State system of ancient Greece. ancient city-states

The choice of religion by a people is always determined by its rulers. The true religion is always the one professed by the sovereign; true god- that is the god whom the sovereign orders to worship; thus, the will of the clergy, which leads the sovereigns, always turns out to be the will of God himself.

From the Dark Ages - a period of decline that came in the XI-IX centuries. BC e. - Hellas carried the seeds of a new state system. From the first kingdoms there remained a placer of villages that fed the nearest city - the center of public life, a market and a refuge during the war. Together they constituted a city-state ("polis"). The largest policies were Athens, Sparta, Corinth and Thebes.

Athens and Sparta

If Athens can be called a stronghold of democracy, then Sparta was rightfully considered the center of the oligarchy. Sparta distinguished whole line and other features.

In most Greek states, the percentage of slaves to free citizens was quite low, while the Spartans lived as a "master race" surrounded by a superior number of potentially dangerous helot slaves. To maintain their dominance, the entire people of Sparta was turned into a caste of warriors, who from early childhood were taught to endure pain and live in the barracks of ancient Greece.

Although the Greeks were ardent patriots of their cities, they recognized that they were one people - the Hellenes. They were united by the poetry of Homer, belief in the all-powerful Zeus and other Olympian gods, and the cult of the development of mental and physical abilities, the expression of which was the Olympic Games. In addition, the Greeks, who honored the rule of law, felt their difference from other peoples, whom they indiscriminately dubbed "barbarians." Both under democracy and in oligarchic policies, everyone had legal rights, and a citizen could not be deprived of his life at the whim of the emperor - unlike, for example, the Persians, whom the Greeks considered barbarians.

However, the Persian expansion, which began in the VI century BC. e. and directed against the peoples Ancient Greece and Asia Minor, seemed inevitable. However, the Persians were not particularly interested in the lands of the Greeks - poor and remote on the other side of the Aegean until Athens supported the Asian Greeks who rebelled against Persian rule. The uprising was crushed, and in 490 BC. Persian king Darius sent troops to take revenge on Athens. However, the Athenians won a landslide victory at the Battle of Marathon - 42 km from Athens. In memory of the feat of the messenger, who ran all this distance without stopping, in order to quickly announce the joyful bear, a marathon was included in the program of the Olympic Games.

Ten years later, Darius' son and successor, Xerxes, staged a much larger attack. He ordered to line up his ships in a row, forming a bridge across the Hellespont Strait, dividing Asia Minor and Europe (the current Dardanelles), through which his huge army passed. In the face of a common threat, the Greek cities were forced to unite. State system of ancient Greece. The army of Xerxes came from the north, and the Greeks, who gathered troops from different cities, accomplished a real feat, putting a barrier in the way of the Persians. King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans gave their lives trying to hold the narrow Thermopylae Gorge as long as possible.

Unfortunately, the death of the Spartans was in vain, since Ancient Greece still fell under the onslaught of the enemy. The inhabitants of Athens were evacuated, and the invaders burned all the temples in the Acropolis. Although a year before the war, the leader of the Athenians, Themistocles, seriously strengthened the fleet, in terms of the number of ships, he was hopelessly inferior to the superior forces of the Persians and the Phoenicians they had conquered. But Themistocles managed to drive the Persian armada into the narrow Strait of Salamis, where it was unable to maneuver. This caused panic in the ranks of the Persians and allowed the Greeks to completely defeat the enemy fleet.

Prerequisites and conditions for the formation of the policy system

The process of forming the policy stretched for a total of half a millennium. No less long was the period of decay of this organism. Thus, the history of the policy is essentially the history of all antiquity. And although the policy was preceded by certain old social structures, and its collapse gave rise to new ones, all of them in one way or another had either the same policy as their end result or starting point.

The formation of the policy was the result of a long development of the Greek civilization, and the origins of this phenomenon should be sought in ancient times - even in the Cretan-Mycenaean era. Researchers find the roots of the polis system in the original social cell of antiquity - the rural community and in the main principle of its development in the west - the interaction of the communal and private ownership principles. The rational impulse for the subsequent formation of this community was epic wisdom, and the representatives of the ancient nobility, rooted in the heroic Mycenaean time, became the bearers of this impulse.

The main reasons that brought the policy to life, and at the same time the factors of its initial development and formation, were:

1. Iron. Its development and wide use just falls on the designated period of formation of the policy. The use of iron created the prerequisites for the emergence of a more complex economy, dynamic commodity production, which set a faster pace of economic and social development than a conservative subsistence economy. Iron literally revolutionized the entire economic and social life towards individualization and democracy: in the economy - towards the development of a viable economy of small and medium-sized peasants and artisans, and in the socio-political sphere - towards strengthening the military power and the political role of the militia of farmers armed with iron weapons - hoplites, who replaced the aristocratic cavalry.

2. external factor. The development of Greece at that time took place without outside interference: the clashes between the ancient Eastern powers, which abounded in the first half of the 1st millennium BC, put off for a long time the intervention of the Eastern despotism in Greek affairs.

3. natural conditions. The landscape of Greece and the absence of large rivers on the Balkan Peninsula did not require the creation of a strong central government with a large administrative apparatus that directs all economic life. The Mycenaean palaces with their bureaucracy remained only an episode and were swept away by the Dorian invasion, so the communities in Greece developed independently, without pressure and interference in their economic, social and public life.

4. social wisdom the ancient Greeks, expressed in the originality of the struggle of the main part of the community members (demos) with the tribal nobility (aristocracy). In this struggle, in principle, there were no winners and losers, but a unique social compromise was reached, according to which both sides agreed to a new social order provided by foreign slaves. Although the demos crushed the domination of the aristocracy, he himself made concessions to the carriers of the principles of nobility and wealth, thanks to which the principles of legality and harmony were established in society.

5. Great Greek colonization. This peculiar historical phenomenon was generated by the development of the emerging policy and became one of the most important factors in the spread of the policy around the world, as well as one of the ways to resolve intra-polis problems. Through colonization, the Greeks were able to defuse the escalating social situation and strike a balance between the size of the population and the size of the territory in which this population could exist.

The transition of Greek society from the tribal system to the polis took place along three main lines that were closely interconnected:

from a rural communal settlement to a city as a trade, craft, administrative, cultural and religious center;

from the decaying late tribal society to the class society of the ancient type, in which the civil collective was clearly distinguished from the mass of disenfranchised slaves and inferior foreigners;

from the power of the local basileus kings, who relied on a narrow layer of the tribal aristocracy, to a correct democratic state, controlled directly by a sovereign people - citizens.

In the historiography of modern and recent times, scientists expressed a variety of views on the origin of the policy, its nature and essence. In the XX century. the theme of the policy became essentially the leading one in the study of antiquity.

The main features of the policy as a historical phenomenon are considered to be:

1. The dual, contradictory nature of property, when public (polis) and private (individual) property coexist within the same structure, and, as Aristotle noted, the public principle must have a relative value, and the private one must have an unconditional one. The polis, as a collective of citizens, being the supreme owner, carefully observed the movement land ownership: he could establish a land maximum, oversee the inheritance of land, limit the rights of owners to dispose of it. The policy acted not only as the supreme owner, having the right to intervene in property relations, but also as a guarantor of the landed property of individual citizens, up to the allocation of land to landless citizens from the public fund.

2. Coincidence, in principle, of the political collective with the collective of landowners, that is, the mutual conditionality of civil status and land ownership. this meant that only the citizens of the policy had the right to a piece of land within the boundaries of the policy territory. Thus, in antiquity there is a coincidence of the territory of the policy with the land owned by citizens. The loss of a piece of land for one reason or another often led to the loss of civil rights. Therefore, the citizen of the policy was ready to lose everything in case of need, but not his plot. In addition, the possession of a plot of land was an indispensable condition for social prestige. It should be noted that in some policies there was a relationship between the size of the land plot and the amount of political rights. Such a dependence was established, for example, by Solon in Athens, determining the degree of full rights of a citizen by the amount of income from his land plot.

3. A sharp contrast between citizens of the polis and non-citizens (foreigners) and slaves, who were formally outside the polis organism, but actually ensured its existence and well-being. The political and legal line between the members of the policy and persons outside it was reinforced in some policies by the prohibition to enslave citizens.

4. The general trend of ancient policies towards democracy, which was determined by the mutual conditionality of property rights and civil status and the coincidence in principle of social and political structures. This led to the fact that fellow citizens were (ideally) absolutely equal accomplices political life and sovereignty belonged to the people's assembly of full-fledged citizens (they were also land owners with the ensuing feeling of equal treatment of each other). The connection between the citizen and the state was direct, and this led either to the absence of a bureaucratic apparatus, or to the reduction of bureaucratic structures to a minimum.

5. More or less complete coincidence of political and military organization. The citizen-owner was at the same time a warrior, ensuring the inviolability of the property of the policy and, thereby, his own property. The army of the policy, in principle, was a nationwide militia, serving in which was the duty and privilege of a citizen.

6. The tendency towards simple reproduction of the polis, both economically and socially, whereby the polis was interested in maintaining at least a relative homogeneity of the civil collective, in which neither excessive wealth nor extreme poverty were desirable. In an effort to maintain stability, the policy focused on the "middle class" and regularly carried out a certain redistribution of wealth within the civil collective, imposing duties (liturgies) on the rich and "feeding" the poor by distributing food and organizing spectacles and public events.

7. The presence of a special policy ideology, in which the policy itself is the highest value and which has a certain traditional and conservative orientation.

8. Relatively small size of the civil collective and territory. So, Plato calculated that in an ideal policy there should be 5040 citizens, and Aristotle noted that both the population and the territory of the policy should be "easily visible".

Law in Ancient Greece.

It is usually considered on the example of Athens, for which there are the most written sources.

The sources of law in ancient Athens were the customs, the lawmaking of the supreme authorities of the policy, the laws of Draco, the reforms of Solon. In the V-IV centuries. BC main source - the laws adopted by the people's assembly.

