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Phyle

A phyle (Ancient Greek: φυλή, phylē; plural phylai, φυλαί) denoted a primary civic tribe or subdivision in ancient Greek poleis, functioning as a key organizational unit for political, military, and religious purposes. In Athens, the term specifically referred to the ten territorial tribes established by Cleisthenes' constitutional reforms circa 508 BC, which restructured the citizenry to promote broader participation and dilute aristocratic clan influences.^[1]^[2] Cleisthenes' system divided Attica into approximately 140 demes (local villages or districts), grouped into 30 trittyes (thirds)—ten urban, ten coastal, and ten inland—which were then combined to form the ten phylai, ensuring each tribe drew members proportionally from diverse geographic areas to foster civic unity over regional or familial loyalties.^[1] This innovation replaced the four archaic Ionian phylai (Geleontes, Hopletes, Argadeis, and Aegicoreis) attributed to Ion, aligning administrative divisions with democratic principles of isonomia (equality under law).^[3] The phylai played central roles in Athenian governance, supplying 50 councilors each to the Boule of 500, organizing military contingents, and hosting festivals honoring eponymous heroes selected for each tribe.^[2] They persisted through the classical period, adapting to imperial and Hellenistic changes, and exemplified how Greek city-states balanced local identities with collective citizenship.^[4]

Definition and Etymology

Core Meaning and Terminology

A phyle (Ancient Greek: φυλή, plural φυλαί) referred to a tribe or clan in ancient Greek society, functioning as a primary social, kinship-based, or politically organized group within a city-state (polis). Etymologically, it derives from the verb φύειν (phuein), meaning "to grow" or "to produce," underscoring the notion of a community arising from shared descent or generative unity, akin to a "stock" or "race" of people. This root connects to broader Indo-European concepts of growth and existence, as seen in related terms like phylon (race or kind).^[5]^[6] In classical contexts, especially Athens, the phyle constituted the largest political subdivision of citizens, encompassing multiple smaller units such as demes (local villages or districts) and serving roles in governance, military levies, and religious cults. Members of a phyle were termed symphyletai (fellow tribesmen), emphasizing collective identity and mutual obligations, though actual kinship ties varied—early phylai often claimed descent from mythic heroes, while later reforms created artificial phylai for equitable representation. Dictionaries consistently define it as a body united by blood, habitation, or political design, distinguishing it from narrower genē (clans) or phratriai (brotherhoods).^[7]^[8]^[9] Terminologically, phyle contrasted with demos (a territorial or popular assembly unit) and phratry (a subgroup within the phyle), forming a hierarchical structure in Ionian and Dorian poleis where phylai numbered typically three to ten, as in Attica's original four Ionian phylai (Geleontes, Hopletes, Argades, and Aegicores). Leaders, known as phylarchoi, oversaw phyle affairs, including taxation and litigation among members. This usage persisted into Hellenistic times, adapting to federal leagues like the Achaean koinon, where phylai denoted tribal contingents.^[10]^[11] The Cleisthenic phylai differed from demoi primarily in scale and purpose: demoi functioned as localized territorial units—villages, townships, or urban districts—serving as the foundational level of citizenship enrollment where individuals registered by birth or residence, whereas phylai aggregated multiple demoi from disparate regions (urban, coastal, and inland) into artificial tribes of roughly equal size, each comprising three trittyes, to deliberately mix populations and undermine parochial or familial allegiances. This supralocal structure enabled phylai to support state-wide political integration, such as proportional representation in the Council of 500 (with 50 councilors per phyle), in contrast to the demoi's role in local assemblies and deme-specific liturgies.^[12]^[13] In distinction from genē, hereditary clans typically linked to elite families with monopolies on certain priesthoods and cultic practices, the phylai were non-hereditary and egalitarian, admitting all adult male citizens based on deme affiliation rather than bloodlines, thereby prioritizing civic participation over aristocratic exclusivity; while genē preserved pre-democratic social hierarchies and religious privileges, often predating or paralleling the polis's formal institutions, Cleisthenes' phylai—introduced circa 508–507 BC—replaced the four archaic Ionian phylai (Geleontes, Hopletes, Argades, Aegicores) with ten new ones named after eponymous heroes, explicitly to dilute kinship-based power concentrations.^[14] The phylai also contrasted with phratriai, broader kinship brotherhoods that verified legitimacy through rituals like the meion and kyrie acceptances at births and marriages, enforcing inheritance and social bonds within extended families; phratriai retained autonomy for religious and judicial functions, such as oath-taking in homicide trials, but lacked the phylai's mandatory integration into state mechanisms like military musters or tribal priesthoods elected by lot, reflecting the latter's alignment with democratic redistribution of authority away from traditional descent groups.^[15]^[16]

