Sources
Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution
Christopher Carey, Trials from Classical Athens
Several articles at the Demos project
Here is about all we have from the courts: these ballots used in trials. Each juror would have two, one with a solid axis, and one with a hollow one. Holding one in each hand, they would drop the one signifying their choice into a ballot box.
There was also an elaborate mechanism to ensure the random assignment of citizens to juries. We do have part of one of these "machines."
We also have texts giving some of the speeches given in the trials, they make fascinating reading.
Juries were large - 201, 501, sometimes 1001 people in the most serious cases.
The actual court buildings have not survived, other than as bare foundations. The current theory is that a building under the north end of the rebuilt stoa of Attalos is the main court building for the 4th century.
| Last modified 3/9/12; original content © 2012 John P. Nordin |