Depicting Democracy.an Exploration of Art and Text in the Law of Eukrates

8/9/2019 Depicting Democracy.an Exploration of Art and Text in the Law of Eukrates

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Depicting Democracy: An Exploration of Art and Text in the Law of EukratesAuthor(s): A. J. L. BlanshardSource: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 124 (2004), pp. 1-15Published by: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies

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Journal of Hellenic Studies 124 (2004) 1-15

DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY:AN EXPLORATIONOFART AND TEXT IN THE LAW OF EUKRATES*

Abstract: This paper examines the range of symbolic associations surrounding he relief sculpture (DemocracycrowningtheAthenianpeople) thataccompanied he law proposed by Eukratesagainstthe establishmentof tyranny.It examines some of the investmentsmade in it by variouscommunitiesand individuals. Therole of personificationsin politicalallegoryis examined. Thisanalysisshows both thepotencyof personifyingrepresentationsf theAthenianpeople andthe interpretative omplexitiesthatthey create.

INTRODUCTION:LAWINA COLD CLIMATEEVENbefore the law of Eukrates could tell us anything about Athens, it was telling us about our-selves. Few readers who settled down to the New York Times of 26 May 1952 would have foundit a comfortingexperience. Writtenduringthe fever of the Cold War,the journal delights inrecountinga nightmarishvision of Communist ncursionsboth at home and abroad. The pagesare full of fanaticalNorth Korean Communists,a power-madMoscow bent on dominatingGermany, he infiltrationof Reds into Montreal'stextile unions, and Maoistpurges of China'seducators. Inside the paper,everyone fromthe US Commissioner or Displaced Persons (whodemands the 'downfall of the communist empire and the restorationof human freedom toenslavedpeoples') to theArchbishopof the UkrainianOrthodoxChurch 'If you don't wake up,clean out the Reds from your churches, schools, and labour unions, and unite with other freecountries o putan end to the danger hatmenaces all freenations,Americamay be next!') knewthat the free world was under threat. Politicians were happy to fuel the paranoia. Governor Taftfrom Ohio clearly saw that there was work to do. In an advertisement in support of his presi-dential nomination, one of his key election pledges was to 'uproot subversive and disloyal influ-ences in the government'.1Amidst all this cause for panic, two articles may have provided some comfort. The first one(on p. 11) reports the good news that atomic testing in Nevada has produced the largest, bright-est explosion yet. The second reassuresAmerica(on p. 25) that it is not alone in havingto fightfor democracy against external forces. Democracy has always been under threat, and has alwaysneeded to be protected by the most severe measures. In an article headed 'Athenians fought dic-tator menace' we find the first official publication of the monument containing the law ofEukrates. The paper reports the discovery in the Agora of an Athenian law against the estab-lishment of tyranny - a law that specified (to quote the paper) 'that anybody who killed a would-be dictator shall be considered guiltless'. Intriguingly that is not quite what the law provides.The law has two main clauses.2 The first gives immunity from prosecution to the killers of any-body who has overthrown democracy (11.7-11). It is more concerned with actual tyrants thanpotential ones. The second clause prohibits meetings of the Areopagus during an anti-demo-cratic coup (11.11-16). Failure to abide by this restriction will result in the forfeiture of citizen-ship and property (11.16-22).

*Iamgratefulo Ch.Kritzas,director f theEpigraphic 1 NYT26 May 1952: frontpage (Korea,Moscow),Museum n Athens,andthe museumstaff for theirassis- p. 2 (China),p. 4 (Commissioner orDisplaced Persons),tance while studyingmaterial orthisarticle. A numberof p. 15 (Gov.Taft),p. 20 (UkrainianArchbishop). In this,scholarshavekindlyhelpedme formulatemy ideas on this the New YorkTimes was not unusual. On Americandocumentrelief,particularly tephenLambert, oshOber media cultureduringthe Cold War,see Boyer (1985);andRobinOsborne. I amgrateful orthe advice fromthe Henriksen 1997); Schwartz 1998) andYoder(1995).anonymousreaders or JHS. Financialassistancefor this 2 Forthe text of the inscription,see SEG 12.87.projectwas providedby theBritishAcademy.


