From 509 BC to 508 BC, Cleisthenes, an Athenian democratic politician, carried out a relatively thorough reform in view of Solon's reform, which did not deeply touch the electoral system and blood groups in Athens, under the situation that the Greek people overthrew the tyrant politics.
The contents of the reform include:
(1) Ten regional tribes were established as electoral units for various public institutions in Athens. Organizationally, tribes related to clans were eliminated, the situation of aristocratic manipulation of public office elections ended, the foundation of aristocratic power was removed, tribes were artificially divided, the convention of gathering parties by region was broken, and social unrest was prevented.
(2) Replace the 400-member meeting with the 500-member meeting as the highest administrative body. The difference between a meeting of 500 people and a meeting of 400 people;
A is not produced by blood, but by regional tribes, and no longer has the original clan meaning.
B expanded its functions, in addition to preparing bills for the citizens' assembly, it also implemented the resolutions of the citizens' assembly and handled daily government affairs.
C. the principle of drawing lots for elections and taking turns to govern.
(3) Establish the Committee of Ten Generals as the highest military institution. The Committee is composed of one person from each of the ten regional tribes, elected once a year, and takes turns to command the army, one of whom is the chief general.
(4) Enacted the exile law of pottery pieces, exiled the elements endangering the country by secret voting, cracked down on aristocratic die-hards, and prevented the resurgence of tyrant politics. It embodies the promotion of the power of the citizens' assembly and, to a certain extent, the concept of "sovereignty lies with the people".
Cleisthenes's reform is of epoch-making significance;
Cleisthenes's reform marked the victory of the people's struggle against the nobility for more than 100 years, and marked the initial establishment of slavery democracy in Athens. Basically eliminated the remnants of the clan tribal system and completed the whole process of Athens' transition from clan to country. First of all, the reform completely eliminated the remnants of the clan system, marking the final completion of the whole historical process of Athens' transition from clan to country. Secondly, the reform ended the struggle of Athenian civilians against nobles for more than a century, marking the final establishment of Athenian democracy. Since then, the social contradiction in Athens is no longer the contradiction between nobles and civilians, but the contradiction between slaves and slave owners. Since then, ancient Greece has entered a classical era centered on Athens.
It is generally believed that Cleisthenes's reform established a slave-owner democracy in Athens. Because the Athenian regime has the characteristics of "sovereignty belongs to the people", "drawing lots" and "ruling by turns", democracy at this time is still not sufficient, especially "sovereignty belongs to the people", and the legal qualification of property is still valid, and the political rights of third-and fourth-grade citizens are still restricted, so they can only participate in the citizens' assembly and cannot hold senior positions. Therefore, at this time, democracy has not been fully established.
Content of Pericles's reform
(1) Deprive the Parliament of the God of War Mountain of its political power and make it belong to the citizens' assembly, the 500-member assembly and the jury court respectively. Since then, the God of War Mountain Committee has only tried cases and affairs of a religious nature. The citizens' assembly, the jury court and the 500-member meeting got rid of the shackles of the parliament of the God of War Mountain and completely became the highest authority and executive body in Athens.
(2) Officials at all levels are open to the public. After In 457 Bc, citizens of the third rank were eligible to serve as consuls, while citizens of the fourth rank were actually allowed to hold this position. As a result, all male citizens in Athens basically obtained the rights and opportunities to hold official positions at all levels through lottery, election and rotation, and there was no property restriction.
(3) Implement an open salary system. At first, the state subsidized the daily life of jury judges, and the post-salary system was extended to most public offices, which provided a certain material guarantee for poor citizens to participate in political power management.
(4) Limit the scope of obtaining Athenian citizenship. 45 1 year stipulates that only those whose parents are citizens of Athens can obtain Athenian citizenship.
After Pericles's painstaking efforts, the slave-owner democracy in Athens became more and more complete.