Associations and Patronage in Ancient Athens (original) (raw)
Interpersonal relations in ancient Athenian society were constructed either on the basis of kinship (real or fictitious) or on the basis of friendships. The history of archaic Athens, about which some scholars use terms implying patronage, is largely the attempt to shake off the burden of the nobility's monopoly on land and political power 1. However, classical Athenian society seems to be free of clientelism. The reconstruction of the realities of Athenian society, from which any reference to or hint of clientelism is missing, is largely patterned on the realities of the West European social ideals. In this ideological context, the archetype of democracy could not have been considered in clientelistic terms. The ideal configuration of the Athenian social life relies on the assumption that clientelism is a feature of backward societies, in relation to the civilised West European ones. It was claimed that patron-client relationships appear only in the context of societies in transition from traditional organisation to a market-oriented social organisation. In fact, clientelism knows no limits; it appears in the social life of countries as far apart as Latin America, the Mediterranean (European and Islamic), sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Accordingly, it presents a wide range of forms and variations. The analytical approach of anthropologists and sociologists 2 has made possible the gradual development of a consensus concerning the salient features of patron-client relationship 3. A patron-client relationship can be described as a construction of trust outside the boundaries of tradi-* An earlier version of this paper was discussed in November 1993 at a Departmental Seminar, at the University of Glasgow. I would like to thank all the participants, and especially Prof. D.M. MacDowell, for their remarks and comments that helped clarify certain ambiguities. 1 See P.B. MANVILLE, The Origins of Citizenship in Ancient Athens, Princeton 1990, p. 111-116. Cf. M. STAHL, Aristokraten und Tyrannen im archaischen Athen, Stuttgart 1987, p. 99-104, who rejects the existence of clientelistic links in archaic Athens on the ground that aristocracy was competitive and held offices on the basis of their achievement rather than networks of clients. Colonisation was one of the factors that averted the development of clientelistic links. 2 Discussion and criticism of the earlier literature in S.N. EISENSTADT-L. RONIGER,