Dēmos · Classical Athenian Democracy · a Stoa Publication
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Introduction: Cimon’s Family and Character.
The Beginning of Conflict with the Democrats.
Democratic Reforms Behind Cimon’s Back.
The Reforms that Cimon Opposed.
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Christopher W. Blackwell, edition of January 31, 2003
(Section 1 of 9)
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Athens.
Cimon, son of Miltiades (father) and Hegesipyle (mother), was a prominent Athenian in the
(Section 2 of 9)
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Isocrates (Isoc. 15).
Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
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Athens.
Athens.
In the
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Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Attica.
Cimon’s deme, the district in Attica where he was registered as a citizen, was Laciadae (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 27.3), and he was of the tribe (φυλή) Oineis (Plut. Cim. 17.3-6).
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Herodotus (Hdt.).
Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Demosthenes (Dem. 13).
Andocides (Andoc. 4).
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Thrace.
Paros.
Olympia.
Cimon’s father was Miltiades, a famous Athenian, and his mother was Hegesipyle, who was not an Athenian but the daughter of Olorus, king of Thrace (Plut. Cim. 4.1; Aristot. Ath. Pol. 26.1; Hdt. 6.39.2). The family was very wealthy. His father, Miltiades, had been general on a failed military expedition to Paros in
(Section 3 of 9)
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Susa, Persepolis (in text as “Persia”).
Attica.
Peloponnese.
Salamis.
Athens.
Cimon came to public prominence for the first time, it seems, in
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Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Athens.
Many ancient writers, often unsympathetic or actively hostile toward the idea of democracy, describe the history of Athens in the
(Section 4 of 9)
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Herodotus (Hdt.).
Plutarch (Plut. Thes.).
Thucydides (Thuc.).
Diodorus (Diod.).
Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Plutarch (Plut. Arist.).
Pausanias (Paus.).
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Delphi.
Attica.
Scyros.
Athens.
Sparta.
Greece.
Cimon enjoyed this influence over affairs because he was a very successful general, politician, and perhaps self-promoter. After the Persian Wars, when the Athenians were rebuilding their city (it had been sacked by the Persians in
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Persia.
Aegean.
Athens.
In the years
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Thucydides (Thuc.).
Pausanias (Paus.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Persia.
Aegean.
Eion.
Thrace.
Athens.
Greece.
Amphipolis.
Those years also marked the beginning of a series of naval battles between Persia and Athens, under the command of Cimon, that would, by
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Thucydides (Thuc.).
Pausanias (Paus.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Eurymedon.
Hydrus.
Persia.
Cimon’s greatest moment, however, was in
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Thucydides (Thuc.).
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Athens.
Athens was still the leading city of the defensive alliance of Greek states, many of which grew tired of providing ships for the common defense; according to Plutarch, Cimon allowed them to pay money instead of contributing ships, money that the Athenians used to expand their own fleet, which would provide protection to all the allies. Thus, “before they knew it, they were tribute-paying subject rather than allies” (Plut. Cim. 11.1-3; compare Thuc. 1.99, which tells the same story without mentioning Cimon). This was the birth of the Athenian “empire” (ἀρχή) that would shape the city’s history in the
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Plutarch tells the following story to illustrate Cimon’s prestige during these years when he was one of the ten generals elected by the Athenians. On the occasion when the tragedian Sophocles was producing his first tragedies in the Theater of Dionysus, putting them in competition with some tragedies of Aeschylus, the crowd was in an uproar, excited by the young poet’s challenge to the old master. When Cimon and his fellow generals entered the theater, the archon chose them to judge the competition, rather than selecting ten judges at random. Cimon’s reputation calmed the crowd and prevented a riot when the “upstart” Sophocles won the competition (Plut. Cim. 8.7-8). This happened in
(Section 5 of 9)
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Chersonese.
Aegean.
Thrace.
Athens.
Macedonia.
