The Complete Aristotle (eng.)

national
heroes.
22
    By these reforms the constitution became much more democratic
than that of Solon. The laws of Solon had been obliterated by
disuse during the period of the tyranny, while Cleisthenes
substituted new ones with the object of securing the goodwill of
the masses. Among these was the law concerning ostracism. Four year
after the establishment of this system, in the archonship of
Hermocreon, they first imposed upon the Council of Five Hundred the
oath which they take to the present day. Next they began to elect
the generals by tribes, one from each tribe, while the Polemarch
was the commander of the whole army. Then, eleven years later, in
the archonship of Phaenippus they won the battle of Marathon; and
two years after this victory, when the people had now gained
self-confidence, they for the first time made use of the law of
ostracism. This had originally been passed as a precaution against
men in high office, because Pisistratus took advantage of his
position as a popular leader and general to make himself tyrant;
and the first person ostracized was one of his relatives,
Hipparchus son of Charmus, of the deme of Collytus, the very person
on whose account especially Cleisthenes had enacted the law, as he
wished to get rid of him. Hitherto, however, he had escaped; for
the Athenians, with the usual leniency of the democracy, allowed
all the partisans of the tyrants, who had not joined in their evil
deeds in the time of the troubles to remain in the city; and the
chief and leader of these was Hipparchus. Then in the very next
year, in the archonship of Telesinus, they for the first time since
the tyranny elected, tribe by tribe, the nine Archons by lot out of
the five hundred candidates selected by the demes, all the earlier
ones having been elected by vote; and in the same year Megacles son
of Hippocrates, of the deme of Alopece, was ostracized.
    Thus for three years they continued to ostracize the friends of
the tyrants, on whose account the law had been passed; but in the
following year they began to remove others as well, including any
one who seemed to be more powerful than was expedient. The first
person unconnected with the tyrants who was ostracized was
Xanthippus son of Ariphron. Two years later, in the archonship of
Nicodemus, the mines of Maroneia were discovered, and the state
made a profit of a hundred talents from the working of them. Some
persons advised the people to make a distribution of the money
among themselves, but this was prevented by Themistocles. He
refused to say on what he proposed to spend the money, but he bade
them lend it to the hundred richest men in Athens, one talent to
each, and then, if the manner in which it was employed pleased the
people, the expenditure should be charged to the state, but
otherwise the state should receive the sum back from those to whom
it was lent. On these terms he received the money and with it he
had a hundred triremes built, each of the hundred individuals
building one; and it was with these ships that they fought the
battle of Salamis against the barbarians. About this time Aristides
the son of Lysimachus was ostracized. Three years later, however,
in the archonship of Hypsichides, all the ostracized persons were
recalled, on account of the advance of the army of Xerxes; and it
was laid down for the future that persons under sentence of
ostracism must live between Geraestus and Scyllaeum, on pain of
losing their civic rights irrevocably.
23
    So far, then, had the city progressed by this time, growing
gradually with the growth of the democracy; but after the Persian
wars the Council of Areopagus once more developed strength and
assumed the control of the state. It did not acquire this supremacy
by virtue of any formal decree, but because it had been the cause
of the battle of Salamis being fought. When the generals were
utterly at a loss how to meet the crisis and made proclamation that
every one should see to his own safety, the Areopagus provided a
donation of money, distributing eight drachmas to each member of
the ships’ crews, and so prevailed on them to go on board. On these
grounds people bowed to its prestige; and during this period Athens
was well administered. At this time they devoted themselves to the
prosecution of the war and were in high repute among the Greeks, so
that the command by sea was conferred upon them, in spite of the
opposition of the Lacedaemonians. The leaders of the people during
this period were Aristides,