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A.J.L. BLANSHARDHowever, the last thing that is importanthere is pedantic accuracy. Namely, the game thatthe New YorkTimes s playingis the one of historicalcontinuity 'a perennialmenace- dictator-ship'). The picturethataccompanied he article tells the story- Eugene Vanderpoolobedientlytakingnotes for Western ulture PLATEa). Here Classical Greece'shard-line tanceagainstthe

opponentsof democracygives authority o the most draconian the usage is deliberate)of anti-Communistpurges.3We can sense this repackaging n the newspaper'sclaim that 'Excavatorshail find as one ofthe most interesting n the courseof 17 seasons'research'. In fact, if you readthe reports n thescholarlypress, theirresponseis muchmoremuted. This piece is only one of a numberof sig-nificant finds duringthe 1952 season. Epigraphically,t had to contend with the discoveryof alarge fragment romthe monument o the Argives who fell at Tanagra,an inscriptionmade farmore attractive to scholars by its ability to provide both a footnote to Thucydides and an oppor-tunityto reconstructa verse epigram.4Moreinterest hatyearseems to have been generatedbyPritchett's work on the fragments of the Attic Stelai.5This difference in the discussion between the pages of the New York Times and of Hesperiais notmerelya functionof the expectationsof audienceandgenre. It is equallya functionof themonumentalityof this inscription. Monumentsare all about claims to register. We have todecide how seriouslywe wish to take them. In the gap between findingour own past and find-ing just another inscription to catalogue, there exists a number of reading positions. This articleis written as a response to the challenge of these reading positions. It attempts to unearth the var-ious investments that individuals and communities had in this monument. It begins with recep-tion because reception highlights the moment, the point and trauma, of first contact.

CHAIRESTRATOS' COMMISSION: ON PLACING DOCUMENTARY RELIEFSAccording to the monument itself (avaypaXV|a ... Tovypalgarsea tnT;pouios;), when we beginto think about investment in this text, we need to start with the secretary, Chairestratos, son ofAmeinias of the deme ofAcharai. Apart from these few details (patronymic and demotic), weknow almostnothingabouthim. Fate was kindto him in the lotteryforpositionof grammateusin 337/6 (and hence making him responsible for the publication of this decree6), but cruel inremoving almost every other record of his existence. In many ways, he is typical of the 'face-less ciphers' that occupy the position of secretary. Such erasure of identity is an important con-ceit of epigraphicdocuments. It is crucialthatownershipultimatelyrest with the community.This is particularly he case with this decree which, as we shall see, makes particularclaimsaboutcommunity dentityand the discoursethat binds it together. Nevertheless, the formthatthe publication of a decree took was not decided entirely by blindly following precedent. Thedetails of the commission required a number of complex decisions relying on personal judge-ment. In the negotiationof the variouscontingencies, it is temptingto see glimpses of a mindthat was profoundly aware of the complexities of democratic ideology, the difficulties of the rela-tionship between art and text, and the possibilities for epigraphic records, not merely to recorddecisions, but also to create meanings and significance.

3 TherelationshipbetweenclassicalcultureandCold 4 The inscription s discussed in Meritt(1952). ForWarpolitics has received its most extensivetreatmentn accounts of the epigraphicfinds of the season, see thethe areaof film studies. Herewe see a complicatedcul- reviewsby Cook (1953) 111and Daux (1953).turalpolitics of authorityand resistanceas classical cul- 5 For example, see the discussion of Thompsontureis invokedbothto endorsea Westerncapitalistethos (1953) 26.and oppose it. On this, see Wyke (1997) 60-72; 6This assumesthatthe secretary of theprytany)andBabingtonand Evans (1993) 191-2; and Wood (1975) the secretaryof the Boule are the same person,a view183-4. Formore direct nteractionsbetweenclassics and affirmedby Rhodes (1972) 136-7;(1981) 599-600.Cold Warpolitics, see Henderson 2001).

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DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY:ARTAND TEXTIN THELAWOF EUKRATESThere area numberof features hat make the publicationof this law unique. The most imme-

