Page:The City-State of the Greeks and Romans.djvu/189

VI prosperous State, and which cannot possibly be transacted in a vast popular assembly? In other words, did the individual Athenian transact public business himself, as well as direct or judge those to whom it fell? Was he in any degree familiar with the details of the business which he ultimately directed in his assembly, or was he, like the vast majority of the members of our own so-called democracy, wholly ignorant of them, utterly inexperienced in the burdens and responsibilities of office?

The answer to these questions is, that if the constitution actually worked on the lines indicated by the researches of modern scholars, almost every Athenian must at one time or other in his life have taken part in the conduct of public business. This will not be fully apparent until we have explained how Athenian officials were elected; but for the moment we will take a rapid glance at the two chief classes of officials, — those who constituted the Council of 500, and those who filled the long series of administrative posts, from the Archons and Generals at the top of the ladder to the lowest kind of overseers who looked after the police, the markets, or the victims for the public sacrifices.

The Council was simply a large committee of the whole people, elected afresh every year. Its business was of very various kinds, and need not be specified in detail here: two points will be sufficient to provide us with an answer to our questions, so far as this institution is concerned. First, it prepared all business for the Ecclesia, and it had to