Read Online Pericles of Athens by Janet Lloyd and Paul Cartledge Vincent Azoulay - Free Book Online Page A
Ads: Link
does any source suggest that any
census-qualification affected the right to aim for a post as a stratēgos . 2 In that there was no legal barrier that limited access to such a post, this new type
of magistracy complied fully with the democratic practices that had been evolving
progressively ever since 507 B.C.
The function of stratēgoi was to command the Athenian army, as indeed the etymology of the word suggests ( stratos , the army, and agein , to lead). Once the Persian Wars were over, stratēgoi definitively supplanted the post of archon that had previously served this purpose:
the polemarch was now marginalized and limited to ritual and legal functions. 3 What is the explanation for the stratēgoi ’s rapid rise to power? The fact that they had a double advantage over the other Athenian
magistrates: not only were they elected by the Assembly (which strengthened their
popular legitimacy), but, furthermore, they could be renewed in their post. Ever since
487, archons had, on the contrary, been selected by lot, and they could not remain
in power for more than one year, after which they were admitted to the Council of
the Areopagus as figures that were, to be sure, prestigious but who, ever since Ephialtes’
reforms in 462/461, had lacked any real powers.
Over and above their military vocation, the stratēgoi held a measure of ex officio political power. Although they could probably not convene
theAssembly on their own initiative, 4 on the other hand they did have the right to attend Council meetings, to speak in
them, and, in so doing, to propose convening the Ekklēsia through action on the part of the prutaneis (the rotating Council leaders). This gave them influence over the political life
of the city, especially given that their voices possessed particular weight in that
they stemmed from the legitimacy of election—unlike those of members of the Boulē , who were selected each year simply by the drawing of lots.
It was in the fifth century that the stratēgoi played their most notable role. Of the fourteen political leaders known in the fifth
century, as many as thirteen occupied this function, whereas in the fourth century
that tendency was to be reversed: of the twenty-six politicians identified in that
period, only six were elected as stratēgoi . 5 In the fourth century, the stratēgos ’s function evolved into a specialized magistracy of an increasingly technical nature,
as the Constitution of the Athenians testifies. 6 From that time onward, an increasing number of politicians no longer considered it
useful to assume the function of a military leader, and this consequently lost its
aura. 7
In the fifth century, in contrast, stratēgoi were by no means mere technicians. According to the Constitution of Athenians , citizens had no hesitation in electing “generals with no experience of war but promoted
on account of their family reputation” (26.1). It was a development that sometimes
caused veritable military disasters. The tragic poet Sophocles, who was a stratēgos at the time of the expedition to Samos in 441/0 B.C., 8 was the very embodiment of a stratēgos preoccupied with love rather than with death, with eros more than with thanatos . His contemporary, Ion of Chios, records having encountered him in Chios, on his
way to Lesbos, “in his capacity as stratēgos .” Having been invited to a private banquet ( sumposion ), Sophocles is said to have organized a scurrilous ruse in order to get to embrace
the handsome young lad employed to serve the wine. Having succeeded in his aim, the
poet was said to have exclaimed: “My dear hosts, I have been working on my strategic
skills ever since Pericles claimed that, even if I know all about poetry, I know nothing
of strategy. But is it not true that this stratagem of mine has been successful?” 9 Blinded, as he was, by the delights of the sumposion , the poet was clearly failing to distinguish the
census-qualification affected the right to aim for a post as a stratēgos . 2 In that there was no legal barrier that limited access to such a post, this new type
of magistracy complied fully with the democratic practices that had been evolving
progressively ever since 507 B.C.
The function of stratēgoi was to command the Athenian army, as indeed the etymology of the word suggests ( stratos , the army, and agein , to lead). Once the Persian Wars were over, stratēgoi definitively supplanted the post of archon that had previously served this purpose:
the polemarch was now marginalized and limited to ritual and legal functions. 3 What is the explanation for the stratēgoi ’s rapid rise to power? The fact that they had a double advantage over the other Athenian
magistrates: not only were they elected by the Assembly (which strengthened their
popular legitimacy), but, furthermore, they could be renewed in their post. Ever since
487, archons had, on the contrary, been selected by lot, and they could not remain
in power for more than one year, after which they were admitted to the Council of
the Areopagus as figures that were, to be sure, prestigious but who, ever since Ephialtes’
reforms in 462/461, had lacked any real powers.
Over and above their military vocation, the stratēgoi held a measure of ex officio political power. Although they could probably not convene
theAssembly on their own initiative, 4 on the other hand they did have the right to attend Council meetings, to speak in
them, and, in so doing, to propose convening the Ekklēsia through action on the part of the prutaneis (the rotating Council leaders). This gave them influence over the political life
of the city, especially given that their voices possessed particular weight in that
they stemmed from the legitimacy of election—unlike those of members of the Boulē , who were selected each year simply by the drawing of lots.
It was in the fifth century that the stratēgoi played their most notable role. Of the fourteen political leaders known in the fifth
century, as many as thirteen occupied this function, whereas in the fourth century
that tendency was to be reversed: of the twenty-six politicians identified in that
period, only six were elected as stratēgoi . 5 In the fourth century, the stratēgos ’s function evolved into a specialized magistracy of an increasingly technical nature,
as the Constitution of the Athenians testifies. 6 From that time onward, an increasing number of politicians no longer considered it
useful to assume the function of a military leader, and this consequently lost its
aura. 7
In the fifth century, in contrast, stratēgoi were by no means mere technicians. According to the Constitution of Athenians , citizens had no hesitation in electing “generals with no experience of war but promoted
on account of their family reputation” (26.1). It was a development that sometimes
caused veritable military disasters. The tragic poet Sophocles, who was a stratēgos at the time of the expedition to Samos in 441/0 B.C., 8 was the very embodiment of a stratēgos preoccupied with love rather than with death, with eros more than with thanatos . His contemporary, Ion of Chios, records having encountered him in Chios, on his
way to Lesbos, “in his capacity as stratēgos .” Having been invited to a private banquet ( sumposion ), Sophocles is said to have organized a scurrilous ruse in order to get to embrace
the handsome young lad employed to serve the wine. Having succeeded in his aim, the
poet was said to have exclaimed: “My dear hosts, I have been working on my strategic
skills ever since Pericles claimed that, even if I know all about poetry, I know nothing
of strategy. But is it not true that this stratagem of mine has been successful?” 9 Blinded, as he was, by the delights of the sumposion , the poet was clearly failing to distinguish the
Similar Books
