based
on birth, by virtue of their wealth from trade and newly acquired power consequently,
and they brought about changes to win the support of the aggrieved peasantry. In the
process they weakened the institutions through which the aristocracy monopolized
political power. The tyrants also represented those with new wealth, from trade and
282 other sources. Apart from Thessaly, small farms were consolidated in many states
under their ruler. The vicissitudes and paths followed by these tyrants and the peasantries Democratic Polity
greatly influenced the polities of the different city-states and they were therefore often in Greece
seen as liberators.
And why, specifically, despite the authoritarian and tyrannical nature of their rule, do we
consider many of these tyrants as representing a transition to Greek democratic polity?
For example, one could say that many of the features of Athens in the fifth century BCE
found their roots in the reforms of Solon in early sixth century BCE. Remarkably, Solon
was chosen and did not inherit his mantle of responsibility. He was a landowner who
was engaged in trade and began the trend of social compact in which the monopoly of
the landed nobility was challenged and shared with those who had acquired wealth and
importance through manufacture and trade. In order to achieve this he was prepared to
free peasantry of some of their debts. This became a feature that became incorporated
in some of the city-states in classical Greece. The tyrants were, moreover, mostly men
who seized power through their own endeavour and voiced no hereditary claim, nor
considered their position to be divinely ordained. They spoke in the name of law. In
fact, as some historians have pointed out, the first laws were codified during the period
of the tyrants. We will speak a little more about these tyrants in our discussion of the
functioning of democratic politics in the different city states during the classical period,
keeping in mind that perhaps the most well known Athens was only one among the
many city-states. According to Anderson, the tyrants ‘constituted the critical transition
towards the classical polis’, as it was during their period that‘the economic and military
foundations of Greek classical civilization were laid’ (Anderson, 2013: 30).
The first example of this was in Corinth in the mid-seventh century, supported by the
lower classes, followed by the Solonic reforms in Athens, discussed below.

