In cities of
ancient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, the
boule ' onMouseout='HidePop("88549")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ancient_Greek">ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
verb βούλομαι (
boulomai) meaning
to will (after deliberating)) was a council of citizens (called βουλευταί transliterated as
bouleutai) appointed to run daily affairs of the city. Originally a council of nobles advising a king,
boulai evolved according to the constitution of the city; in
oligarchiesOligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
boule positions might be hereditary, while in
democraciesDemocracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
members were typically chosen by
lotIn politics, sortition is the selection of decision makers by lottery. The decision-makers are chosen as a random sample from a larger pool of candidates....
, and served for one year.
Little is known about the workings of many
boulai, except in the case of
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, for which extensive material has survived.
The Athenian Boule
The original council of
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
was the
AreopagusThe Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the "Rock of Ares", north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Alirrothios .The origin...
. It consisted of ex-archons and was aristocratic in character.
Solonian Boule
The Athenian hear appeals from the most important decisions of the courts. Those in the poorest class could not serve on the Boule of 400. The higher governmental posts, archons (magistrates), were reserved for citizens of the top two income groups.
The Reforms of Cleisthenes
Under the reforms of
CleisthenesCleisthenes was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508/7 BC...
enacted in 508/7 BC, the
boule was expanded to 500 men, 50 men from each of the ten new
tribesPhyle is an ancient Greek term for clan or tribe. They were usually ruled by a basileus...
, also created by Cleisthenes. The 500 men were chosen by lot at the
demeIn Ancient Greece, a deme or demos was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Athens. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in...
level, each
deme having been allotted certain number of places proportional to population. Membership was restricted at this time to the top three of the original four property classes (the
PentacosiomedimniIn the cities of 5th Century BC Ancient Greece the Pentacosiomedimni were the top class of citizens set out by the Politician Solon. The Pentacosiomedimni were those whose property or estate could produce 500 bushels of wet or dry goods , per year. They were eligible for all top positions of...
,
HippeisHippeis was the Greek term for cavalry. The Hippeus was the second highest of the four Athenian social classes, made of men who could afford to maintain a war horse in the service of the state. The rank may be compared to Roman Equestrians and medieval knights. Among the Athenians, it referred to...
and
ZeugitaeZeugitae were members of the third census division created by Solon's constitutional reforms in ancient Athens. The Zeugitae were those whose property or estate could produce 200 bushels of wet or dry goods , per year...
, but not the
Thetes) and to citizens over the age of thirty. The former restriction, though never officially changed, fell out of practice by the middle of the 5th century BC. Members of the
boule served for one year and no man could serve more than twice in his life. The leaders of the
boule (the
prytany) consisted of 50 men chosen from among the 500, and a new
prytany was chosen every month. The man in charge of
prytany was replaced every day from among the 50 members. The
boule met every day except for festival days and ill-omened days.
The Boule in the Democracy of the late Fifth Century
After the reforms of
EphialtesEphialtes of Trachis was the son of Eurydemus of Malis. He betrayed his homeland by showing the Persian forces a path around the allied Greek position at the pass of Thermopylae, which helped them win the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.-Trail:The allied Greek land forces, which Herodotus states...
and
PericlesPericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
in the mid-5th century BC, the
boule took on many of the administrative and judicial functions of the Areopagus, which retained its traditional right to try homicide cases. It supervised the state's finances, navy, cavalry, sacred matters, building and shipping matters and care for invalids and orphans. Its own members staffed many boards that oversaw the finer points of these many administrative duties. It undertook the examination of public officials both before and after leaving office (most offices lasting one year) to ensure honest accounting and loyalty to the state. It heard some cases of impeachment of public officials for high crimes and mismanagement or serious dereliction of duties. At some point in the late fifth century, pay was instituted for those serving in the
boule; this may have been a way to encourage poorer citizens to volunteer, who would otherwise be reluctant to serve. The
boule was considered the cornerstone of the democratic constitution, providing a locus for day to day activities and holding together the many disparate administrative functions of the government. Because of the rotation of members, it was assumed that the
boule was free from the domination of factions of any kind, although there is some evidence that richer citizens served out of proportion to poorer citizens. This may be due to the heavy investment of time required, time that poorer citizens would not have had to spare.
Sparta
In
SpartaSparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
the functions usually associated with the
boule were performed by the
gerousiaThe Gerousia was the Spartan senate . It was made up of 60 year old Spartan males. It was created by the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus in the seventh century BC, in his Great Rhetra...
, the council of elders. As might be expected, members of the
gerousia were older, over sixty, came from the leading families and served for life. The
gerousia served the familiar advisory functions of a boule, in addition to trying important criminal cases, supervising laws and customs and perhaps playing some role in foreign wars.
Kingdom of Macedonia
In the Macedonian Kingdom, and later the Macedonian Empire, the body that assisted the king with running the
kingdomMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
was called the "Synedrion", literally translated as "The Congress". This tradition continued to be in use in the years of
Alexander the Great and its members were hereditary. Although not democratic, the members of the Synedrion, including the king were considered equal to one another and had the right of the
freedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
.
Epirus
The
EpirusEpirus was an ancient Greek state, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans. The homeland of the ancient Epirotes was bordered by the Aetolian League to the south, Thessalia and Macedonia to the east and Illyrian tribes to the north...
, which became a
federal republicA federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...
in
231 BCYear 231 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Matho and Maso...
, was ruled by the "Synedrion", or "The Congress". The Synedrion was dissolved when the
Epirote federationEpirus was an ancient Greek state, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans. The homeland of the ancient Epirotes was bordered by the Aetolian League to the south, Thessalia and Macedonia to the east and Illyrian tribes to the north...
fell apart due to internal upheaval during the
Third Macedonian WarThe Third Macedonian War was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC King Philip V of Macedon died and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne. Perseus married Laodike, daughter of King Seleucus IV Keraunos of Asia, and increased the size of his army...
.
Corinth
The
League of CorinthThe League of Corinth, also sometimes referred to as Hellenic League was a federation of Greek states created by Philip II of Macedon during the winter of 338 BC/337 BC after the Battle of Chaeronea, to facilitate his use of military forces in his war against Persia...
was a
federationA federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
of Greek states created by king
Philip II of MacedonPhilip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
during the winter of
338 BCYear 338 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Camillus and Maenius...
/
337 BCYear 337 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Longus and Paetus...
to facilitate his use of unified
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
military forces in his war against Achaemenid Persia. The league guaranteed, among other things, that member states'
constitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
s in force at the time of joining were guaranteed and that a Synedrion, or congress of representatives, was to meet at
CorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
.