diatelystrikingone is the relief sculpturehataccompanies heinscriptionPLATEIb). Inincludinga relief with this law, the inscriberswere not merely blindlyfollowing well-establishedpatterns.There are no rules for the inclusionof documentreliefs. Certaingenresattractmorereliefs thanothers. Honorific inscriptionsseem to be especially favoured. However,within a genrethereseems to be no pattern.7Considerationsof both genreandprice militateagainstthis inscriptionattractinga relief. Laws passedby the nomothetaido not fall into a genrethatwas particularlyattractive o reliefs. No otherfourth-centuryaw has a relief. Indeed,a relief seems to havebeendeniedto another aw passed by the nomothetai n the same year.8 Furthermore,with an alloca-tion of 20 drachmas rom the Treasury, his inscriptioncomes at the cheapend of inscriptionalprices.9 The decision to adorn his stele with a relief is a deliberateandmarkedchoice.It seems most likely that we should see Chairestratos s the instigatorbehind its presence. Anumberof otherfigures, apart romthe secretary,have been identified as being responsibleforthe additionof documentreliefs to inscriptions. Suggestionshave included the proposersof thedecrees, the honorandor theirsponsor,or collectors who wished to have theirown copies of thedecrees.10However, all of these suggestionsare drivenby the supposition hat it is impossibleto accountfor the relief underthe financingarrangementsaid out in the cost formulae. Such aproposition s by no means certain. The variables are such that it would seem possible to makeprovisionforthe inclusion of a relief withinthe stricturesof a 20-drachmapricelimit.1 Further,if we need to find a benefactorto cover the costs, thereseems no plausiblereasonto look foranother igurebeyond the secretary, he official responsiblefor the erectionof the reliefs.12There is everyreasonto believe thatthe secretaryhad a vested interest n promoting he cor-rect,efficient andprominentpublicationof inscriptionsunderhis curatorship.The writer of theAth.Pol. (54.3) is certainlycorrectwhen he states thatthe office of secretarybecamea muchlessprominentpositionwhen it was allocatedby sortitionrather hanacclamation. The droppingofthe secretary's name in headings before the decree prescripts presumably reflects this.'3However,we should be waryof downgrading oo muchthe opportunity o have one's name dot-ted all over the city in prominentplaces. It was an opportunity hatwould be graspedby politi-cians a few decades laterwho would tweakthe spacingon the stone to give greaterprominenceto theirnames. 4 The secretarieshadeverything o gainfromthepublicationof inscriptions.Lotmay have putthemthere; t was up to the secretaries o demonstrate hatthey wereup to thejob.In the process of publication,the secretary s able to participate n public affairs in a way thatmay normallyhave been deniedto him. Weshouldnot deny him some minimalambition n car-rying out his duties.15If Chairestratosdid contributeanythingto the cost of publication,he had good reason tobelieve thatsuch unofficial liturgicalservice could reaprewards. Afterall, he hadactedas sec-retaryearlier in the year to a meeting where Demosthenes (throughhis supporters) urned a

7 Lawton(1995) 5. 12 This idea was first suggestedby Ferguson(1898)8 Assuming we date IG II2 244 (law relatingto the 29-30. Thereare, of course,a few exampleswherepar-Peiraieusfortifications) o 337/6 andnot 338/7. Fordis- ties apart romthoseresponsible or thepublicationof thecussion of thedateandbibliography, ee Schwenk(1985) inscriptioncontributed o the cost; see IG I3 101.43-4,IG25-6 (who favours338/7). On the unusualactivityof the II2 130.18 and IG II2 1187.27 (cited by Loomis (1998)nomothetai n this year,see Sealey (1958). 158 n.237 following Lawton (1995) 23 and Clinton9 The amountallocated to inscriptions n this period (1996) 746 n.2).generallyfluctuatesbetween20 and 30 drachmas:Nolan 13For discussion and examples, see Rhodes (1981)(1981) 74-6. 602-3.10Forexample, see Meyer (1983) 12-21 (proposers); 14See the examples collectedby Tracey(2000).Lambert 2001) 64-5 (honorandsor theirsponsors);and 15This was not the only relief that was instigatedDrerup 1896) 230 (privatecopies). under Chairestratos' secretaryship. Two honorary1Nolan (1981) 108-9. See also Lawton(1995) 25-6 decrees for this year also received reliefs: IG II12 39andClinton(1996) 745-7. (Lawton37) andIG 112 42 + 373 (Lawton39).

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A.J.L. BLANSHARDminortribalappointment the Commissionerof Walls- intoan opportunityor self-aggrandise-ment andpubliccrowning.16Nor was Chairestratos' mbition hwarted. His service as secretarywould laterthatyear see him crownedby the people. 7 Beneath the standardphraseologyof theaward, n particular he inclusionof a clause commendinghis fulfilment of obligationsaccord-ing to the laws, scholars have seen an allusion to his erection of the law against tyranny.18Eukratesgets to do the speaking,but without Chairestratoso do thewritingthose words amountto nothing. It was in Chairestratos'nterestnot to let him forget t. This is not politicson a grandscale. Rather, he monument s a witnessto themicro-politics hat attendsAtheniancivic admin-istration. No doubtto accord all decisions to the hand of Chairestratosdoes disservice to theother figures involved in the creativeprocess that lies behind this monument. We can neverknow what input the sculptor, inscriptionalmason and proposer had on the final decree.19Nevertheless,the fiction of the inscription s that this monumentbegins (line 2) and ends (line24) with thesecretary.It is Chairestratos' ontributiono the civic art/politicsof late fourth-cen-turyculture hatconcernsthe rest of this article.

