Assembly Assignment

Topic One: The occasion of public festival was an opportunity for display of wealth, power, and honor, and thus particularly coveted by the aristocratic clans. What privileges should the Praxiergidai clan have in the festival of Athena in Thargelion? The clan claims ancestral privileges of draping the statue with a new tunic, supervising and leading the procession to the sea to wash the statue and back to the temple before the festival, and conducting the sacrifices to the Fates, to Zeus leader of Fate, and to Athena protector of the City. Other citizens have suggested that only the privileges of draping the statue and conducting the sacrifice to the Fates are properly the ancestral privileges of the Praxiergidai and that the supervision of the procession and the other sacrifices should be undertaken by officials chosen by lot from those citizens offering to pay the expenses.

Topic Two: As Athens’ wealth and power grows, the city is able to do more to further her interests in the Mediterranean world. Representatives from Tenos, a Greek city on an Ionian island near Delos in the Cyclades have come to Athens, asking for some help against Persian encroachment. They remind Athens of their common Ionian heritage and point out the dangers of the growing power of Persia. The Persians have just conquered Phoenicia and now have control of the Phoenician fleet. What aid, if any, should the Athenian people give to the people of Tenos? What might the consequences be of helping Tenos or of leaving the island to its fate?

You should prepare to participate in the Council (if you hold office in the Boule) and the Assembly (if you are a citizen) as debate is held on these two issues. Those on the Council will be responsible for drafting measures for the Assembly to approve or reject. The preliminary proposals for such a measure should be posted (and debated) in the online Blackboard discussion group. Those who are not in the Boule may not speak in this debate (although they may read the postings). The Boule must vote (via Blackboard postings) on proposals to put before the assembly before class on Friday, February 25. In class that day, the whole Assembly will debate on both issues (non-citizens may not speak). After the debates are concluded, you should write a brief essay explaining why you voted the way you did in each case and/or what solution you would have preferred to the one adopted and why that would have been preferable (around 2-3 pages each). Make sure to explain your position with regard to your status within Athenian society, your connections or conflicts with other groups in Athens, and your interests in Athenian interaction with other cities. The essays are due before the beginning of class on Friday, March 4.