Aristotle, The Constitution of Athens

Eleni Krikona (Catholic University of Leuven)

Ed. by Martine Diepenbroek, University of Johannesburg
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Eleni Bozia (University of Florida), Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

Domains

Political Philosophy

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -340

Places

Ancient Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-fictional prose

Resources

The Athenaion Politeia (Constitution of the Athenians) occupies a unique position in the intellectual landscape of classical Greece. Unlike the normative political theory of Plato or Aristotle’s Politics, the work offers a historical and institutional account of the Athenian constitution, tracing its development from the archaic period to the author’s contemporary fourth century BCE. Rediscovered in 1890 on a papyrus from Egypt, the text has become indispensable for the study of Athenian political institutions and constitutional change. Yet its importance extends beyond institutional detail. The Athenaion Politeia is also a powerful act of constitutional memory, reconstructing Athens’ political past in ways that respond to the ideological concerns of the fourth century. This entry examines the Athenaion Politeia as a product of the Peripatetic school that combines historical inquiry with ideological interpretation (see, in detail, Krikona...

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1326 words

Citation: Krikona, Eleni. "The Constitution of Athens". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 January 2026 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16017, accessed 09 June 2026.]