In the Athenian democracy, who proposed and enacted the laws for the city-state?
The Athenian lawmakers were made up of representatives of the demos, or the people, much like our own American lawmakers today.
There were two bodies of Athenian men who were responsible for Athenian law, one for proposing new legislation, and one for voting it in or throwing it out. The first group of men, the Boule, was the Athenian Senate. There were 500 members of the Boule, 50 members representing each of the 10 Athenian tribes. The seats were awarded according to the population of each of the tribal townships in and around Athens, known as demes. This assured fair and equal representation across the board, or at least in theory.
The Boule met every day, except for religious days, in the Bouleterion, located in the Athenian Agora. Their job was to represent the Athenian people, and to propose new laws for the greater good.
The second law-making body in Classical Athens was known as the Ekklesia, or the assembly of the demos (the people). The Ekklesia met every 10 days at the Pnyx, a centrally-located hill just SW of the Agora.
Initiated by Solon in 594 B.C., the Ekklesia was open to all male Athenian citizens over 18. This assembly was open to all Athenian classes, even the thetes, or the lowest class of Athenians. In theory, this assembly represented every single Athenian.
In addition to voting on proposed legislation of the Boule, the Ekklesia was responsible for voting magistrates, or judges, into office, and had the final say in all military actions. At its height in the 5th century B.C., there were over 40,000 members of the Ekklesia.
Sources consulted:
The Athenian Agora. Camp, John M. 1986, Thames and Hudson, Inc.
www.wikipedia.org