Plutarch praises Cimon for his opposition to the democratic reforms of Themistocles and Ephialtes (Plut. Cim. 10.7). The beginnings of this opposition, as far as we can tell, arose from an incident on one of Cimon’s military campaigns in the north. While the Persians had been mostly driven from the Aegean sea, they remained in the Chersonese, a peninsula in the northern Aegean, and allied themselves with some of the people of Thrace; the Athenians dispatched Cimon to wage war against them (Plut. Cim. 14.1). Cimon won a victory in Thrace, which allowed him, had he wished to, to invade Macedonia. When he failed to do this, he was brought to trial in Athens, accused of accepting bribes to leave Macedonia alone; one of the prosecutors at his trial was Pericles (Plut. Cim. 14.2-3). Cimon spoke well in his own defense (Plut. Cim. 14.3) and was acquitted, but this trial, at least as Plutarch narrates Cimon’s career, marked the beginning of a period of confrontation between him and the democratic reformers (Plut. Cim. 15.1-2; Plut. Cim. 10.7).
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Pausanias (Paus.).
Thucydides (Thuc.).
Aristotle (Aristot. Rh.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Athens.
Persia.
Sparta.
Cimon was the proxenos (πρόξενος) or “official representative” of Sparta in Athens, a position similar to that of an ambassador, except that the proxenus was a citizen of the foreign city, not of the city he represented (Plut. Cim. 14.3; Paus. 4.24.6). Cimon’s relationship with Sparta was close; he cited that relationship, as evidence of his good character, in his own defense at his trial (Plut. Cim. 14.3), and even named one of his sons Lacedaemonius, or “Spartan” (Thuc. 1.45.2; Plut. Cim. 16.1; Aristotle makes some unflattering comments about Cimon’s children at Aristot. Rh. 1390b). This relationship was helpful to Athens, and reflected well on Cimon in the eyes of his fellow citizens, while Sparta and Athens were allies in the struggle against Persia, but as the two cities became rivals, Sparta’s proxenus came to be regarded with some suspicion (Plut. Cim. 16.4-6).
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Pausanias (Paus.).
Aristophanes (Aristoph. Lys.).
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Peloponnese.
Sparta.
Athens.
In
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Thucydides (Thuc.).
Pausanias (Paus.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Andocides (Andoc. 4).
Andocides (Andoc. 3).
Plutarch (Plut. Per.).
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Sparta.
Ithome.
Messenia.
Athens.
Ephialtes opposed sending help to Sparta, but Cimon argued in favor of doing so and persuaded the Athenians (Plut. Cim. 16.8). After this successful intervention, the Spartans called for help from Athens a second time, in
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Sparta.
Messenia.
Athens.
When Plutarch describes Cimon’s ostracism at Plut. Cim. 17.2, he suggests that it was motivated by Athens’ anger at their humiliating dismissal by the Spartans—Cimon, the proxenus of Sparta would have been a natural target for that anger. But there may have been more to it than that. We have reason to think that while Cimon was away in Messenia with an Athenian army, the people in Athens, under the leadership of Ephialtes and Pericles, enacted a radical democratic reform by limiting the powers of the Court of the Areopagus.
(Section 6 of 9)
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Thucydides (Thuc.).
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Ithome.
First there is the question of why the Spartans, after summoning the Athenians to help, suddenly changed their minds and dismissed them. Plutarch says that the Spartans saw the Athenians as “revolutionaries” (νεωτεριστάς) (Plut. Cim. 17.2). Thucydides expands on this, saying that the Spartans, “apprehensive of the enterprising and revolutionary character of the Athenians, and further looking upon them as foreigners, began to fear that if they remained, they might be tempted by the besieged in Ithome to attempt some political changes. They accordingly dismissed them alone of the allies, without declaring their suspicions, but merely saying that they had now no need of them” (δείσαντες τῶν Ἀθηναίων τὸ τολμηρὸν καὶ τὴν νεωτεροποιίαν, καὶ ἀλλοφύλους ἅμα ἡγησάμενοι, μή τι, ἢν παραμείνωσιν, ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Ἰθώμῃ πεισθέντες νεωτερίσωσι, μόνους τῶν ξυμμάχων ἀπέπεμψαν, τὴν μὲν ὑποψίαν οὐ δηλοῦντες, εἰπόντες δὲ ὅτι οὐδὲν προσδέονται αὐτῶν ἔτι) (Thuc. 1.102).
