Heliaia
Encyclopedia
Heliaia or Heliaea was the supreme court of ancient Athens. Τhe view generally held among scholars is that the court drew its name from the ancient Greek
verb , which means , namely congregate. Another version is that the court took its name from the fact that the hearings were taking place outdoors, under the sun. Heliaia was also called big ecclesia
. Initially, this was the name of the place where the hearings were convoked, but later this appellation included the court as well.
The judges were called heliasts or dikasts . The operation of judging was called .
or Solon
, but it seems that the latter initiated a function of the Assembly to sit as an appeals court. The court comprised 6.000 members, chosen annually by the lot among all the male citizens over 30 years old, unless they were in debt to the Treasury or disfranchised, namely deprived of their civil rights through the humiliating punishment of atimia
. Those suffering from intellectual or corporeal flaws were also excepted, if their shortages prevented them from fully perceiving the proceedings. If any unqualified person participated in a jury, then information was laid against him and he was brought before the Heliaia. If convicted the court could assess against him whatever punishment or fine he is thought to deserve. If the punishment was a money fine, then the infringer had to go to prison until he had paid both the former debt, for which the information was laid, and whatever additional sum had been imposed on him as a fine by the court.
and later, at the instigation of Kleon probably in 425 BC with three oboloi, i.e. half a drachma. According to Aristotle
, Pericles first made service in the jury-courts a paid office, as a popular counter-measure against Cimon's wealth.
The 6.000 were drawn from the 10 tribes (each tribe was offering 600 members) and they were then divided into chambers of 600 jurymen, 500 or 501 of whom were regular members and the rest constituted alternate juror. In exceptional case the court could go into plenary sessions. Sometimes the chambers were comprising from 201 to 401 members or 1001 to 1501 members. After the choosing by lot, the heliasts had to take once every year the heliasts' oath. After the swearing-in, the jurors were receiving one box-wood ticket, with their own names and that of their father and deme
written on it, and one letter of the alphabet as far as kappaand the jurors of each tribe
were divided into ten sections, approximately an equal number under each letter.
and Pericles prompted a binding resolution through ecclesia
, stripping Areios Pagos, conservatism's hub, off most of the cases it judged, that the Heliaia started judging almost all the civil and penal cases. Areios Pagos kept its competence only for the crime
s of murder
and arson
, while the archons could impose some minor fines. It should be noted that the Heliaia's jurisdiction included also litigations, which involved Athenians and citizens of other cities or Athens
and another city as subjects of international law. Namely, the Heliaia functioned as a court for litigations of public, criminal and private international law.
Taking the jurisdiction over the so-called graphe paranomon
, the Heliaia replaced the Areios Pagos in the execution of the legal control of the decisions of ecclesia
. Until Ephialtes' reforms the Areios Pagos had the duty of guarding the laws and to keep watch over the greatest and the most important of the affairs of state.
was in session. The sessions took place in the open within a marked-off area, since there was no specific building where they could be lodged. The location of the hearing was confined with a special hedge, outside of which the audience could stand.The details of the legal procedure were as follows:
The hegemon (ἡγεμών) of the court was responsible for the registration of the suits and complaints. After holding a preliminary investigation, he also had to subpoena the litigant parties and the witnesses before the jury. In the morning of the day of hearings, the hegemon had to determine by lot the jury that would judge the case as well as the place where it would convene. After the formation of the jury, the hegemon had to submit the conclusions of his preliminary investigation, announcing and defining the litigation, on which the court should decide. Then it was the time for the plaintiff, the defendant and the witnesses to be heard. The arguments were exposed by the litigants themselves, without the legal support of a lawyer, in the form of an exchange of single speeches timed by water clock. In a public suit each litigant had three hours to speak, whereas they had much less in private suits (though here it was in proportion to the amount of money at stake). In this way the judicial cases became a vehement fight of impressions, since the jurors did not constitute a little group of mature citizens, such as the Council of Areios Pagos, which was interested only for the right application of the law. Additionally, before the Chambers of Heliaia each citizen had to become an effective orator and to act solely in his capacity as citizen, in order to protect his interests and to enforce his views.