Ownership and obligations. Property was divided into policy and private. Possession was considered as the actual possession of property and possession with the right to dispose. The Greeks also divided property into “visible” (land) and “invisible” (money). "Invisible" was more profitable, because. the rich with "visible" property carried liturgies in favor of the policy.

There were obligations from contracts and from causing harm (“free” and “involuntary”). The fulfillment of the contract assumed a deposit (in case of violation, the buyer lost his deposit, and the seller had to pay a double amount in case of violation of the contract). The guarantee agreement was provided with material guarantees. In Athens, the Pledge of Land was distributed in the form mortgages: the land was in the use of the debtor, but if the debt was not paid, he lost it.

There were loan agreements (at 20%), property lease (movables and real estate, especially among meteks), and personal hire. The partnership agreement assumed the division of all income and losses under the agreement and in proportion to the contribution.

Liabilities from infliction of harm arose when damage was caused to property and assumed compensation for losses. If the harm was caused intentionally, double damages were required. Responsibility came even when damage to property was caused as a result of the actions of subordinate persons (slaves). A slave could be given to a new owner as compensation for damages. If harm was caused to a person, then responsibility as for a crime.

Family law. Celibacy was morally condemned. Marriage was concluded by contract, with a payment for the bride usually being assumed. The dowry was not considered the property of the wife in all cases. Polygamy was not allowed. The woman was under the authority of her father and husband and was in a humble position. Divorce was free for the husband and difficult for the wife. The power of the father over the children was absolute until the reforms of Solon, but even then significant. The father had the right to disinherit his son.

Criminal law. There were crimes against the individual and against the state. The accusation was initiated either by the victim or interested parties. There was a list of crimes. Punishment in most cases involved compensation for harm or a double fine. The most serious crimes carried the death penalty. For certain crimes, it was possible to be punished in the form of slavery (including a recidivist thief). Confiscation of property and exile also appear as punishments. Corporal punishment was used against slaves. There was a specific punishment - atymia (disgrace)- deprivation of political rights. Despite the democratic system in Athens, sycophants were common - scammers, but they could be prosecuted for a false accusation.

The emergence and development of the state and one of its main functions, the court, can be traced by studying the history of any people in that era when it goes from a classless tribal system to the first class stratification. Ancient Greece and later Ancient Rome are of particular interest in this regard, because the culture of all European peoples is closely connected with their culture, a number of legal forms modernity is rooted in ancient Greek and Roman institutions; finally, the legal formulas and aphorisms of antiquity have survived to this day. “Without slavery,” notes Engels, “there would be no Greek state, no Greek art and science; without slavery there would be no Rome. And without the foundation laid by Greece and Rome, there would also be no modern Europe. In his work The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, Engels indicated, in addition, three reasons that attract special attention of researchers to the history of ancient Greece and are of paramount importance for the history of the court and process: “The emergence of the state among the Athenians is an extremely typical example the formation of the state in general, because, on the one hand, it takes place in pure form, without any intervention of external or internal violence, ... on the other hand, because in this case a very developed form of the state, a democratic republic, arises directly from a tribal society and, finally, because. that we are sufficiently aware of all the essential details of the formation of this state” 80. The phratry of the ancient Greeks depicted in the Homeric poems (that is, the original clan, uniting several daughter clans separated from it) was both a military unit and the guardian of common shrines and festivities. She also performed the duty of blood feud, and later had the function of prosecution for the murder of her comrade. Several related phratries form a tribe; tribes are further united into small nationalities. The population increased with the growth of productive forces. But at the same time, property differences grew, and with them the aristocratic element within the ancient primitive democracy. This was facilitated by the expansion of slavery of prisoners of war against the backdrop of continuous tribal wars for the best land . Heroic Greece, known to us from Homeric poems, was in its social structure at the dawn of a new period compared to the old tribal system, at the beginning of a transitional era with its special form of political ties in a gradually emerging class society. 81 The organization of the social structure of this period was as follows. The permanent organs of power were the council, which consisted of the elders of the clans, the people's assembly (agora), and the commander-basiles. The basilei, in addition to the military, also had priestly and judicial functions. The process that disintegrated this initial classless military democracy, based on the equality of citizens, was the formation of a layer of wealthier families with others, lived in their territories. Naturally, the existing management system no longer corresponded to the prevailing situation. The reform attributed to the mythical Theseus, dividing the people regardless of clan, phratry, tribe into three classes: noble eupatrides, agricultural geomorians, craftsmen-demiurges, finally severed intra-clan social relations. Outside the gentes, a privileged noble class formed. “... The first attempt to form a state consists in breaking ancestral ties by dividing the members of each clan into privileged and unprivileged, and the latter, in turn, into two classes according to their craft, thus opposing them one to the other” To gradually noble ( eupatrides, aristocrats) limit the power of tribal basilei, reducing their role to certain religious and honorary functions and increasingly concentrating public power in their hands. “The post of basileus has lost its significance; archons elected from among the nobles became the head of the state” 83. In Athens, 9 archons were elected annually exclusively from the aristocracy. The Areopagus (council of elders) now began to be replenished at the expense of the former archons, he concentrated the fullness of power in his hands. The role of the people's assembly was insignificant. The increased power of the aristocracy dispossessed ordinary landowners. Some of them were turned into tenants of their former possessions, pledged to wealthy aristocrats, and some, as unpaid debtors, fell into slavery. According to Plutarch, “... all the people were indebted to the rich, as they cultivated their land, paying for this a sixth of the harvest. , or, making loans, was subject to personal bondage from his creditors, and some were slaves in their homeland, others were sold abroad. Many even had to sell their own children (not a single law forbade this) or flee from the fatherland due to the cruelty of creditors. was an interpretation of tribal customs. On the other hand, an urban, trade and handicraft class is emerging, demanding a certain political role for itself. The struggle of the enslaved peasantry and the emerging class of merchant-navigators against the dominance of the tribal, landed aristocracy leads to a number of revolutionary clashes. The episodes of this struggle are the legislation of individuals who were entrusted with the writing of laws (Dracon in Athens, Zaleukos in Locri, etc.). Usually, it was not a question of writing new laws, but of writing in the form of a law the existing custom, in the preservation of which the oppressed masses saw some guarantee against the arbitrariness of aristocrats. Therefore, the semi-mythical Zaleucus, who expressed the interests of the peasant masses and himself a former shepherd and even a slave, according to legend, protected his laws from changes with excessive severity. It was established by him that anyone who proposed a change in the law had to appear with a rope around his neck in the assembly of the people discussing the proposal. If the proposal was rejected, he was immediately strangled. Otherwise, those who defended the old law on behalf of the state were subjected to the same fate. In Athens, the first record of customary law was entrusted during the archonship of Aristechmus (c. 621 BC) to Draco. This record has come down to us only in the part relating to manslaughter. But according to the testimony of ancient authors, the laws of Draco were extremely cruel. 4th century orator Demad said they were written in blood. So, for theft, regardless of the value of the stolen, the death penalty was imposed. The law on manslaughter is interesting in two respects. First, he testified to the development of the idea of ​​responsibility: not every deprivation of life required bloody retribution, as it was in more ancient time (“blood for blood”), but only intentionally. Secondly, this law emphasizes the generic nature of ancient revenge and, at the same time, a departure from it. The law allows the relatives of the murdered to accept a ransom in cases of unintentional deprivation of life. But if at least one of the relatives does not agree to accept the ransom, the relatives must pursue the murderer before the assembly. The punishment was in such cases expulsion*. However, the record of customary law turned out to be a weak guarantee against the arbitrariness of the aristocracy. New economic and social relations, the stratification of society into classes and the growing antagonism between free and slaves (slavery had long lost its former patriarchal character) required a change in the old customary law, which largely retained the features inherent in a tribal society. In 594 Archon Solon was entrusted with the drafting of new laws. Under strong pressure from the demos, he carried out a number of reforms: the destruction of debt bondage, the prohibition of the sale of Athenian citizens into slavery for debts, and the abolition of land debts that weighed on the peasants. The political transformation carried out by Solon consisted in the division of all citizens on the basis of a property qualification into four classes. The first included landowners with an income of at least 500 medimns of grain; in the second - at least 300 medimns, in the third - with an income of at least 200 medimns, and in the fourth - landowners with a lower income and persons who do not own land at all. Citizens of the first two classes enjoyed full political rights and carried out state duties that required the greatest expenses. In particular, first-class citizens had to build costly ships; citizens of the second - to serve in the cavalry; the citizens of the third were heavily armed infantry at their own expense; fourth-class citizens served in the lightly armed infantry. All positions were filled by representatives of only the first three classes, and the highest positions - only by representatives of the first class, the fourth class had the right to speak and vote in the people's assembly. The functions of the people's assembly included the election of officials, the adoption of reports on their activities, and the approval of laws. Under Solon, the rights of the Areopagus were limited by the establishment of a council of four hundred. Solon's reforms did not satisfy either the peasantry, which did not achieve a redistribution of the land, or the aristocracy, dissatisfied with the cancellation of debts and the loss of their dominant position. The class struggle in Athens continued throughout the sixth century. BC e. Around 560 BC e. Pisistratus seized power in Athens, acting as a representative of the peasant masses. Their fragmentation and disorganization led to the creation of the sole power of Pisistratus as a "leader" (the tyranny of Lysistratus). A number of his measures were directed against the aristocracy: the confiscation of land and distribution to the peasants, the organization of affordable credit for them and the creation of traveling courts. However, the tyrannical power was short-lived. Shortly after the death of Peisistratus, one of his sons was killed and the other had to flee. The ensuing attempt by the aristocracy to seize power provoked an uprising of the people. The “Revolution of Cleisthenes” (509 BC) overthrew the aristocracy, and with it the remnants of the tribal system. The new constitution was based on the division of the people exclusively according to the place of permanent residence. 10 phyla were established, divided into one hundred self-governing communal districts - dems. The inhabitants of each deme chose their own elder, treasurer, and thirty judges to adjudicate petty cases. Based on this division, new central bodies were created. The Council of Five Hundred (Bule), in which each phyla elected fifty members. Being also a military unit, each phylum chose a strategist who commanded all its military forces. The College of 10 strategists concentrated the military functions of the state, and later the functions of the highest executive power. The People's Assembly held the supreme power in issuing laws and governing, every Athenian citizen enjoyed the right to vote in it. Archons and other officials were in charge of various branches of administration and court cases. To protect the new system, a special procedure was established for the expulsion from the state for a period of 10 years of persons who would be recognized as dangerous by the popular assembly (“ostracism”) 86. The Cleisthenes Revolution completed the formation of the Athenian state. The form of this state is characterized by the fact that, as a result of the brutal rebuff of the enslaved masses, the attempts of the landowning aristocracy to create "their own state" are defeated by democratic elements: power is seized by the city leaders, merchants, industrialists, navigators, and a more progressive form of slave-owning society is created, the political embodiment of which is a democratic republic. The second form of the Greek state - Spartan, is characterized by the preservation of power in the hands of the former landed aristocracy, forced, however, to limit bondage and preserve the collective institutions of military democracy. Small settlements of Lacedaemonian slave owners merge to keep a huge number of slaves (helots) under their control. Thus was created the most backward, stagnant form of slave-owning society. Its political embodiment was the aristocratic republic. But regardless of the form of government, by its very essence, the ancient Greek city-state was, first of all, a politically formed collective of slave owners, a special apparatus for the oppression of slaves. What was the criminal court during the formation of the state? This period is characterized by two features: the preservation of old, archaic forms of conflict resolution (settlement of litigation in the national assembly, the Areopagus, duel, ordeals, oath) and the emergence of the court as a special body of state power, not associated with the old tribal institutions.

