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14 - Athenian Citizenship Law

from Part 3: - Law in Athens II: Substantive Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2006

By
Cynthia Patterson
Edited by
Michael Gagarin  and
David Cohen
Michael Gagarin
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
David Cohen
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
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Summary

From Aristotle's perspective in the late fourth century, the question “who is a citizen (politēs)?” is one of the first questions that arise when thinking about the nature of the state. “The state,” he says at the opening of Book 3 of the Politics,

is composite, like any other whole made up of many parts - these are the citizens, who compose it. It is evident, therefore, that we must begin by asking, who is the citizen [politēs], and what is the meaning of the term? (1274b40-42)

After considering and then rejecting various options, such as those who “live in a certain place” or those who have the “legal right to sue or be sued,” as too broad, Aristotle arrives at the conclusion: “he who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration of any state is said by us to be a citizen of that state” (1275b19-21). He then dismisses the “practical” definition that a citizen is the child of citizen parents as not in fact much of a definition - e.g., what about the founder of a new state - is he not a citizen (1275b23-33)?

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Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Law , pp. 267 - 289
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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