Phylai in Athenian History

Pre-Cleisthenic Phylai (Archaic Period)

In archaic Athens, prior to the reforms of Cleisthenes around 508–507 BC, the citizen body was organized into four hereditary phylai, or tribes, known as the Ionian tribes: Geleontes, Hopletes, Argades, and Aegicores.^[17] These divisions were attributed in mythological tradition to Ion, a legendary figure and eponymous ancestor of the Ionians, who purportedly subdivided the Athenians into these groups based on descent from his four sons: Geleon (Geleontes), Hoples (Hopletes), Argades (Argades), and Aegicores (Aegicores).^[18] The names reflected occupational or social functions—Geleontes associated with land cultivation or landholders, Hopletes with warriors, Argades with artisans or laborers, and Aegicores with herdsmen—though these were likely idealized rather than strictly enforced class distinctions.^[18] This tribal structure emphasized kinship and genealogy, contrasting with the later geographic basis of Cleisthenes' system, and served as the primary framework for citizenship, inheritance, and social identity.^[3] Each phyle was led by a phylobasileus, or tribe-king, an archon responsible for religious and possibly judicial duties within the tribe, elected or hereditary in early periods but integrated into the broader archon system by the time of Solon (c. 594 BC).^[17] The tribes were further subdivided into phratries (brotherhoods) and gene (clans), which handled matters of legitimacy, adoption, and heirship, reinforcing endogamous tendencies and hereditary membership.^[19] Politically, the phylai provided the basis for representation in early councils and assemblies, though power was concentrated among the eupatridai (noble families) who dominated leadership roles across tribes.^[17] Administratively and militarily, the system incorporated naucraries—fiscal and naval districts totaling 48 across the four phylai (12 per tribe)—responsible for equipping ships, collecting tribute, and organizing hoplite contingents for warfare.^[17] Each tribe was divided into three trittyes (thirds), which grouped the naucraries and facilitated resource allocation, as evidenced in Solon's preservation of this framework while adding property-based classes (Iawgetai, naucraries' function persisted into the classical period until Cleisthenes' reorganization dissolved the old phylai to prevent factionalism based on kinship ties.^[3] This pre-Cleisthenic arrangement, rooted in Ionian tradition and shared with other Ionian poleis like Miletus, underscored Athens' evolution from kin-based to territorial citizenship, though it perpetuated inequalities favoring aristocratic lineages.^[20]

Cleisthenic Reforms (c. 508–507 BC)

Following the expulsion of the tyrant Hippias in 510 BC, Cleisthenes of the Alcmaeonid family vied for power against the aristocratic leader Isagoras. To secure support from the broader citizenry, Cleisthenes proposed reforms that enhanced popular participation in governance, including a fundamental reorganization of the citizen body into territorial demes as the primary units of citizenship registration. This shift diminished the influence of traditional kinship-based groups like the four Ionian phylai, which retained cultic roles but lost political primacy.^[21]^[22] The core of the tribal reform involved establishing ten new phylai, each designed to integrate citizens from diverse regions of Attica to counteract factionalism and promote unified civic identity. Attica was divided into three geographic zones—urban (asty), coastal (paralia), and inland (mesogeia)—yielding ten trittyes per zone, for a total of thirty. Each phyle then combined one trittyes from each zone, comprising roughly three to four demes per trittyes, with the total number of demes reaching 139 or 140. This artificial mixing ensured no phyle was dominated by a single locality or elite family, fostering loyalty to the polis over parochial interests. Herodotus records that Cleisthenes directly instituted these ten tribes in place of the prior four, aligning with the reforms' enactment around 508–507 BC.^[23]^[21]^[22] These phylai formed the basis for key democratic institutions, notably the Boule of 500, where each tribe contributed fifty members selected by lot annually to deliberate on policy and prepare agenda for the ecclesia. Archons and other magistrates were also distributed proportionally among the tribes. Aristotle notes that this structure empowered the demos, marking a pivotal step toward broader political equality, though eligibility remained restricted to adult male citizens. The reforms' intent, as inferred from contemporary accounts, was to establish isonomia by diluting aristocratic control through randomized, inclusive groupings.^[21]^[24]

