Dème

Modes of partition

the territory of the Cité was divided into a hundred parts (with time their number increased), the city, the coast and the interior being distributed the number of dèmes equally:

urban cutting corresponds to the districts or districts forming the cities today: it is rational and is not based on the historical preexistence of a socio-geographical organization; urban examples of dèmes: the Ceramic , Collytos, Mélitè, Scambonidaï.
For the countryside, it had taken there into account of existing and the distribution followed several principles: the confirmation of a homogeneous dème former to the reform, the gathering of several hamlets into only one dème and separation in several entities of dèmes of importance; rural examples of dèmes: Bait, Décélie, Marathon.

Characteristics of the dème

Manpower of the dèmes

Source 1 : on the basis of 25.000 to 30.000 Citizen S adult males for the whole of the Attic, with their families 80.000 to 100.000 people, to which approximately 10.000 Métèque S and 30.000 to 40.000 slaves are grafted.
Source 2 : on the basis of 20.000 wog and 40.000 citizen (200 000 with their families) and 300.000 slave (very difficult to evaluate).

Functions local and formative

The dème can be compared with the common Frenchwomen of the 20th century: a marking down (corresponding to the modern Mayor) is locally elected, as those which regularly can be drawn with the fate in order to constitute the Boulè (the bouleutes , representatives of the people which can evoke the modern Député S); thus the dème is the administrative but so democratic unit basic, its population training an assembly (Agora), exerting capacities of police force, of management of the Public finances, Cadastre and worships, holding of the registers of civil statue.

While taking part in the local organization of the dème the citizens live a civic training course preparing them at the central democratic assemblies.

New social recognitions

Family names, from lines, disappear with the profit from affixing to the first names (with life) from the source, of the name of the dème of origin: this measurement is a strong mark of the slip of being able of the Aristocratie towards the Peuple ( demonstrations , in the past Laos ), the name of the citizen then highlighting more the geographical bonds that sanguins.
Cependant, it is notable that Robert Flacelière (source 2 - PPP) indicates as for him that the citizen at the time of Périclès was designated officially by his own name, that of his/her father (patronym) and that of sound dème (demotic), for example Périclès, wire of Xanthippe, the dème of Cholarges .

Many a Wog S regular residents of the Attic, freed or characters with the ambiguous civic statute also could reach thanks to this measurement the quality of citizen, isonomy leading to the democracy being some reinforced.

The dème, unit of a vaster unit

According to an order ascending, the social organization of Athens towards 500 av. J. - C. was thus fixed:

Individual $\ in$ dème $\ subset$ Trittye $\ subset$ tribe $\ subset$ Quoted

The trittye is the intermediate administrative unit between the dème and the tribe; 3 or 4 dèmes contiguous form a trittye, the latter not laying out of political Pouvoir real but having rather for role to constitute a binder between dèmes and tribes. For example, the guard of the crowned fire which burns in the Tholos (ἡ θόλος) is entrusted to the Prytane S of same a Trittye.
source 2 indicates a subset of the dème to the unknown organization, the Phratrie (equivalent with the family).

The dèmes lately set up in this end of sixth century BC make parties of the series of measures reforming carried out by Clisthène: creation of the trittyes, 10 tribes, a news Ball, adoption of a new calendar, democratization of the operation of the Ecclésia, creation of the Ostracism in order to avoid the Tyranny, establishment of the stations of 10 astynomoi and 10 sylophylaques (elected magistrates, respectively in charge with the public health and the supply grains), of new a Archonte (secretary) and of a college of 10 Strategist S.

See too

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