How did the reforms of Ephialtes and Pericles transform Athens into a radical democracy?
The democratic reforms of 462 to 429 BC: the reforms of Ephialtes stripping power from the Areopagus, Pericles' introduction of pay for office and jury service, and how these changes created a radical direct democracy, studied through Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia and Plutarch.
An OCR GCSE Ancient History answer on the democratic reforms of Ephialtes and Pericles between 462 and 429 BC, covering the stripping of power from the Areopagus, the introduction of pay for jurors and office-holders, how Athens became a radical direct democracy, and how to use Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia and Plutarch as sources.
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What this dot point is asking
The Greek depth study Athens in the Age of Pericles opens with the reforms that turned Athens into a radical democracy. You need to explain what Ephialtes did to the Areopagus in 462 BC, what Pericles added (above all pay for office and jury service), and how these changes made ordinary citizens sovereign. As a depth study, this is examined through source-utility questions, so you must handle Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia and Plutarch critically.
The answer
The reforms of Ephialtes (462 BC)
This was the decisive blow against aristocratic control. Ephialtes was murdered soon afterwards, and Pericles emerged as the leading democratic politician.
Pericles and pay for office
Pay mattered because most citizens were poor and could not afford to leave their farms or workshops to attend the Assembly, sit on juries or hold office. Pay meant participation was open to all, not just the leisured rich, which is what made the democracy radical.
Why this made Athens a radical democracy
Using the sources critically
Examples in context
A model answer explains how each reform increased the power of ordinary citizens, rather than just naming them.
Try this
Q1. What did Ephialtes do to the Areopagus in 462 BC? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. He stripped it of nearly all its political powers, leaving it only as a homicide court, and transferred those powers to the Assembly, the Council of 500 and the popular courts.
Q2. Explain why Pericles' introduction of pay made the democracy more radical. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Because most citizens were poor and could not afford to leave their work, pay for juries and offices let ordinary citizens take part in government, widening participation from the leisured rich to the whole citizen body.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR J198/01 201910 marksExplain why the reforms of Ephialtes and Pericles made Athens more democratic. [10-mark depth-study explanation question]Show worked answer →
A depth-study explanation question (AO1 and AO2) on change.
Knowledge. Ephialtes (462 BC) stripped the aristocratic Areopagus of most of its political powers, transferring them to the Assembly, the Council of 500 and the popular courts; Pericles introduced state pay for jurors and office-holders.
Explanation. Reward developed reasons: removing the Areopagus's powers shifted control to bodies open to ordinary citizens; pay meant poorer citizens could afford to take part; together they widened participation and made the people (demos) sovereign.
Top band. Explain how each reform increased the power of ordinary citizens and judge which mattered most, distinguishing the transfer of powers from the practical effect of pay.
OCR J198/01 20218 marksStudy Aristotle, Athenaion Politeia, on the reforms of Ephialtes. How useful is this source for understanding the growth of Athenian democracy? [8-mark depth-study source-utility question]Show worked answer →
A depth-study source-utility question (AO3). Judge usefulness through content and provenance.
Content. The Athenaion Politeia describes Ephialtes removing the powers of the Areopagus and the steps by which the democracy grew; draw out the relevant detail.
Provenance. It is a later, fourth-century analytical account (from Aristotle's school), valuable for its systematic description but written long after the events and shaped by later political debate; it is not contemporary.
Judgement. Conclude that it is useful as a structured later analysis of the constitution but must be tested against its date and purpose, and judge its value for the specific enquiry rather than labelling it reliable or unreliable.
Related dot points
- The workings of Athenian democracy: the Assembly, the Council of 500, the popular courts and the use of the lot and ostracism, who counted as a citizen, and the exclusion of women, slaves and metics, studied through Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia and Thucydides' funeral oration.
An OCR GCSE Ancient History answer on how Athenian direct democracy worked between 462 and 429 BC, covering the Assembly, the Council of 500, the popular courts, the lot and ostracism, who counted as a citizen, and the exclusion of women, slaves and metics, studied through Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia and Thucydides' funeral oration.
- The transformation of the Delian League into an Athenian empire: the founding of the League against Persia, the move of the treasury from Delos to Athens in 454 BC, the suppression of allies who revolted, and how empire funded Athenian power and the building programme, studied through Thucydides.
An OCR GCSE Ancient History answer on how the Delian League became an Athenian empire between 462 and 429 BC, covering the founding of the League against Persia, the move of the treasury from Delos to Athens in 454 BC, the suppression of revolting allies, and how empire funded Athenian power and the building programme, studied through Thucydides.
- The career and leadership of Pericles: his repeated election as general (strategos), the building programme on the Acropolis, the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War and his strategy, his death in the plague of 429 BC, and the debate over whether Athens was ruled by the people or by Pericles, studied through Thucydides and Plutarch.
An OCR GCSE Ancient History answer on the leadership of Pericles between 462 and 429 BC, covering his repeated election as general, the Acropolis building programme, the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War and his strategy, his death in the plague of 429 BC, and the debate over whether Athens was ruled by the people or by one man, studied through Thucydides and Plutarch.
- The prescribed sources for the Athens depth study: Thucydides as a contemporary historian (the funeral oration and the growth of empire), Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia as a later constitutional account, Plutarch's Life of Pericles as a much later biography, and how to weigh contemporary against later evidence.
An OCR GCSE Ancient History guide to the prescribed sources for the Athens in the Age of Pericles depth study, explaining how to use Thucydides as a contemporary historian (the funeral oration, the growth of empire), Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia as a later constitutional account and Plutarch's Life of Pericles as a much later biography, and how to weigh contemporary against later evidence.
- The AO3 source skills: making supported inferences from a source, comparing two sources, and judging how useful a source is for a stated enquiry using content, provenance (nature, origin and purpose) and contextual knowledge, rather than labelling a source reliable or biased.
An OCR GCSE Ancient History skills guide to the AO3 source questions, explaining how to make supported inferences, compare two sources, and judge how useful a source is for a stated enquiry using content, provenance and contextual knowledge, with a method that transfers across the Greek and Roman options.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Ancient History J198 specification — OCR (2017)
- Aristotle, Athenian Constitution (Athenaion Politeia) — Perseus Digital Library