According to modern science, the first state formations on the territory of the Balkan Peninsula were already known in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e. Previously, a class society and state organization had developed on the island of Crete and in Mycenae. Therefore, the period of the creation of the first states in Greece is called the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization. The order of government in Crete and Mycenae was reminiscent of Eastern states: theocracy, palace system management. The end of the Crete-Mycenaean civilization was marked by the arrival of the Dorians to the south of Greece from the north. As a result, primitive communal relations are re-established throughout Greece, after the decomposition of which in the history of Greece begins new stage: the formation and flourishing of policies, slave-owning relations of the classical type.

The polis stage of the history of ancient Greece is divided into three periods:

1. The Homeric period (XI-IX centuries BC), characterized by the dominance of tribal relations, which begin to disintegrate towards the end of this period.

2. The archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC), within which a class society and a state are formed in the form of policies.

3. The classical period (V-IV centuries BC) was marked by the flourishing of the ancient Greek slave-owning state, the polis system.

Greek policy as a sovereign state with a peculiar socio-economic and political structure to the 4th c. BC e. exhausted its possibilities and entered a period of crisis, which could only be overcome by creating new state formations. They were those that arose at the end of the 4th century. BC e. Hellenistic states. They were formed as a result of the conquest of Attica by Alexander the Great and the further collapse of his "world" empire. Thus, the Hellenistic states combined the beginnings of the Greek polis system and ancient Eastern society and opened a new stage of ancient Greek history, deeply different from the previous polis.

Homeric Greece

Picture of this stage in the history of Ancient Greece can be compiled from the poems of the famous poet "Iliad" and "Odyssey". At this time, the population was united in rather primitive rural communities, occupying a small area and almost isolated from neighboring communities. The political and economic center of the community was a settlement called the city. The bulk of the population of the city - farmers, cattle breeders, very few artisans and merchants.

At that time, the land was still tribal property and was formally provided to members of the clans only for use on conditions of periodic redistribution. However, the allotments of representatives of the noble and rich differ in size and quality, and the basileus (tribal leaders) receive another special allotment - temenos. At the same time, the sources also name such peasants who had no land at all. It is possible that, having no means for farming, these community members gave their land to the rich.


The Homeric period is the period of military democracy. There was no state yet, and the management of society was carried out with the help of the following bodies.

The permanent body of power was the council of elders - bule. But this was not a council of the elderly, but of the most prominent representatives of the tribal nobility. Primitive democracy was still "preserved, and the People's Assemblies played public organization significant role. The organization was headed by a basileus - at the same time the commander of the tribe, the supreme judge and the high priest. In fact, he acted in conjunction with representatives of the tribal nobility. The post of basileus was elective, but over time, when replacing it, preference was given to the son of the deceased basileus, and the position was fixed as hereditary.

Thus, Homeric Greece was fragmented into many small self-governing districts; it was from them that the first city-states - policies - were subsequently formed.

The historical development of Ancient Greece at the turn of the 9th-8th centuries. BC e. characterized by profound changes. The tribal system is being replaced by the slave system, which is accompanied by the development of the institution of private property. Many ordinary farmers are deprived of their allotments, which are concentrated in the hands of the tribal nobility. A large land holding is being formed. Debt bondage is born. The development of handicraft production and trade accelerated the process of social and property stratification.

The ancient community organization, which maintained blood relations between its members, ceases to meet the needs of the time. Everywhere in Greece VIII-VI centuries. BC e. there is a merger of several small previously isolated communities located close to each other (sinoikism). The ancient forms of the association of clans - phyla and phratries - continue to retain their significance in these associations for some time, but soon give way to new divisions based on property and territorial characteristics. So, on the basis of tribal and rural communities, new socio-political organisms arose - policies. The formation of an early slave-owning society and the state in the form of a polis system constitutes the content historical development Ancient Greece in the archaic period.

In the history of ancient Greece, two policies played an important role: Athens and Sparta. At the same time, the political system of Athens can be called an example of slave-owning democracy, while the political organization of Sparta became the standard of the oligarchy.

Slave state in Athens

Theseus' reforms. The legend connects the formation of the Athenian state with the name of the Greek hero Theseus. Among the activities carried out by Theseus and which led to the formation of the state, the first was the unification of three tribes with a center in Athens. To manage the general affairs of the new formation, a council was created, to which some of the affairs that were previously under the jurisdiction of individual tribes were transferred.

The following transformations were expressed in the design of separate social groups. The tribal nobility, having finally secured their privileges, created a special group of the population - eupatrides, who were granted the exclusive right to fill positions. Most of the population were geomors (farmers), a group of artisans - demiurges - stood out. A significant part of the population were meteks - people from other communities living in Athens. Being personally free, they did not enjoy political rights and were limited in economic rights (they were forbidden to own land in Attica and have their own houses, in addition, they paid a special tax).

These transformations were the first steps towards the creation of the Athenian state. Of course, these were gradual and lengthy processes.

Archons and the Areopagus. The next step towards the formation of the state was the destruction of the power of the basileus in its former meaning and the establishment of a new position - the archon. At first, the archons were elected for life, then for 10 years. From 683 BC e. 9 archons began to be elected annually. One of them - the first archon, after whom the year was called, was at the head of the collegium and had the authority to oversee the internal administration and judicial authority in family matters. Basileus, who became the second archon, performed priestly, as well as judicial functions in religious matters. The military power passed to the third archon - the polymarch. The remaining six archons-thesmothetes performed mainly judicial functions.

At the end of their term of office, the archons entered the Areopagus - the highest state council, which replaced the council of elders. The Areopagus was the guardian of traditions, the highest judicial and controlling body. Only eupatrides could be archons and members of the Areopagus. Thus, these were aristocratic institutions.

Later, with the formation of the fleet, the country was divided into small territorial districts - naukraria, each of which was supposed to equip one ship for the fleet. At the head of the scienceraria was a prytan. Thus, there is a division of the population on a territorial basis and a new authority arises, not associated with a tribal organization.

So, the archaic period is marked by the creation of the Athenian state. This process was accompanied by the growth of contradictions, both economic and political. By the 7th century BC e. in Athens, the power of the tribal aristocracy was consolidated. The National Assembly did not play any significant role. All the most important issues were decided by the college of archons and the Areopagus. The best and largest plots of land were concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy. Many peasants became dependent on large landowners. Society split into aristocracy and demos (people of humble origin), among whom were many wealthy people: wealthy shipowners, owners of craft workshops, merchants, bankers. Deprived of political rights, they begin to fight for participation in governance. This leads to a disturbance of the public peace, and when the disturbances go too far, a tyrant is appointed with full power.

So, in 621 BC. e. Drakont, famous for his cruel laws, was proclaimed a tyrant. Drakon's writing of customary law testifies to a concession on the part of the aristocracy, who used the unwritten law to their advantage.

By the beginning of the VI century. BC e. contradictions in society went so far that there was a threat of civil war. Under these conditions, in 594 BC. e. Solon is elected archon-polemarch. He came from a noble but impoverished family. Engaged in the grain trade, Solon amassed a significant fortune. Thus, this person was close both to the aristocracy (by origin) and to the demos (by occupation). Both of them pinned their hopes on him.

Solon's reforms. Solon received emergency powers to change the existing order.

Solon's first and largest reform was the sisachphia ("shaking off the burden"). She released a lot of debtors, who were in large numbers in Attica. In addition, personal bondage, the sale of insolvent debtors for debts into slavery, was henceforth prohibited. Debtors sold into slavery outside Attica were to be redeemed at public expense and returned to their homeland. The historical significance of the abolition of debt bondage was that further development slavery was no longer due to a reduction in the number of free members of society, which undermined the foundations of its social and economic life, but due to the importation of foreign slaves.

In addition to the sisachphia, Solon issued a law limiting land ownership (the maximum size of land plots was established). At the same time, freedom of will was proclaimed. Now the land could be mortgaged and alienated for legal basis under the guise of a will. This contributed to the development of private ownership of land and inevitably led to further dispossession of the poor.

Solon carried out a number of measures aimed at improving the financial situation of the demos: the export of olive oil for a potato pan was allowed and the export of bread was prohibited, the development of crafts was encouraged, and a monetary reform was carried out.

The central place among the transformations of Solon is occupied by political reforms who dealt another blow to the tribal system. The most important of these is the timocratic, or qualification, reform. All Athenian citizens, regardless of origin, were divided by property into four categories. As a unit of income, a measure of capacity was adopted, which was used for grain - medimn (52.5 kg).

