Was Cleisthenes’ role as a reformer of Athenian political institutions a significant one or not?
In this essay, I propose to show the significance of Cleisthenes’ role as a reformer in Athens through his extension of power to the common people which further led to their involvement in political and governmental issues resulting later in the development of democracy. Cleisthenes introduced reforms to the constitution of Athens that allowed equal rights for all citizens and with the help of the Spartans and the Alcmeaonidae overthrew the tyrant Hippias. His urge to change the current system and extend the power to the common people (Thetes) led to the reforms that he introduced into Athenian life. Furthermore, these reforms can be seen as impacting the political institutions as his founding of demes led citizens to involve themselves locally in the assembly. Alongside this, he reconstructed the original reforms set by Solon, revising the Boule of 400 to a council of 500 which impacted Athenian politics greatly as membership to the council which was previously restricted to the top three property classes now allowed the Thetes to contribute to public affairs. Historians such as Aristotle and Herodotus refer to Cleisthenes’ work in Athens which allows us to observe the significance of his reforms and how they shaped Athenian life. It is also important to consider, however, other influences such as Solon’s reforms which historians argue Cleisthenes’ simply extended thus discrediting his political significance, and reducing his impact on Athenian political institutions.
Throughout Cleisthenes' role as a reformer his aim, through the removal of Hippias was to rid Athens of the tyranny it had been subject to between 527BC and 510BC. Scholar Ostwald [1996, 2009] suggests that Cleisthenes was no ideological democrat but a practical statesman and politician concerned with eliminating the roots of internal conflict from the society in which he lived. This initial concern for the conflict in Athens established a form of welfare for the people living in Athens and so when looking at his reforms it is clear to see that they are significant in benefitting the people. Furthermore, Cleisthenes’ role as a reformer impacted the political institution in ways that established a sub-form of democracy although the origins themselves, as described by Herodotus and Aristotle, show that Cleisthenes' initial aim was to eliminate tyranny. As a result of eliminating the tyrants, Athens increased in strength as seen in Herodotus’ Histories [5.66] “The power of Athens had been great before; but, now that the tyrants were gone, it became greater than ever.” Subsequently, his role in ridding Athens of the tyrants allowed for the development of government and politics which is seen as significant when analyzing the development of democracy. Furthermore, through the elimination of tyrants, he was able to reinforce unity amongst the people giving power to the lower classes, “Cleisthenes, being beaten in the political clubs, called in the people by giving the franchise to the masses” [Aristotle, 20] which once again is significant when analyzing the development of democracy (‘people power’). To ensure that there would be no further tyrants, Cleisthenes later introduced the system of ostracism that safeguarded against tyranny whilst also allowing the citizens to take a greater role in their political institution which may be seen as significant as it encouraged the people to get involved and share their opinions and views.
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After the elimination of the tyrants when Cleisthenes came to power, he began to revise the way Athens was originally organized which was significant as he changed the four tribal groups within Athens, initially set about by Solon, into 10 new groups, made up of demes based on their area of residence. After dividing the country into thirty groups of demes, ten from the city, ten from the coast, and ten from the interior [Aristotle 21] he then intermixed the members of the different locations, having each tribe consist of six demes. Therefore, the demes functioned as a miniaturized polis with a leader and local state which enforced unity amongst the people. We can see how this was significant during the time and impacted Athenians as it allowed for citizens to be separated by their residence rather than their wealth, thus diminishing the power of aristocratic families that had previously dominated the phratries. Furthermore, the formation of demes provided a political change as they were given status in local and state administration allowing citizens to acquire civic status and rights, changing the basis of political organization from the phratry to the locality. The demes promoted trade, competitions, and several festivals which can be seen in the years immediately following Cleisthenes’ reforms which ensured that his new institutions existed not just on paper but as a part of people’s lives [Osborne 1996, 2009, p.291]. This further signifies the importance of Cleisthenes’ reforms and the impact they had not only at the current time but for the years existing afterward for the people living in Athens. Furthermore, his reforms made to the demes and tribes maintained a unity between factions allowing them to co-exist and maintain equality amongst the citizens which led to further equality amongst the wealthy and poorer citizens.
The major political change within Cleisthenes's reform that would be considered significant was his development of the Boule from Solon’s 400 members to a 500-member Council, this was a significant change in Athens as each tribe appointed 50 members instead of the previous 100 by lot. The council of five hundred set the agenda of the Assembly, having 50 members from each of the ten tribes were important in Athens as it provided an equal political view between the coexisting demes. Furthermore, the size of the Council combined with the term limitation meant that a large portion of citizens would serve on the council allowing them to equally contribute politically to the running of the government which would have been previously run by the aristocratic families. Aristotle states that “for the first time since the tyranny elected, tribe by tribe, the nine Archons by lot out of the five hundred candidates selected by the demes, all the earlier ones having been elected by vote” [Aristotle, 22]. This provides an insight into the significance of his reforms as Cleisthenes was making an impact on Athenian life, which they hadn’t seen “since the tyranny” which allowed the common people to contribute to their government, getting the citizens involved. He devised a system that would neutralize the political influence wielded by dynastic factions by making the power of the people an instrument to counterbalance the upper classes in the making of political decisions [Ostwald 1996, 2009, p.19]. This statement by Ostwald shows the true impact of Cleisthenes' reforms as it created a government of equals that would later transpire into Athenian democracy. Cleisthenes' reforms arguably set democracy in motion which makes them so significant to Athenian’ political institutions.
Many historians argue, however, that Cleisthenes simply extended Solon’s reforms of 594 BC and therefore was significantly less important. When analyzing Cleisthenes' reforms as written by historians such as Aristotle and Herodotus, it is clear to see that they portray his role as significantly more important due to comparing these reforms with the development of democracy. When placed in the context of democracy and how it has developed from Solon to Ephialtes it can be seen that Cleisthenes played an important role as he encouraged the involvement of the people. Furthermore, when comparing his reforms to Solon it can be seen that his reforms took a more permanent place in Athenian life which extended to modern-day democracy, as tyranny within Athens decreased significantly. Aristotle [22] argues that “by these reforms, the constitution became much more democratic than that of Solon”.
Overall, Cleisthenes' reforms can be seen as significant in their impact on the Athenian political institution. Regardless of whether Cleisthenes refined Solon’s original reforms, Cleisthenes made it so the reforms were implemented unlike Solon’s which failed in the short term. Cleisthenes' reforms further allowed citizens to become unified through their new tribes whilst contributing to political responsibilities and giving power to the common people, these led later Athenians to think of him as a principal founder of their democracy [Martin 2000, 6.30] signifying his impact on political institutions.
Bibliography
- Andrewes, A. 1977. Kleisthenes' Reform Bill. The Classical Quarterly, 27(2), 241-248.
- Aristotle. Athenaion Politeia, 13-22
- Herodotus. Histories, 5.55-95
- Martin R Thomas. 2000. An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander, 6.30
- Osborne Robin. 1996, 2009. Greece in the Making, 1200-479 BC.
- Ostwald, Martin. 1986. From Popular Sovereignty to the Sovereignty of Law: Law, Society, and Politics In Fifth-Century Athens.
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