14.7.2 Democratic Politics in Classical Greece: Athens,

Corinth, Sparta
The origins of the democratic forms that crystallized during the Classical period can be
traced to Chios, during mid-6th century: it was also the first city to import slaves from
the East (Anderson, 2013: 37; Finley, 1987: 46).
Polis, was the ‘self governing state’, the term used for describing the Greek city-states,
the largest of which was Athens that was about 1000 square miles with a population of
2,50,000 people (Finley, 1987). The polis was the sole source of law, of the juridical
freedom of the non-slaves, and also the political authority. How the polis was organized
was, therefore, of primary importance. The basic question in the formation of the polis,
as Finley puts it, was who should rule: the few or many, and how the social compact
should be maintained, and the issue was complicated by war, by external affairs and by
ambitions of expansion (Finley, 1977: 54-60).
Wars with Persia coincided with this transition to classical Greece. The Persians in their
bid for expansion under Darius and then Xerxes came into conflict with the Greek
states, which lasted from 500 to 450 BCE; and secondly, among the Greek states
especially Athens and Sparta, there was a bid for supremacy. Sparta was the chief
military power on land, while Athens had the strongest navy.
War with Persians meant unity had to be forged for the purpose of defence, leading to
the formation of the Delian League in 478 BCE, a confederation of states under the
leadership of Athens. This got converted eventually into the Athenian Empire, and Athens
tried to bring the entire Peloponnesus peninsula under its control, which led to conflict
between Athens and Sparta. Sparta had formed the Peloponnesian League to serve its
283
Ancient Greece interests. The two phases of war between them, the First Peloponnesian War between
431-421 BCE and the Second Peloponnesian War between 421-404 BCE led to
defeat of Athens and destruction of its navy, that had been the basis of its supremacy.
Sparta, in turn now had to face challenge from Thebes, a conflict that continued upto
362 BCE. About this time Macedonia was becoming a powerful power under Philip
II, who defeated the Greek states at Chaeronea. After him, his son Alexander the
Great set out on his conquests, which brought to an end the Classical period of Greece
and the polis. Greece came under the Macedonian rule.
Military service was also linked with citizenship: as there were no mercenary armies,
the adult males fulfilled this role in many states. Qualification for full citizenship was
hereditary even in the classical period, in most states, in Athens only if both parents
were citizens. In many states franchise was dependent on a fixed amount of property
ownership.
Corinth
During the 8th and 7th centuries BCE Corinth was ruled by a family of nobles, known
as the Bacchiad, who were eventually overthrown by Cypselus/Cleisthenes, who,
followed by his son Periander, ruled the city as tyrants from about 657 to 550 BCE.
In Corinth, a commercial center, due to its geographical position and control of the
isthmus (a narrow strip of land on each side), the Assembly of citizens was dominated
by an oligarchy. The tyrants here had restructured the taxes, relying more on custom
duties that did not greatly affect the peasantry. Periander (627-585 BCE), son of the
founder tyrant Cleisthenes constructed a causeway at the isthmus, where merchant
vessels entered the Gulf of Corinth without having to unload, thus creating a major
source of wealth. It became a major port and naval power, specializing in production of
the famous black figure pottery, which became an item famous all over the Mediterranean.
They also laid the foundation of broader political participation, by establishing a tribal
and council system. This ended the arbitrariness of a single tyrant and provided stability.
However, in its composition and long duration of membership tended to put power in
the hands of some eighty men of the council, rather than the assembly of demos or adult
males. It thus became a flourishing city that remained oligarchic in its political institutions.
But Corinthian society developed into a mix of aristocrats, merchants, artisans and
peasants, ruled by an oligarchy based essentially on slavery at its base.
Sparta
The same social tensions in Sparta led to the development of a two-tiered structure: a
small homogeneous group of warrior chiefs ruling over a vast population of slaves.
Sparta did not go through the experience of tyranny like Corinth and Athens, but after
the conquest of Messenia (southwestern part of the Peloponnese region) it acquired a
huge slave population, owned by state but assigned differentially to its male citizen
population, along with some land plots which were allotted unequally, depending on
status and birth. Slavery was less severe and also less developed, but the arrangement
allowed a strong full-time infantry composed of citizens from the group of medium and
small landholders (not allowed to engage in commerce or production which was done
by slaves), who also constituted members of and played a role in the Assembly. At the
helm, were two kings, with hereditary rights and who were among the members of the
Council (gerousia). The Gerousia was a higher political body which consisted of just
twenty-eight men who had to be above the age of sixty, including the two kings. The
Council alone could introduce measures that were voted on in the Assembly, and in any
284
case the number of citizens was only a small fraction i.e. less than 12 per cent of the Democratic Polity
total male population. in Greece

