Ephialtes And Athenian Politics In The Middle Of The Fifth Century B.C.

The fifth century B.C.was an important period in the history of Athens,Athens experienced three stages of rise,peak and decline during this period,and the middle fifth century B.C.is the time node from the rise to the peak of Athens.The reforms of Ephialtes,which took place in 462/461 B.C.,had a profound influence on the development of later Athenian history.Although the reforms of Ephialtes were an important page in the course of Athenian history,Ephialtes himself remains a rather obscure historical figure.Due to the lack of historical materials,the academic research on Athenian democratic reform is more focused on Solon,Cleisthenes and Pericles,and the research on Ephialtes is relatively lacking,therefore,the research of Ephialtes still needs to be further explored.This thesis intends to use the Ephialtes’ reforms as the main thread that connects a series of political changes and diplomatic trends of Athens in the middle fifth century B.C.,focusing on the specific content of the Ephialtes’ reforms and providing an attempt to interpret the political legacy of Ephialtes in terms of its historical impact.The full thesis is divided into the introduction;the historical backgrounds of Ephialtes’ reforms;the political reforms of Ephialtes;the political legacies of Ephialtes and conclusion.Part I: Introduction.It mainly introduces the significance of the chosen topic,the current research status of domestic and international,the research value and explains the writing basis and research significance of this thesis.Part II: The historical backgrounds of Ephialtes’ reforms.This section introduces the background of the reforms of Ephialtes,and analyses the changes in Athenian democracy after the Greco-Persian Wars,the foreign policy pursued by Cimon,and the construction of the Athenian Alliance,showing that the Ephialtes’ reforms were inevitable and in line with the times.Part III: The political reforms of Ephialtes.This section mainly introduces the direct causes of Ephialtes’ reforms of Areopagos,sort out the power of the Areopagos in the middle fifth century B.C.,and and summarizes various measures of Ephialtes’ reforms.The reforms transferred real power from the Areopagos to more democratic institutions,such as dikasteria,boule and ekklesia,against the power of aristocratic conservatives.All these measures had an important influence on Athens’ subsequent development.Part IV: The political legacies of Ephialtes.This section mainly discusses the historical impacts of Ephialtes.This reform basically cleared away the obstacles to the deepening of Athens’ democratic system,The Athenian citizen’s sense of participation in politics was strengthened,and citizens also had more political power,which laid the foundation for the golden age of Athens’ democracy--the age of Pericles.In addition,as the Democrats pursued a policy of general expansion,Athens broke its friendly relations with Sparta and strengthened its control over the Allies.In 454 B.C.,the transfer of the treasury of the alliance to Athens marked the final formation of the Athenian Empire.Part V: Conclusion.This section will provide a general assessment to the reforms of Ephialtes and the changes in Athenian politics in the middle of the fifth century B.C.Ephialtes’ reforms promoted the glory of Athens after the middle of fifth century B.C.,after several generations of transformation,the democratic system of Athens had strong vitality and coincided with the Athenian polis rise and decline.