When Athenians Gathered Here to Govern

Transcript

Imagine this hill before sunrise. Athens lies dark below you. But men are already climbing towards the Pnyx. A farmer. A sailor. A baker. Some know one another. Many do not. They live very different lives. But this morning, they are coming here for the same reason. Athens has called its citizens together. In the fourth century BC, the Assembly met three or four times a month. Again and again, men left their homes, workshops and fields and climbed this hill. Before the meeting began, the space was purified. A young pig was sacrificed and carried around the Assembly ground. Then a herald called for silence. The question before the citizens was announced. And then came the invitation: Who wishes to speak? Look at the bema — the speaker’s platform you can still see today. A citizen could step forward, stand before thousands and try to persuade them. That took courage. The citizens before him could agree. They could laugh at him. They could reject every word he said. But he could stand there and try. And the questions could be enormous. Should Athens send its ships? Should it make peace? How should the city spend its money? Even the great building programme of the Acropolis had to pass through this Assembly. The monuments rising on the neighbouring hill were not only works of extraordinary art.

They also grew from choices made here. One man rose to speak. Another rose against him. Then the citizens voted, usually by raising their hands. And what happened next was real. If they voted for war, many of the men gathered here might soon be rowing the city’s ships or marching into battle. They were not choosing what someone else should do. They would live with what happened next. And when the meeting was over, the men rose. The Pnyx began to empty. Imagine a baker and a sailor walking back down towards Athens together. Perhaps they are still arguing about the last speaker. One thought he was brilliant. The other thought he was a fool. They walk on. After a while, they are talking about tomorrow. The baker will be up before sunrise. The sailor may already be at the harbour. Perhaps, before they part, one of them returns to the argument. And the other starts laughing.