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A '''kleroterion''' ({{lang-grc|κληρωτήριον}}) was a randomization device used by the Athenian [[polis]] during the period of [[Athenian democracy|democracy]] to select citizens to the [[Boule (ancient Greece)|boule]], to most state offices, to the [[Legislator|nomothetai]], and to court juries. The kleroterion was a slab of stone incised with rows of slots and with an attached tube. Citizens' tokens—[[pinakion|pinakia]]—were placed in the slots and the tube was filled with different-colored dice. The dice were released one by one, each die corresponding to a row of pinakia. The color of each die determined whether the owners of the pinakia in the corresponding row were selected for seats on the boule or juries. |
A '''kleroterion''' ({{lang-grc|κληρωτήριον}}) was a randomization device used by the Athenian [[polis]] during the period of [[Athenian democracy|democracy]] to select citizens to the [[Boule (ancient Greece)|boule]], to most state offices, to the [[Legislator|nomothetai]], and to court juries. The kleroterion was a slab of stone incised with rows of slots and with an attached tube. Citizens' tokens—[[pinakion|pinakia]]—were placed in the slots and the tube was filled with different-colored dice. The dice were released one by one, each die corresponding to a row of pinakia. The color of each die determined whether the owners of the pinakia in the corresponding row were selected for seats on the boule or juries. |
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== History == |
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Prior to 403, courts published a schedule and number [[dikastes]] required for the day. Those citizens who wanted to be dikasts queued at the entrance of the court at the beginning of the court day. Originally, the procedure was based on "first come first serve." Beginning in 403, Athenian allotment underwent a series of reforms, and from 370 onward, they employed the kleroterion.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Athenian Democracy|last=Thorley|first=John|publisher=Routledge|year=1996|isbn=0-415-12967-2|location=New York|pages=37}}</ref> |
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== Procedure == |
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In Aristotle's [[Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle)|Constitution of the Athenians]], Aristotle gives an account of the selection of jurors to the dikastra. Each [[deme]] divided their dikastes into ten sections, which split the use of two kleroteria. Candidate citizens would place their identification ticket -pinaka- in the section's chest. Once each citizen who wished to become judge for the day placed their pinka in the chest, the presiding archon would shake the chest and draw out tickets. The citizen whose ticket was first drawn became the ticket-inserter (''empektes)''. The ticket-inserter would then pull out tickets and insert the tickets into their corresponding section.The ''Kleroterion'' was divided into 5 columns, one column per tribe section (between 2 machines). Each row was known as a ''kanomides''. Once the ticket-inserter filled the kleroterion, the archon then placed a mix of black and white dice (''Kyboi)'' into the side of the kleroterion. The number of white dice was proportional to the number of jurors needed. Then, the archon would allow the dice to fall through a tube on the side of the ''kleroterion'' and draw them one by one. If the die was white, the top row would be selected as jurors. If the die was black, the archon would move onto the ext row down from the top and repeat until all the juror positions were filled for the day.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Crochetière|first=Erin|date=December 2013|title=Democracy and the Lot: The Lottery of Public Offices in Classical Athens|url=http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/StreamGate?folder_id=0&dvs=1543352676620~85|journal=McGill University Masters Theses|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|url=http://classics.mit.edu//Aristotle/athenian_const.html|title=The Athenian Consitution|last=Aristotle|first=|publisher=|year=|isbn=|series=63-64|location=|pages=|translator-last=Kenyon|translator-first=Frederic|chapter=}}</ref> |
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== Scholarship == |
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The first significant examination of Athenian allotment procedures was James Wycliffe Headlam's ''Election by Lot'', first published in 1891. Aristotle's [[Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle)|Constitution of the Athenians]], the text of which was first discovered in 1879 and first published as Aristotle's in 1890, became an important resource for scholars. Throughout the text, Aristotle makes references to a lottery system which was used to appoint government officials. Archaeologists first discovered ''kleroteria'' in the 1930s in the Athenian Agora, which were dated to the second century BC. Sterling Dow's ''Aristotle, the Kleroteria, and the Courts'' (1939) gave an overview and analysis of the discovered machines. Prior to Sterling Dow's 1939, the word ''kleroterion'' in Aristotle was often translated as "allotment room." However, Dow reasoned that ''kleroterion'' cannot be translated to mean "room," as Aristotle writes that "There are five ''kanomides'' in each of the ''kleroteria''. Whenever he puts in the ''kyboi,'' the archon draws lots for the tribe the ''kleroterion''."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Dow|first=Sterling|date=1939|title=Aristotle, the Kleroteria, and the Courts|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/310590|journal=Harvard Studies in Classical Philology|volume=50|pages=1–34|doi=10.2307/310590}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite book|url=http://classics.mit.edu//Aristotle/athenian_const.html|title=The Athenian Consitution|last=Aristotle|first=|publisher=|year=|isbn=|series=63-64|location=|pages=|translator-last=Kenyon|translator-first=Frederic|chapter=}}</ref> Dow also concluded that Aristotle's 4th century description of the kleroterion applied to the 2nd century ''kleroterion.'' |
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== See also == |
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* [[Sortition]] |
* [[Sortition]] |
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* {{cite web|url=http://www.booksandideas.net/Allotment-and-Democracy-in-Ancient.html|publisher=Books and Ideas|title=Allotment and Democracy in Ancient Greece|date=December 2010|first=Paul|last=Demont}} |
* {{cite web|url=http://www.booksandideas.net/Allotment-and-Democracy-in-Ancient.html|publisher=Books and Ideas|title=Allotment and Democracy in Ancient Greece|date=December 2010|first=Paul|last=Demont}} |
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* Orlandini, Alessandro (April 2018) https://www.academia.edu/36510282/KLEROTERION._simulation_of_the_allotment_of_dikastai. simulation of the allotment. |
* Orlandini, Alessandro (April 2018) https://www.academia.edu/36510282/KLEROTERION._simulation_of_the_allotment_of_dikastai. simulation of the allotment. |
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<references /> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
Revision as of 20:06, 7 December 2018
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/AGMA_Kleroterion.jpg/220px-AGMA_Kleroterion.jpg)
A kleroterion (Ancient Greek: κληρωτήριον) was a randomization device used by the Athenian polis during the period of democracy to select citizens to the boule, to most state offices, to the nomothetai, and to court juries. The kleroterion was a slab of stone incised with rows of slots and with an attached tube. Citizens' tokens—pinakia—were placed in the slots and the tube was filled with different-colored dice. The dice were released one by one, each die corresponding to a row of pinakia. The color of each die determined whether the owners of the pinakia in the corresponding row were selected for seats on the boule or juries.