Anyone who received from his land 500 medimns in the aggregate of dry and liquid products was assigned to the first category - pentakosiomedimnov (five hundred); those who receive 300 medimns of annual income or are able to keep a warhorse belonged to the riders. Those who received 200 medimns of annual income belonged to the category of Zevgits. Zeugites (peasants) were the largest group. They formed the basis of the Athenian militia. All the rest were classified as feta. This reform legislated the division of society that had already developed by that time.

The division of the population into ranks according to property was of political importance, since each rank was given a certain level of political rights. Representatives of the first category had the most complete political rights: they could hold any position. Horsemen and zeugites could not be elected archons. Feta had only the right to elect officials in the People's Assembly, but they themselves could not be elected. Responsibilities were distributed in proportion to the rights. A tax was imposed on annual income. The higher the class, the higher the tax paid in state treasury. Feta were exempt from tax.

Solon retained the division of Athenian society into four tribes - phyla and created on the basis of this division a new state body - the Council of Four Hundred. He was elected annually from citizens of the first three categories, 100 people from each tribe. The Council of Four Hundred supervised the preparation of cases for discussion by the People's Assembly, and considered some current management affairs. The activities of the People's Assembly are activated; it discussed all important state affairs, passed laws. All adult Athenian citizens could take part in its work. Solon retained the Areopagus - the stronghold of the tribal aristocracy, which had the right to oversee the observance of laws and control the activities of the National Assembly.

Of great importance was the creation by Solon of a truly democratic body - heliei. Initially, it was a jury trial, whose members could be citizens of all four categories. Over time, the powers of the geliea will be expanded, and it will become the most massive and important political body.

According to contemporaries, Solon's reforms were of a half-hearted, compromise nature. Neither the demos nor the Eupatrides were satisfied with them. Solon himself, evaluating his own reforms, argued that "it is difficult to please everyone in these great deeds."

Today, evaluating the reforms of Solon, it is necessary to note their important role in the formation of the Athenian democratic state.

Tyranny of Pisistratus. After 22 years of reign, Solon left his post and, having secured the oath of the Athenians that they would not change his laws for 10 years, he left Athens. After his departure, the political struggle resumed. The aristocracy could not accept the admission to power of people, although rich, but not noble. Even before Solon came to power, three independent political parties had formed in Athens: coastal - included shipowners, merchants, port population; mountainous - peasants and hired workers; lowland - rich landowners. The names determined the places of residence. After Solon left the political arena, the old parties resumed their struggle. Peisistrat, an aristocrat by birth, became the head of the mountain. Later, he managed to attract the coastal ones to his side. This united movement of the two factions will later be called democratic. Relying on the demos, Peisistratus managed to assert his power and become a tyrant for 19 years.

Peisistratus retained the Solonian Constitution. All organs functioned as before. The economic policy of Pisistratus favored the class of small landowners: the state land and exiled aristocrats were distributed to the poor, public works were organized, cheap credit was given to the peasants, the institution of traveling judges was introduced, trade agreements were concluded with many states. Pisistratus introduced a permanent income tax, which was 10% of the crop, and then was reduced to 5%. In general, the policy of Peisistratus had positive influence on the development of Athenian society, since it was aimed at maintaining state order, social tranquility, and stimulated economic and cultural progress.

After the death of Pisistratus, power passed to his sons, who continued the policy of their father. However, the aristocrats removed from power, both those expelled from Athens and those who remained in them, did not leave the thought of overthrowing tyranny. At the end of the VI century. BC e. an unfavorable external situation developed for Athens. She contributed to the implementation of another conspiracy and the fall of the Peisistrati regime.

Reforms of Cleisthenes. In the elections held, Isagoras, a representative of the aristocracy, was elected chief archon. Cleisthenes, who lost to him, did much to bring down the tyranny of the Peisistrati, raised the people in revolt, deposed Isagoras, and proceeded to establish democracy. From this time begins the victorious procession of the Athenian

democracy. However, its social base is gradually narrowing. During the reign of Peisistratus, the class of small landowners grew stronger and began to move away from politics. Now the Democratic Party included mainly the coastal ones. In addition, the demos was still under the pressure of the aristocracy, since the meetings took place according to tribal phyla. The tribal organization united people who were different in their social status and who had completely different interests. Cleisthenes set the task of destroying these ties, ridding the demos of any influence from the aristocrats. In addition, he had in mind the destruction of the old political groups. These tasks were solved by introducing a new administrative division. As a result of the reform, Attica was divided into three territorial districts: the city of Athens with its suburbs, the inner central strip and the coastal strip. Each district consisted of 10 equal parts - trittia (there were a total of 30 trittia). Three trittia, one from each district, were combined into a phylum, and thus 10 territorial phyla were created. The smallest units were the demes, into which the tritium disintegrated. Each phylum included urban, coastal, and rural demes. Elections of central governing bodies took place according to phyla. The organization of new phyla eliminated any significance of tribal division for the state organization and predetermined the replacement of the Council of Four Hundred by the Council of Five Hundred (50 people from each phylum).

The demos had a system of self-government. At the head of the dema was an elected headman who convened a meeting of citizens of the dema and led this meeting, executed the decisions of the meeting, managed the local cash desk and collected various contributions, after the expiration of the term of office (1 year) he reported to the meeting. Lists of citizens were compiled according to demos. Thus, free foreigners living in the territory of one or another deme automatically became citizens of Athens.

Democracy acquired a new foothold, expanded its base at the expense of meteks - foreigners who lived in Athens.

Cleisthenes created a new body - the board of strategists, which included one representative from each phylum.

In order to save new order from attempts on him by enemies, such a measure as ostracism (“court of potsherds”) was introduced - the expulsion of individual citizens determined by secret ballot. At the same time, everyone who had the right to vote wrote on the shard the name of a person who seemed to him dangerous for the people. If the name of one person was repeated 6 thousand times, then the bearer of this name was subjected to exile for a period of 10 years without confiscation of property. In the future, ostracism was widely used in the political struggle.

The reforms of Cleisthenes were more consistent than those of Solon, and completed the period of struggle between the tribal aristocracy and the demos that lasted more than a century, ending in the victory of the latter. As a result, a slave-owning state took shape in Athens in the form of a democratic republic.

Athenian state in the 5th century. BC e.

Athenian Maritime Union. Fifth century BC e. started with the Greco-Persian Wars. The Achaemenid Empire, the largest and most powerful state of that time, threatened the very existence of the Greek policies. Of great importance for the victory over the Persians and the transformation of Athens into a maritime power was played by the maritime and financial reforms of the archon Themistocles. During his reign (at the beginning of the 5th century BC), a large income was received from silver mines. Usually these funds were distributed among citizens. Themistocles offered to transfer this money to the state for the construction of ships. This was the beginning of the Athenian budget and a large navy.

The victory over the Persians also became possible thanks to the unification of the Greek policies. Representatives of a number of Greek cities on the island

The Dalos entered into an alliance, called the Dalos Military Alliance. A single treasury was established, a single ground force and fleet were created. The affairs of the Union were managed by a council of representatives of all the cities - members of the Union. The supremacy of Athens in this Union was very soon designated, therefore it received the name of the First Athenian Maritime Union.

Gradually, the participation of other cities in the affairs of the Union was limited to making a certain contribution. These funds were transferred to the Athenians, who formed ground army and fleet. The Athenians won a series of brilliant victories over the Persians, which strengthened their power and ensured a leading role in the Union. Athens supported democratic orders in allied policies. In the cities that were part of the Athenian Maritime Union, there were identical systems of government.

In 454 BC. e. relations between Athens and their allies deteriorated. The general treasury, previously kept on the island of Dalos, was transferred to Athens and became part of the Athenian treasury itself. Athens began to spend allied money for their own needs, regardless of the opinion of the allies, the latter, in fact, turned into citizens of Athens. Some members of the Union opposed the hegemony of Athens, but these uprisings were put down.

In 449 BC. e. A victorious peace for the Greeks was concluded, which put an end to the Greco-Persian wars. Thus, the Athenian Maritime Union fulfilled its military task. But the Union was not limited to military tasks. It was an association not only military-political, but also economic, in particular, trade was successfully developing within the framework of the Union.

In 412 BC. e. a number of cities withdrew from the Athenian maritime union. In order to prevent its complete collapse, Athens took a number of measures: some cities received autonomy, the mandatory contribution to the general treasury was canceled, but this did not prolong the life of the Union for a long time. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War led to the demise of the First Athenian Maritime Union.

The Peloponnesian War, which determined the internal political development of Greece in the second half of the 5th century. BC e., is a war of two alliances: the Athenian sea and the Peloponnesian, led by Sparta. If Athens was a symbol of democracy, then Sparta personified the dominance of the aristocracy. Disagreements between the two largest Greek states concerned economic, political and social problems. The Peloponnesian War, one of the bloodiest wars on Greek soil, ended with the victory of Sparta. This ensured its hegemony among the Greek states. In order to confront Sparta in 378 BC. e. The Second Athenian Maritime Union was created. The members of this Union retained their autonomy and made contributions to the common treasury on a voluntary basis. The governing body of the Union was the assembly, in which each city had one vote. The headquarters of the assembly was in Athens. Athens took upon itself the obligation not to interfere in the internal affairs of the allies. Thus, the new Union was built on the principles of equality.

In the 60-50s. 4th century BC e. The second Athenian Maritime Union became a major political force in Greece, but Athens again made an attempt to revive its dominance in the Union. This led to the Allied War, and all attempts by Athens to suppress the uprisings of its allies failed. The Second Athenian Maritime Union broke up.

Reforms of Themistocles, Ephialtes, Pericles for the further democratization of the Athenian state. At the beginning of the 5th century BC e. at the suggestion of Themistocles, who was at the head of the democratic movement, the direct elections of the college of archons were replaced by lottery. Horsemen received the right to be elected archons. Zeugites were admitted to this position in 457 BC. e. This reform was associated with the rise of the college of strategists during the wars. The value of the college of archons was belittled, it lost its aristocratic character.

