Our best evidence for Athen's monarchical period is
archeological (and mythological). Inscriptions and written
documents don't appear until Athens governed by an
oligarchy.
During the archaic period (750-500 BCE), Athens was ruled
by an oligarchy whose membership comprised an
aristocracy of birth (you weren't eligible for political office
unless you were from a small group of families) and wealth
(based on land ownership).
more info at:
click on
this link for more info on the oligarchic
constitution of Athens during the archaic
period.
Like most Greek city-states, the Athenian aristocracy lost
its grip on power because of competition within the elite and
because the burden of their rule became too oppresive.
Like many Greek city-states, Athens achieved a transition
to democracy through a period of tyranny.
The Athenian aristoracy had tried to avoid disruptions
faced by oligarchies in other cities by granting
extraordinary power to one of their own, Solon, in
594 bce, to reform their rule.
Solon proposed a constitution that lay the
foundations for Athenian democracy in a number of ways:
outlawed debt-bondage
made legislative assembly indepedent of
magistrates
Despite these reforms, Pisistratus was able to
establish a tyranny in 545 bce (he had a fling in 561-560, but
got kicked out) which lasted until 510 bce when his son Hippias
was driven out of the city.
Despite the modern connotations of the term, tyranny in
the ancient Greek world, was usually a good thing for
ordinary citizens. Athens flourished under the Pisastratids
economically and culturally.
When the arisocrats finally succeeded in driving out the
tyrants, they discovered that the population would not
tolerate their rule either.
Cleisthenes then established the first true Athenian
democracy in 508/507. Subsequent generations of Athenian
leaders passed more reforms until (by the middle of the 5th
century) a truly radical democracy governed Athens.
all citizens (men whose parents were Athenian citizens:
i.e., not women, slaves or foreigners) could vote and
serve on juries for which they received pay
(i.e, so poor people could afford to participate in
political life);
all citizens were eligible for political office, most of
which were determined by lot;all of which had
a tenure of one year and tended to be part of a board
(principle of collegiality); service in a magistracy
subject to pre candidacy review and post candidacy
scrutiny by jury courts.
most ordinary citizens participated in politics by
serving on juries and voting in the assemblies. Members of
the economic elite tended to be the political leaders of
Athens. They competed with each other in the assembly
(success in passing laws is a good sign of power) and in the
law courts (winning lawsuits your enemies bring against you
is a good sign of power).
as a consequence, skill in public speaking became
increasingly important for members of the political
elite
more info at:
click on this link for
summary of democratic reforms to the Athenian
constitution.
K.H. Kinzl , "Athens:
Between Tyranny and Democracy," in K.H. Kinzl (ed.):
Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean in Ancient
History and Prehistory: Studies Presented to Fritz
Schachermeyr on the Occasion of his Eightieth
Birthday. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter
1977.
click
on this link for more information on Athenian
history from Pisistratus to Cleisthenes