Constitution of the Athenians

​XXI. It was for these reasons, then, that the people trusted Cleisthenes. And then, having become leader of the multitude, in the fourth year after the dissolution of the tyrants, during the archonship of Isagoras, first of all he distributed everyone into ten tribes instead of the four, wishing to mix them up, so that more might participate in the constitution; whence was also said the expression “not to judge by tribe” to those who wished to investigate the family backgrounds. Next, he established the Council of five hundred instead of four hundred, fifty from each tribe; for at that time there were a hundred from each. For this reason he did not organize them into twelve tribes, so that it might not happen to him to divide them according to the pre-existing trittyes; for there were twelve trittyes from the four tribes, so that it would not have resulted in mixing them up. He also divided the country by demes into thirty parts—ten of those around the city, ten of the coast, and ten of the inland—and calling these trittyes, he allotted three to each tribe, so that each tribe might have a share in all the regions. And he made those residing in each of the demes fellow-demesmen of one another, so that they might not, by addressing each other by their patronymics, expose the new citizens, but might address them by their demes; whence also the Athenians call themselves by their demes. He also established demarchs, having the same charge as the former naucrari; for he made the demes instead of the naucraries. He named the demes, some from their locations, others from their founders; for not all of them still corresponded to the places. But he allowed everyone to keep their clans, phratries, and priesthoods according to ancestral customs. And for the tribes, he appointed ten eponymous heroes, chosen by the Pythia from a pre-selected list of one hundred founders.

​XXII. These things having been done, the constitution became much more democratic than that of Solon; for it happened that the tyranny had caused the laws of Solon to disappear through disuse, and Cleisthenes established other new ones, aiming at the multitude, among which was also established the law concerning ostracism. First of all, then, in the fifth year after this establishment, in the archonship of Hermocreon, they administered to the Council of five hundred the oath which they still swear even now. Then they elected the generals by tribes, one from each tribe, and the leader of the whole army was the polemarch. In the twelfth year after these things, having won the battle at Marathon in the archonship of Phaenippus, and having let two years pass after the victory, when the people were now confident, then for the first time they used the law concerning ostracism, which had been established because of the suspicion of those in positions of power, because Peisistratus, being a demagogue and general, had established himself as tyrant. And first to be ostracized of his relatives was Hipparchus, the son of Charmus of Collytus, on whose account especially Cleisthenes had established the law, wishing to expel him. For the Athenians allowed the friends of the tyrants, as many as had not joined in committing offenses in the disturbances, to dwell in the city, employing the customary mildness of the people; of whom the leader and champion was Hipparchus. But immediately in the following year, in the archonship of Telesinus, they appointed by lot the nine archons by tribes from the five hundred pre-selected by the demesmen, then for the first time after the tyranny; for all the previous ones had been elected; and Megacles, the son of Hippocrates of Alopeke, was ostracized. For three years, then, they ostracized the friends of the tyrants, for whose sake the law had been established, but after this, in the fourth year, they also removed any of the others who seemed too great; and first to be ostracized of those unconnected with the tyranny was Xanthippus, the son of Ariphron. In the third year after this, in the archonship of Nicodemus, when the mines at Maroneia appeared and a hundred talents accrued to the city from the works, when some were advising the people to distribute the money, Themistocles prevented it, not saying what he would use the money for, but ordering them to lend to the hundred wealthiest Athenians a talent to each, then if the expenditure should please, the expense would be that of the city, but if not, they would recover the money from those who had borrowed. Receiving it on these terms, he built one hundred triremes, each of the hundred building one, with which they fought at sea in Salamis against the barbarians. And Aristides, the son of Lysimachus, was ostracized during these times. And in the fourth year, they recalled all those who had been ostracized, in the archonship of Hypsichides, because of the expedition of Xerxes; and for the future, they decreed that those ostracized must dwell within Geraestus and Scyllaeum, or be utterly deprived of civil rights.