The history of the Greeks is an interesting sum of mythological facts and heroic events. During the classical era, they would rely on their myths and legends to depict the ancient past of their cities. In the 4th century BC, local historians or topographers and speakers versed in historical events often collected the mythical and legendary traditions of a fictitious past and explained, within this context, the subsequent events following the failure in the Peloponnesian War. Thus, within the Athenian tradition, Theseus stands out as both a historical figure and a mythic hero. When it comes to the real character, King Theseus, son of Aegeus, some historians attribute to him the sinecism (unification of the population) of Attica and the establishment of democracy.
As the so-called «sinecism» of Theseus was initiated, the Athenian polis was formalized around 700 BC. Thucydides is the first to mention it:
«From the times of Cecrops and the early kings until the time of Theseus, the inhabitants of Attica lived scattered in small cities (poleis), each with its pritaneum and magistrates; when they had nothing to fear, they did not meet with the king for deliberation but rather deliberated and decided their policies separately. There were even some who went to war, as was the case of Eleusinus and Eumolpus against Erechtheus. But when Theseus ascended to the throne and combined power with intelligence, among other measures he took to organize the country, he abolished the councils and magistrates of the other cities and unified everyone in the current city, establishing a single council and pritaneum; although they continued occupying their lands separately as before, he compelled them to limit themselves to this one city, which, when left by Theseus to his successors, had become a large city thanks to all contributing their taxes. And in memory of this, the Athenians still today celebrate, at public expense, the Sinecian festivals in honor of the goddess» (Thucydides, p. 143, 15).
As proof that there was an awareness of a unification process in Athens, it can be seen that sinecism is not only rooted in myths and legends but also in the calendar, specifically in the Sinecian festival, in honor of Theseus and Athena, where the demos gathered by phratries.
This thread leads to what could be the beginning of democracy. Specifically, Plutarch, through his biographical writings, precisely links this form of government to Athens governed by Theseus:
«After the death of Aegeus, Theseus undertook a vast and admirable enterprise: he united the inhabitants of Attica in one city (asty) and proclaimed one polis of one state, while before they were scattered and it was difficult to gather them for the common good of all; indeed, at times there were differences and wars among them. Going thus from place to place, he tried to persuade them by tribes and families (génoi); and the individuals and poor people immediately accepted his call, while the powerful ones he promised a state without king and a democracy that would rule it only as leader in war and guardian of laws, providing equal participation for all in other matters. Some seemed to accept these arguments, but others, fearing his power which was already great, preferred to accept them by persuasion rather than force […]. He called the city Athens» (Plutarch, 1985, p. 184).
The Roman historian even mentions the equal participation of rights among citizens that Theseus opted for to guide his people and the importance he gave to organizing its inhabitants:
«With the pretense of enlarging the city, he admitted all to the same rights, and this solemn proclamation: «Come here all peoples», is said to be Theseus’s, who aimed at forming a universal polis. However, he did not neglect that from the unthinking union and mixture of the multitude would result an undisciplined democracy; thus, he was the first to form the distinction of patricians, farmers, and artisans, granting the patricians knowledge about divine matters, from them were taken the archons, and they became teachers of laws and interpreters of sacred things… placing them on a par with other citizens…» (Plutarch, 1985, p. 186).
It is here when the figure of Cleisthenes appears, also associated with Athenian democracy, who in a peculiar way founded a sort of «isocracy» to define equality before the law. In this state system, all citizens possessed similar political powers; the term comes from the Greek ἴσος meaning «equal» and κράτος, «power», or «government». However, sinecistic traditions predated Cleisthenes.
It is in this context that Solon’s democratic legislature emerges, with whom Attica appears already unified, but the same Solon extols this unification and restoration of Athens. Thus elements of his reforms become part of Theseus’ «democracy». Possibly the legislator used the hero to highlight the transformation of the city, the union established by Theseus, fundamentally in the political sphere, which would be represented years later at the Panathenaic festival. Another indication that Theseus was used by Solon refers to the political Theseus, both sinecism and democracy, contains many aspects that can relate to the Athenian legislator also attributed as the father of Athenian democracy. Even some authors maintain that Cimon and other leaders with democratic inclinations have used Theseus to propagate their political actions (Valdés Guía, 2009).
At this point, it is certainly important to note that in Euripides’ Suppliant Women (vv. 350-353 and 405-408), Theseus appears for the first time as a defender of democracy. In verses 350-353, the hero, king of the Athenians, highlights that he has given the people the right to speak and made them sovereign, giving them freedom and equality in voting rights. In verses 405-408, he insists that the city is free and the people are sovereign and that the rich have the same rights (ison) as the poor. It could be said that Theseus, as king, establishes «isonomy», according to what Plutarch (1985, p. 184) declares in an era when the term «demokratia» was not yet considered. It is Theseus who calls for equality with these words: “Come here all peoples”. Solon later gathers the people (in a kind of imitation) and makes equal laws for everyone. If Theseus is the first democrat, Solon is reasserted as the father of democracy (end of the 5th century).
On the other hand, regarding the mythic Theseus, there are different stances from a group of authors who disagree with the historical reality. They mainly reject what concerns Theseus’ sinecism by upholding precisely the projection connected to a mythical and legendary past that does not cease to be close to a political and social viewpoint as well as religious or ritual.
There is a link between the hero Theseus and Attica from the beginnings of archaism, and it is precisely when stories are produced around him, his family, and events related to the process of political unification of the Athenian territory.
In conclusion, the stance of the myth of Theseus as a politician helps us understand and delve into the ideology and organization of the classical era of the 6th, 5th, and 4th centuries BC and the archaic Greek period, and the moment when democracy and polis were configured in Athens. That particularity of the myth complements the historical aspect of the time based on the compilation of sources obtained from historians, topographers, playwrights, who through their works allow us to approach the past and observe common life, conflicts, and scenarios that ancient Greeks lived. It remains, however, a close probability that the pioneer of democracy in Athens was Theseus.
Bibliography
Euripides (1977). Tragedies. Gredos, Madrid.
Plutarch (1985). Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, vol. 1. Madrid.
Thucydides (1989). The History of the Peloponnesian War (translation by Antonio Guzmán Guerra). Alianza Editorial, Madrid.
Valdés Guía, M. (2009). The recreation of the past in Greek imagination: the myth of Theseus and its use as a historical source. Dialogues d'histoire ancienne, 35(1), pp. 11-40. https://doi.org/10.3406/dha.2009.3091
.jpg){kind=link}
Comments