The Assembly was far more passive than in Athens. The most important members were
five magistrates or ephors, who wielded final executive powers, and could easily overrule
the Assembly. Surprisingly, however, it was in Sparta that the medium peasantry in the
form of hoplites first achieved franchise, through the constitution of the city state. But
these initial changes remained in force long after more advanced constitutions in other
states, including Athens. Thus, the mixture of monarchy, oligarchy and democracy was
strongly tilted in favour of an oligarchic rule. This was ensured through the composition
of the Council and the Assembly, and powers of the Council being far greater than that
of the Assembly, as compared with Athens.
Athens
Athens had a constitution, as did some other states, while many did not. It evolved as
the most democratic of the Greek states through a long period of evolution of its legal
codes and political structures. Therefore, we will study it in greater detail.
Athens had a history of reforms that began prior to the 6th century BCE. Draco (650
BCE-600 BCE) is known to be the first legislator, chosen by the citizens of Athens to
be a lawgiver for the city-state, who ruled through very harsh laws. But his is known to
be the first written constitution in Athens, available to all who were literate, as opposed
to oral law known only by some and arbitrarily applied and interpreted by them. The
laws also distinguished between murder and homicide. His laws were called harsh
because even the smallest of offences could be punished by death. Its chief feature also
was debt bondage if a debt could not be repaid. This became a major grievance and
source of social discontent.
A series of democratic reforms were later introduced by Solon (c. 638-558 BCE; an
Athenian statesman and law-maker in archaic Athens; considered to be the Father of
Athenian Democracy, chosen in 594 BCE to bring social consensus in an era of conflict
and class struggle). He did not seize power as a tyrant. He created a set of rules for
self-governance by the community. As Aristotle pointed out in his study of constitutions,
and as Finley agrees, his three most important measures were: i) abolition of enslavement
for debt, ii) creation of the right of third party to seek justice in court on behalf of an
aggrieved person, and iii) the introduction of appeals to a popular tribunal. All three had
one thing in common: they were steps designed to advance the community idea by
protecting the weaker majority from the excessive, and, so to speak, extra legal power
of the nobility (Finley, 1987: 430).
Solon divided the citizens into four classes, based on landownership. The Council in
Athens thereafter was a body of larger representation, open to the first three classes,
that included the aristocrats, the rich and middle peasantry. Only the first two held the
military and political and juridical offices, while the most powerful in the city state structure
was the minority of big landowners. The Assembly was the most democratic in
composition as compared with other states, and every citizen had the right of participation
and vote. The primary political unit was the deme, of which every citizen was a member.
The laws of Draco were thus transgressed to create citizens and delineate their rights.
But although inability to pay back debts could not now lead to bondage or enslavement,
the landed aristocracy retained its major control of land.
Peisistratus, in power from 545 to 527 BCE, was a tyrant, but in keeping with the phase
of tyranny in some Greek city-states, as mentioned above in the Section on tyranny, he
carried on some of the reforms and paved the way to the classical city-state. 285
Ancient Greece A new stage came with Cleisthenes (570-508 BCE), who served as the chief archon
i.e. magistrate of Athens (525-524 BCE). He introduced political changes like causing
the break up of gens, phratry and tribe, the clan based communities to replace them
with territorial constituencies and the elective principle based on territory and property,
that is the class factor. The composition and size of the Council or Boule was expanded,
members being selected on the basis of lots, and the lowest unit in the polis was now
the deme, also constituted on territorial basis. Landed upper classes were dispersed
over different demes, leading to conflicts between oligarchies, rather than any sympathy
for the democratic principle. He also introduced a selection for government positions
not based entirely on principle of birth or kinship. But because he broke the power of
the clans he is sometimes credited with pushing the democratic principle.
These series of experiences with administration and reforms became the basis for the
Athenian democracy of Classical Greece. However, one can say that the social foundation
of Athenian democracy was the abolition of debt bondage that Solon had done by way
of reform. This became a check on monopoly of the large noble estates and brought
stability in the medium and small farms. These also allowed for a greater social
participation in the classical Athenian democracy of the sixth century BCE. The Hellenic
citizenry then encompassed those with modest agrarian property, and it also allowed
for a ‘self-armed citizen infantry’. These aspects in practice contributed to a Constitution
that allowed direct democracy for larger numbers of people than in any other city-state.
They formed the foundation of the Athenian Constitution, which made the Assembly an
important organ of direct democracy and participation of common citizens. The Assembly
at the market place became the active centre of Athenian democracy.
Throughout the fifth century BCE, in classicalAthens, the Assembly remained the primary
decision making body on all important issues: proposals on war and peace, taxation,
regulation of cults, armies, war finance, public works, etc. as well as treaties and war
negotiations. Above it was a Council, also elected, of about 500 members, chosen by
lot, for a period of one year. These elected members were paid for the period of their
tenure to ensure that time spent was compensated for loss of income and the not so
wealthy may become members. Every official was directly responsible to the demos.
Like Sparta, however, power in Athens too was weighted in favour of the Council,
though participation through Assembly and demes was more open. Although discussions
and debates were frequent, and more open than in other city states, the non-citizens
remained deprived of all social rights and political participation.
Theoretically, the Assembly, which in the fifth century BCE had about 43,000 members,
was the repository of the final political decision and power. In actual terms the real
decisions were already taken in the smaller Council, where the wealthy dominated,
before they were taken to the Assembly where they were ratified. And only a small
percentage of the total Assembly members actually attended regularly. And from within
the Council were formed the Committees monopolized by 1200 of the wealthiest citizens.
These committees determined taxation, awarded contracts for public works, concessions
for mines, controlled military affairs and naval forces. They also directed foreign affairs,
had police powers, and managed the justice system. Religious ceremonies were presided
over by the wealthy. Its legal system offered no protection to non-citizens, slaves being
answerable to their owners primarily, being owned by them as property, and women to
their husbands and fathers. Forms of punishment were arbitrary and unequal between
citizens and slaves for the same crime: citizens were often fined, the slaves punished
with lashes and physical cruelty. The Generals could be re-elected any number of times
without limit and were from the most influential section of the Athenian society.
286
State property, tribute from conquered areas, trade, indirect taxes and surplus generated Democratic Polity
from slave labour, along with the self armed citizenry provided the social basis and in Greece
revenue for the city states: ownership of land did not invite taxation. This is what explains
ultimately the dominance of the wealthy over the democratic polity of ancient Greece,
and why and how Athens, which had the most oppressive slave system, also had the
most democratic of the Greek Constitutions for its time.
But Greek constitutional theory or practice of theory did not envisage separation of
powers, as we do in modern times. The Councils and Assembles were, for all practical
purposes, also the courts of law that decided issues of conflict, and when separate
courts did develop they were dominated and constituted of Council members. Third
party complaints came to be sanctioned with time, but predilections were towards
complaints only by the parties that were in conflict. There were no distinctions between
criminal and civil cases, though some form of distinction was made between private and
public issues.
Within the polis the social structure, despite the formal elements of democratic politics,
continued to be a graded one. The hierarchy was in this order – the Aristoi, Periokoi,
Slaves, Xenoi. They continued to have their relative social positions and unequal rights,
including unequal political influence. It may be noted that except in the matter of formal
political rights entailed by being citizens and non-citizens, the differentiation was very
marked and clear.
In the fifth century BCE, the most important leader was Pericles (494-429 BCE), an
orator and general, who became an influential statesman, especially in the period between
the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. He led Athens from 461 to 429 BCE. With his
power of oratory and influence he is said to have introduced a new element into Athenian
democracy, the importance of debate and persuasion. He brought efficiency into the
administration of public finances, ensured taxation and military responsibility on part of
the nobility, and public expenditure that built infrastructure shared by all. He is also
credited with transforming the Delian League into the Athenian empire and through his
interest in literature and arts, to have increased the influence of Greek practices in city
states beyond Athens. Officials were appointed to maintain relations with other Greek
states, to collect tributes from conquered areas, and for taxation. He was largely
responsible for the construction of Acropolis.
Most advanced Greek city-state in naval strength, Athens expanded into larger areas,
till its strength was undermined by the conquests of Alexander (336-323 BCE). After
the conquest,the Greek states became part of the Macedonian Empire, putting an end
to the experience of city-states. However, Greek culture spread far and wide through
the Macedonian contacts and came to be known as Hellenic culture. During the Athenian
Empire the Greek states and the new areas conquered were treated differently. In
many of the conquered states, the rule was more centralized, more brutal, and taxation
much heavier. The Empire thus added substantially to the resources of Athens, making
it the pre-eminent Greek city-state till the Macedonian conquests. The rule of Macedonia
put an end to the city-state, in terms of political administration and institutions related
with justice and punishment of crimes, or culture and urban layout of cities. Macedonian
rule created amalgamations and compromises, that lasted till the rise of Roman Empire.
You would read about this in our Course BHIC-104.

