Rethinking Athenian Democracy A dissertation presented by Daniela Louise Cammack to The Department of Government in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Political Science Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts January 2013 © 2013 Daniela Cammack All rights reserved. Professor Richard Tuck Daniela Cammack Abstract Conventional accounts of classical Athenian democracy represent the assembly as the primary democratic institution in the Athenian political system. This looks reasonable in the light of modern democracy, which has typically developed through the democratization of legislative assemblies. Yet it conflicts with the evidence at our disposal. Our ancient sources suggest that the most significant and distinctively democratic institution in Athens was the courts, where decisions were made by large panels of randomly selected ordinary citizens with no possibility of appeal. This dissertation reinterprets Athenian democracy as “dikastic democracy” (from the Greek dikastēs, “judge”), defined as a mode of government in which ordinary citizens rule principally through their control of the administration of justice. It begins by casting doubt on two major planks in the modern interpretation of Athenian democracy: first, that it rested on a conception of the “wisdom of the multitude” akin to that advanced by epistemic democrats today, and second that it was “deliberative,” meaning that mass discussion of political matters played a defining role. The first plank rests largely on an argument made by Aristotle in support of mass political participation, which I show has been comprehensively misunderstood. The second rests on the interpretation of the verb “bouleuomai” as indicating speech, but I suggest that it meant internal reflection in both the courts and the assembly. The third chapter begins the constructive part of the project by comparing the assembly and courts as instruments of democracy in Athens, and the iii fourth shows how a focus on the courts reveals the deep political dimensions of Plato’s work, which in turn suggests one reason why modern democratic ideology and practice have moved so far from the Athenians’ on this score. Throughout, the dissertation combines textual, philological and conceptual analysis with attention to institutional detail and the wider historical context. The resulting account makes a strong case for the relevance of classical Athens today, both as a source of potentially useful procedural mechanisms and as the point of origin of some of the philosophical presuppositions on which the modern conception of democracy and its limits depends. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Table of Contents v Abbreviations vi Acknowledgments xi Epigraphs xiv Introduction. Reasons to Rethink Athenian Democracy 1 Chapter 1. Aristotle on the Virtue of the Multitude 53 Chapter 2. Deliberation in Classical Athens: Not Talking But Thinking 94 Chapter 3. The Most Democratic Branch? The Assembly vs. the Courts 132 Chapter 4. Plato and the Construction of Justice 174 Conclusion. Democracy Ancient and Modern 231 Bibliography 242 v ABBREVIATIONS Adapted from M. H. Hansen, Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), xiii-xvi. Aeschin. Aischines (c. 390-322), rhētor Aesch. Aischylos (c. 525-456), tragic poet Eum. Eumenides (458) Andoc. Andokides (c. 440-c. 390) Ant. Antiphon (c. 480-411), rhētor and leader of the oligarchical revolution in 411 Ar. Aristophanes (c. 445-c. 385), poet of old Attic comedy Ach. Acharnians (425) Av. Birds (414) Eccl. Assemblywomen (393 or 392) Eq. Knights (424) Lys. Lysistrata (411) Nub. Clouds (423) Pax Peace (421) Plut. Wealth (388) Ran. Frogs (405) Thesm. Thesmophoriazousai (411) Vesp. Wasps (422) Arist. Aristotle (384-22), philosopher vi EE Eudemian Ethics HA History of Animals NE Nichomachean Ethics Pol. Politics Rhet. Rhetoric Dem. Demosthenes (384-22), rhētor Din. Deinarchos (c. 360-290), speech-writer Diod. Diodoros of Sicily (first century BC), author of a world history in forty books Diog. Laert. Diogenes Laertios (second century AD), author of compendium of lives of philosophers in ten books Eur. Euripides (c.485-c.406), tragic poet Heracl. Children of Heracles Med. Medea Supp. Suppliant Women (422?) fr. fragment Hdt. Herodotos (c. 484-c. 425?), author of a history of the Persian Wars in nine books Hom. Homer (date uncertain), epic poet Il. Iliad Od. Odyssey Hyp. Hypereides (c. 390-322), rhētor vii Is. Isaios (c.420-c.350), speech-writer Isoc. Isokrates (436-338), author of rhetorical essays and political pamphlets LSJ H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, rev. H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968) Lycurg. Lykourgos (c.390-24), rhētor Lys. Lysias (c.445-c.380), speech-writer Pl. Plato (427-347), philosopher Alc. 1, 2 Alcibiades 1, 2 Ap. Apology (of Sokrates) Clit. Clitophon Cra. Cratylus Cri. Crito Criti. Critias Def. Definitions Ep. Letters Euthyd. Euthydemus Euthphr. Euthyphro Grg. Gorgias Hipparch. Hipparchus Lch. Laches Lg. Laws Men. Meno viii Menex. Menexenus Phd. Phaedo