Archon Polemarchos
Archon polemarchos ( Greek ἄρχων πολέμαρχος , "warlord, battle leader") was since the beginning of the 7th century BC. One of the nine highest officials elected annually in ancient Athens , who was in command of the army. The original position of the office is controversial, either it was introduced with the other archonate acts or alongside the kingship to curtail the rights of the king in waging war.
Archaic time
The Polemarchus was responsible for the care of the army, the supreme command of the army and the administration of justice over the metics . However, its tasks can only be determined from those of the 5th century, because the sources for the archaic period are poor: The Polemarchus appears most frequently in Homer, in a work of epic poetry, which puts the usability scientifically into question.
Classic time
Even at the beginning of the classical period, the archon polemarchos no longer had any military tasks; this area was filled by the strategists . (At the time of the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, the Archon Polemarchos Callimachos still belonged to the College of Strategists and traditionally led the right wing of the order of battle.) He only had jurisdiction over foreigners and those who were freed vis-à-vis, combined with the chairmanship in such processes. In addition, he led the celebrations in memory of wars and the fallen, such as the funeral games and the victims for Artemis Agrotera .
swell
- Pseudo- Aristotle , The State of the Athenians
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 .