EN

BookPrimary source

Constitution of Athens (Athenaion Politeia)

Aristotle (attributed) · The Internet Classics Archive, MIT (translation by F. G. Kenyon) · 1891

Open publisher page ↗

Type: Book
Author: Aristotle (attributed)
Accessed: 2026-09-01
Reliability notes: Ancient treatise on Athenian institutions; chapter references follow the standard division.

Claims citing this source

3 claims

EstablishedClassical Athens combined an Assembly open to male citizens with a Council of 500 chosen by lot (fifty per tribe), most routine magistracies filled by lot, and courts staffed by lot-selected citizen jurors; Assembly, Council and jury service were paid.EstablishedCitizenship was restricted by birth: Aristotle's account dates the rule of citizen birth on both sides to 451/0 BCE, and women, slaves and resident foreigners (metics) had no vote in the Assembly, Council or courts.EstablishedOstracism let the Assembly vote on whether to hold a ballot; if a sufficiently large number of citizens named the same person, he had to leave Attica for ten years but kept his property. Britannica dates its first use to 488–487 BCE.