LOOKINGDEMOSIN THE EYE:THE RELIEFAND ITS CLAIMSFOR ATTENTIONThe excavatorsof this relief were unimpressedwith theirdiscovery. At times they are almostapologetic for it:

It wouldbe easyto criticise hepanelonthe scoreof its uncouth omposition,hefaultyperspectiveintherenderingf thechair,he artist'sailureo indicate hesceptrenthelefthandof Demos. Yet,thespecialistwill welcome t as anotherwell-preservedndpreciselydateddocumentorfixingthechronology f fourth entury culpture;nd hegeneral eaderwill observe hat he littlepicture on-veys itsmessagen language lmostasclearas thatof the writtenext.20The relief is entirelysubservient o the text ('little picture'). Its only interest s as a datingtoolfor sculptural tyles. This seems to be the fate of most documentary eliefs. Art historianshavetendedto workwith them divorcedfromtheirepigraphiccontext. Epigraphers ave notedtheirpresence,but have rarely ncorporatedhem into theirdiscussionof texts, exceptwhen they areuseful for establishing oins.This reluctanceto engage with reliefs is partlya functionof their curiousrelationshipwiththe inscriptions hey accompany. The relationship s not direct('almost as clear'). They do notillustrate he text. Rather heir focus is meditative. Theyact as frames,wrapping he inscriptionin layers of connotations. They are integralcomponentsfor reconstructing pigraphicmeaningin the Classicalcity. We aremeantto takenotice of this relief.We shouldremember he importanceof the law thatthe relief adorned. The introductions flaws by the nomothetaiwere comparatively are events in the Athenian egislative year. In thecontext of the political developmentsof 337/6, they are chargedwith new vitality. The preciseconcernsthatthe law of Eukrates eeks to addressaredisputed. Even the most benign explana-tion, such as the passingof the law as an attemptmerelyto gain legislative consistencyrelating

16 This was, of course, the incidentthatwould pro- The relationshipbetween the sculptorand inscriptionalvide the basis for thefamousdispute OntheCrown'. On masonis intriguing.Unlikeothercombinationsof reliefsthis office and its methodof appointment, ee Aeschin. andinscriptions e.g. typeIIIgravestelai),the masonand3.28-30. sculptorwere differentpeople. Masons in high demand17The inscription s published n Schweigert(1938). mightworkwith a numberof sculptors e.g. according o18Meritt 1952) 357 and Schwenk(1985) 51. Tracey'shandlist,'The Cutterof IG II2244' works with19It is tempting o see some influenceof Eukratesn at least four different relief sculptors;see IG 112242the subject matterof the relief. It certainlyseems to +373; IG II21202;IG II2336; IG II2 1238).accord with his democraticpolitics and his nasty death 20Thompson(1953) 53.under heMacedonianhegemony (Lucian,Dem.Enc. 31).

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DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY:ARTAND TEXTIN THELAWOF EUKRATESto tyranny, houldstill makeus wonder whathadprompted his revision.21Some have seen thelaw as a reaction to fear aboutintervention romPhilip.22Othershave seen an attempt o curban internal hreatposed by an increasinglypoliticallyactiveAreopagus.23Whatseems certain sthat the provisionsboth reflect andintensifyfeelings over the precariousnessof the constitutionand the place of the people within it. Immunity romprosecutionfor tyrannicides s not a newfeature. From the Archaic period onwards, the Athenian legislative legal and administrativelandscape s litteredwith provisions,oathsandproceduresdesignedto thwart he establishmentof tyranny.24However, the inclusion of a specific mention of 'the demos' is worth noting.Protectionof 'the demos' (as opposedto 'democracy')is not foundin the law of Demophantos,the closest parallelto this text.25 Both precedentand the explicit wording of the law serve toforeground he demos as a figure for concern. Even more worryingare the provisionsrelatingto theAreopagus. The deprivationof citizenshipandproperty rommembersof the council whosit during he suspensionof democracy s a new development. This is starklydifferent romthegeneric threatsto democracythat punctuatefourth-centurypolitical discourse. In specificallynamingan organof governmentandenvisaginga situationwhere it acts contrary o the interestsof the state,the threatsaremademore concreteandreal thaneverbefore.The location of the inscriptionunderlined ts importance. Unlike the decrees thatclutteredthe civic spaces of Athens, this inscriptionstood alone.26As a place of erection,the entrance othe council room of the Areopagusis unique.27The momentousnessof the site is signalledbythetwisted erectionformula. Theoddlyreduplicated rl;in 11. 4-5 signals a desireforprecisionand a necessity for descriptionthat is difficult to find elsewhere in fourth-centuryAthenianepigraphy.28Even the erection of a copy in the assembly is reasonablyuncommon(althoughbecomingmorecommontowards he end of the fourthcentury). Itwas intended o standout. Itstood as a reminderof the democraticduty of all citizens.29TheAreopaguswas especially puton guard. Everytimethey entered o deliberate heywereremindedof theconsequencesof thosedeliberations or themselves, for the city.It is impossibleto escape the gaze of these full-frontal aces. Again, we are in uncharted er-ritory. There is no precedentfor a full-frontalDemos in documentreliefs.30 Demos is rarelyseated.31Whenhe does sit, he is always shown in profile. Even standing,at most we get three-quarter aces.32Onlyby going outsideAthensandthe genreof documentreliefs is it possible to

