The Assembly was assisted in the conduct of public business by many officers and magistrates, among whom the Ten Generals held the leading place. It was their duty to guide the deliberations of the Assembly and to execute the orders of that body.
THE JURY COURTS
There was also a system of popular jury courts composed of citizens selected by lot from the candidates who presented themselves. The number of jurors varied; as many as a thousand might serve at an important trial. A court was both judge and jury, it decided by majority vote; and from its decision lay no appeal. Before these courts public officers accused of wrong-doing were tried; disputes between different cities of the empire and other important cases were settled; and all ordinary legal business affecting the Athenians themselves was transacted. Thus, even in matters of law, the Athenian government was completely democratic.
STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF THE ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY
Democracy then, reached its height in ancient Athens. The people ruled, and they ruled directly. Every citizen had some active part in politics. Such a system worked well in the management of a small city-state like Athens. But if the Athenians could govern themselves, they proved unable to govern an empire with justice and wisdom. There was no such thing as representation in their constitution. The subject cities had no one to speak for them in the Assembly or before the jury courts. We shall notice the same absence of a representative system in republican Rome. [12]
SYSTEM OF STATE PAY
A large number of Athenians were relieved from the necessity of working for themselves through the system of state pay introduced by Pericles. Jurors, soldiers, and sailors received money for their services. Later, in the fourth century, citizens accepted fees for attending the Assembly. These payments, though small, enabled poor citizens to devote much time to public duties.
INDUSTRIAL ATHENS
Athens contained many skilled workmen whose daily tasks gave them scant opportunity to engage in the exciting game of politics. The average rate of wages was very low. In spite of cheap food and modest requirements for clothing and shelter, it must have been difficult for the laborer to keep body and soul together. Outside of Athens, in the country districts of Attica, lived the peasants whose little farms produced the olives, grapes, and figs for which Attica was celebrated.