Truth and reconciliation the Athenian way

Abstract

The restoration of democracy in the city of Athens in 403 BC required a reconciliation agreement to prevent a repetition of the judicial mayhem that had followed upon the restoration of democracy in 410 after the earlier spell of oligarchic government. Although Sparta had the power to dictate the terms of the agreement, it appears that the Athenians were allowed to draft the clauses and drew on their own experience, hence the echoes of the model which they had developed to seal off the blasphemy trials that arose from the scandals of 415. After the reunification of Attica under a democracy in 401 the vulnerablility of the reconciliation agreement became more apparent, but it had facilitated the transition to a stable political system.