21 For the revision hypothesis, see Oikonomides(1956-57), who argues hatthe law abouttyrannywas nota new statute,but an amplificationof the law outlinedinAth.Pol. 16.10.22This was the feeling of the initialpublishersof thedecree(e.g. Meritt 1952) 358) and hasbeen followed byothercommentators; f. Ostwald(1955).23Sealey (1958).24 The evidence is usefully collected in Ostwald(1955), who traces such legislation back to the time ofDraco. See also Rhodes (1981) 220-1. For a discussionof thedemocraticpoeticsof tyrannicide, ee Ober(2003).25And. 1.96-8. Thisdifferencewas notedby Ostwald(1955) 122, butdismissedas relativelyminor.26Assuming thatthe copy excavated is not the copyfrom the Ecclesia. Its presence as fill in the buildingsbeneaththe Stoa of Attalosmakes it highly unlikelythatit is the assemblycopy.27Forthe placementof laws, see Richardson 2000).On the placementof inscriptionsgenerally,see Liddel(2003).

28 Meritt(1953).29 There is a possibility thatthe Ecclesia copy mayalso have hadthe same relief. Unfortunatelyhere is noevidence of Athenian practice in this regard: Lawton(1995) 17.30 For discussion of the iconographyof Demos, seeBuschor (1950); Hamdorf (1964) 93-5; Palagia (1980)61-3;Alexandri-Tzahou1981-99); Lawton(1995) 55-8.31 There are two examples of a seated Demos: NM2407 (Lawton 133) and EM 2809 (Lawton 167). Bothwould appearto be honorarydecrees. Only the first issecurelyidentifiedby a label. Demos standing s a morecommon pose, see EM 2791 (Lawton 117), Lawton 176(now lost), EM 2811 (Lawton 49), NM 2958 (Lawton150),NM 2946 (Lawton149),NM 2961 + 2952 (Lawton126), NM 1482 (Lawton54), and an uncataloguedreliefin the collection of Stelios Lydakis(Lawton 147). Onlythe firsttwo personificationsare labelled.32 See, for example, NM 1482 (Decree honouringEuphron of Sikyon) (PLATE a).

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A.J.L.BLANSHARDfind comparanda.33The influence of Pheidias' statue of Zeus at Olympiais tangible.34Withindocumentreliefs, frontal aces are rare.35 nalmosteverycase, we arespared he full gaze of thedeities and personifications hat adorn the relief.36 The effort taken to achieve this effect hasstarted o show (e.g. the failureto realize the throneand legs correctly).37The twist of Demos'torso remindsus thatwe aresupposed o meet this imagefull on. Wefeel the effortthathasbeenexpendedto ensurethat we look Demos andDemocracy straight n the eye.The final lure for the viewer is the figures themselves. Here, the viewer is presentedwithanothernovelty,the combinationof Demos and Demokratia.Admittedly, n the absence of anyinscriptional ags, the identificationof these figures must remain conjectural. The generallyacceptedidentificationof the figuresas Demos andDemokratia s based on the repetitionof theformula'demos or democracy'three times in the inscription 11.8-9, 13, 16-17). They are theultimatesubjectmatterof this inscription. It was to securetheirsafety that the law of Eukrateswas passed. Moreover,there is nothing inconsistentin the depiction of the male figure withdepictionsof Demos, and while there s no securelyidentifiedrepresentation f Demokratia romthe Classicalperiod,her cult is attestedand it is hardto assign any other femalepersonificationto the figure.38The only otherfiguregiven to personificationwho is associatedwith Demos inthe inscription s AgatheTyche(11.5-6, &yaefiTz o )toTiro To 'A0rlvaiov). Althoughthehigh-girtchiton and long hairare consistentwith this figure, the absenceof the cornucopia,anattribute f Tychesince the sixth century,countsheavily againstit.39Finally,thereis precedentfor thejuxtapositionof this pairin Euphranor's ainting n the Stoa of Zeus.40Indeed, some have seen this relief as a poorly worked copy of Euphranor'spainting.41However, there are a numberof reasons for rejectingthis suggestion.42 Euphranor'spaintingrevolves aroundTheseus,not these two figures.43It is the hero'smuscular ramethat dominatesthe scene.44Nevertheless,they do shareone feature n common. Both aredaringventures ntothe new worldof politicalallegory. They attestto experimentationswith a new symbolicvocab-ulary,one wheremeaningis derivedfromallusionand association. In isolatingandpositioningDemos andDemokratiaon this relief,we arepresentedwith a daringventure nto the political-powerfuland,apparently, nprecedented.

