(2) Improve political and military efficiency and prepare for resisting Persia. After the tyrant politics was overthrown, most people in the aristocratic parliament were supporters of the tyrant. They can not only attract cronies to influence the consul election, but also serve as consuls themselves. The consuls in 5 10 BC, Scarmendrios in 509 BC, Risagras in 508 BC and Isagoras in 508 BC were all related to tyrants. In 496 BC, Chipard Kush, a relative of the tyrant, was elected consul. At this time, it has been 10 years since Cristini's reform, which shows that the pro-tyrant faction still has some influence. Their activities first ran counter to the trend of democratization in Athens after Cristini's reform. If they collude with the fugitive tyrant Scipio, it will affect Athens' anti-Persian plan. By drawing lots, it is an effective way to improve the enthusiasm of non-noble members of the five hundred knights to participate in the election, expand their chances of being elected, and gradually change the composition of the consul and even the aristocratic parliament. For the same purpose, in 488 BC, the Athenians also introduced the exile law of pottery pieces that had been put on hold for many years. The two-pronged approach is enough to show the seriousness of the situation at that time. In addition, the marathon campaign made the Athenians realize the importance of improving political and military efficiency. Before the reform, the consul of 10 and the general of 10 were directly elected, and the functions of the two institutions also overlapped. The difference is that generals can be re-elected, but consuls can only serve 1 year. Athens will face the invasion of powerful Persian enemies in the future, and war will become the theme of city-state life. A general with certain military skills can not only improve the chances of success, but also ensure the continuity of policies. The current situation pushed the general to the front of Athens politics, and this result was at the expense of the decline of the consul's power. After the archon was drawn by lot, the power and honor of the official position itself decreased with the decrease of the requirement for his ability, and it was no longer the goal pursued by the most capable people in the city-state. This is the essence of this reform, and it is also the biggest difference from Solon's reform of consul election, because Solon mainly used lottery to help the rich enter the consul group that has been monopolized by nobles, and the position of consul was not affected, and it remained the highest office of the city-state. After this reform, the generals became hot figures, not only taking over the military power of the consuls, but also gradually replacing their chief position in internal affairs. Therefore, the reform in 487 BC was the beginning of the power transfer between generals and consuls, and once this process started, it developed in an accelerated form. Judging from the content of the reform, this reform contains some new factors. After Cristini's reform, the idea of equality began to appear and develop in Athens. But as far as consuls are concerned, the 10 tribe has always elected nine consuls, which means that there must always be a tribe willing to play the role of foil. Therefore, in this reform, the Athenians set up the position of secretary of the judicial consul, and the consul committee was composed of 10 people to ensure that each tribe had its own representatives. But the problem still exists. Imagine one tribe serving as a senior official in succession and another tribe serving as a secretary in succession. Although each tribe has representatives, it is inevitable that there will be objections. In view of this, the Athenians introduced the principle of rotation into the electoral mechanism while adding official positions. On the basis of ensuring that each tribe is represented, it is stipulated that each consul should come from a different tribe every year, that is, 10 is a cycle, and members of the same tribe cannot hold the same post twice. This principle is probably realized by drawing lots. In the first year of each cycle, 10 tribe draws lots: the first round draws officials; In the second round, the other nine tribes elected the king's consul, and so on. In the next eight years, every time an official position is decided by drawing lots, the tribes who have held this official position will be excluded, so nine tribes will participate in the first round of drawing lots. In the last year of 10, it is self-evident which position each tribe should take, and there is no need to draw lots. Tribal representation principle and rotation principle ensure equality among tribes, and lottery ensures equal opportunities among candidates. Therefore, this reform embodies an important concept of democratic politics-equality, which is an important step taken by Athens on the road to democracy.
In 487 BC, the reform of consul election was not accompanied by the change of official qualifications. The qualified people were still limited to the first two grades, but the use of lottery prepared conditions for the consul to expand to a wider range. According to the law of In 457 Bc, the third rank can also serve as consul. This provision should have been the proper meaning after the archon's status was reduced, but from Aristotle's words, it is more likely to be an expedient measure in Athens. This year, Athens was caught in a two-front battle with Persia and Sparta, and asked the third-level infantry to be continuously supplemented, probably to improve their fighting enthusiasm, so the official ignored the legal provisions and allowed them to serve as consuls. Perhaps by the end of the 5th century BC, the fourth-level running for consul was acquiesced. At this time, although Solon's property qualification was not officially abolished, it was no longer strictly enforced. From direct election to pure lottery, the evolution of the consul election system has gone through a long three centuries. This process is not only a microcosm of the change of consul's power, but also a microcosm of the democratization process in Athens. It didn't go straight, but it had twists and turns: at first, the consul was the highest office of the city-state, and the nobles gave his appointment right to his spokesman, the aristocratic parliament, which formed a monopoly on the consul. Solon introduced the lottery to the consul election for the first time, which expanded the qualification of being an official and broke the aristocratic monopoly, but did not shake the position of the consul. In order to maintain the rule, the tyrant changed the lottery election to direct election, and the consul was controlled by the tyrant. After the reform, Cleisthenes's position was restored. In 487 BC, the lottery system was revived, and the status of the consul declined irretrievably. At the end of 5th century BC, the combination of election and lottery was replaced by double lottery, and the consul was reduced from the highest official position in the city-state to an ordinary official position open to almost all citizens. From this process, we can see that the Athenians realized the increasing popularity of consuls mainly by changing the electoral system. Under the impact of Ephialtes reform in 462 BC and several consul reforms, the aristocratic parliament, which was closely related to it, was no longer the spokesman of the nobility. After the baptism of the wave of democracy in the 5th century BC, the consul and the aristocratic parliament, which used to be the fortress of nobility, were finally democratized.