More on Aristotle

More on Aristotle

On Google Fordham University has a number of documents on Aristotle, Athens, and

the Greeks.

Go to Ancient History Sourcebook: Aristotle on the Lacedaemonian Constitution 340 BCE Fordham University

The Lacedaemonians were the Spartans of the city-state of Sparta. In the third paragraph, Aristotle remarks on how some have said that the best constitution (polity)

is a combination of the three forms – monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy;

“Some, indeed, say that the best constitution is a combination of all existing forms, and they praise the Lacedaemonian because it is made up of oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy, the king forming the monarchy, and the council of elders the oligarchy while the democratic element is represented by the Ephors; for the Ephors are selected from the people. Others, however, declare the Ephoralty to be a tyranny, and find the element of democracy in the common meals and in the habits of daily life. [In Sparta the women met to eat their meals in common – [can you imagine the conversations and how much power the women may have had in their households after daily meals with one another?] At Lacedaemon, for instance, the Ephors determine suits about contracts, which they distribute among themselves, while the elders are judges of homicide, and other causes are decided by other magistrates.”

In Sparta, the people elected five Ephors who were the most powerful officials of the government, under the (usually) two Spartan Kings. When the Kings were off to war, the five Ephors ran the city-state. Any citizen could be elected as an Ephor and the people voted to select the five.

Aristotle is believed to be the author of The Athenian Constitution discovered in the 19^th Century. You can find it also on the Fordham Ancient History Sourcebook site. This was not a written constitution – there were none. The word “constitution” in that era refers to a way of government, a way of life, of the various city-states that is a combination of laws, customs, and actions. Aristotle is describing what he has discovered by his research into the matter what Athenian society was like over the centuries, how it was governed, some of its laws and customs.

Here is a summary of what Aristotle says about democracy in The Athenian Constitution about the constitution (general form of government and life) under Solon, who was like a lawgiver or ruler in ancient Greece. He lived from 638 to 558 BCE: There are three points in the constitution of Solon that appear to be its most democratic features: 1) A person cannot use the freedom of their person as collateral for a loan (you cannot borrow money and agree to be a slave or indentured servant if you default on payment of the

2

loan); 2) Any person may seek redress from another person who is doing wrong to the first person; 3) Any person has the right of appeal to the jurycourts.

The jurycourts ended up deciding many disputes. The laws on inheritance and who is a ward of the state were not always clear and definite so the jurycourts ended up deciding many of these cases. Jurycourts were chosen randomly by lot from a pool of about 6000 during Solon's time. The smallest jurycourt was 200 or 201 so there could not be a tie, or 501, or 1001, or 1501. From 594 BCE on, under Solon, anyone from the Four classes could become a juror. What were the four classes?

1. Income from 500 measures (amount of agricultural produce in a year)
2. Income from 300 measures
3. Income from 200 measures
4. Laborers

So, you can see, that all, excepting women, foreigners, and slaves, were eligible to serve on these all-important jurycourts.

Also, you can see that Aristotle did not sit on a bench and dream up theories about government – he researched the 158 varieties he had access to and drew conclusions from what was done, how successful or unsuccessful they were, and what lessons they provided for the future.