Phdr. Phaedrus Pol. The Statesman Prt. Protagoras Resp. The Republic Smp. Symposium Thg. Theages Tht. Theaetetus Plut. Plutarch (c.AD45-c.125), author of lives of great men and moral essays Alc. Alkibiades Dem. Demosthenes Lyc. Lykourgos Nic. Nikias Per. Perikles Poll. Pollux (second century AD), professor of rhetoric in Athens and author of a work on Attic vocabulary in ten books Ps. Arist. Pseudo-Aristotle Ath. Pol. Athēnaiōn Politeia or Constitution of the Athenians, composed in Aristotle’s school c.330 Ps. Xen. Pseudo-Xenophon ix Ath. Pol. Athēnaiōn Politeia or Constitution of the Athenians, anonymous political pamphlet composed by an Athenian probably in the 420s R&O Greek Historical Inscriptions 404-323, ed. P. J. Rhodes and R. Osborne (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) schol. Scholia: Hellenistic or Byzantine notes on classical authors, written in the margins of manuscripts or published separately Theophr. Theophrastos (c.370-c.285), pupil of Aristotle and after his death the head of his school Char. Thirty short character sketches Thuc. Thucydides (c.460-c.395), author of a history of the Peloponnesian War down to 411 in eight books Xen. Xenophon (c.425-c.355), historian and essayist Cyn. On Hunting Eq. Mag. The Cavalry Commander Hell. Hellenika, seven books: history of Greece 411-362 Lac. The Constitution of the Lakedaimonians Mem. Memorabilia, four books: recollections of Sokrates Author’s Note: The transliteration of Greek is notoriously vexed. I have tried to follow Greek lettering as closely as possible, except where the result might prove distracting (e.g. Thoukydides for Thucydides). Translations are from the Loeb Classical Library unless otherwise indicated. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge my debts to the many individuals and institutions who have provided moral, intellectual and financial support during the writing of this dissertation. First I must record my enduring gratitude to Richard Tuck, without whose stimulating teaching, unstinting support, shrewd questioning and sound advice I would not have begun to study political theory, let alone write a dissertation on ancient Greek political thought, a subject about which I knew next to nothing when I started the Ph.D. program at Harvard in 2006. Second, I want to thank Jane Mansbridge, an exemplary teacher and mentor whose unfailing intellectual and personal generosity has been a continual source of profit and inspiration to me since meeting her in 2008. Third, I am greatly indebted to Bryan Garsten, for whose warm personal support and helpful interrogation of my work I already had reason to be grateful before he stepped in, at relatively short notice, to act as the third member of my dissertation committee. I would also like to express warm thanks to the following individuals for the intellectual energy they have invested in my work: Henry Farrell, Eugene Garver, Alex Gourevitch, Katherine Hunt, Sean Ingham, Roland Lamb, Matthew Landauer, Melissa Lane, David Langslow, Adriaan Lanni, Anne Malcolm, Kirsty Milne, Josiah Ober, Siobhan Phillips, Jedediah Purdy, Patrick Riley, Lucas Stanczyk, Ian Simmons, Paul xi Steedman, Sophy Tuck, and Victor Walser. I owe a special debt of thanks to the incomparable George Scialabba, whose kindness and immaculate editing skills have transformed many pages of this dissertation. Needless to say, while these friends deserve thanks for rescuing me from many errors of fact and inadequacies of interpretation and explication, I take full responsibility for all the faults that remain. Earlier versions of Chapter 1, “Aristotle on the Virtue of the Multitude,” were presented at the Harvard Political Theory Workshop and the annual meeting of the Northeastern Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA, November 18, 2011. I thank Matthew Landauer, Jeffrey Dirk Wilson, Thanassis Samaras and Eric Petrie for their comments on these occasions. I would also like to thank the NPSA prize committee for naming this their “Best Paper by a Graduate Student” in 2012 and the NPSA Women’s Caucus for awarding it their prize for “Best Paper by a Woman Political Scientist.” This chapter will be appearing in Political Theory in April 2013: I am grateful to Mary Dietz and two anonymous reviewers for their comments. Earlier versions of Chapter 2, “Deliberation in Classical Athens: Not Talking, But Thinking” were presented at the Harvard Political Theory Workshop and at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 13, 2012. I thank Daniel Betti, Beth Janairo, and Matthew Landauer for their comments at these events. An earlier version of Chapter 3, “The Most Democratic Branch? The Athenian Assembly vs. Its Courts,” was scheduled to be presented at the (eventually cancelled) American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, September 1, 2012. I thank Stefan Dolgert very warmly for his comments. xii An earlier version of Chapter 4, “Plato and the Construction of Justice,” was presented at the annual meeting of the Northeast Political Science Association, Boston, MA, November 17, 2012.