14.8 WOMEN IN GREEK SOCIETY

One cannot finish a discussion on Greek civilization without taking into account fifty
percent of the Greeks, their place and role in Greek society and polity. As in modern 287
Ancient Greece societies, among the poor and labouring population, women constituted the workforce.
They worked in fields and in homes. In Greek society they also constituted a significant
proportion of the slaves. The extraction of surplus from their labour was an enormous
addition to the wealth and leisure of the ruling landed classes. Women also worked as
domestic slaves and in textiles and handicrafts. Like men, they were taken prisoners of
war and converted into slaves, besides being exploited as women. This is true of all the
Greek city-states.
One cannot judge ancient societies by modern standards, but nevertheless it is important
to underline the subordination of women in the light of attempts to portray ancient
societies as somehow ‘golden’, when women too enjoyed and partook of the greatness
of these societies, the greatness of these societies being exaggerated in the first place.
Women deities did get worshipped and there were individual renowned learned women
from the ruling classes, whose names appear in the literary sources. Many partook in
public religious rituals during the earlier period but we can say there was great distinction
between those of the ruling classes and the labouring women, slaves or non-slaves.
These distinctions are evident in terms of leisure, comfort and enjoyment of wealth of
families, and perhaps learning. There were also courtesans of great accomplishment
and learning. Prostitution was also an aspect of Greek society.
Women did not enjoy the freedoms that a citizen did. They were, in fact, not considered
citizens and could not participate at any level in assemblies, leave alone higher bodies.
Inheritance and ownership of property was not permitted to women. In the family,
which had already assumed patriarchal overtones with emergence of private property,
their position was subordinate, governed by fathers and husbands. We will talk more
about them in the context of culture and everyday life, in our next Unit.

