The Aristoi ( Greek : ἄριστοι) was the label given to the noblemen in ancient Greek society, and in particular ancient Athens . The term literally means "best", with the denotation of best in terms of birth, rank, and nobility, but also usually possessing the connotation of also being the morally best. Goldman emphasizes that the notion of 'good work' has been a persistent theme in defining the ideals of excellence, suggesting that Aristoi were not only leaders but also exemplars of ethical conduct and civic responsibility. The term in fact derives similarly with arete : "The root of the word is the same as aristos , the word which shows superlative ability and superiority, and "aristos" was constantly used in the plural to denote the nobility ."
17-601: Originally, the Aristoi were tightly knit families who had noble lineage, such as the Bacchiadae in ancient Corinth . In the early 6th century BC, Solon promulgated constitutional reforms in Athens. Among the changes, the status and power of the old aristocracy was altered by making wealth rather than birth a criterion for holding political position. This system was called a Timocracy ( Greek : τιμοκρατία). This division called for
34-646: A nomothete (lawgiver) of Thebes . Some of the Bacchiadae also fled to Sparta , for which they possibly fought against the Messenians during the Second Messenian War . Prytanis The prytaneis (πρυτάνεις; sing.: πρύτανις prytanis ) were the executives of the boule of ancient Athens . The term (like basileus or tyrannos ) is probably of Pre-Greek etymology (possibly cognate to Etruscan (e)prθni ). When Cleisthenes reorganized
51-515: A dynasty of Etruscan kings. The royal line of the Lynkestis of Macedon was also of Bacchiad descent. The foundation myths of Corcyra, Syracuse, and Megara Hyblaea contain considerable detail about the Bacchiadae and the expeditions of the Bacchiad Archias of Corinth , legendary founder of Syracuse in 734–33 BCE, and Philolaos , lover of Diocles of Corinth , victor at Olympia in 728 BCE and
68-402: A new division. Thus, citizens were organized based on their land production: This new system established the pentakosiomedimnoi as the aristoi. As such, they were often split into powerful family factions or clans, who controlled all of the important political positions in the polis . Their wealth usually came from both having property the most fertile or protected lands. However, as the status
85-414: A position granted by sortition. The executive officers were known as prytaneis and their term of office as a prytany (πρυτανία). The prytaneis served every day during their prytany. They formally called to meeting the full boule and the ecclesia of Athens, though in practice many meetings were mandatory and evidence suggests that persuasive individuals could enjoin the prytaneis to call or not to call
102-420: A supplementary meeting. The prytaneis received ambassadors from foreign states and generally conducted the day-to-day business of the state. They ate at public expense in the tholos , a circular edifice constructed for them next to the boule house. Each day, for one 24-hour period, one member of the 50 prytaneis was selected by lot to serve as the foreman (ἐπιστάτης epistates , "caretaker"). He administered
119-492: The Athenian government in 508/7 BCE, he replaced the old Solonian boule , or council, of 400 with a new boule of 500. The old boule consisted of 100 members of each of the four ancestral tribes. Cleisthenes created ten new tribes and made the boule consist of 50 men from each of these tribes. Each tribe's delegation would be an executive of the boule for one-tenth of the year , so that ten groups of prytaneis served each year,
136-400: The causes were legal changes; an example was the forbidding of people to bear arms in the agora under the penalty of death . The iconography of vases bear witness to this change depicting the transition from men carrying swords, then spears, then staffs, then – for a brief period of time – parasols , to eventually nothing. They even considered various reasons behind this transformation. Among
153-572: The causes were legal reforms, such as banning weapons in the agora under threat of death. Thucydides also speaks of how the Aristoi took cultural cues from the orient, such as "the luxury of wearing undergarments of linen, and fastening a knot of their hair with a tie of golden grasshoppers." This went out of fashion after the Athenian elite began to mimic the Lacedaemonians , wearing more modest garments in order "to assimilate their way of life to that of
170-431: The chairmanship of meetings was taken over by an office specifically created for this task (the πρόεδροι proedroi ). Prytanis as a title is used in other ancient Greek cities including Rhodes , Alexandria and other cities along the west coast of Asia Minor . Offices that use this title usually have responsibility for presiding over councils of some kind. In the city of Miletus, the prytanis had enough power that he
187-591: The city by electing annually a prytanis who held the kingly position for his brief term, no doubt a council (though none is specifically documented in the scant literary materials) and a polemarchos to head the army. In 657 BCE, the Bacchiadae were expelled in turn by the tyrant Cypselus , who had been polemarch. The exiled Bacchiadae fled to Corcyra (a colony of Corinth) and to Magna Graecia , traditionally to found Syracuse in Sicily, and to Etruria , where Demaratus installed himself at Tarquinia , founding
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#1732847869713204-500: The common people". The information in Athens, where elites began adopting more modest behaviors and styles was influence by broader civilizing trends. For example, the aristocratic adoption of Spartan simplicity reflects a deliberate effort that will align with the democratic values. This shift wasn't just about aesthetics but also signified a moral and political commitment to a shared civic identity. The Aristoi Classical Academy , formerly West Houston Charter School, takes its name from
221-463: The concept. Bacchiadae The Bacchiadae ( Ancient Greek : Βακχιάδαι Bakkhiadai ), a tightly knit Doric clan , were the ruling family of ancient Corinth in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, a period of Corinthian cultural power. Corinth had been a backwater in eighth-century Greece. In 747 BCE (a traditional date) an aristocratic revolution ousted the Bacchiad kings of Corinth, when
238-458: The royal clan of Bacchiadae, numbering perhaps a couple of hundred adult males and claiming descent from the Dorian hero Heracles through the seven sons and three daughters of a legendary king Bacchis , took power from the last king, Telestes . Practising strict endogamy , which kept clan outlines within a distinct extended oikos , they dispensed with kingship and ruled as a group, governing
255-478: The state seal and the keys to the state treasuries and archives. He was, in effect, the chief executive officer of Athens . No man was allowed to hold this office more than once, and so probably more than half of all adult male Athenians held it, at one time or another. During meetings of the ecclesia or boule , the current foreman also chaired these meetings. In the Fourth Century, this practice changed and
272-418: Was greatly appreciated by the common people. In Classical Athens , Thucydides testifies concerning the customs of both citizens and of the rich. He writes that no one bears weapons within the polis , as it permits "an easier and more luxurious mode of life". Where the archaic aristocracy used to carry weapons on their person in the city, the practice was completely abandoned due to cultural shifts. Among
289-446: Was predicated on his wealth, and losing it would cause the loss of nobility, the advent of sea trade routes placed the aristoi at risk of losing everything through failed overseas investments. Pittacus of Mytilene instituted a law stating that crimes committed in drunkenness should be punished twofold; this law was directed predominantly against the aristocrats , as they were more often guilty of drunk and violent behaviour. As such, it
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