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Plutarch (Plut. Per.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Athens.
Second, there are several passages from ancient authors that say that democratic reforms were passed in Athens while Cimon was away. Plutarch suggests this, in very general terms, in his biography of Pericles. Once Aristides was dead, Plutarch says, and Themistocles was banished and Cimon was generally absent on campaigns, “Pericles decided to devote himself to the people, espousing the cause of the poor and the many instead of the few and the rich, contrary to his own nature, which was anything but popular” (Plut. Per. 7.2). In his biography of Cimon he is more specific, saying that after Cimon’s trial and acquittal, he opposed any democratic reforms, “but when he sailed away again on military service, the People got completely beyond control. They confounded the established political order of things and the ancestral practices which they had formerly observed, and under the lead of Ephialtes they robbed the Council of the Areopagus of all but a few of the cases in its jurisdiction” (Plut. Cim. 15.1).
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Diodorus (Diod.).
Aristotle (Aristot. Pol.).
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Athens.
Third, there is evidence to suggest that democratic reforms, and particularly a reform of the Court of the Areopagus, were enacted specifically by the People generally, the dēmos (δῆμος), in the absence of Cimon and the wealthier Athenians. Diodorus says that it was the Assembly (ἐκκλησία), the most democratic institution in Athens, that reformed the Court of the Areopagus (Diod. 11.77.6). More interesting still, Aristotle attributes the democratic reforms after the Persian Wars, and particularly the changes to the Court of the Areopagus, to the “naval multitude” (ὁ ναυτικὸς ὄχλος) (Aristot. Pol. 1304a 20). This “naval multitude” refers to the citizens who were not wealthy enough to provide themselves with bronze armor, but could nevertheless serve as rowers on warships.
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Plutarch (Plut. Per.).
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Sparta.
Fourth, and finally, Plutarch’s biography of Pericles, unlike his biography of Cimon, explicitly connects Cimon’s ostracism with Ephialtes’ reform of the Court of the Areopagus, which he calls here the “Council of the Areopagus”: “ Not only was the Council robbed of most of its jurisdiction by Ephialtes, but Cimon also, on the charge of being a lover of Sparta and a hater of the people, was ostracized” (Plut. Per. 9.4).
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Ithome.
Messenia.
Athens.
Sparta.
If we put these four categories of evidence together, we might (tentatively) reconstruct events as follows: In
It is important to note that the preceding paragraph is one possible interpretation of a few pieces of evidence. The evidence, by itself, does not give a full, or consistent, picture of events.
(Section 7 of 9)
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Athens.
For a full description of the Court of the Areopagus (sometimes called the “Council of the Areopagus,” and sometimes simply “the Areopagus”, after the Hill of the Areopagus, where it convened) and the reforms of
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Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
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Athens.
In the earliest stages of the Athenian government that our sources describe, the Court of the Areopagus was the most important governing body. It was also a very aristocratic body. Aristotle says that before the
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Aristotle (Aristot. Pol.).
Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
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Athens.
Salamis.
Peloponnese.
As Athens became gradually more democratic, in the years leading up to the Persian Wars (c.
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Aristotle (Aristot. Pol.).
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Salamis.
Athens.
