ABSTRACT
Themistocles’ condemnation c.469/8 had deprived his faction, the Athenian hawks (see Chapter 11), of a leader to pursue their twofold policy of opposition to Sparta and the advancement of democratic reform. The success of Cimon and the Athenian doves in the first half of the 460s was decisive, which meant that his opponents had to bide their time until an opportunity should arise when they could offer an effective challenge to him and his policies. The destruction of the Nine Ways colony in 465 and the long, unglamorous siege of Thasos from 465-463 (Thucydides 1.100.21.101.3; AE29 p. 21; AE39 p. 25) made Cimon less popular in the eyes of his fellow Athenians, and thus it is from this time that we can date the revival of the Athenian hawks and their plans for a full democracy. The leadership of this faction had fallen to Ephialtes, son of Sophonides, who was renowned for his incorruptibility and his upright character, and to his chief assistant, Pericles. Very little is known about Ephialtes, but the fact that he was a general (Plutarch, Cimon 13) at some time between 465 and 463 confirms that he was an upper-class Athenian and not a poor man, as reported in later sources. Ephialtes realized that the chief obstacle to the introduction of a full
democracy was the council of the ‘Areopagus’, the last bastion and stronghold of aristocratic power and privilege. Almost everything about this institution was undemocratic: membership was for life and was confined to the ex-archons, who came from the two richest classes and had been chosen by lot since 487; moreover, this institution had wide-ranging powers (Ath. Pol. 8.4 – see below) and, even more disturbing to the ‘radical’ democrats, was unaccountable as a body for the exercise of these powers. One of the pillars of democracy is that no public official or public institution should be above the law but must be accountable to the people for its actions. However, Ephialtes and Pericles decided that an immediate, direct assault upon the Areopagus would not yield the required result and that there was a need for a phased attack:
These successful prosecutions of individual Areopagites for maladministration helped to create a mood of distrust among the ordinary Athenians and lowered the Areopagus’ prestige. Then in 463 the ‘radical’ democrats made their most ambitious challenge to date by bringing a charge of corruption against Cimon, the leader of the ‘moderate’ democrats and the main supporter of the Areopagus (Plutarch, Cimon 14). All our sources attest to Cimon’s incorruptibility, and therefore Pericles’ prosecution has to be seen as a political manoeuvre to test Cimon’s political standing. A verdict of guilty would probably have paved the way for an immediate attack on the Areopagus. However, Cimon was still sufficiently popular to be acquitted but this case does reflect the growing confidence of the ‘radical’ democrats. Cimon’s success was short-lived. Although he won the debate in 462/1
against Ephialtes over the issue of supplying military help to the Spartans at Ithome (Plutarch, Cimon 16), he was disgraced by the Spartans’ rejection of the Athenians and his pro-Spartan foreign policy was discredited. This was the perfect opening for the ‘radical’ democrats not only to change Athenian foreign policy but also to pass their democratic reforms:
The fact that such an august, ancient and powerful institution could fall so easily and so totally from political power marks the remarkable change in the people’s attitudes and confidence. Cleisthenes’ reforms of 508 had given the people the means to gain political experience, both in the ‘demes’ at local level and in the Ecclesia at national level. They had matured politically and had grown used to direct power and involvement in the political process. Therefore the position of the undemocratic Areopagus looked completely out of date in a modern, forward-looking state and thus its central role in Athenian politics had to be removed. The proof that the Athenians were ready to govern themselves was that no new major institutions were created to take over from the Areopagus. The three key institutions of the ‘Ecclesia’ (Assembly), the ‘Heliaea’ (People’s Court) and the Boule of 500 (Council of 500), all of which were controlled by the Athenian people, were considered to be sufficient and effective enough to govern Athens.