History
Prior to 403, courts published a schedule and number dikastes required for the day. Those citizens who wanted to be dikasts queued at the entrance of the court at the beginning of the court day. Originally, the procedure was based on "first come first serve." Beginning in 403, Athenian allotment underwent a series of reforms, and from 370 onward, they employed the kleroterion.[1]
Procedure
In Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians, Aristotle gives an account of the selection of jurors to the dikastra. Each deme divided their dikastes into ten sections, which split the use of two kleroteria. Candidate citizens would place their identification ticket -pinaka- in the section's chest. Once each citizen who wished to become judge for the day placed their pinka in the chest, the presiding archon would shake the chest and draw out tickets. The citizen whose ticket was first drawn became the ticket-inserter (empektes). The ticket-inserter would then pull out tickets and insert the tickets into their corresponding section.The Kleroterion was divided into 5 columns, one column per tribe section (between 2 machines). Each row was known as a kanomides. Once the ticket-inserter filled the kleroterion, the archon then placed a mix of black and white dice (Kyboi) into the side of the kleroterion. The number of white dice was proportional to the number of jurors needed. Then, the archon would allow the dice to fall through a tube on the side of the kleroterion and draw them one by one. If the die was white, the top row would be selected as jurors. If the die was black, the archon would move onto the ext row down from the top and repeat until all the juror positions were filled for the day.[2][3]
Scholarship
The first significant examination of Athenian allotment procedures was James Wycliffe Headlam's Election by Lot, first published in 1891. Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians, the text of which was first discovered in 1879 and first published as Aristotle's in 1890, became an important resource for scholars. Throughout the text, Aristotle makes references to a lottery system which was used to appoint government officials. Archaeologists first discovered kleroteria in the 1930s in the Athenian Agora, which were dated to the second century BC. Sterling Dow's Aristotle, the Kleroteria, and the Courts (1939) gave an overview and analysis of the discovered machines. Prior to Sterling Dow's 1939, the word kleroterion in Aristotle was often translated as "allotment room." However, Dow reasoned that kleroterion cannot be translated to mean "room," as Aristotle writes that "There are five kanomides in each of the kleroteria. Whenever he puts in the kyboi, the archon draws lots for the tribe the kleroterion."[4][5] Dow also concluded that Aristotle's 4th century description of the kleroterion applied to the 2nd century kleroterion.
See also
References
- Dibbell, Julian (September 1998). "Info Tech of Ancient Democracy". Alamut.com.
- Demont, Paul (December 2010). "Allotment and Democracy in Ancient Greece". Books and Ideas.
- Orlandini, Alessandro (April 2018) https://www.academia.edu/36510282/KLEROTERION._simulation_of_the_allotment_of_dikastai. simulation of the allotment.
- ^ Thorley, John (1996). Athenian Democracy. New York: Routledge. p. 37. ISBN 0-415-12967-2.
- ^ Crochetière, Erin (December 2013). "Democracy and the Lot: The Lottery of Public Offices in Classical Athens". McGill University Masters Theses.
- ^ Aristotle. The Athenian Consitution. 63-64. Translated by Kenyon, Frederic.
- ^ Dow, Sterling (1939). "Aristotle, the Kleroteria, and the Courts". Harvard Studies in Classical Philology. 50: 1–34. doi:10.2307/310590.
- ^ Aristotle. The Athenian Consitution. 63-64. Translated by Kenyon, Frederic.
External links
- Patrice Masini, Le tirage au sort démocratique, CNRS Images (2017) (a short video by French scholars)
- Alessandro Orlandini, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9H7nbZjAw, (2018) (video of the procedure simulation)
- The Machine that Selected the Citizens of Athens
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)