The Areopagus remained the only privileged body, and the oligarchic party tried to use it to strengthen its positions. In order to weaken this body, Ephialtes opened a case on the corruption of some members of the Areopagus. The facts were confirmed, and the National Assembly in 462 BC. e. passed a law depriving the Areopagus of political power. The right to veto the resolutions of the People's Assembly was transferred to the gelie, the right to control officials and oversee the implementation of laws passed to the Council of Five Hundred and the People's Assembly, but mainly to the gelie.

Ephialtes changed the reporting system of officials. Now any citizen of Athens could, after submitting a report by the magistrate, file a complaint against the resigning. The name of Ephialtes is associated with the establishment of the custom to expose laws for public familiarization.

After the assassination of Ephialtes, the Athenian democracy was led by Pericles. Under Pericles, there is a clearer division of powers: the People's Assembly is the legislative body, the functions of administration are carried out by the Council of Five Hundred and the magistrates, judicial powers belong to the gelie and other judicial bodies. The principle of lottery has extended to most of the previously elected offices. At the suggestion of Pericles, the performance of public duties began to be paid. First of all, a fee was established for judges, and then for other officials. This innovation paved the way for participation in public administration significant circle of ordinary Athenian citizens.

Pericles carried out civil reform. It was established that a full citizen of Athens is only one whose mother and father were Athenians. This reform was caused by an excessive increase in the civil community and the need to create an optimal number of civil collective capable of managing the state.

Pericles did a lot to turn Athens into a maritime power. The strengthening of the sea power of Athens, the expansion of trade relations brought to the fore the sections of the population associated with the sea; coastal positions were strengthened. The social base of Athenian democracy now consisted mainly of the port population. And at the head of the democratic party were often aristocrats, realizing that the oligarchic party is a party of conservatives that is out of step with its time.

The social structure of Athens in the 5th century. BC e. The democratization of the state system did not eliminate the social contradictions inherent in Athenian society. The development of private property has led to significant property differentiation. Among the free Athenian citizens, a small group of large owners stood out, the bulk of the population was the poor. The number of freemen was much less than that of slaves. Distinguished slaves of private individuals and slaves of the state. Slave labor was widely used in domestic work, in agriculture, construction, etc. Slaves of individuals occupied the position of a thing, therefore they could not have property. But the state slaves were recognized the right to acquire property and dispose of it.

Full-fledged Athenian citizens (whose mother and father were citizens of Athens) upon reaching the age of 18 were enrolled in the lists of members of the deme. Civil full rights included a set of certain rights and obligations. The most essential rights of a citizen were the right to freedom and personal independence from any other person, the right to a land plot in the polis territory and economic assistance from the state in case of material difficulties, the right to bear arms and serve in the militia, the right to participate in the affairs of the state (participation in the National Assembly, elected bodies), the right to honor and protect the gods of the fathers, to participate in public festivities, the right to protect and protect Athenian laws. The duties of the Athenian citizens were that everyone had to protect their property and work on the land, come to the aid of the policy with all their means in emergency circumstances, defend their native policy from enemies with weapons in their hands, obey the laws and elected authorities, take an active part in public life, to honor the gods of the fathers. The totality of civil rights constituted the honor of a citizen. For a crime, citizens in court could be limited in their rights, that is, subjected to dishonor. From 18 to 60 years of age, citizens were considered liable for military service. Liturgy was assigned to wealthy citizens - a duty in favor of the state. It was a kind of restriction of private property in the interests of the entire class of slave owners.

Meteki (foreigners living in Athens) did not have the right to citizenship. They could not acquire property, marriages of meteks with Athenian citizens were considered illegal. Each metec had to choose a prostate for himself - an intermediary between the metecs and government agencies. Meteks were charged a special tax, they also carried other duties, were involved in military service.

Freedmen were equated to meteks in their position.

The state apparatus of the Athenian democracy consisted of the following organs of power: the People's Assembly, the Heliai, the Council of Five Hundred, the College of Strategists and the College of Archons.

The National Assembly (ekklesia) was the main body. All full-fledged Athenian citizens (men) who had reached the age of twenty had the right to participate in the National Assembly, regardless of their property status and occupation.

The powers of the National Assembly were very broad and covered all aspects of the life of Athens. The People's Assembly adopted laws, resolved issues of war and peace, elected officials, heard the reports of magistrates at the end of their terms of office, decided matters on the food supply of the city, discussed and approved the state budget, and exercised control over the education of young men. The competence of the National Assembly included such an event as ostracism. Of particular importance were the rights of the People's Assembly to protect the fundamental laws. A special board was established for the protection of laws (nomofilaks), which, having received powers from the National Assembly, monitored the strict implementation by government bodies of all the fundamental laws of the Athenian state. In addition, any member of the People's Assembly had the right to make an emergency statement on state crimes, including written complaints against persons who made proposals to the People's Assembly that violate existing laws. The institution of “complaints against illegality” protected the inviolability of fundamental laws from attempts to change or restrict them to the detriment of the rights of the people through legislative acts. The right of every Athenian citizen to file “complaints of illegality became the true, fundamental pillar of the Athenian democratic Constitution.

The People's Assembly worked according to fairly democratic rules. Any participant could speak. But in his speech, he should not have repeated himself, insulted his opponent, and talked not to the point.

The ecclesia convened quite frequently. Usually, each pritania (that is, the duty and duty of the tenth part of the Council of Five Hundred, which directly supervised the current work of the Council) convened four

National Assembly in 8-9 days. In addition to regular meetings, the meeting was often convened out of turn for urgent matters.

The chairman of the People's Assembly was the chairman of the pritans.

At the end of the 5th century BC e. a fee was introduced for visiting the People's Assembly: first in the amount of an obol (monetary unit), and then - six obols. Thanks to this, participation in the assembly of the broad masses of the people became real.

The Council of Five Hundred (bulle), being one of the most important state institutions of Athenian democracy, did not replace the People's Assembly, but was its working body. The Council of Five Hundred was elected by lot from among full-fledged citizens who had reached the age of thirty, 50 people from every 10 phil. Representatives of all categories of the population could enter the Council of Five Hundred.

The competence of the Council included many issues. The pritanes convened the People's Assembly, and one of them presided. The Council prepared and discussed all the cases that were submitted for discussion and decision of the People's Assembly, drew up a preliminary conclusion for submission to the People's Assembly, without which the people could not make a decision on the issue under consideration.

In addition, the Council monitored the implementation of the decisions of the People's Assembly, controlled the activities of all officials, heard reports from many of them. An important function of the Council was to organize the construction of the fleet.

The Council verified (dokimassia) nine archons and candidates for members of the Council for next year, supervised all public buildings and disposed of most public and state affairs together with other officials. The Council had the right to bring to justice officials, primarily those guilty of misappropriation public funds. The verdicts of the Council could be appealed to the Helium.

The entire financial and administrative apparatus of the Athenian state operated under the guidance and direct supervision of the Council of Five Hundred. A wide range of issues discussed at the Council made it necessary to meet daily, except for non-attendance days.

A tenth of the Council, that is, one phylum, was directly in charge of daily affairs. Its members, the pritanes, daily elected a chairman from among themselves by drawing lots, who also presided over the People's Assembly.

After the expiration of the term of office (1 year), the members of the Council gave an account to the people. Re-election was allowed only after a few years and only once, that is, every year the Council was renewed. Council members received a salary of 5-6 obols.

In the system of state bodies, such an organ as the Areopagus has been preserved. Representatives of the Athenian aristocracy were co-opted into it for life. In the course of the struggle between the aristocracy and the demos, the functions of the Areopagus as government agency were severely limited. In the 5th century BC e. The Areopagus acted as a court (in cases of murder, arson, bodily injury, violation of religious precepts) and monitored the state of morals.

Among the executive authorities in Athens, two colleges should be noted - strategists and archons.

College of Strategists. Strategists occupied a special position among other positions. They were not only military leaders, but also diplomats and financiers. Therefore, the strategists were chosen at the People's Assemblies from the most prominent people by open voting (show of hands). Since the strategists, unlike other officials, did not receive a salary, only very wealthy people could occupy this position. The war with the Persians required the concentration of power in one hand. This is how the position of the first strategist is promoted, who also became the first official in the state. It was possible to be a strategist for many years in a row. Very often the strategist was also the leader of one party or another. The college of archons was in charge of religious and family matters, as well as matters relating to morality.

Nine archons (six thesmothetes, an eponymous archon, a basileus and a polemarch) and a secretary were chosen by lot, one from each phylum. Then the archons, except for the secretary, were subjected to verification (dokimassia) in the Council of Five Hundred. The archons passed the second test in the helium, where voting took place by throwing pebbles. The eponymous archon, the basileus, and the polemarch had equal power, and each of them chose two companions for himself.

Under the leadership of the college of archons, the highest judicial body, the heliea, acted. In addition to purely judicial functions, she performed functions in the field of legislation. Heliaia consisted of 6 thousand people (600 from each phylum), who were annually elected by lot by archons from among full-fledged citizens no younger than 30 years old. The functions of helieia were not only associated with litigation. Participation in the protection of the Constitution and legislation gave the helium great political weight. She dealt with the most important private affairs of Athenian citizens, affairs of state, disputes between the allies, and all the important affairs of the citizens of the allied states.

In addition to heliaia, there were several more judicial colleges in Athens that dealt with certain cases - the Areopagus, four colleges of efetes, a court of diets, a college of forty.

Athenian democracy in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. was a well-developed political system. substitution government positions was based on the principles of election, urgency, collegiality, accountability, compensation, lack of hierarchy.