Hellenistic and Roman Periods

In the Hellenistic period, the ten Cleisthenic phylai persisted as hereditary subgroups of Athenian citizens, functioning primarily as self-governing associations with cultic, financial, and honorific capacities despite Macedonian oversight following the Lamian War of 322 BC. Inscriptions attest to their continued activity, such as the decree of the Akamantis phyle in 305/4 BC, which records decisions on internal matters including property management and benefactor honors.^[4] Similarly, the Erechtheis phyle issued IG II² 1165 around 300–250 BC, honoring Antisthenes for leasing sacred lands and handling fiscal duties, with expenditures on crowns ranging from 500 to 1,000 drachmas.^[4] These bodies convened agorai for deliberations, blending deme-level organization with representation in broader civic life, though their political influence waned under external pressures like the Antipatrid garrison and later Antigonid interventions.^[4] Phylai maintained shrines to eponymous heroes, fostering communal identity and ritual continuity from the classical era, as seen in references to locations like the Hippothontion in decrees such as IG II² 1149.^[4] Their roles extended to recognizing members' contributions to ephebic training and bouleutic service, exemplified by Aiantis honoring a thesmothete in 327/6 BC and Leontis praising ephebic officers in 333/2 BC, patterns that carried into early Hellenistic honors for citywide benefactions.^[4] Under Roman rule, after Athens' incorporation into the province of Achaea in 146 BC and despite the Sullan sack of 86 BC, the phylai endured as administrative and social units, evidenced by their use in assigning tribal affiliations to epengraphoi (newly enrolled citizens) in ephebic contexts by the early second century AD.^[25] Inscriptions from this era, including those linked to prytany rotations and elite education lists, show phylai integrating Roman-era citizens while preserving hereditary structures for honors and cultic observances.^[25] This longevity reflects adaptation to imperial oversight, where phylai supported residual democratic forms like the Areopagus and boule, though subordinated to Roman patronage networks and reduced to ceremonial functions by the late empire.^[26]

Phylai in Other Greek Contexts

The Ten Tribes of Thurii (5th Century BC)

Thurii, a Panhellenic colony established in 444/443 BC on the site of the destroyed city of Sybaris in southern Italy, incorporated a tribal system reflecting the diverse origins of its settlers. The colony's founders, drawn from multiple Greek poleis under Athenian initiative, divided the citizenry into ten phylai (tribes) as part of instituting a democratic constitution, assigning names to each based on the primary regional contributors to the population. According to Diodorus Siculus, the tribes comprised one dedicated to the Athenians, three to Peloponnesians, three to islanders, and three to inhabitants of Euboea and Ionian cities, ensuring representation of the colony's multinational composition while fostering integration. This structure paralleled Athenian tribal reforms under Cleisthenes but emphasized ethnic origins rather than geographic mixing, likely to mitigate factionalism among settlers from rival regions such as the Peloponnese and Ionia.^[27] The arrangement promoted civic unity in a venture intended as a cooperative enterprise, though tensions persisted, as evidenced by later internal strife reported in ancient sources. The tribal divisions served administrative and political functions, distributing offices and responsibilities proportionally to maintain balance, though Diodorus, writing centuries later, provides the primary account without detailing further subdivisions like trittyes. Archaeological evidence from the site supports the colony's rapid development under this system, with urban planning attributed to figures like Hippodamus of Miletus facilitating organized settlement.^[28] This model of phylai organization in Thurii exemplified adaptive governance for colonial contexts, influencing subsequent Greek foundations in Magna Graecia.^[27]

