Erechtheis ( grc, Ἐρεχθηΐς) was a
phyle
''Phyle'' ( gr, φυλή, phulē, "tribe, clan"; pl. ''phylai'', φυλαί; derived from ancient Greek φύεσθαι "to descend, to originate") is an ancient Greek term for tribe or clan. Members of the same ''phyle'' were known as ''symphylet ...
(tribe) of ancient
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
with fourteen
demes
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...
.
The phyle was created in the
reforms of Kleisthenes
Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης), or Clisthenes (c. 570c. 508 BC), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishm ...
. Although there is little specific reference to the tribe, an inscription dated to either 460 or 459BC in the form of a casualty list allows a little access. Two generals are listed for the single year on which the text insists,
Ph
ynihos is followed in the list by Hippodamas, possibly indicating that he succeeded the former in the summer due to the death of Ph
ynihos. Alternatively they were elected together which was not uncommon later.
The presence of a seer on the list is surprising, as their role of accompanying the army to interpret omens through the analysis of the entrails of sacrificed animals does not seem particularly dangerous.
That there is no other tribe mentioned on the inscription is unusual as most casualty lists arrange the dead according to tribe on a single
stele
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
or group of joined stelai. This stele, however, appears by the smoothness of the un-inscribed faces of the stone to have been solitary.
Despite the use of personal names on the list, the repetitions means that the absence of patronymics prevent the identification of the individual and family referred to in each case. This deprivation of social status could be an example of democratic intentions, but it also does something to lessen the personal impact of the list, perhaps through an attempt to prevent social discord which would have resulted from the realisation of the impact on individual families and communities.
If the inscription had been divided into the fourteen demes, the exact effect of the losses on individual villages would have been much clearer. Despite the removal of the obvious social status of family associations, names themselves can be used to infer certain things. Greek naming patterns mean that frequently repeated names could indicate family links, and although more social study of Greek names is needed to understand this fully, it is likely that certain names could imply wealth or foreign connections. Examples of this are the names Arcesilas in line 154 of the casualty list, a name common in Sparta at the time, but only later in Athens; and Sicon in line 59 which mainly appear on pots, suggesting a more humble background.
Demes
The demes were Agryle (Upper and Lower),
Euonymon
Euonymeia ( el, Ευωνύμεια, ''Evonímia''), also known by its medieval name Trachones ( el, Τράχωνες), and by its modern colloquial Ano Kalamaki ( el, Άνω Καλαμάκι, Upper Kalamaki), is a historic settlement in Athens a ...
, Themakos,
Anagyrous
Anagyrus or Anagyrous ( grc, Ἀναγυροῦς), also Anagyruntus or Anagyrountos (), was a deme of ancient Attica, belonging to the ''phyle'' Erechtheis, situated in the south of Attica near the promontory Zoster. Pausanias mentions at this p ...
, Kedoi, Lamptrai (Upper and Coastal), Pambotadai,
Kephisia
Kifissia or Kifisia (also Kephisia or Cephissia; el, Κηφισιά, ) is one of the most expensive northern suburbs of Athens, Greece, mainly accessed via Kifissias Avenue, running all the way from central Athens up to Theseos Avenue in the subu ...
, Pergase (Upper and Lower), Phegous, Sybridai.
Tribal affiliates
Critias
Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...
is thought, hypothetically, to have belonged to this phyle.
See also
*
Erechtheion
The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropoli ...
References
{{Reflist
Tribes of ancient Attica