How It's Used

"Cleisthenes took the radical step of depriving the old tribes of all political functions. Instead, new local units called demes were established which took over functions of local government, kept the roll of citizens, and checked on their military training and equipment. Groups of contiguous demes formed a trittys (i.e., a 'third') and three trittyes, selected from different regions of Attica, formed one of the new 'tribes' into which Cleisthenes divided the Athenian citizen body. There were ten such new tribes, and after Cleisthenes' time, political matters were handled through these artificial units."

—William H. McNeill, History of Western Civilization. 6th ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1968), 62.

"In the Louvre in Paris there is an inscription, dating from the early 450s, that lists the names of 171 men of one of the ten Athenian tribes, who died 'in war, on Cyprus, in Egypt, in Phoenicia, at Halieis, Aegina, Megara in the same year.'"

—Bernard Knox. Introduction to The Iliad, by Homer. Robert Fagles, trans. (New York: Penguin Books, 1990), 25.

"In 508 B.C. Athens adopted the Constitution of Cleisthenes, which refined Solon's reforms and brought a remarkable degree of direct democracy to the city...Cleisthenes kept Solon's basic structure, but his major innovation (which has earned him the credit for establishing democracy in Athens) was to redistrict the city in a way that old alliances of geography and clan were broken and could no longer control the city offices. Everyone was divided up into ten tribal units, and this was how they were represented in the Assembly. Furthermore, Solon's old Council of 400 was increased to 500—each tribal unit could select 50 members by lot. By breaking the old alliance system, Cleisthenes secured a remarkable form of direct democracy for Athens with provisions to curb the power of any group that would become too strong."

—Dennis Sherman and Joyce Salisbury. The West in the World, vol. 1. (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001) , 58.

Also Known As (AKA)

The Attic Tribes, The Attic Phylai

Links

Related on eAlmanac
The Five Civilized Tribes
The Twelve Tribes of Israel

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Phyles
Map of Attic Tribes and Demes