The Old Oligarch: Revealing Athens as a World Class City

Old Oligarch: elucidation of Athens as a world-class city "Some people think that the power of the allies is the power of Athens" (The Old Oligarch, I, 15). I see. In particular, this feature of Delian Union is known as Athenian Empire. If each state maintains its own fleet and sends it to join the alliance for expedition, they will maintain some degree of independence. Instead, sufficiently large coalition forces abandoned their own army rulers (through their own choice or power) and paid cash to Athens gave the city the ability to maintain the empire .

Like most other Greek city states, the two political parties or social classes that compete against power in classical Athens are oligarchy regime and Democrat. Older cabinet officials are trying to establish a country where only a large number of owners vote for public service and can be employed in public office, but the Democratic Party insists that all male citizens have the same rights. As Aristotle said in politics, he said, "The oligarchy is a minority, rich and democratic, many of whom are said to be rulers." (1)

Athens was a democracy in the majority of the 5th and 4th centuries. For the first time in 411 and 404, the oligarchy can succeed in establishing government, few, and rich governance, and most of them are poor. The oligarchy regime did not last up to a year. However, the tension between the oligarchy and the Democratic Party always existed in Athens' politics. A few Democrats will not doubt the oligarchy against democracy, or oligopolies are not afraid of their privileges and hostility towards wealth. Commenting on the opposite which always exists between the two classes, Plato pointed out that in the Republic each city is "two cities fighting each other". (2)

Class warfare in Athens is not as bad as Corcyra, and the Democratic Party is slaughtered almost entirely by oligarchically-controlled political parties, yet it still remains bloodshed. In 411, the oligarchy of Athens executed many democratic opponents and banished many others. Even during exile, death squads and advocates of other oligarchies are assassinating, among others, popular leaders of the Democratic Party. But when the Spartans defeated Athens and set them as rulers of the city as rulers of the city, the 411 oligarchists were calmer than the fears released by the oligarchs.