During the time of Ephialtes’s reform, Pericles was a major supporter of democracy, and he became the most influential Athenian leader during the Classical period of Greek history. In his History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides called Pericles “the leading man of his time among the Athenians and the most powerful both in action and in debate.” He was one of 10 strategoi, the men elected to direct military affairs in Athens. Pericles
Ostracism
Cleisthenes seems to have introduced another new element to Athenian government—ostracism. Under this system, each year the citizens of Athens could vote to send one person out of the polis for 10 years. The ostracized person could then return to Athens and reclaim whatever property he had owned before leaving.
This system let the Athenians banish a person they perceived to be a threat to social order. Ten years, the Greeks assumed, was long enough for a potential tyrant to lose influence in the community. Today, ostracism usually occurs within a particular social group, as its members choose to exclude or ignore someone who has upset other group members.
President of the Assembly
The Assembly's president for the day was chosen by lot from among those present, so theoretically any one of Athens's citizens, many of whom were illiterate, had a chance to preside over the Assembly for a day. This benefit of Athenian citizenship (for males over age 20, at least) was unique in the ancient world, and indeed throughout the world for centuries to come.
While female citizens had few rights, male citizens were allowed— even expected—to attend Assembly meetings and vote on important issues. (This would be similar to American citizens being allowed to show up in the U. S. Capitol building in Washington and vote on new laws in Congress.) For example, whether or not the Athenian navy would embark on a risky venture during the Peloponnesian War in 415 b. c.e. was decided by a vote of the Assembly.
Used his intelligence and personality to dominate Athenian politics from about 460 to 429 b. c.e.
In the government that developed under Pericles, all male citizens could participate in the Assembly after serving two years in the military. The Assembly met four times each month. Out of a possible 40,000 male citizens, 6,000 were needed to lawfully carry out a few of the Assembly’s duties, such as granting citizenship to a foreigner, but other common activities could be carried out with even fewer people present. A council of educated and upper-class archons with the wealth and leisure time to serve in unpaid government positions still oversaw much of the government, but the Assembly’s vote always ruled.
One important reform begun under Pericles was paying citizens to serve on juries. Later, people were also paid for attending the Assembly and holding some civic positions, and could eat at public expense while serving in the boule. These payments further opened up participation in the government, since a working man could now afford to give up a full-time job and play an active role in public affairs. When government jobs were unpaid, only the wealthy could afford to spend more than a day or two working in the government.
World History
