BRIBERY IN CLASSICAL ATHENS Kellam ... - Historia Antigua

Conover Bribery in Classical Athens Chapter Two
This was patronage politics, and Cimon was commonly held to be its most
illustrious practitioner (e.g. Plut. Cim. 10.4-6). While such bald patronage was a holdover
from the archaic polis—in particular, the tyrant Pisistratus was said to have earned the
support of the masses through private benefactions 31 —it nevertheless was the primary
mode of politics throughout Cimon’s lifetime. Other notable political figures likewise
used their own money to fund public works and feed fellow citizens. 32 In effect,
patronage in local communities, as when Cimon fed his demesmen, established
concentrated networks of political supporters or ‘friends’ (philoi); together with family
connections, these networks were leveraged to win political honors and authority at the
city-level. 33 As Gorgias writes of Cimon, he made money to spend it and spent it to win
political honor (Plut. Cim. 10.5).
It is significant that Cimon’s patronage was always framed in light of his
considerable military successes, for in this way the monies of patronage were linked to
the monies of empire, just as his depiction of the dōrodokos suggests. 34 Consider, for
instance, Cimon’s campaign in Skyros and his retrieval of the bones of Theseus. 35 On
the one hand, Skyros was a strategic acquisition for Athens, for it lay on the route to the
31
So AP 16.2, 16.9. For discussion, Millett (1989: 2 2-3), Kurke (2002), Kallet (2003: 124-6), Domingo
Gygax (forthcoming: 201).
32
Schmitt-Pantel (1992: 179-208) is essential here. See further Millett (1989: 21-5), Domingo Gygax
(forthcoming: 197-206). Themistocles rebuilt a temple for his genos (Plut. Them. 2.1) and was known for
entertaining others and paying for sacrifices (Plut. Them. 5.1, cf. 22.1); his iconic works were commonly
thought of as patronage of a sort—providing cakes and fish for the people, as Aristophanes suggests (Eq.
813-19): see especially Kurke (2002: 105-8) on this point. Such patronage was exemplified by (later)
associations of various Athenian elites with the age of Cronus, known for its agricultural plenty: Pisistratus
(AP 16.7), Hippias (Pl. Hipparch. 229b), Aristides (Plut. Arist. 24.3), Cimon (Plut. Cim. 10.7),
Themistocles (Teleclides Prytaneis fr. 5).
33
Connor (1973: 53-64), Finley (1983: 24-49), Mitchell (1997: 42-6). Elite families: cf. Davies (1971),
Littman (1990). On the clubs, or hetaireiai, see especially Calhoun (1913), Hutter (1978: 26-9).
34
Clearly stated by Plutarch: “Since he already had great wealth (eu)porw=n), Cimon spent monies from his
generalship which, it seemed, he had acquired in fine manner (kalw=j) as booty from the enemy, in an even
finer manner (ka/llion) on the citizens” (Plut. Cim. 10.1).
35
AP fr. 4. Kenyon; Plut. Cim. 8.6-7, Them. 36.1-3; Paus. 1.17.6. For discussion, see Podlecki (1971),
Blamire (1989: 119-22 ad Cim. 8.6-7).
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