Phylai in Dorian and Ionian Poleis

In Dorian poleis, including Sparta, Corinth, and various Cretan cities, the citizen population was organized into three traditional phylai: the Hylleis, Pamphyloi, and Dymanes.^[29]^[30] These phylai, named after eponymous heroes linked to Dorian migration myths, formed the primary subdivisions for citizen enrollment, with each phyle further divided into smaller units like obai or hetairiai for administrative and military purposes.^[31]^[32] Evidence from epigraphic and literary sources, such as inscriptions from Dreros in Crete dating to the 7th century BC, confirms their role in allocating priesthoods, land divisions, and assembly participation, maintaining a stable tripartite structure through the Archaic and Classical periods.^[33] Ionian poleis, such as Miletus, Samos, and pre-Cleisthenic Athens, employed a four-phyle system: the Geleontes (or Gedeontes, associated with land cultivation), Hopletes (warriors), Argadeis (or Ergadeis, linked to artisans or peasants), and Aegicoreis (or Aigikoreis, goat-herders).^[29]^[34] This quadripartite organization, attributed to the mythical Ion and attested in Homeric Catalogue of Ships references and 6th-century BC inscriptions from Chios and Erythrae, facilitated similar functions to Dorian counterparts, including hereditary offices, cult associations, and phyle-based levies for hoplite forces.^[31]^[3] Unlike the Dorian model, Ionian phylai occasionally incorporated additional subgroups like the Oenopes or Boreis in Attica, reflecting local adaptations, though the core four persisted in many Anatolian Ionian states into the Hellenistic era.^[35] Both systems contrasted with later artificial reforms in Athens by emphasizing inherited, kinship-based identities over geographic redistribution, as evidenced by persistent use in non-Athenian poleis for over a century post-500 BC.^[10] Archaeological finds, such as phyle-named dedications at Spartan sanctuaries and Ionian temples, underscore their enduring integration into civic rituals and governance, with minimal evidence of wholesale replacement until Roman influences.^[36]

Functions and Roles

Political and Administrative Roles

In the Cleisthenic system established around 508–507 BC, the ten phylai formed the foundational units for political representation in Athens, ensuring broad geographic and social integration in governance. Each phyle contributed 50 members to the Boule, or Council of 500, selected annually by lot from citizens over 30 years old registered in that phyle's demes.^[37]^[38] This structure promoted balanced participation by distributing power across diverse regional groups, countering the influence of traditional kinship-based factions.^[39] The phylai played a central role in the prytany system, where the 50 bouleutai from one phyle sequentially assumed executive functions for approximately 36 days each year, comprising one-tenth of the annual cycle. During its prytany, the group presided over meetings of the Boule and the Ekklesia (popular assembly), received foreign embassies, supervised state finances and records, and executed administrative decisions such as summoning officials or preparing decrees for ratification.^[38]^[39] One member served daily as epistates, or president, rotating leadership to prevent individual dominance.^[38] Phylai also influenced the selection of key magistrates, particularly military leaders. From around 501 BC, ten strategoi (generals) were elected annually, initially one from each phyle, to command the army and navy while providing checks against concentrated power; this rule later allowed flexibility, such as multiple from one phyle in exceptional cases after 450 BC.^[40]^[41] While archonships (chief civilian magistracies) involved preliminary selection by the Boule without strict phyle quotas, the tribal framework indirectly shaped eligibility through deme registration and boule oversight.^[42] Overall, phylai facilitated administrative cohesion by organizing citizens into subunits that supported state functions like taxation oversight and public works coordination via their bouleutai representatives, though primary execution fell to the prytany and specialized boards.^[3]^[43]