Check Your Progress Exercise-3

1) Do you agree that diversity was a feature of Greek civilization from earliest times?
Give some examples.
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2) Describe the political structure of Athens and Sparta as it had evolved in the
classical period of Greece.
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3) What is your opinion about the period of tyranny in early Greek history?
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 ..................................................................................................................... Democratic Polity
in Greece
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4) Give a short account on the position of women in Ancient Greek civilization.
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14.9 SUMMARY
It has been our effort to underline the diversity of Greek polity from the earliest times.
We have seen the workings and structures of the ancient Greek city states and their
experiments with democracy. We noticed that in practice this democracy was much
curtailed and available to a small minority only. However, during this period some
discussions and new ideas emerged, which we will discuss in the next Unit. You must
have seen how slavery was crucial to the great achievements of Greek civilization, and
in fact constituted its foundation. You would also now be able to appreciate the linkages
between slavery, the political experiments, and the centrality of trade around the
Mediterranean in the emergence and flowering of the Greek civilization. You would
also have an idea of the divide between those considered citizens and those who were
slaves. We have not gone into details of the lives of the slaves and the problems they
faced. It is quite evident that they did not enjoy any social rights and could be bought
and sold and were like instruments of production. You would have also noticed the
conditions of some other classes who were not slaves, but were nevertheless not citizens,
somewhere between the citizens and the slaves. The condition of women slaves has
also been discussed. You would have noticed that their exploitation was much more
than their male counterparts.

14.10 KEY WORDS

Chattel Slavery : form of slavery in which a person and his family
is enslaved for life, treated as property and could
be traded as well.
Demes : local councils in Greek city states which consisted
of either several small hamlets (human
settlements), a village, or a city district.
Gerousia : council of elders in Sparta composed of thirty
men, where two of them were Spartan Kings
while twenty eight others were men over the age
of sixty.
Oligarchy : a form of government in which power was
invested with a small group of people or families
of wealth and privilege.
Polis : a self-governing Greek city-state.
Thessaly : a traditional region of administration in Ancient
Greece. During the Mycenaean period, it was
known as Aeolia. 289
Ancient Greece
14.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise-1
1) See Section 14.4
2) Linear A/Minoan Script and Linear B Script
3) See Sub-sections 14.5.1 and 14.5.2
4) Literary works, irregular decadence, etc. See Sub-section 14.5.3
Check Your Progress Exercise-2
1) See Sub-section 14.6.2
2) Contribution to production, domestic chores, surplus, etc. See Sub-section 14.6.1
3) Displaced traditional aristocracy, consolidation of small farms, etc. See Sub-section
14.6.2
Check Your Progress Exercise-3
1) Highlight the differences in political set up, slave system etc. in different city states
as discussed in the various sections and sub-sections of this Unit.
2) See Sub-section 14.7.2
3) See Sub-section 14.7.1 for an evaluation of the period of tyranny.
4) Non-citizens, subjugated to men etc. See Section 14.8

14.12 SUGGESTED READINGS

Anderson, Perry. 2013. Passages from Antiquity. London and New York: Verso.
Childe, Gordon. 1986. What Happened in History. Penguin Books.
Bernal, Martin. 1991. Black Athena. The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization.
London: Vintage.
Finley, M.I.1977. The Ancient Greeks. New York: Penguin Books.
Finley, M.I. 1999. The Ancient Economy. Updated Edition. Berkeley and Los Angeles:
University of California Press.
Herrmann, Joachim and Zurcher, Erik. ed. 1996. History of Humanity: Scientific
and Cultural Development. Vol. III: From the Seventh Century BC to the Seventh
Century AD. London and New York: UNESCO and Routledge.
Farooqui, Amar. 2001. Early Social Formations. New Delhi: Manak Publications.
Fagan, Brian M. 2004. People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory.
Eleventh Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ancient History Encyclopedia:
[Link]
[Link]

14.13 INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO

RECOMMENDATIONS
Ancient Greeks Democracy
290 [Link]