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350-330 - Coggle Diagram
350-330
Macedonian Threat
in 340s, politics dominated by the rising threat of Philip II
city reluctant to engage in an all out war, often favouring a non-aggressive policy to protect its interests
but as Philip became more serious, a new consensus formed among leaders like Demosthenes and Euboulus to prepare the city for war
the siege of Byzantium (340 - 339), a vital trade link, finally galvanised the Assembly into action
the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, where Philip's victory forced Athens into the League of Corinth, reducing it to a subordinate military status
Lycurgus
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Administrative oversight
he likely served as head of administration and finance, managing the city's revenues so effectively that the annual income became 1200 talents
Moral guardianship
Lycurgus functioned as a self-appointed moral guardian, utilising the law of impeachment (eisangelia) to prosecute any citizen who failed to meet his high standards of patriotism and piety
He broadened the definition of treason to include even minor offenses, such as failing to report a dream
e.g. he successfully prosecuted the Areopagite Autolycus for sending his family from Athens after the battle
Leocrates was also indicted for leaving Athens after Chaeronea, escaping conviction by a single vote (Aeschines. 3)
Culture
he refurbished the Theatre of Dionysos, erected statues of the great tragedians, and enacted laws requiring that official copies of their plays be kept in state archives
Ephebic reform
he was a key advocate for ephebic reform via Epicrates' Law, c. 335/4 BC, which transformed the military training of eighteen year olds into a two year patriotic curriculum designed to instil moral discipline and piety
The Economy
resource management
under Euboulos in the 350s and 340s, surplus revenues were directed into the Theoric fund, which paid for citizen participation in sacrifices and spectacles
Lycurgan prosperity
Lycurgus used efficient administration to increase income, then used the wealth for public building projects such as a stone bridge at Eleusis and the reconstruction of the theatre
Natural Resources
the silver mines at Laureion were aggrandised under Lycurgus, perhaps following the advice of Xenophon, Poroi
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