Military Organization

In ancient Athens, the ten Cleisthenic phylai established after the reforms of 508/7 BC provided the foundational structure for organizing the citizen-based hoplite army, enabling the integration of diverse regional populations into unified military contingents and reducing the influence of traditional local loyalties. Each phyle mustered its own taxis, a regiment-sized unit of heavy infantry that typically comprised several hundred hoplites drawn from its members, which fought as a distinct block within the phalanx formation to maintain cohesion and tribal identity on the battlefield. This tribal basis for levies and deployment was a primary purpose of the Cleisthenic system, as it facilitated efficient mobilization of the militia while fostering a sense of shared citizenship across Attica's inland, coastal, and urban trittyes.^[3]^[31] Phyle officials, including phylobasileis and taxiarchoi, directed the assembly and command of these units, overseeing musters via deme registries and prioritizing phylai over smaller subdivisions like trittyes or demes in overall military administration. Ephebic training further reinforced this organization, with youth cohorts grouped by phyle under lochagoi for drill and preparation as future hoplites. The phylai's dominance in land forces extended to cavalry, where each tribe supplied a dedicated squadron known as a phyle hippikon, typically numbering 30–60 riders under a phylarch, forming ten such units that supported infantry flanks in reconnaissance and pursuit roles.^[4]^[4]^[44] Naval contributions from phylai were less rigidly structured but significant, with tribal affiliation often determining crew assignments on triremes to enhance unit solidarity during expeditions, though symmories and individual trierarchies handled ship financing and command. This phyle-centric approach persisted into the classical period, underpinning Athens' military effectiveness in conflicts like the Persian Wars and Peloponnesian War, where tribal contingents exemplified the citizen-soldier's obligation to serve.^[4]^[31] The Cleisthenic phylai each centered on the cult of an eponymous hero, selected by the Pythia at Delphi around 508/7 BC from a list of one hundred Attic founding figures to symbolize tribal unity; these included Erechtheus for Erechtheis, Cecrops for Cecropis, Pandion for Pandionis, Aegeus for Aegeis, Acamas for Acamantis, Antiochus for Antiochis, Ajax for Aiantis, Hippothoon for Hippothontis, Oeneus for Oeneis, and Leos for Leontis.^[3] Shrines dedicated to these heroes served as focal points for tribal worship, with locations varying across Attica, such as the Acropolis for Erechtheus and Cecrops, the Agora for Leos and Ajax, and Eleusis for Hippothoon; these cults were managed internally by the phylai as exclusive religious associations.^[3]^[4] Priests of the eponymous heroes oversaw rituals and sacrifices, with early control sometimes held by pre-existing gene (e.g., Eteobutadai for Erechtheus in Erechtheis), but by the late fourth century BC, authority shifted toward tribal election or lot among phyle members, reflecting broader democratic integration of priesthoods post-Pericles' citizenship law of 451/0 BC.^[3]^[45] Tribal sacrifices (thysiai) to eponymous heroes occurred regularly, as evidenced by inscriptions for phylai like Erechtheis, Pandionis, and Acamantis (e.g., IG II² 1165), often aligning with state festivals such as the Pandia for Pandionis; these practices reinforced the phylai's role in civic religion while linking disparate Attic regions through shared heroic veneration.^[4]^[3] The phylai also participated in broader festivals, potentially including the Synoikia honoring Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria, which commemorated Attica's unification and may have been adapted post-Cleisthenes to emphasize tribal solidarity.^[3] Socially, the phylai operated as inclusive associations promoting cohesion across geographic and kinship divides, with membership lifelong following enrollment in a deme at age eighteen; by mixing residents from urban, coastal, and inland trittyes, they diluted parochial loyalties and cultivated a pan-Athenian identity.^[3]^[4] Phylai convened in agorai (assemblies) to handle finances, propose decrees, and award honors, often prioritizing urban members and recognizing contributions like choregiai or ephebic service (e.g., decrees from Leontis and Aiantis in Hesperia 9 and 7 ).^[4] Liturgies such as hestiasis (communal banqueting) during the Dionysia and Panathenaea, funded by wealthy nominees, fostered interpersonal bonds, while rare instances of aid, like Erechtheis' support for a member's daughter (IG II² 1165), indicate limited but existent mutual obligations.^[4] In the City Dionysia, each phyle sponsored dithyrambic choruses—ten for men and ten for boys—integrating tribal competition into civic spectacle and reinforcing collective participation among citizens.^[46]

