Why you might read The Constitution of the Athenians?
In a lot of works, we see the Athenian Constitution in action. It is a nice change of pace to actually discuss whether it works or is the best option. It is also the first critique that is not a satire we have seen. It makes a good balance to the prodemocracy parts of my reading project. Synopsis of The Constitution of the Athenians
Giving the plebs a voice is a bad idea. It gives rise to the wealthy only looking after themselves and the plebs being less well off. He gives Oligarchy as an alternative. Saying that the wealthy are better educated and able to do what is best rather than popular. Xenophon spends a little time at the end giving issues with the courts. Especially how they could never get through everything. He does not propose a solution but rather leaves that to the reader.
Reflections on The Constitution of the Athenians
Like I said in the intro it is nice to see a critique of democracy as the Greeks practised it. Today we are so in love with democracy that we see all other forms as inferior. This piece reminds us that there are other options. And that they have their own positives and negatives. This could have been done with a more in-depth discussion. At its current depth, it is unlikely to convince anyone who is not already persuaded. Persuaded that democracy is not the best option.
I'm unsure what the author is hoping to achieve in this piece. Maybe it's a piece of pro-oligarchy propaganda.
What others have to say about The Constitution of the Athenians
"This work represents both a philological and a historiographical problem, because, even if it was transmitted in the corpus of Xenophon’s work, it is considered to have been written by another author, known as Speudo-Xenophon or “Old Oligarch”" From Archai
"The pamphlet aims to show that the demos (common people) at Athens run affairs in their own interests, and it takes the curious form of a salute from an anti‐democratic viewpoint." From Oxford Reference
Comparisons with other texts
In Agesilaus we see Xenophon praising a competent King. This seems in keeping with what we see here with Xenophon taking a stand against Democracy. Both are short Pithy texts with little fluff. That being said Agesilaus has a bit more depth of argument. As well as a bit more evidence for its claims. The Acharnians is not directly about the democracy of Athens. It does however deal with Athens during the war. Here we see the courts in action, or inaction as the case may be. We see through this how ineffective the collective process can be in its need to consult all. This is exactly one of Xenophon's points about The Constitution of the Athenians.
Conclusion
The Consitution of the Athenians is possibly not written by Xenophon. But it is traditionally part of Xenophon's corpus. It covers the downsides of Democracy while lauding Oligarchy as a better alternative.
Have you read The Constitution of the Athenians? If so what did you think of it?
Want to read The Constitution of the Athenians but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.
Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.