Decisions were made by voting without any time set aside for deliberation. Nothing, however, stopped jurors from talking informally amongst themselves during the voting procedure and juries could be unruly, shouting out their disapproval or disbelief of things said by the litigants. This may have had some role in building a consensus. The voting procedure was public and transparent. Each heliast had received two votes, one "not guilty" and one "guilty". Then, the herald (κήρυξ) should, first, ask the heliasts if they wanted to submit any objections against the witnesses and, then, he should call them to cast their votes in two different amphora
s, one of copper for the "non-guilty" votes and one of wood for the "guilty" votes. The voting was secret, since each juror had to cover with his fingers the vote, so that nobody could see, in which amphora he threw it. In the civil cases the voting procedure was different, because the amphoras were as many as the litigant parties and the jurors had to vindicate one of them, by casting their vote.
After the votes were counted, the herald announced the final result. In case of equality in votes, the defendant was acquitted, because he was thought to have got "the vote of Athena
".
was accused for impiety by Meletus
, Anytus
and Lycon
. His trial took place in 399 BC
and the jury found him guilty with 280 votes to 220. His death sentence was decided in a second voting, which was even worse for the philosopher. Nonetheless, Socrates did not lose his calm demeanor and, although during the trial he could propose to the jury his self-exile, he did not do it, since life away from his beloved city was pointless for him.
, Pericles faced, twice, serious accusations. The first one just before the eruption of the Peloponnesian War
and the second one during the first year of the war, when he was punished with a fine, the amount of which was either fifteen or fifty talents
. Before the war a bill was passed, on motion of Dracontides, according to which Pericles should deposit his accounts of public moneys with the prytanes and the jurors should decide upon his case with ballots which had lain upon the altar of the goddess on the acropolis. This clause of the bill was however amended with the motion that the case be tried before fifteen hundred jurors in the ordinary way, whether one wanted to call it a prosecution for embezzlement and bribery, or malversation.
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
verb , which means , namely congregate. Another version is that the court took its name from the fact that the hearings were taking place outdoors, under the sun. Heliaia was also called big ecclesia
Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
. Initially, this was the name of the place where the hearings were convoked, but later this appellation included the court as well.
The judges were called heliasts or dikasts . The operation of judging was called .
Institution and composition of Heliaia
It is not clear whether Heliaia was instituted by CleisthenesCleisthenes
Cleisthenes was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508/7 BC...
or Solon
Solon
Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
, but it seems that the latter initiated a function of the Assembly to sit as an appeals court. The court comprised 6.000 members, chosen annually by the lot among all the male citizens over 30 years old, unless they were in debt to the Treasury or disfranchised, namely deprived of their civil rights through the humiliating punishment of atimia
Atimia (loss of citizen rights)
Atimia was a form of disenfranchisement used under classical Athenian democracy. A person who was made atimos, literally without honour or value, was unable to carry out the political functions of a citizen...
. Those suffering from intellectual or corporeal flaws were also excepted, if their shortages prevented them from fully perceiving the proceedings. If any unqualified person participated in a jury, then information was laid against him and he was brought before the Heliaia. If convicted the court could assess against him whatever punishment or fine he is thought to deserve. If the punishment was a money fine, then the infringer had to go to prison until he had paid both the former debt, for which the information was laid, and whatever additional sum had been imposed on him as a fine by the court.
Appointment of the jurymen
The public office of the heliast was not obligatory, but the citizens who wished to exert these duties ought to submit a petition. The post of the dikast was salaried and, thereby, the jurors were remunerated for each day of employment with one obolusObolus
The obol was an ancient silver coin. In Classical Athens, there were six obols to the drachma, lioterally "handful"; it could be excahnged for eight chalkoi...
and later, at the instigation of Kleon probably in 425 BC with three oboloi, i.e. half a drachma. According to Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, Pericles first made service in the jury-courts a paid office, as a popular counter-measure against Cimon's wealth.
The 6.000 were drawn from the 10 tribes (each tribe was offering 600 members) and they were then divided into chambers of 600 jurymen, 500 or 501 of whom were regular members and the rest constituted alternate juror. In exceptional case the court could go into plenary sessions. Sometimes the chambers were comprising from 201 to 401 members or 1001 to 1501 members. After the choosing by lot, the heliasts had to take once every year the heliasts' oath. After the swearing-in, the jurors were receiving one box-wood ticket, with their own names and that of their father and deme
Deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or demos was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Athens. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in...
written on it, and one letter of the alphabet as far as kappaand the jurors of each tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
were divided into ten sections, approximately an equal number under each letter.
