The
ecclesia or
ekklesia was the principal assembly of the
democracyAthenian democracy was developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC. Athens was one of the very first known democracies...
of ancient Athens during its
Golden AgeThe Golden Age is the term used to denote the historical period in Ancient Greece lasting roughly from the end of the Persian Wars in 448 BC to either the death of Pericles 429 BCE or the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE...
(
480- Greece :* May—King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace and Macedonia.* The Greek congress decides to send a force of 10,000 Greeks, including hoplites and cavalry, to the Vale of Tempe, through which they believe the Persian army will pass. The force includes...
–
404-Greece:* The Athenian leader Cleophon continues to urge resistance against the Peloponnesians, but the situation becomes desperate and he is arrested, condemned to death and executed....
BCE). It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 by
SolonSolon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and elegiac poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able to participate, even the thetes. The ecclesia opened the doors for all citizens, regardless of class, to nominate and vote for magistrates - indirectly voting for 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...
- have the final decision on legislation, war and peace, and have the right to call magistrates to account after their year of office. In the
5th century BCThe 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC.-Overview:This century saw the beginning of a period of philosophical brilliance among Western civilizations, particularly the Greeks which would continue all the way through the 4th century until the time of...
their numbers amounted to about 43,000 people. However, only those wealthy enough to spend much of their time away from home would have been able to participate until
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...
' reforms in early 451-2 BCE allowing payment for jurors. The assembly was responsible for declaring war, military strategy, and electing
strategoiStrategos, plural strategoi is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
and other officials. It originally met once every month, but later it met three or four times per month. The agenda for the ecclesia was established by the
BouleIn the cities of ancient Greece, the boule was a council of citizens appointed to run daily affairs of the city...
, the popular council. Votes were taken by a show of hands.
A quorum of 6,000 was required sometimes to do business. The ecclesia elected by lot annually the Boule or council. Some of their power under
SolonSolon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and elegiac poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
was delegated to the Courts by
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 his reforms.
A gang of slaves, called Scythians, carrying ropes dipped in red ochre (
miltos, hence
MiltiadesMiltiades or Miltiadis is a Greek name. Several historic persons have been called Miltiades .* Miltiades the Elder wealthy Athenian, and step-uncle of Miltiades the Younger...
, i.e. the Red-Haired) would travel through the city on the days the Ecclesia was to meet, and would lash those citizens not in attendance with their ropes. With garments thus stained, shamed citizens could legally carry out no business until they visited the meeting grounds of the Ecclesia on the hill called the
PnyxThe Pnyx is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. It is located less than one kilometre west of the Acropolis and 1.6 km south-west of the centre of modern Athens, Syntagma Square.-The site:Compared to the better-known surviving monuments of ancient Athens, such as the Parthenon,...
.
See also
- Apella
Apella was the official title of the popular assembly in the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia in most other Greek states...
- Athenian Democracy
Athenian democracy was developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC. Athens was one of the very first known democracies...
- Heliaia
Heliaia or Heliaea was the supreme court of ancient Athens. Τhe view generally held among scholars is that the court drew its name from the ancient Greek verb , which means , namely congregate. Another version is that the court took its name from the fact that the hearings were taking place...
- Areopagus
The 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...
- Constitution of the Athenians
The Constitution of the Athenians is the name of either of two texts from Classical antiquity, one probably by Aristotle or a student of his, the other attributed to Xenophon, but not by him....