A little something I wrote up on the basis of these thoughts to try and elucidate the political system a bit more. Note that the families do not perfectly coincide with the
demoi, as although it's obvious where these families might fit in, it's somewhat complicated. I think that this could be used as a basis to alter the
deme system to be a little less static and more fluid than it is right now.
The Founding Families
Emerging from the founding years of Eretria until the thirtieth year since landing, the great families of Eretria, some older and more prominent than others, jostle for power and influence in the great political contest over the city's future and destiny. Though there are many more aristocrats that have emerged from the rise of Eretria, these are among the most prominent families.
Most of the city's candidates for
proboulos and
xenoparakletor have been drawn from this group, though the adopting of adult members of less prominent families has been a path of social mobility for those eager to succeed and ambitious enough to aim for the top. In Eretria's society, these are the names which inspire respect and veneration even among the poorer citizenry, who see the founding families as guarantors of their prosperity and freedom. Now, whether the founding families agree with such an interpretation of their role is altogether more complicated, but they certainly insist as much.
Drakonids
Family founded by Drako the Elder, its vast wealth has been gained through both the grain trade and its involvement in the salt and anchovies trade. The Drakonids are among the most powerful and well-connected aristocrats in the city and are universally known in Eretria and even abroad, and many of Eretria's institutions are indelibly stamped with the legacy of their founder.
Family Head: Athenagoras Symmachos
Prominent Members: Phaidon Athenagoras (son), Korydon Morys (adopted)
Anaxonids
Family founded by Timaeus the Golden, named after his father Anaxonis. A merchant family that has made its wealth off luxury goods and the discovery of the Byssos Cloth, they own olive plantations outside the city. They have struggled in the past with a poor reputation as mere money-grubbers, but Epiketos Linos has transformed their image.
Family Head: Linos Hippoklates
Prominent Members: Epiktetos Linos (son), Admetos Linos (son)
Antipatrids
Family founded by Antipater the Elder. Its wealth has been gained through the vastness of its olive farms and the grain trade to Athenai. The second wealthiest family after the Drakonids, the Antipatrids are patrons of culture and art throughout the city as well as contributors to the ranks of the Hieros Ekdromoi. Their close ties to Metics have gained them a mercantile element, but they still present as gruff and rough spun.
Family Head: Antipater Antipatros
Prominent Members: Arkas Argenor (nephew) Obander Eupraxis (adopted)
Gongylids
Family founded by Gongylos the Black. Wealth gained through the sacking of Iapygian cities and the purchase of serfs and wine plantations. Count many members in the Hieros Ekdromoi. Always a secondary player in the city's offices, they have a great reputation of military bravery as hoplites and marines that few can challenge, and they seek the city of Eretria's expansion abroad.
Family Head: Zosimos Glaukias
Prominent Members: Theron Zosimos (son), Kyros Gennadios (nephew)
Eutropids
Family founded by Eutropios the Brave, with wealth sourced from its frontier lands and Carthaginian gold. The Eutropids are the greatest standard-bearer of the legacy of Herodion and are great advocates on behalf of the goddess Artemis which they especially venerate. A martial group, they are among the most athletic of the great families and count multiple victors at the Olympic Games.
Family Head: Laios Eutropios
Prominent Members: Menandros Laios (son), Theron Archippos (nephew)
Kleanderids
Family founded by Kleander the Rider, famed as horse breeders across Eretria and with extensive serf estates on the boundary with the Peuketii. Rough and brash, they have never been known for their great love for culture or their attraction to city life. Instead, they have devoted themselves to contributing men to the
Kleos Exoria and building ties with the
barbaroi.
Family Head: Mnemnon Keylonos
Prominent Members: Demetrios Keylonos (brother), Adrastos Isodemos (cousin)
The Limitations of the Ekklesia
Although theoretically representing all of Eretria's adult male citizens, the
ekklesia is disproportionately the preserve of the prosperous, the rowers, and those wealthy enough to be able to afford the cost. Even if the city subsidizes participation, the requirement of
kleftes to speak restricts speaking to those able to gather friends and supporters and the social capital to address others. Small farmers who cannot leave their fields for the
ekklesia's session, or simply those who cannot reach the assembly at that given time may find decisions made without their agreement.
Voting is swayed by the opinions of the eloquent and charismatic, which tends to trend towards those more educated in the art of rhetoric, with lands and wealth to call their own, though there have been times when the poorest have forced their way to speech through the rallying of harbor strongmen able to lift great and mighty rocks. What this means is that the decision of the
ekklesia may not be agreed upon by the majority of citizens, but simply a majority of those who have been able to come to the
ekklesia that day. This is especially pertinent on the field of battle, where the
ekklesia is formed out of the citizens who have taken up arms and organized by the
proboulos, and whose decisions may have consequences for citizens left at home that not all may agree with.
That is to say that although the
ekklesia is an institution that is surprisingly representative, it is still deeply imperfect as a perfect reflection of the male citizenry's views, even if it still holds sacred legitimacy even among those too poor or too preoccupied in their day's work to participate.