Jurisdiction
Initially, the Heliaia's jurisdiction was limited in judging the archons and, probably, some other similar accusations against public office-holders. It was when EphialtesEphialtes of Athens
Ephialtes was an ancient Athenian politician and an early leader of the democratic movement there. In the late 460s BC, he oversaw reforms that diminished the power of the Areopagus, a traditional bastion of conservatism, and which are considered by many modern historians to mark the beginning of...
and Pericles prompted a binding resolution through ecclesia
Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
, stripping Areios Pagos, conservatism's hub, off most of the cases it judged, that the Heliaia started judging almost all the civil and penal cases. Areios Pagos kept its competence only for the crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, while the archons could impose some minor fines. It should be noted that the Heliaia's jurisdiction included also litigations, which involved Athenians and citizens of other cities or Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and another city as subjects of international law. Namely, the Heliaia functioned as a court for litigations of public, criminal and private international law.
Taking the jurisdiction over the so-called graphe paranomon
Graphē paranómōn
The graphē paranómōn , was a form of legal action believed to have been introduced at Athens under the democracy somewhere around the year 415 BC; it has been seen as a replacement for ostracism which fell into disuse around the same time.The name means "suit against contrary to the laws." The...
, the Heliaia replaced the Areios Pagos in the execution of the legal control of the decisions of ecclesia
Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
. Until Ephialtes' reforms the Areios Pagos had the duty of guarding the laws and to keep watch over the greatest and the most important of the affairs of state.
Procedure
The Heliaia was in session every normal day, except for the three last days of each month and for the days during which the ecclesiaEcclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
was in session. The sessions took place in the open within a marked-off area, since there was no specific building where they could be lodged. The location of the hearing was confined with a special hedge, outside of which the audience could stand.The details of the legal procedure were as follows:
The hegemon (ἡγεμών) of the court was responsible for the registration of the suits and complaints. After holding a preliminary investigation, he also had to subpoena the litigant parties and the witnesses before the jury. In the morning of the day of hearings, the hegemon had to determine by lot the jury that would judge the case as well as the place where it would convene. After the formation of the jury, the hegemon had to submit the conclusions of his preliminary investigation, announcing and defining the litigation, on which the court should decide. Then it was the time for the plaintiff, the defendant and the witnesses to be heard. The arguments were exposed by the litigants themselves, without the legal support of a lawyer, in the form of an exchange of single speeches timed by water clock. In a public suit each litigant had three hours to speak, whereas they had much less in private suits (though here it was in proportion to the amount of money at stake). In this way the judicial cases became a vehement fight of impressions, since the jurors did not constitute a little group of mature citizens, such as the Council of Areios Pagos, which was interested only for the right application of the law. Additionally, before the Chambers of Heliaia each citizen had to become an effective orator and to act solely in his capacity as citizen, in order to protect his interests and to enforce his views.
Decisions were made by voting without any time set aside for deliberation. Nothing, however, stopped jurors from talking informally amongst themselves during the voting procedure and juries could be unruly, shouting out their disapproval or disbelief of things said by the litigants. This may have had some role in building a consensus. The voting procedure was public and transparent. Each heliast had received two votes, one "not guilty" and one "guilty". Then, the herald (κήρυξ) should, first, ask the heliasts if they wanted to submit any objections against the witnesses and, then, he should call them to cast their votes in two different amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
s, one of copper for the "non-guilty" votes and one of wood for the "guilty" votes. The voting was secret, since each juror had to cover with his fingers the vote, so that nobody could see, in which amphora he threw it. In the civil cases the voting procedure was different, because the amphoras were as many as the litigant parties and the jurors had to vindicate one of them, by casting their vote.
After the votes were counted, the herald announced the final result. In case of equality in votes, the defendant was acquitted, because he was thought to have got "the vote of Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
".
