The Athenian Constitution   

them with
a view to determining the issues between litigants. Accordingly
their office, alone of those which have been mentioned, was never of
more than annual duration.
Such, then, is the relative chronological precedence of these
offices. At that time the nine Archons did not all live together.
The King occupied the building now known as the Boculium, near the
Prytaneum, as may be seen from the fact that even to the present day
the marriage of the King's wife to Dionysus takes place there. The
Archon lived in the Prytaneum, the Polemarch in the Epilyceum. The
latter building was formerly called the Polemarcheum, but after
Epilycus, during his term of office as Polemarch, had rebuilt it and
fitted it up, it was called the Epilyceum. The Thesmothetae occupied
the Thesmotheteum. In the time of Solon, however, they all came
together into the Thesmotheteum. They had power to decide cases
finally on their own authority, not, as now, merely to hold a
preliminary hearing. Such then was the arrangement of the
magistracies. The Council of Areopagus had as its constitutionally
assigned duty the protection of the laws; but in point of fact it
administered the greater and most important part of the government
of the state, and inflicted personal punishments and fines summarily
upon all who misbehaved themselves. This was the natural consequence
of the facts that the Archons were elected under qualifications of
birth and wealth, and that the Areopagus was composed of
those who had
served as Archons; for which latter reason the membership of the
Areopagus is the only office which has continued to be a
life-magistracy to the present day.

Part 4

Such was, in outline, the first constitution, but not very long
after the events above recorded, in the archonship of Aristaichmus,
Draco enacted his ordinances. Now his constitution had the following
form. The franchise was given to all who could furnish
themselves with
a military equipment. The nine Archons and the Treasurers
were elected
by this body from persons possessing an unencumbered property of not
less than ten minas, the less important officials from those
who could
furnish themselves with a military equipment, and the generals
[Strategi] and commanders of the cavalry [Hipparchi] from those who
could show an unencumbered property of not less than a hundred
minas, and had children born in lawful wedlock over ten years of
age. These officers were required to hold to bail the Prytanes, the
Strategi, and the Hipparchi of the preceding year until
their accounts
had been audited, taking four securities of the same class as that
to which the Strategi and the Hipparchi belonged. There was
also to be
a Council, consisting of four hundred and one members, elected by
lot from among those who possessed the franchise. Both for this and
for the other magistracies the lot was cast among those who were
over thirty years of age; and no one might hold office twice until
every one else had had his turn, after which they were to
cast the lot
afresh. If any member of the Council failed to attend when
there was a
sitting of the Council or of the Assembly, he paid a fine, to the
amount of three drachmas if he was a Pentacosiomedimnus, two
if he was
a Knight, and One if he was a Zeugites. The Council of Areopagus was
guardian of the laws, and kept watch over the magistrates to see