The Athenian state represents the first experience of a democratic republic in the history of mankind. This democracy was limited. First, it ensured the full rights of only the free population. Secondly, it applied only to those whose parents were Athenians, preventing outsiders from penetrating the ranks of Athenian citizens. But even among those who had the status of an Athenian citizen, not everyone enjoyed the right to vote and took an active part in political life. The peasants were very conservative, for whom it was difficult to get to Athens from the mountainous regions and for whom care for own harvest was more important than meetings in the People's Assembly. Of the 43 thousand full-fledged citizens, 2-3 thousand attended meetings. The management of society was carried out by parties and their leaders - demagogues. By the 5th century BC e. Instead of the former parties, two parties emerged: the oligarchic party, which represented the interests of the landowning aristocracy and wealthy merchants, and the democratic party, which relied on small businessmen, hired workers, and sailors.

With all the shortcomings of Athenian democracy, it had for its time the most advanced state system, the study of which is of great historical importance.


Introduction

The states of ancient Greece made an outstanding contribution to world culture. The heritage of antiquity, especially in the field of philosophy, art and law, formed the basis of European civilization. In this regard, the problem of the Greek states occupies a special place.

The economic basis of the state and law was the slave-owning mode of production. Slavery relatively quickly loses its patriarchal features, takes on a mass character and penetrates into the main branches of production.

A peculiar form of ancient property is affirmed: only a full member of the civil community - the policy - could become the owner of the land. The subsequent evolution of this statehood was determined by the internal contradictions inherent in ancient society. The struggle of ordinary citizens of the policy against the tribal aristocracy forces it to somewhat reduce its privileges: the seizure of public land by the nobility is limited, debt slavery is abolished, and the population of enslaved countries becomes the main source of replenishment of slaves.

The ancient world knew various forms of the state. The republic and the monarchy, the democratic and aristocratic republics were clearly distinguished.

State and social system in ancient Athens.

The polis stage of the history of ancient Greece is divided into three periods:

1. The Homeric period (XI-IX centuries BC), characterized by the dominance of tribal relations, which begin to disintegrate towards the end of this period.

2. The archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC), within which the formation of a class society and a state in the form of policies takes place.

3. The classical period (V-IV centuries BC) was marked by the flourishing of the ancient Greek slave-owning state, the polis system.

In the history of ancient Greece, two policies played an important role: Athens and Sparta. At the same time, the political system of Athens can be called an example of slave-owning democracy, while the political organization of Sparta became the standard of the oligarchy.

Slave state in Athens

Theseus' reforms. The legend connects the formation of the Athenian state with the name of the Greek hero Theseus. Among the activities carried out by Theseus and which led to the formation of the state, the first was the unification of three tribes with a center in Athens. To manage the general affairs of the new formation, a council was created, to which some of the affairs that were previously under the jurisdiction of individual tribes were transferred.

The following transformations were expressed in the formation of separate social groups. The tribal nobility created a special group of the population - eupatrides, who were granted the exclusive right to fill positions. Most of the population were geomors (farmers), a group of artisans - demiurges - stood out. A significant part of the population were meteks - people from other communities. These transformations were the first steps towards the creation of the Athenian state.

The next step towards the formation of the state was the destruction of the power of the basileus in its former meaning and the establishment of a new position - the archon. At first, the archons were elected for life, then for 10 years. From 683 BC e. 9 archons began to be elected annually. One of them, the first archon, after whom the year was called, stood at the head of the collegium and had the power to supervise the internal administration and judicial powers in family matters. Basileus, who became the second archon, performed priestly, as well as judicial functions in religious matters. The military power passed to the third archon, the polymarch. The remaining six archons-thesmothetes performed mainly judicial functions.

At the end of their term of office, the archons entered the Areopagus - the highest state council, which replaced the council of elders. Only Eupatrides could be archons and members of the Areopagus. Later, with the formation of the fleet, the country was divided into small territorial districts - naukraria, each of which was supposed to equip one ship for the fleet. At the head of the scienceraria was a prytan.

So, the archaic period is marked by the creation of the Athenian state. This process was accompanied by the growth of contradictions of both economic and political order. All the most important issues were decided by the collegium of archons and the Areopagus. The best and largest plots of land were concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy. Many peasants became dependent on large landowners. Society split into aristocracy and demos. Deprived of political rights, they begin to fight for participation in governance. This leads to a disturbance of the public peace, and when the disturbances go too far, a tyrant is appointed with full power.

So, in 621 BC. e. Drakont, famous for his cruel laws, was proclaimed a tyrant.

By the beginning of the VI century. BC e. contradictions in society went so far that there was a threat of civil war. Under these conditions, in 594 BC. e. Solon is elected archon-polemarch. Solon received emergency powers to change the existing order.

Solon's first and largest reform was the sisachphia. She freed a lot of debtors. personal bondage, the sale of insolvent debtors for debts into slavery were prohibited. Debtors sold into slavery outside Attica were to be redeemed at public expense and returned to their homeland.

In addition to the sisachphia, Solon issued a law limiting land ownership (the maximum size of land plots was established). At the same time, freedom of will was proclaimed. Now the land could be mortgaged and alienated legally under the guise of a will.

Solon carried out a number of measures aimed at improving the financial situation of the demos: the export of olive oil for a potato pan was allowed and the export of bread was prohibited, the development of crafts was encouraged, and a monetary reform was carried out.

Political reforms occupy a central place among Solon's transformations. The most important of these is the Timocratic reform. All Athenian citizens, regardless of origin, were divided by property into four categories. As a unit of income, a measure of the capacity used for grain was taken - medimn (52.5 kg).

Anyone who received from his land 500 medimns in the aggregate of dry and liquid products was assigned to the first category - pentakosiomedimnov (five hundred); those who receive 300 medimns of annual income or are able to keep a warhorse belonged to the riders. Those who received 200 medimns of annual income belonged to the category of Zevgits. Zeugites (peasants) were the largest group. They formed the basis of the Athenian militia. All the rest were classified as feta.

The division of the population into ranks according to property was of political importance, since each rank was given a certain level of political rights. Representatives of the first category had the most complete political rights: they could hold any position. Horsemen and zeugites could not be elected archons. Feta had only the right to elect officials in the People's Assembly. Responsibilities were distributed in proportion to the rights. A tax was imposed on annual income. The higher the class, the higher the tax paid to the state treasury. Feta were exempt from tax.

Solon retained the division of Athenian society into four tribes - phyla and created on the basis of this division a new state body - the Council of Four Hundred. He was elected annually from citizens of the first three categories, 100 people from each tribe. The Council of Four Hundred supervised the preparation of cases for discussion by the People's Assembly, and considered some current management affairs. Of great importance was the creation by Solon of a truly democratic body - heliei. It was originally a jury trial. Over time, the powers of the geliea will be expanded, and it will become the most massive and important political body.

Tyranny of Pisistratus. After 22 years of reign, Solon left his post and, having secured the oath of the Athenians that they would not change his laws for 10 years, he left Athens. Even before Solon came to power, three independent political parties had formed in Athens: the coastal parties included shipowners, merchants, and the port population; mountain - peasants and hired workers; the plains are rich landowners. The names determined the places of residence. Peisistratus, an aristocrat by birth, became the head of the mountaineers. Later, he managed to attract the coastal ones to his side. Relying on the demos, Peisistratus managed to assert his power and become a tyrant for 19 years.

Peisistratus retained the Solonian Constitution. All organs functioned as before. The economic policy of Peisistratus favored the class of small landowners. Pisistratus introduced a permanent income tax, which was 10% of the crop, and then was reduced to 5%. In general, the policy of Peisistratus had a positive impact on the development of Athenian society.

After the death of Pisistratus, power passed to his sons, who continued the policy of their father. However, the aristocrats removed from power did not leave the thought of overthrowing tyranny. At the end of the VI century. BC e. an unfavorable external situation developed for Athens. She contributed to the implementation of another conspiracy and the fall of the Peisistrati regime.

In the elections held, Isagoras, a representative of the aristocracy, was elected chief archon. Cleisthenes, who lost to him, did much to bring down the tyranny of the Peisistrati, raised the people in revolt, deposed Isagoras, and proceeded to establish democracy. From this time begins the victorious march of Athenian democracy. However, its social base is gradually narrowing. Now the Democratic Party included mainly the coastal ones. Cleisthenes set the task of ridding the demos of any influence from the aristocrats. These tasks were solved by introducing a new administrative division. As a result of the reform, Attica was divided into three territorial districts: the city of Athens with its suburbs, the inner central strip and the coastal strip. Each district consisted of 10 equal parts - trittia. Three trittia, one from each district, were combined into a phylum, and thus 10 territorial phyla were created. The smallest units were the demes, into which the tritium disintegrated. Each phylum included urban, coastal, and rural demes. Elections of central governing bodies took place according to phyla. The organization of new phyla predetermined the replacement of the Council of Four Hundred by the Council of Five Hundred (50 people from each phyla).

The demos had a system of self-government. At the head of the dema was an elected headman who convened a meeting of citizens of the dema and led this meeting, executed the decisions of the meeting, managed the local cash desk and collected various contributions, after the expiration of the term of office (1 year) he reported to the meeting. Lists of citizens were compiled according to demos. Democracy acquired a new foothold, expanded its base at the expense of foreigners living in Athens.

Cleisthenes created a new body - the board of strategists, which included one representative from each phylum.

The reforms of Cleisthenes were more consistent than those of Solon, and completed the period of struggle between the tribal aristocracy and the demos that lasted more than a century, ending in the victory of the latter. As a result, a slave-owning state took shape in Athens in the form of a democratic republic.

The social structure of Athens in the 5th century. BC e. The democratization of the state system did not eliminate the social contradictions inherent in Athenian society. The development of private property has led to significant property differentiation. Among the free Athenian citizens, a small group of large owners stood out, the bulk of the population was the poor. The number of freemen was much less than that of slaves. Distinguished slaves of private individuals and slaves of the state. Slave labor was widely used in domestic work, agriculture, construction, etc. Slaves of private individuals occupied the status of a thing, therefore they could not own property. But the state slaves were recognized the right to acquire property and dispose of it.

