Preview

PDF (Whole thesis) whole_HenningPe...pdf | Download (16MB) Available under University of Tasmania Standard License. | Preview

Abstract

At the beginning of the fifth century the Athenian strategia
constituted, together with the polemarch, the chief military executive
institution of the newly established democracy. It soon outgrew
its purely military function and became the single most important
magistracy of the state at the heart of fifth-century Athenian
politics and government. Possession of the strategia was the only
way to political prominence and power, at least until the demagogues
found an alternative path. All the most important and influential
politicians of the fifth century from Themistocles to Alcibiades,
including Aristeides Cimon, Pericles, Nicias and Clean, only became
or remained the leaders of Athens as generals. It is not surprising
therefore that the strategia has been the subject of close attention
by modern scholars. Our knowledge of the character of the Athenian
democracy is certainly not complete without an understanding of the
workings of its major executive institution. However, modem
scholarship has failed to resolve many of the problems concerned with
the strategia and has produced a wealth of argument without any general
measure of agreement, rather than any basic conclusions.
It is the purpose of this thesis to submit some of these
problems to a reexamination. Many of them, admittedly, have come
under the scrutiny of Charles W. Fomara, and his recent work ("The
Athenian Board of Generals from 501 to 404", Historia Einzelschriften,
Heft 16, 1971) is the most valuable recent contribution to the
subject. I agree with much of Fornara's analysis but concerning
many important considerations I am unable to accept his conclusions.
In what follows I argue that the reform of 501/0 established the
electoral procedure whereby the generals were elected by the whole
Demos. At the beginning of the fifth century each general was
elected from a different tribe, one general being chosen from each of
Cleisthenes' ten tribes, but an electoral reform of about 480 or one
or two years earlier removed the requirement providing for tribal
representation. ... In some years of the fifth century
there is a numerical increase in the strength of the board. The
Athenians elected extra generals as circumstances dictated. Finally,
the principle of collegiality was strictly maintained in practice
throughout the fifth century except for one minor aberration in
407/06. A strict differentiation can be drawn between the political
prestige and influence pertaining to an individual and the official
authority which he possessed as a general.

Item Type:	Thesis - Unspecified
Authors/Creators:	Henning, PI
Keywords:	Strategi, Greek
Copyright Holders:	The Author
Copyright Information:	Copyright 1974 the Author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s).
Additional Information:	Thesis (M.A.) - University of Tasmania. Bibliography: l. 339-347
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

Actions (login required)

Item Control Page