Archon basileus

Archon basileus ( Greek  ἄρχων βασιλεύς , "king") was an office in ancient Athens . The original position of the office is controversial; either in archaic times it was established as the first office next to the actual king, the basileus , or introduced after other archon acts .

Archaic time

The office of Archon basileus, as well as the other ten-year offices, was occupied by nobles . He was the “high priest” of the city and thus a sacred official with tasks in the secular area. How exactly his area of ​​responsibility was structured can no longer be traced; possibly, like the Roman priests , he had a say in matters of war.

Classic time

As with all offices, the applicant now had to be at least 30 years old. He was chairman of the Areopagus Council and therefore also responsible for lawsuits for capital crimes. In addition, he oversaw the sacred precincts and sites, made the parish offerings , and presided over the mysteries , Lena plays , and torch relays. His area of ​​responsibility also corresponded to his legal powers in complaints of godlessness, temple robbery and illegality of a priesthood.

swell

• Aristotle : The state of the Athenians (= Reclams Universal Library . 3010). Translated and edited by Martin Dreher . Reclam, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-15-003010-2 .

literature

• Jochen Bleicken : The Athenian Democracy (= UTB 1330). 4th, completely revised and significantly expanded edition. Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 1995, ISBN 3-8252-1330-7 .
• Karl-Wilhelm Welwei : The Greek Polis. Constitution and society in archaic and classical times. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart et al. 1983, ISBN 3-17-007935-2 .