Ancient Greece is known as the birthplace of dēmokratía; the power of the people, initiated by Pericles in the 5th century BC. However, the reality and pillars of democracies are found at earlier moments, during reforms and times of war.
Background
Cleisthenes, a descendant of the Alcmaeonid family, liberators of Athens from the tyrant Hippias, was responsible for the beginning of the creation of the foundations upon which democracy in Athens was established. His decisive move was the reform of the Athenian tribes, as he abolished the old system of four tribes and replaced it with ten, breaking the ties between the rural population and the local nobility (Barceló, 2014, p. 94) and reconstructing the representative system with the Council of Five Hundred, with fifty representatives from each tribe.
The Birth of Themistocles' Fleet
If Cleisthenes' reform was the foundation for the gestation of democracy, the naval reform of Themistocles, one of the ten strategists during the First Persian War, was the impetus it needed to be born: the creation of the largest fleet among the polis of Greece up until that time (Barceló, 2014, p. 94). By the year 480 BC (interwar period), Athens had a fleet of 180 ships, thanks to Themistocles' persuasion in the Assembly. During this period, the Persians prepared for another invasion of Greek soil, this time led by Xerxes (Durán, 2016, p. 46).
During the Second Persian War and after the failure of resistance provided by Leonidas at Thermopylae and the defeat of the Athenians at Cape Artemisium, it seemed that Attica had been left to its fate and that the only viable solution was to flee and leave everything behind (Jiménez, 1992, p. 67), as described by Herodotus. However, the Athenians retreated to Salamis (although Herodotus describes this action as inspired by the gods), where, after a ruse (Durán, 2016, p. 46), they declared themselves victorious, prompting other Greek cities to seek protection under the fleet of Athens in the Delian League, founded one year before the end of the war.
The immense number of ships, which continued to grow until the beginning of the Peloponnesian War with a fleet of 300 ships (Barceló, 2014, p. 94), not only generated protection for allies, interventions and resource provisioning securing maritime routes but also opened the path to participation by a large number of people in political life, as the sole requirement was to have participated or be participating in military life of the polis (Barceló, 2014, p. 95).
The Demand for Soldiers
The demand for soldiers had increased, as expected, due to the times of war and the growth of the fleet. The creation of the hoplite phalanx was an option for small and medium property owners who wanted to participate in politics through the heavy infantry, while the wealthier formed part of the cavalry. Those poorer citizens could only afford to join the fleet as rowers, since each ship needed around 200 crew members (Herodotus VII, 184). With this, a broad spectrum of Athenian society (excluding women, children, foreigners, slaves and freedmen who did not participate in military life and thus also did not participate in politics), entered the sphere of democracy (Barceló, 2014, p. 95).
From here on, we must understand that any direct attack on Athens or its allies (who bore the costs of the fleet), was not only an attack on their integrity and thalassocracy but also on the democracy (Durán, 2016, p. 47).
Pericles, from the same lineage as Cleisthenes, begins to implement his reforms that gradually consolidate democracy, including the principle of equality among citizens (Barceló, 2014, p. 95) and the government by majority for the interests of the majority (Andújar, 2000, p. 48), all encapsulated in a system organized by public offices that were filled following the principle of meritocracy (Andújar, 2000, p. 51).
The increasing hegemony of Athens propelled itself down the path to superpower status through its expansive foreign policy (Barceló, 2014, p. 106); it was a democracy that constantly fed off its allies and left behind its competitors: the Spartans, which led to the Peloponnesian War and with it, even though Sparta emerged victorious, the exhaustion of both polis and the death of Pericles during the war.
Conclusion
According to the prevailing belief, democracy is the work of Pericles (who implemented fundamental measures). However, as we have seen, there are always more factors at play than usually considered. In this case, it was the fleet that enabled more men to enter military life and consequently political life. While it's true that the fleet wasn't created with this purpose in mind, as expressed by the title, it served as a vehicle that allowed movement over those foundations which had been built earlier and refined through Pericles' measures of Athens.
Bibliography
Andújar, A. H. (2000). Pericles and the Ideal of Athenian Democracy. Res publica, 5, pp. 45-72
Barceló, P. (2014). A Brief History of Greece and Rome (2nd ed.). Alianza Editorial.
Durán, F. J. R. (2016). Rise and Fall of Classical Greece. Tlatemoani: Academic Research Journal, 7(23), pp. 34-58.
Herodotus. (2021). Herodotus. Histories VI-VII (1st ed.). Gredos.
Jiménez, A. P. (1992). Religion and Politics in Greece: Themistocles and the Oracle of Delphi. Minerva: Journal of Classical Philology, 6, pp. 61-82.
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