Sentences
Heliasts could impose either fines (for civil and penal cases) either "corporeal sentences" (only for penal cases). The fines of Heliaia were higher than the fines of the archons. The lato sensu "corporeal sentences" included death, imprisonment (for the non-Athenian citizens), atimia (sometimes along with confiscation) and exile .Socrates' trial
SocratesSocrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
was accused for impiety by Meletus
Meletus
The Apology of Socrates by Plato names Meletus as the chief accuser of Socrates. He is also mentioned in the Euthyphro. Given his awkwardness as an orator, and his likely age at the time of Socrates' death, many hold that he was not the real leader of the movement against the early philosopher,...
, Anytus
Anytus
Anytus , son of Anthemion, was one of the prosecutors of Socrates. An unsubstantiated legend has it that he was banished from Athens after the public felt guilty about having Socrates executed. We know that he was one of the leading supporters of the democratic forces in Athens...
and Lycon
Lycon
Lycon The absolute lowest life form. Lowest ranking level of unknown society; religion Lycon or Lyco may refer to:*Lycon, a son of King Hippocoon of Sparta in Greek mythology...
. His trial took place in 399 BC
399 BC
Year 399 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Augurinus, Longus, Priscus, Cicurinus, Rufus and Philo...
and the jury found him guilty with 280 votes to 220. His death sentence was decided in a second voting, which was even worse for the philosopher. Nonetheless, Socrates did not lose his calm demeanor and, although during the trial he could propose to the jury his self-exile, he did not do it, since life away from his beloved city was pointless for him.
Pericles' trial
According to PlutarchPlutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, Pericles faced, twice, serious accusations. The first one just before the eruption of the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
and the second one during the first year of the war, when he was punished with a fine, the amount of which was either fifteen or fifty talents
Attic talent
The Attic talent , also known as the Athenian talent or Greek talent, is an ancient unit of mass equal to 26 kg, as well as a unit of value equal to this amount of pure silver. A talent was originally intended to be the mass of water required to fill an amphora . At the 2009 price of $414/kg, a...
. Before the war a bill was passed, on motion of Dracontides, according to which Pericles should deposit his accounts of public moneys with the prytanes and the jurors should decide upon his case with ballots which had lain upon the altar of the goddess on the acropolis. This clause of the bill was however amended with the motion that the case be tried before fifteen hundred jurors in the ordinary way, whether one wanted to call it a prosecution for embezzlement and bribery, or malversation.
External links
- Athenian Democracy in Action: The Pnyx, the Bouleuterion, the Prytaneion, and the Heliaia
- Criminal Procedure in Ancient Greece and the Trial of Socrates
- Historical Overview
- Panagiotis Chaloulos, Legislative provisions (in Greek)
- Yannis Panagiwtopoulos, The Athenian Democracy (in Greek)
- Michael Sakelariou, The Athenian Democracy
- E.M. Soulis, Thucydides and his political and intellectual environment (in Greek)
- Augoustinos Zenakos, Solon the Athenian
See also
- AreopagusAreopagusThe Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the "Rock of Ares", north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Alirrothios .The origin...
- Athenian democracyAthenian democracyAthenian democracy developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 508 BC. Athens is one of the first known democracies. Other Greek cities set up democracies, and even though most followed an Athenian model,...
- Atimia (loss of citizen rights)Atimia (loss of citizen rights)Atimia was a form of disenfranchisement used under classical Athenian democracy. A person who was made atimos, literally without honour or value, was unable to carry out the political functions of a citizen...
- Attic calendarAttic calendarThe Attic calendar is a hellenic calendar that was in use in ancient Attica, the ancestral territory of the Athenian polis. This article focuses on the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the classical period that produced some of the most significant works of ancient Greek literature. Because of the...
- BouleBoule (Ancient Greece)In cities of ancient Greece, the boule meaning to will ) was a council of citizens appointed to run daily affairs of the city...
- Ecclesia (ancient Athens)Ecclesia (ancient Athens)The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
- Graphe paranomonGraphē paranómōnThe graphē paranómōn , was a form of legal action believed to have been introduced at Athens under the democracy somewhere around the year 415 BC; it has been seen as a replacement for ostracism which fell into disuse around the same time.The name means "suit against contrary to the laws." The...
- History of AthensHistory of AthensAthens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for at least 7000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BCE and its cultural achievements during the 5th century BCE laid the foundations...