A Study On Attica Demo In Classical Period

During the classical period, the demes of Attica were the basic autonomous organizations. But influenced by the city-centered theory, the domestic scholars paid little attention to Athens rural places and the demes. This paper attempts to reveal the internal operation of demes, the role they play in the polis and the relations between demes and polis, through tracing the development history of demes. Then draw a full picture of the urban and rural places in classical Attica,and helping us form a whole cognition of the operation of polis.This paper consists of five parts. They are the introduction, text, conclusion,references and postscript.The text is divided into three chapters. The first chapter mainly introduces the historical evolution, residents, political system of Attica area before the reform of Cleisthenes, and the details of the setup of demes after the reform(number, name,size, layout and so on). The second chapter introduces the situations of internal management of demes(political, economic and religious affairs), the roles that demarches play in daily operation of demes and the changes that demes bring to the local places. The third chapter discusses demes, which known as the ‘power base’ of Athenian assembly, Council and the jury court, how to cooperate with the polis, and how to contain each other, and further analyzes the essential relationship between demes and polis.