Phyle as a Specific Locale

The Deme and Fortress of Phyle

The deme of Phyle was an ancient administrative unit in northwestern Attica, located on the eastern slopes of Mount Parnes near the border with Boeotia, overlooking a key mountain pass on the primary route from Athens to Thebes.^[47] As part of the Cleisthenic reorganization around 508–507 BC, Phyle belonged to the Oineis phyle and functioned as a rural border settlement with defensive significance due to its strategic position.^[48] Adjacent to the deme, approximately 1 km to the southwest, stood the fortress of Phyle, a fortified site primarily dating to the 4th century BC, designed to control the highland pass between Attica and Boeotia.^[49] The structure, built on a steep rocky outcrop at an elevation of about 680 meters, featured defensive walls and towers, remnants of which survive today as archaeological ruins.^[47] Phyle achieved historical notoriety during the Athenian civil strife of 404–403 BC. In late December 404 BC, amid severe winter snows, the democratic exile Thrasybulus led roughly 70 followers from Thebes to seize the then-unoccupied fortress, marking the launch of resistance against the Thirty Tyrants imposed by Sparta after the Peloponnesian War.^[50] The oligarchs responded by sending a combined force of Athenian cavalry and Spartan auxiliaries numbering around 300, but Thrasybulus' group executed surprise ambushes from higher ground, routing the attackers and killing over 120. Emboldened and reinforced to approximately 1,000 men through local defections, Thrasybulus vacated Phyle in early 403 BC to capture Munichia hill in Piraeus, escalating the conflict that ultimately toppled the Thirty and restored democracy by summer 403 BC.^[51] The fortress's isolation and natural defenses proved pivotal in enabling this initial foothold, underscoring Phyle's role as a launchpad for political restoration rather than prolonged siege warfare.^[47]

Historical Significance of the Site

The fortress of Phyle, situated on a steep ridge of Mount Parnes in northwest Attica, achieved enduring historical importance as the initial stronghold seized by Athenian democrats seeking to overthrow the oligarchic Thirty Tyrants in 403 BC. After Athens' surrender in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC, Sparta imposed the Thirty Tyrants, led by Critias, who executed or exiled thousands of democratic opponents. Thrasybulus, a prominent democratic exile based in Thebes, recruited approximately 70 followers and captured Phyle undetected during a snowy night in late 404 BC, exploiting its strategic oversight of mountain passes into Attica from Boeotia. This bold incursion provided a secure base from which the exiles could raid oligarchic territories and rally supporters, marking the inception of the successful counter-revolution that restored democracy.^[52]^[53] The site's defensibility proved critical when the Thirty dispatched 3,000 citizen hoplites under Anaxes and Lysimachus to besiege Phyle shortly after its seizure. Despite being outnumbered, Thrasybulus's forces, who had swelled to around 1,000 with new recruits, ambushed and routed the attackers in a night engagement, killing about 120 oligarchs and capturing significant arms. This victory not only demoralized the Thirty but also drew further adherents to the democratic cause, enabling Thrasybulus to advance southward to Piraeus. There, clashes including the Battle of Munichia in spring 403 BC forced the oligarchs' flight, leading to amnesty negotiations and the reestablishment of the democratic constitution by autumn 403 BC. Phyle's role was formally recognized in a decree proposed by Archinos, granting citizenship and honors to the "heroes of Phyle" for their stand against tyranny.^[54]^[52]^[55] Beyond its immediate military utility, Phyle exemplified the tactical value of Attic border fortifications in intra-polis conflicts, leveraging natural terrain for asymmetric defense against superior forces. Archaeological remnants, including walls and towers from the Classical period, attest to its Hellenistic-era enhancements, though its peak significance lay in 403 BC as a symbol of democratic resilience. Athenian inscriptions and oratory, such as Lysias's speeches, perpetuated Phyle's memory, associating it with the preservation of ancestral freedoms against Spartan-backed autocracy.^[56]

