ountry and the first martyrs for its
liberty. Their statues were erected in the market-place soon after the
expulsion of Hippias; their descendants enjoyed immunity from all taxes
and public burdens; and their deed of vengeance formed the favourite
subject of drinking songs.

The Lacedaemonians quitted Athens soon after Hippias had sailed away,
leaving the Athenians to settle their own affairs. Clisthenes, to whom
Athens was mainly indebted for its liberation from the despotism,
aspired to be the political leader of the state but he was opposed by
Isagoras, the leader of the party of the nobles. By the Solonian
constitution, the whole political power was vested in the hands of the
nobles; and Clisthenes soon found that it was hopeless to contend
against his rival under the existing order of things. For this reason
he resolved to introduce an important change in the constitution, and
to give to the people an equal share in the government.

The reforms of Clisthenes gave birth to the Athenian democracy, which
can hardly be said to have existed before this time. His first and
most important measure was a redistribution of the whole population of
Attica into ten new tribes. He abolished the four ancient Ionic
tribes, and enrolled in the ten new tribes all the free inhabitants of
Attica, including both resident aliens and even emancipated slaves. He
divided the tribes into a certain number of cantons or townships,
called DEMI, which at a later time were 174 in number. Every Athenian
citizen was obliged to be enrolled in a demus, each of which, like a
parish in England, administered its own affairs. It had its public
meetings it levied rates, and was under the superintendence of an
officer called DEMARCHUS.

The establishment of the ten new tribes led to a change in the number
of the Senate. It had previously consisted of 400 members, but it was
now enlarged to 500, fifty being selected from each of the ten new
tribes. The Ecclesia, or formal assembly of the citizens, was now
summoned at certain fixed periods; and Clisthenes transferred the
government of the state, which had hitherto been in the hands of the
archons, to the senate and the ecclesia. He also increased the
judicial as well as the political power of the people; and enacted that
all public crimes should be tried by the whole body of citizens above
thirty years of age, specially convoked and sworn for the purpose. The
assembly thus convened was calle