{{refimprove, date=December 2015
The term euthyna (plural euthynai), meaning ''straightening'', was the examination of accountability which every
public office
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
r underwent on the expiration of his office in
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Marti ...
. At
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 ...
the examination had two parts; the logos ('statement of account'), concerned the handling of
public money
Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...
and dealt with by a board of ten logistai (''accountants''), and the euthynai proper, an opportunity to raise any other objection to one's conduct in office, dealt with by a board of ten euthynoi (''straighteners'') appointed by the boule. These officials could dismiss accusations or pass them on to the
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...