While the evacuation of Athens raised the prestige of the Areopagus, the ensuing battle in the sea by Salamis may have helped bring about its later fall from power. The victory at Salamis was won by Athens’ fleet, which was manned by the general population who may have assumed that their role in the defense of Athens entitled them to a greater role in the city’s governance. Aristotle explicitly contrasts this “naval crowd” with the Council of the Areopagus: “…as for example the Council of the Areopagus having risen in reputation during the Persian Wars was believed to have made the constitution more rigid, and then again the naval multitude, having been the cause of the victory off Salamis and thereby of the leadership of Athens due to her power at sea, made the democracy stronger” (οἷον ἡ ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ βουλὴ εὐδοκιμήσασα ἐν τοῖς Μηδικοῖς ἔδοξε συντονωτέραν ποιῆσαι τὴν πολιτείαν, καὶ πάλιν ὁ ναυτικὸς ὄχλος γενόμενος αἴτιος τῆς περὶ Σαλαμῖνα νίκης καὶ διὰ ταύτης τῆς ἡγεμονίας διὰ τὴν κατὰ θάλατταν δύναμιν τὴν δημοκρατίαν ἰσχυροτέραν ἐποίησεν) (Aristot. Pol. 1304a 20).
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Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Persia.
Macedonia.
In the years following the Persian Wars, we know of two events, particularly, that may have motivated the advocates of democracy to try to limit the authority of the Council of the Areopagus. First, Themistocles, who was a leader of those who favored democracy (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 28.2; Plut. Cim. 5.4; Plut. Cim. 10.6), was brought to trial before the Council of the Areopagus on charges that he had improper dealings with Persia (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 25.3). Second, Cimon, who as we have seen was an opponent of democratic reforms (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 28.2; Plut. Cim. 5.4; Plut. Cim. 10.6), was acquitted by the Areopagus when he was charged with failing to invade Macedonia (Plut. Cim. 15.1-2; Plut. Cim. 10.7).
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
Plutarch (Plut. Per.).
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Sparta.
The ancient sources are in agreement that in
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Plutarch (Plut. Per.).
Lysias (Lys. 7).
Demosthenes (Dem. 23).
Apollodorus (Dem. 59).
Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
What were the reforms? They are discussed at length in the articles on Ephialtes and on the Court of the Areopagus, but they can be summarized briefly here. Plutarch says that the Council of the Areopagus lost jurisdiction over almost all kriseis, “judgements” (κρίσεις) (Plut. Cim. 15.2; Plut. Per. 9.5). Aristotle is vague, saying that the Council of the Areopagus was “deprived of superintendence of affairs” (ἀπεστερήθη τῆς ἐπιμελείας) (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 26.1). Our best evidence for what authority remained in the hands of the Council of the Areopagus comes from subsequent trials that appeared before it. These include trials for homicide, assault and battery, certain religious offenses, and arson (Lys. 7.22; Dem. 23.22; Dem. 59.79; Aristot. Ath. Pol. 57.3; Aristot. Ath. Pol. 60.2).
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Aristotle (Aristot. Ath. Pol.).
Immediately after describing the reform of the Court of the Areopagus, Aristotle mentions that Pericles first introduced pay for citizens who served on juries in the court of the Heliaia (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 27.2). This might indicate that, with many kinds of court cases no longer appearing before the Areopagus, there was greater need for citizen jurors.
(Section 8 of 9)
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Andocides (Andoc. 4).
Andocides (Andoc. 3).
Plutarch (Plut. Per.).
Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
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Sparta.
Athens.
Tanagra.
Cimon had been ostracized in
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Thucydides (Thuc.).
Aeschines (Aeschin. 2).
Andocides (Andoc. 3).
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Athens.
Sparta.
Around
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Plutarch (Plut. Cim.).
Thucydides (Thuc.).
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Egypt.
Citium.
Cimon’s last years saw him return to the calling in which he had his greatest success, leading Athenian warships against Persian enemies. He led an Athenian military expedition to fight against the Persians in Egypt (Plut. Cim. 18.1-7). He died at Citium, either from an illness or from a wound (Plut. Cim. 19.1; Thuc. 1.112.4).
(Section 9 of 9)