deme

Pinakia, identification tablets (name, father's name, deme) used for tasks like jury selection, Museum at the Ancient Agora of Athens

In Ancient Greece, a deme (plural demoi) was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Athens. Demoi as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BC. In those reforms, enrollment in the citizen-lists of a deme became the requirement for citizenship; prior to that time, citizenship had been based on membership in a phratry, or family group. At this same time, demoi were established in the city of Athens itself, where they had not previously existed; in all, at the end of Cleisthenes' reforms, Attica was divided into 139 demoi. The establishment of demoi as the fundamental units of the state weakened the gene, or aristocratic family groups, that had dominated the phratries.^[1]

A deme functioned to some degree as a polis in miniature, and indeed some demoi, such as Eleusis and Acharnae, were in fact significant towns. Each deme had a demarchos who supervised its affairs; various other civil, religious, and military functionaries existed in various demoi. Demoi held their own religious festivals and collected and spent revenue.^[2]

Demoi were combined with other demoi from the same area to make trittyes, larger population groups, which in turn were combined to form the ten tribes, or phyles of Athens. Each tribe contained one trittys from each of three regions, the city, the coast, and the inland area.

List of demoi according to tribes/phylai

Erechthides

Upper Agryle

Lower Agryle

Anagyrous

Euonymon

Themakos

Kedoi

Kephisia

Upper Lamptrai

Lower Lamptrai

Pambotadai

Upper Pergase

Lower Pergase

Phegous

Aegides

Upper Ankyle

Lower Ankyle

Araphen

Halai Araphenides

Bate

Gargettos

Diomeia

Hestiaia

Erikeia

Erchia

Ikarion

Ionidai

Kollytos

Kolonus

Kydantidai

Myrrhinoutta

Otryne

Plotheia

Teithras

Phegaia

Philaidai

Pandionides

Angele

Konthyle

Kydathenaion

Kytheros

Myrrhinous

Oa

Prasiai

Probalinthos

Upper Paiania

Lower Paiania

Steiria

Leontides

Aithalidai

Halimous

Deiradiotai

Hecale

Eupyridai

Kettos

Kolonai

Kropidai

Leukonion

Oion Kerameikon

Paionidai

Pelekes

Upper Potamos

Lower Potamos

Potamioi-Deiradiotai

Skambonidai

Sounion

Hybadai

Phrearrhioi

Cholleidai

Acamantides

Hagnous

Eiresidai

Eitea

Hermos

Iphistiadai

Thorikos

Kerameis

Kephale

Kikynna

Kyrteidai

Poros

Prospalta

Sphettos

Cholargos

Oenides

Acharnai

Boutadai

Epikephisia

Thria

Hippotomadai

Kothokidai

Lakiadai

Lousia

Oe

Perithoidai

Ptelea

Tyrmeidai

Phyle

Cecropides

Athmonon

Aixone

Halai

Daidalidai

Epieikidai

Melite

Xypete

Pithos

Sypalettos

Trinemeia

Phlya

Hippothoontides

Azenia

Hamaxanteia

Anakaia

Auridai

Acherdous

Dekeleia

Elaious

Eleusis

Eroiadai

Thymaitadai

Keiriadai

Koile

Kopros

Korydallos

Oenoe (of the west)

Oion Dekeleikon

Peiraeus

Æantides

Aphidna

Marathon

Oenoe (of the east)

Rhamnous

Trikorynthos

Phaleron

Antiochides

Aigilia

Alopeke

Amphitrope

Anaphlystos

Atene

Besa

Eitea

Eroidai

Ergadeis

Thorai

Kolonai

Krioa

Leukopyra

Pallene

Semachidai

Phyrrhinesioi

References

• Fine, John V.A. The Ancient Greeks: A critical history (Harvard University Press, 1983) ISBN 0-674-03314-0
• Hornblower, Simon, and Anthony Spawforth ed., The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2003) ISBN 0-19-866172-X
• Suzanne, Bernard (1998). plato-dialogues.org, "Attic Tribes and Demoi". Accessed August 1, 2006

Footnotes

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