Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens by Josiah Ober

Author:Josiah Ober [Josiah Ober]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2008-11-17T19:37:00+00:00

Democratic Athens stands out among Greek poleis in its efforts to construct and improve inward-facing public spaces. These spaces were built in different scales for participant-audiences of 50 to 17,000 persons. They were erected especially in the central city, but also in larger demes throughout Attica. The buildings are either round in ground plan or incorporate inward-facing seating within a rectilinear building plan. We have seen (chapter 4) that many Athenians spent a very substantial amount of time conducting public business. Because much of an Athenian's "public business time" (e.g., as a councilman) as well as much of his "political culture time" (as a theater goer) was spent in inward-facing spatial contexts, the costs of public service and political culture produced a substantial public benefit, not only by efficiently aggregating knowledge for better decision making, but also by efficiently building common knowledge and thereby facilitating complex coordination across Athens' large and socially diverse population .41

Monumental inward-facing public buildings were constructed only during the democratic period of Athenian history (i.e., eras III-XI). The Mycenaean Greeks had constructed monumental round tholos tombs in the Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 B.C.), and houses with inward-facing seating may have been common in the ensuing Dark Age (1100-750 B.C.).47 But there are no examples of monumental inward-facing structures, identifiable as public buildings, anywhere in Greece before the late sixth century. There was considerable monumental building sponsored by the tyrants of pre-democratic sixth-century Athens (era II), but none of the tyrants' buildings appear to be designed as inward-facing spaces. The construction and improvement of monumental inward-facing public buildings in Athens begins with the emergence of democracy in era III, continues through the period of democratic flourishing (eras IV-XI), and ends abruptly with the end of the democracy's continuous existence. In the post-democratic third century there was a hiatus in major public building of all kinds. When monumental building resumed in the second century (late era XII), major new public buildings, typically sponsored by Hellenistic kings as gifts to the city of Athens, were in the form of stoas or temples; they were not designed as inward-facing structures for civic purposes.4%

According to the most convincing analysis of the archaeological evidence, it was very soon after the foundation of democracy in 508 B.C. that Athens began to construct major new inward-facing public buildings. In ca. 500 B.C. the Athenians erected a purpose-built Bouleuterion (Council House) on the western side of the Agora for the meetings of the Council of 500. Meanwhile, they created a theatral (large, semi-circular with banked, curved seating) area called the Pnyx for the exclusive use of the citizen Assembly. At about the same time, the Agora was formally designated as open public space by the establishment of boundary markers at its entrances. Here the Athenians gathered for various public purposes, probably including attending dramatic performances of tragedy. At least two demes had been provided with actual theaters by the late sixth century (see, further, below, this chapter).49

About a generation after the construction of the Bouleuterion, in ca.

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