33 Many have been attracted by the similaritybetweenthe relief and a bronzemirrordepictingLeukasand Corinth:Raubitschek1962) 238; Palagia(1980) 60.34The similaritybetweenthe seated Demos andtheiconography of Zeus has been long recognized; seeLawton(1995) 57 n.127 for bibliography.On the icono-graphy of the Pheidian Zeus and its influence in thefourthcentury, ee Lapatin 2001) 83-5, 96.

35 Occasionally we are invited to look into thedelightedface of the honorand. For a striking example,see AM 6787 (Lawton 134). Otherexamples are NM1471 (Lawton35, Honoursfor SpartocusII, PairisadesIand Apollonios of the Bosporus); NM 2952 + 2961(Lawton126);andBM 771 (Lawton124).36The closest we get to staringa deity in the face infourth-centurydocument reliefs occurs with the almostfrontal ace of Ares in a decree(SEG21.519) of the demeAchamai concerning the sanctuaryof Ares and AthenaAreia:Athens,Ecole francaiseI 6 (Lawton143).37 Of course,such failingswere not uncommon. Fordiscussion,see Richter 1970) 41.38 For discussion of the image of Demokratia,seeOliver(1960) 164-6;Raubitschek 1962); Sealey (1973);Palagia (1975); (1980) 59 and (1982). On the cult ofDemokratia, ee Raubitschek 1962).

39For the iconographyof Tyche, see Shear (1971)271; Villard (1981-99); Shapiro (1993) 227-8; andPalagia(1994). Forthe adoptionof the iconography, eeLichocka(1997). The associationwith Tyche is attrac-tive as it offersthepossibilityof this relief beinga gener-ic design applicable ora wide varietyof official inscrip-tions. For generic designs in documentreliefs, see therepetitionof design in AM 1333 (Lawton 12) and EM7862 (Lawton 13).40Pausanias1.3.3. For discussionandbibliography,see Palagia(1980) 57-63.41See Oliver(1960) 164-6;Raubitschek 1962) 238;ThompsonandWycherley 1972) 102.42See especiallythe criticismin Palagia(1980) 60.43Paus. 1.3.3: 8Xkoi 86e 1ypac(pilOrioa eivcxtTovKataoTiooavTa 'A&rvvaiotS;'ioo cotxIT?t?eoeat. orthe suggestion that Theseus was shown presentingDemokratiao Demos as a bride,see Webster 1956) 48-9 and Robertson 1975) 436.44Accordingto ancientanecdotes,Euphranor sed tocomparehis Theseusto theone by Parrhasios,ayingthatParrhasios'had fed on roses, but his own on beef: seePliny 35.129;Plutarch,De Glor.Athen.2. Onthe 'robustand athletic'appearanceof Theseus, see Palagia(1980)59.

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DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY:ART AND TEXT IN THE LAW OFEUKRATES

DEMOSAND DEMOKRATIA THE PERSONALIS THEPOLITICALHnA4AAFN. Kaitvri Ai' tIo y7?6e5?to1yr0q i;'If ?;

86va(tatt COtEiVObvigov e?p)v Kal a(t:evov.'AAAANTOnQAHE.X)CPWtKTOi)boS TOu'oyi CO(PolE?TaX. (Aristophanes,Knights719-21)PAPHLAGON.ndwhat s more,byZeus, hanks omyingenuity, canmakeDemosexpand ndcontract.SAUSAGE-SELLER.venmyarsehole nows hattrick.Demos must be ourstartingpoint. Aristophanes nsuresthatthedepictionof Demos is no laugh-ing matter.It is Knightsmore thananyotherwork thatdemonstrates hatthe depictionof Demosis not a neutral act.45 Rather,every move one makes with Demos has profoundpolitical con-sequences.46 Paphlagon provides the key: power lies with the ability to control the physicalcharacteristicsof Demos. The sausage-sellermay tryto deridethis, but the rest of theplay tellsanotherstory.The play is an exercise in training he viewer's eye to see, in every aspectof Demos, a polit-ical message. His age tells us somethingaboutthegenerosityof theAthenianpeople (40-4). Hisfacial expressiontells us about theircapacityto governand to deal with rhetoric 752-5).47 Hisclothingtells us how well he is treatedby contemporary oliticians(871-83). His greyinghairs,gummed-upeyes andrunnynose leave us in no doubtaboutthestate of thenation(908-1). Thisdisplay of politico-physiognomichermeneuticsreaches its climax when we see that the curingof the political ills of Athens (the removalof Paphlagon the Kleon stand-in) eads to the com-plete rejuvenationandtransformation f Demos (32132).48 Demos lies in the details. Likethechorus, our only question when encountering Demos should be: 'andcav 'i6oI?tV; noiav (nTI')xe.i GcKDnTV; oito;y7y?vrTai;' ('How can we see him? What sort of dress does he wear? Whatsort of man has he become?') (1324).Itis inevitable hatwheneverwe encounterDemos,politicsis not too faraway. Plinyillustratesthis point. We can see the inevitabletransition rom artto politics in his discussionof the paint-ing of Demos by Parrhasios,possibly the first depiction of Demos in state art,and certainly one ofthe most influential:

pinxit demon Atheniensiumargumentoquoque ingenioso. ostendebatnamquevarium iracunduminiustum inconstantem,eundem exorabilem clementem misericordem;gloriosum [lac.], excelsumhumilemferocemfugacemqueet omniapariter.(Pliny,NH 35.69)

His pictureof theAtheniandemosalso shows ingenuity n treating he subject,since he displayedit asfickle, choleric,unjustandvariable,but also placableandmercifulandcompassionate,boastful[andlac.] lofty andhumble,fierce andtimid- andall these at the same time.It is impossible to see this as objective description. Some have tried to do so. De Quincysuggested a reconstruction based on a multi-headed owl with various animal heads.49 Rumpfpreferreda crookedeyebrow to convey all this meaning.50 Such suggestions miss the mark.45 The depiction of Demos by Aristophanes has 48 A rejuvenationthat is not without its politicalrecentlybeen examinedin Reinders(2001), esp. 178-89. implications;see Reinders(2001) 192-9 for discussion.46On the issue of the politics of criticism in the por- 49Quatremere e Quincy,Mon.restitues2.71ff., cited

trayal,see Reinders(2001) 168-70. in Rumpf (1951) 7-8.47 For open-mouthedgaping connoting stupidityor 50Rumpf(1951) 8.gullibility, see Knights 261, 1263, Acharnians 133;Sommerstein 1981) 182.

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A.J.L.BLANSHARDPliny is not describinga work of art.51 He is doing precisely what one must inevitablydo onencountering a depiction of the Demos: take a political position. Any attempt at critical engage-ment with the representation nevitablyresults in political expression. Whetheryou think thedepiction of the People is too old, too young, too rich, too poor, too plain or too good-looking,too kind or too cruel- you have implicatedyourself in a politicalview.52With suchhigh iconographic takes,it is perhapsunderstandablehat the figureof Demos onthe Eukratesrelief constantly seeks to defer meaning and interpretation. Its allusions lack closure.Whenever one seeks to pin down this Demos, one always ends up somewhere else. This is notto say that the figure lacks significant features. Rather, those features take us only a little wayto understandinghe Demos.

Apart from his masculinity (underlined and offset by his attentive female companion), age isthe most striking feature of the figure. Initial commentators were all agreed on the great age ofthe figure.53 This probably needs to be mitigated a little. Certainly he is not the oldest figure wefind on document reliefs.54 The musculature on the torso is still well defined. However, he isnot young, andit is safestto regardhim as a matureadult. Games with age areeasy to play withpersonifications.55 n preferring o make Demos a matureadult,rather han a beardlessyouth,the relief stressesthe people's stability,strengthanddevelopment. Changeand revolution thefeatures of the young - are absent from this figure.56 Moreover his age embraces a normativedefinition of citizenship found in other sources. Wealth may not have guaranteed extra rights inAtheniandemocracy,butage did. Demos' age reinforces he two-tierage distinction nAtheniandemocratic practice, whereby one gained admittance to the assembly at the age of 18 or 19, butwas not eligible for office-holding or jury service until the age of 30.57 To be an active memberof the people, you need to be mature. Our Demos represents a citizen at his greatest capacity forgovernment.This administrative focus is continued in Demos' costume. Demos is dressed for the assembly,not the battlefield. This Demos is no aristocratic diotes looking to retire to a life of refinedleisure (none of Aristophanes'purplecloth and golden cicadas here). The Pnyx is where hebelongs. Much has been writtenon the way in which the hoplite embodiedthe civic virtuesoftheAtheniancitizen.58It is interesting o note that when the People decide to depictthemselves,martialprowess is entirely neglected. Demos is not a fighter. Thucydideswas correct:it isimpossible to have a civic life unless you put down your sword (Thuc. 1.5.3). The martial fig-ure in Athenian documentary iconography is Athena. It is probably no coincidence that when-everAthensneeds to record reatieswith foreign powers, it prefersto be representedby Athena,often armedandarmoured, n the relief.59In martialcircumstancesDemos seems to be absent.The relief recordingthe honoursof Euphronof Sikyon is a partialexception (PLATE2a). The