Full-fledged Athenian citizens, upon reaching the age of 18, were enrolled in the lists of members of the deme. The duties of the Athenian citizens were that everyone had to protect their property and work on the land, come to the aid of the policy with all their means in emergency circumstances, defend their native policy from enemies with weapons in their hands, obey the laws and elected authorities, take an active part in public life, to honor the gods of the fathers. The totality of civil rights constituted the honor of a citizen. For a crime, citizens in court could be limited in their rights, that is, subjected to dishonor. From 18 to 60 years of age, citizens were considered liable for military service. Liturgy was assigned to wealthy citizens - a duty in favor of the state.

Meteks did not have the right to citizenship. They could not acquire property, marriages of meteks with Athenian citizens were considered illegal. Each metec had to choose a prostate for himself, an intermediary between the metecs and government agencies. Meteks were charged a special tax, they also carried other duties, were involved in military service.

Freedmen were equated to meteks in their position.

The state apparatus of the Athenian democracy consisted of the following organs of power: the People's Assembly, the Heliai, the Council of Five Hundred, the College of Strategists and the College of Archons.

The People's Assembly adopted laws, resolved issues of war and peace, elected officials, heard the reports of magistrates at the end of their terms of office, decided matters on the food supply of the city, discussed and approved the state budget, and exercised control over the education of young men. The competence of the National Assembly included such an event as ostracism. The right of every Athenian citizen to file “complaints of illegality became the true, fundamental pillar of the Athenian democratic Constitution.

The People's Assembly worked according to fairly democratic rules. Any participant could speak. But in his speech, he should not have repeated himself, insulted his opponent, and talked not to the point.

The ecclesia convened quite frequently. Usually, each tributary convened four People's Assemblies in 8-9 days. In addition to regular meetings, the meeting was often convened out of turn for urgent matters.

The chairman of the People's Assembly was the chairman of the pritans.

At the end of the 5th century BC e. a fee was introduced for visiting the People's Assembly: first in the amount of an obol (monetary unit), and then six obols. Thanks to this, participation in the assembly of the broad masses of the people became real.

The Council of Five Hundred (bulle), being one of the most important state institutions of Athenian democracy, did not replace the People's Assembly, but was its working body. The Council of Five Hundred was elected by lot from among full-fledged citizens who had reached the age of thirty, 50 people from every 10 phil. Representatives of all categories of the population could enter the Council of Five Hundred.

After the expiration of the term of office (1 year), the members of the Council gave an account to the people. Re-election was allowed only after a few years and only once, that is, every year the Council was renewed. Council members received a salary of 5-6 obols.

In the system of state bodies, such an organ as the Areopagus has been preserved. Representatives of the Athenian aristocracy were co-opted into it for life. During the struggle between the aristocracy and the demos, the functions of the Areopagus as a state body were severely limited. In the 5th century BC e. The Areopagus acted as a court of justice.

Among the organs of executive power in Athens, two colleges should be noted - strategists and archons.

College of Strategists. Strategists occupied a special position among other positions. They were not only military leaders, but also diplomats and financiers. Therefore, the strategists were elected at the People's Assemblies from the most prominent people by open voting (show of hands). Since the strategists, unlike other officials, did not receive a salary, only very wealthy people could occupy this position. The war with the Persians required the concentration of power in one hand. This is how the position of the first strategist is promoted, who also became the first official in the state. It was possible to be a strategist for many years in a row. Very often the strategist was also the leader of one party or another. The college of archons was in charge of religious and family matters, as well as matters relating to morality.

Nine archons (six thesmothetes, an eponymous archon, a basileus and a polemarch) and a secretary were chosen by lot, one from each phylum. Then the archons, except for the secretary, were subjected to verification (dokimassia) in the Council of Five Hundred. The archons passed the second test in the helium, where voting took place by throwing pebbles. The eponymous archon, the basileus, and the polemarch had equal power, and each of them chose two companions for himself.

Athenian democracy in the V-IV centuries. BC e. was a well-developed political system. The filling of public positions was based on the principles of election, urgency, collegiality, accountability, compensation, and the absence of a hierarchy.

The Athenian state represents the first experience of a democratic republic in the history of mankind. This democracy was limited. The management of society was carried out by parties and their leaders - demagogues. By the 5th century BC e. Instead of the former parties, two parties emerged: the oligarchic party, which represented the interests of the landowning aristocracy and wealthy merchants, and the democratic party, which relied on small businessmen, hired workers, and sailors.

With all the shortcomings of Athenian democracy, it had for its time the most advanced state system, the study of which is of great historical importance.

Question 2. State and social system in ancient Sparta.

The Spartan state arose in the ninth century. BC e. as a result of the Dorians' conquest of the vast territory of Laconia.

Social system. The social system of Sparta is characterized by the preservation of remnants of the primitive communal system and the military organization of society. The concern for maintaining solidarity among a small part of full-fledged citizens of Sparta, who dominated the huge mass of the enslaved population, explains the desire to prevent sharp property differentiation among the "equals", as the Spartans called themselves.

Only the Spartans enjoyed political rights. All of them were provided with land plots, which were transferred to them along with the state slaves working the land - the helots. Initially, these allotments were the same, but later the property inequality of the Spartans arose.

Perieki were personally free, but did not have political rights, although in other respects they were legally capable: they could acquire property and make transactions, they were subject to military service. On the part of the state, supervision was established over the perieks, carried out by special officials. Helots - representatives of the defeated tribes, turned into state slaves. They did not have their own land, they worked on the site provided to the Spartiate by the state. However, the helots had their own economy and tools of production. From the harvest received from the land, about 50% of the helots paid the master in the form of dues. Helots also carried out military service. The Spartans maintained their dominance over the helots by methods of cruel terror. Helots could be set free by the state.

Political system. Sparta was an example of the domination of the slave-owning aristocracy. The popular assembly (apella) did not play a significant role. Under extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary meetings were convened, in which representatives of the most noble and influential families took part.

The jurisdiction of the People's Assembly included such issues as the election of officials, the adoption of a decision in the event of a dispute over the succession to the throne, the choice of the head of a military campaign. The People's Assembly participated in legislative activities, resolved issues of war and peace, alliance with other states.

The procedure for the activities of the People's Assembly made it possible for the Spartan oligarchy to influence its activities in the right direction.

At the head of the state were two kings who acted as military leaders, were high priests, and exercised judicial power. However, the actual leadership of the state belonged to the ephors, who gradually passed the powers that belonged to the kings.

The ephors occupied an exclusive position in the state. The ephors owe their rise to the nobility, who feared the strengthening of royal power. There were five efors, they were annually elected by the National Assembly from among all citizens. The ephors constituted a single board and made their decisions by a majority vote. The College of Ephors was the body of the Spartan oligarchy, which led all aspects of the life of Spartan society. The lack of control of the ephors, the impossibility of bringing them to justice contributed to their abuse of their power.

Gerusia (council of elders) is a body that has been preserved from the tribal organization. It consisted of 28 prominent representatives of the Spartans, in addition, two kings were part of the Gerousia. The members of the gerousia (geronts) were elected by the People's Assembly for life. The Gerousia preliminarily discussed the issues that were to be considered by the People's Assembly. Initially, the gerousia had almost unlimited jurisdiction and was a judicial instance against the kings. At her daily meetings, she discussed military, financial, judicial issues. With the strengthening of the power of the ephors, the importance of gerusia decreased.

Features of the development of Sparta led to stagnation in the socio-economic and political life of the state. However, the victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War stimulated the development of commodity-money relations in Sparta, which led to property differentiation and the growth of social contradictions that weakened the state. Like other Greek states, Sparta in the middle of the II century. BC e. came under the rule of Rome.

Trial

The process both on criminal charges and on disputes of private law was equally actionable: the interested person himself had to file a complaint, himself support the accusation - that is, make a speech, look for witnesses and evidence yourself. Judgment was conducted in public, in the presence of a large number citizens, which made it necessary to develop the art of judicial eloquence. For an unsubstantiated accusation, the plaintiff faced a fine of 1,000 drachmas; for a serious political accusation not proven before the Thesmothetes or Helia, a severe punishment, up to and including exile. However, the tradition of slanderous suits was also significant, and sycophants were a favorite topic of oratorical denunciations.

Athenian legislation - perhaps precisely because of the extreme complexity of judicial organization - for the first time in history established some general rules regarding forensic evidence. So, it was not allowed to testify from the words of a living person - he himself had to testify; while testimonies in absentia, testimonies from the words of the deceased should have been submitted without fail in the form of a written certified document. The parties were obliged to answer each other's questions, but did not have the right to testify in their favor. It was forbidden to talk about something irrelevant to the case, to speak without an oath taken specifically in this case. It was necessary to state the reasons for bringing charges, to justify hostility towards the accused. In general, evidence was considered: testimonies, logical evidence, letters and documents, testimonies of slaves under torture.

The latter could be interrogated both on criminal charges and on private claims. The motivation was excessive confidence in the evidence obtained in this "method": "Out of those subjected to interrogation under torture, no one has ever been convicted of telling a lie during interrogation." However, for testimony contrary to the law, as well as for perjury, a counter-charge could be filed at the end of the analysis of the main case.

Law and law

The peculiarities of the content of Athenian laws, their focus on a kind of community-polis values ​​were based on a special, non-political general understanding of law and law. The law does not serve state power, but expresses a morally obligatory order - this is its content, this is its purpose.

Law could be of two kinds, according to the general Greek idea. As a broad concept, Themis is the embodiment of the will of the gods; it is precisely present in nature, permeates pleasing to the gods public order. Relations between peoples, between different strata of the population in the polis, relations between ruling and subject, relations in the clan and family should correspond to such a concept. As a more concrete concept, Dike is both a proper legal norm and, at the same time, a moral prescription for virtue. A purely legal concept of laws, of law, did not exist in Ancient Hellas: law and laws simultaneously denoted justice from the point of view of religious and polis morality.

