BRIBERY IN CLASSICAL ATHENS Kellam ... - Historia Antigua

Conover Bribery in Classical Athens Chapter Seven
Chapter Six, was used against rhētores who had spoken against the best interests of the
dēmos after having taken money. 34 The penalty was variable, but could be an
extraordinary fine or, most often, death.
Essentially, these measures laid out the parameters within which rhētores could
operate: they could gather inspiration for their proposals from any source, and they could
even receive money in exchange for speaking, but they could never speak against the
interests of the people. Within the context of the purportedly grave danger posed by the
New Politicians, these reforms are revealing. In the first place, they clearly illuminate the
legitimacy of this new style, including paying for a public speaker’s services, for in both
cases it was the content—not the source—of the public speech that mattered. Referring
the matter to a court was simply another way to determine whether or not the proposal
was, or should be, publicly legitimate. Rather than ban outright or limit pay for public
proposals, the law allowed public speakers to continue being political entrepreneurs like
Cleon and the like. Wherever they could find new sources or ideas for public policies, so
much the better, provided the policies themselves were ‘democratic’.
Moreover, these laws opened up the courts as an alternative venue to assess and
legitimate policies and policymakers alike. Even if a particular proposal had been passed
in the Assembly, prosecuting a rhētor for proposing it was a way to make the policy less
legitimate. Again, with the eisangelia against the taking of bribes by rhētores, the law
provided merely a guide to the grounds on which someone should be prosecuted.
Ultimately, it was the norm itself—whether or not a particular policy should be
considered legitimate—that was under trial.
34 Hyp. 4.7-8 gives the text of the law. See further discussion in Hansen (1975), Todd (1993: 114-15) and
Chapter Six. Hansen (1975) lists 17 different examples of eisangelia used against a rhētor.
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