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THE ORDER OF THE DORIAN PHYLAI NICHOLAS F. JONES A CONSTANT feature of the Greek polis was the organization of the citizen population by systems of phylai ...<|separator|>
[33]
(PDF) Grote, Oliver - The 'Twenty of the Polis' and Drerian Phylai
This research addresses the underexplored role of phylai in ancient Greek poleis, with a specific focus on Doric cities. Utilizing a synthesis based on ten ...Missing: Dorian | Show results with:Dorian
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Ionian tribes - Jones - Major Reference Works - Wiley Online Library
Dec 20, 2019 · Just as in the case of the three ancestral phylai of the Dorians, Ionians inherited a set of four phylai, with an attested distribution at ...
[35]
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/j.ctt46n1n2.5.pdf
[36]
https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/NPOE/e924630.xml
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Athens – Cleisthenes | HIEU 2031 Ancient Greece Class Notes
Reforms and Innovations · Reorganized the Athenian population into ten new tribes (phylai) · Established a new Council of 500 (Boule) with 50 representatives from ...
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Athenian Democracy
Each Prytany, the 50 from one tribe ran the Council with one man each day being Epistates (President!). The council was deliberative, administrative, and ...
[39]
[PDF] Cleisthenes
After Cleisthenes' reforms, nine archons and a secre- tary were selected annually, one official from each tribe, for one- year terms as magistrates with ...
[40]
Stratēgoi - Oxford Reference
The original rule that one strategos was elected from each phyle underwent some modification after 450: in several years one phyle is known to have supplied ...
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CLEON | sbhistorygeek
Jul 26, 2013 · From around 501 BC a new policy was introduced whereby ten strategoi were elected on an annual basis, one from each of the city phyle, the “ ...Missing: per | Show results with:per
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Drawing Lots for Polis Office - Oxford Academic
May 21, 2024 · Since there were now ten phylai, a secretary (grammateus) was added to make up a body of ten, each phyle providing an archon. In 487 the ...<|separator|>
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[PDF] associations and democracy in classical athens a dissertation ...
In tracing the decline of Athenian democracy, then, I will be tracing two changes. The first consists in concrete changes in the constitution, especially those ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[44]
The Athenian Cavalry Archives of the Fourth and Third Centuries B.C.
consisted of squadrons (phylai), named after the ten, later twelve, phylai ... the Athenian cavalry more than 2,000 years ago. 12 Akropolis (Munich-Berlin ...
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(PDF) A Polis and its Priests: Athenian Priesthoods before and after ...
Each of the ten tribes had a priest who served the cult of its eponymous hero. ... priests in polis cults in classical Athens displays both continuity and change.<|separator|>
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The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, The City and ...
Oct 2, 2000 · Athenian choral culture also put priority on citizens : only citizens could serve in choruses or as khoregoi for the City Dionysia. Wilson ...
[47]
Phyle fortress (Attica) - ToposText
The most direct way from Athens to Thebes led from Chassia up Parnes by a difficult pass to the W of Harma and the deme of Phyle.
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Attic demes | HELLENISMO
Sep 22, 2012 · Attic mesogeia deme of Leontis phyle. Paionidai was located at the foot of a southern spur of Mount Parnes, most likely north of modern Menidi.
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Ministry of Culture and Sports | Τhe Fortress of Fyli (Phyle)
Fortress of the 4th c. BC that controls the highland pass between Attica and Boeotia. It is situated about 1 km SW of the ancient demos of Phyle.
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Thrasybulus | Athenian General, Biography, & Facts - Britannica
In 404, when exiled by the Thirty (the oligarchy at Athens), he retired to Thebes. In the following winter, with 70 men, he seized Phyle, a hill fort on Mt.
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Battle of Piraeus, 403 BC
Early in 403 BC they crossed back into Attica and captured the fort of Phyle, twenty miles to the north west of Athens. The Thirty responded by mobilizing the ' ...
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Battle of Phyle, 403 BC
Feb 29, 2016 · The battle of Phyle (403 BC) was the first of three battles that saw the Athenian democrats led by Thrasybulus overthrow a Spartan-supported ...Missing: historical significance<|separator|>
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Founders of democracy unsung | Part 2 - Kosmos Society
Aug 6, 2019 · Thrasybulus was among the many Athenian democrats who fled the tyranny of the Thirty. He took refuge in Thebes and in 403 began to organize a rebellion.
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[PDF] PHYLE? - American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Reconsideration of Archinos's decree for the heroes of Phyle shows that it honored men who withstood the siege of the Thirty very soon after Thrasy-.
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The Thirty Tyrants of Athens: Oligarchy vs Democracy - TheCollector
Apr 25, 2025 · Thrasybulus and his handful of supporters began their attempt to overthrow the tyrants by seizing the border fortress of Phyle. This ...
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[PDF] THE HEROES OF PHYLE
4 Finally, Thrasyboulos felt strong enough to leave the mountains and to occupy the fortress of Mounichia. The outcome is well known: Athens was first freed ...