A legal prescription, a law, is only an application of the requirements of the universal order. These instructions can be expressed in several forms. The first - retra - is a mutual promise, for example, of the legislator and the people, two clans in relation to each other, two peoples; this law is of fundamental importance and cannot be repealed or changed. The second - themos - is a global rule, the establishment of some specific property (about marriage, about the state, about the significance of a person); most of the specific prescriptions established by Draco or Solon had this meaning. The third - psephism - an individual decision, an oath, a legislative act adopted by the bodies of the polis government. The main task of this type is to regulate the activities of magistrates so that they do not violate the rights of citizens. However, there was no admiration for laws, no unconditional preference for them to other forms of law in Greek legal consciousness: the law is only one of the ways to best order and not always the most perfect.

List of used literature

3. Zhidkov O.A., Krasheninnikova N.A. History of the state and law of foreign countries. T.1, T. 2. - M., 2001.

4. *History of the state and law of foreign countries: a course of lectures / N.I. Ilyinsky. - M., 2003.

5. History of the state and law of foreign countries: textbook / S.A. Shatilova. - M., 2004.

6. History of state and law of foreign countries: a textbook for universities / A.I. Kosarev. - M., 2002.

* Ancient democracy in the testimonies of contemporaries / Comp. L.P. Marinovich, G.A. Koshelenko. - M., 1996.

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DONBAS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

"HISTORY OF THE STATE AND LAW OF UKRAINE"

Lecture notes

APPROVED

at a meeting of methodological

whom Council DITM MNTU

Protocol N_______

dated _____________ 2005

Kramatorsk, 2005

Guidelines for the discipline "History of the state and law of Ukraine"

(for students of specialties 06.0601 and 06.0502). Comp. Samokhina L.V.

Kramatorsk, DITM MNTU, 2005


TOPIC 1. SLAVE-OWNING STATE FORMATIONS AND LAW IN THE TERRITORY OF MODERN UKRAINE (I millennium BC - V AD)

_____________________________________________________________________________

Plan

  1. State of the Scythians.
  2. ancient city-states.
  3. Bosporus kingdom.

_____________________________________________________________________________

State of the Scythians

The arrival of Iranian nomadic tribes and their assimilation with local Cimmerian tribes is usually dated to the end of the 8th-7th centuries. BC.

In the VII-III centuries. BC. in the steppe regions of the Northern Black Sea region in the territory of modern Southern and South-Eastern Ukraine, and partially in the Crimea, Scythian tribes dominated.

By the 7th century BC. the Scythians had a powerful tribal union. After the Persian wars, the royal Scythians rise. They were the most numerous tribe and lived on the left bank below the Dnieper to the Sea of ​​Azov and the lower Don, and in the steppe Crimea. Nomadic Scythians lived on the right bank of the lower Dnieper. Within the steppe belt of Ukraine lived the Scythians-plowmen (ancestors of the Ukrainian people).

In the VII-VI centuries. BC. most of the Scythian tribes were already at the last stage of the primitive communal system, although tribal ties were still quite strong. The main social unit was the tribal community. There was no private ownership of the land; it was owned by the tribe. Land plots were allocated by lot. The tribal organization played big role among the Scythian nomads during the division of pastures and nomadism.

At the same time, signs appear that testify to the decomposition of the tribal system: tribal nobility stands out, property differentiation appears, slaves appear. True, the role of slave labor in Scythia was insignificant.

Corresponded to social development and the organization of management in the form of military democracy. The most important issues were considered at the people's meetings of soldiers. Councils of tribal elders and, above all, allied councils had influence. A special role belonged to the military leaders - the kings. Their power was already inherited, but the candidacies of the tsar and his heirs were still approved by the people's assemblies.

Significantly accelerated the changes and wars with the Persians. In this struggle, the royal Scythians came to the defense of the entire union of the Scythians, thereby securing a dominant position among the tribes. This made it possible for them to exploit the agricultural tribes, to demand tribute from them. The power of the military squad nobility was strengthened.

At the turn of the V-IV centuries. BC. in Scythia, a class society is being formed and a slave-owning state is emerging.

Social system. To the ruling elite of society belonged royal family, military aristocracy, warriors, tribal nobility, which merged with the environment of the ruler, rich merchants. Priests were a separate social group.

A large stratum of society was made up of free community members. They carried out military service, paid tribute, performed their duties.

The bulk of the urban population were free artisans and merchants.

Slaves occupied the bottom rung of the social ladder of the Scythian society. The main source of slavery was military captivity, the conquest of neighboring tribes. Slavery was patriarchal. Slave labor was used in the household.

Political system. Type of state - slaveholding. The form of government is a slaveholding monarchy.

The head of state was a king with unlimited power. At the same time, there was already an idea of ​​the divine origin of royal power, in many cases the king performed priestly functions, was the supreme judge.

The administrative apparatus consisted of the closest royal relatives, personal servants. The most influential assistants to the king were part of the royal council.

However, the emergence of the state apparatus did not eliminate the tribal organization. Its vestiges were still preserved in the local government.

Right. The main source of law was custom, modified and adapted to the interests of the ruling elite in customary law. The Scythians avoided borrowing foreign customs, especially Hellenic ones. Along with customary law, another source of law appears - the rules established by the royal power.

The norms of Scythian law protected private ownership of livestock, housing, things, slaves.

The supreme ownership of the land belonged to the king, who established the procedure for the use of pastures and lands.

The law of obligations regulated the contractual relations of exchange, purchase and sale, donation.

Marriage and family law was based on the principles of patriarchy. The genus was counted along the male line, and polygamy was practiced. The elder wife had a privileged position in the family. In inheritance, the principle of minority (minor junior) was applied. The eldest son, during the life of his father, received part of the property, and the younger son, after the death of his father, received the main part of the property.

The most serious crimes were considered crimes against the king: an attempt on his life, disobedience to orders. All these crimes were punishable by death.

There were crimes against property (theft, robbery), against the person (murder, treason, slander).

Common types of punishments were the death penalty, exile, cutting off right hand. A search was made for the perpetrators.

ancient city-states

The first settlements of Greek colonists were founded in the middle of the 7th century. BC. on the island of Berezan. Soon new colonial cities arose. Among them: Olbia, Panticapaeum, Theodosius, Kimmerik, Chersonese, Tyra, Flint.

They reached their heyday in the VI-V centuries, after which their decline begins. The Greek city-colonies differed little from the metropolis.

Social system. The ruling class was formed by shipowners, merchants, owners of craft workshops, landowners, usurers.

There were many free farmers, artisans, small traders. Their labor prevailed in handicraft production.

Free full-fledged citizens were only men - natives of policies and who took the oath of allegiance to the city upon reaching the age of political majority - 25 years. Only they enjoyed political rights, could hold public office.

The exploited part of the population were slaves. Their labor was used in handicraft production, in household and agriculture. The sources of slavery were captivity, birth from a slave.

Political system. It was built on the same principles as the political structure of the ancient city-states in Greece.

The essence of the state is slaveholding. The form of government is democratic and slave-owning republics. Moreover, if in the V-II centuries. BC. democratic elements prevailed in management, then from the 1st century. BC. Democratic rule is replaced by aristocratic rule.

The supreme body of power was the people's assembly - the People. The entire male population of the city took part in it. In practice, these were gatherings of the city community of full-fledged citizens. It was precisely such gatherings that the Olveopolites called - eclessia.

People's assemblies approved decrees, resolutions, orders of collegiums. They resolved issues of domestic and foreign policy, regulated maritime trade, granted citizenship, concluded foreign policy agreements, appointed officials and controlled their activities.

Operational management was carried out by a permanent body of power - City council (bulle).

The city council prepared decisions for the people's assembly, checked candidates for positions (dokimassiya), and controlled their activities.

The third link in management was the elected colleges - magistracy or individual officials magistrates. They headed separate branches of government. Their competence: financial activities, Job judiciary, military affairs.

The most important was the college of archons, which supervised the work of other magistracies.

Right. The basis of the legal system was the legal system of the Athenian slave state. At the same time, the customs and traditions of local tribes influenced the legal development of policies.

The main sources of law were the laws of the people's assemblies, the orders of the magistracies and magistrates, and local customs.

Property relations were subject to legal regulation. The land was in private, state or temple property. The law of obligations was developed in detail - purchase and sale, loan, donation, storage. There was a lease of land - a mortgage. The entire land fund of Chersonesos was divided into three parts: personal land plots, public land plots, temple lands

Among the crimes, the first place was occupied by state crimes - conspiracy, disclosure of state secrets, an attempt on the state system. The death penalty, fines, confiscation of property, enslavement were used.

Bosporan kingdom

The Bosporan kingdom reached its heyday in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. It took shape as a union of several Greek states-policies and occupied the territory of the Kerch and Taman peninsulas to Novorossiysk.

Socio-economic relations were the same as in individual Greek policies and local tribal unions. The economic basis was developed agriculture, trade, crafts.

Social system. The division into slave owners and slaves, free and not free, was determined quite early.

The ruling class was the king and his entourage, officials state apparatus, kupy, ship owners, landowners, owners of craft workshops - ergaster.

Slavery was the main form of social dependence. Slaves were divided into public and private. The labor of state slaves was used in the construction of fortifications, canals and dams, and irrigation facilities. Slaves constituted the main productive force of the Bosporan society.

Along with slave labor, the labor of the dependent population was used.

Political system. The essence of the state is slaveholding. The form of government is a despotic monarchy. Spartok - the ruling dynasty was the archons of the Bosporus and at the same time the kings of subject tribes. Archons for a long time retained autonomy and independence in internal affairs. Later, their power becomes hereditary and approaches the monarchy. The ruler had a double title: archon and king.

Supreme power, command of the army, judicial and priestly functions were concentrated in his hands.

The center of the state apparatus was the palace of the king, where all affairs of state administration were decided. An important role was played by the manager of the palace (butler) and the personal royal secretary, treasurer.

Right. The sources of Bosporus law were the legislative activity of the kings, Greek law, local customs, norms and institutions of Roman law.

There was state and private ownership of land, livestock, movable property.

Commodity production, domestic and foreign trade, own monetary system stimulated the development of contractual relations.

The heaviest were state crimes. In the Bosporus kingdom they knew crimes against property and person.

As a punishment, the death penalty, confiscation of property, and fines were applied.

 
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