51This was realizedearlierby Pfuhl (1923), but dis-missedby Rumpf(1951) 8. The influenceof Xenophon'sdepiction of the conversation between Socrates andParrhasiosin the Memorabilia (3.10.5) was noted byBrunn (1889) 2.109. For a similar allegoricaldescrip-tion, see the earless Demos attributed to Lysippos(Gnomol.Vat.339b).52 Even Plato cannot resist this game. See Plato,Alcibiades I 132aforthe allegoryof the beautifulDemosthatdisguises its hideousnessbeneatha mask.53 Cook (1953) 111; Daux (1953) 199; and Picard(1935-63) 4.2, 1264.54Compare heslightlyhunched igureof Kios inEM6928 (Lawton 9).55See also the genius populi Romani whose initialrepresentationsdepicthim as a maturemale. However,

by the Flavian period (his iconographic heyday) heappearsas youngmanin order o providecontrast o per-sonificationsof the Senate (cf the archof Titus and theCancellaria eliefs). Fordiscussion,see Fears(1978) andHannestad 1986) 202, 207.56Strauss 1993) 142-3, 217.57Fordiscussionof age distinctions nAtheniangov-ernment,see Hansen(1991) 88-90.58 The classic formulationof this position is Vidal-Naquet(1968).59ForAthenaperformingdexiosis on foreigntreaties,see EM 6598 (Lawton 7), EM 6928 (Lawton 9), AM1333 (Lawton 12), NM 1481 (Lawton 24), NM 1480(Lawton28). For a discussion of these reliefs and theiriconography, ee Ritter(2001).

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DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY:ART AND TEXT IN THE LAW OF EUKRATESrelief has Demos standingreadyto receive the alliance fromSikyonthat would bolsterAthenianeffortsin the LamianWar. Demos maybe involvinghimself in the affairsof war. However,thisinvolvementwill only be at a distance. It is only aegis-cladAthenaholding a paintedspearandEuphronwith a swordstrappedacross his chest who arereadyfor fighting.60These simplemessages areeasy to understand.On morecomplex issues of identityandpolit-ical philosophy,this Demos proves more elusive. Much discussion has gone into the rangeofsemanticmeaningsthat the term 'demos' embraces- generalpopulace, the assembly,thejury,and deme community.61All arealternativecompetingandcomplementarydefinitions. Yet, it isimpossibleto workoutwhich definition s suggestedby this Demos. Otherdocumentreliefs aremore helpful. When Demos is accompaniedby the personificationof the Boule, the Ecclesiaassociationsare foregrounded.62The Demos on deme decrees can only refer to the local com-munity.63These reliefs explorethe rangeof meaningsof Demos. This one refuses to acknowl-edge thatyou could formulatesuch a division or range. The lack of guidanceaboutwhere weshouldlocate the demos or its precise meaningcan only be strategic. Just as the law refusestospecify what will constitute an attempt ncavactarval TO r&jp or KataXXiv bvoV ufiLov 'tosubvertor overthrow he people', 11.7-10), so the relief refuses to name explicitly the targetofthese subversives(assembly,deme or more abstract arget). We have to make decisions for our-selves aboutwhich actionsoverstepthe mark. From the motion of Pythodorosonwards,Athenshas plenty of experience of oligarchs attempting o pass off their revolutions as constitutional,appropriating olon and Kleisthenesalongthe way.64It is betterto leave these thingsunsaid.Moreover,this Demos specifically resists certainstrategiesof interpretation.This figure isnot susceptibleto analogy. If we tryto understand his figure throughchartingresemblances,wediscoverthat Demos looks like variously nobody, anybodyandeverybody. His generic qualitiesoften make him unrecognizable. The personificationof Demos has few distinguishingcharac-teristics. On one level, he often resembles the standardmiddle-aged figure found on grave,votive and honorific reliefs.65 Both workshop practiceand democraticideology combined tomake this desirable.66It was important hatnobody/everybodysaw themselves in the figureofDemos. Portraiturewas impossible; it rendered he whole projectof personificationunviable.In seeking recourse to the generic figures of relief sculpture,Demos simultaneouslysets up arelationshipof bothfamiliarityand distancewith the viewer. InlookingatDemos you saw your-self reducedto yourbareessentials,the sculptural horthandof citizen masculinity.

60 This contrastbetween an honorandsportingmili-tary equipmentand an unarmedDemos is also found inNM 2946 (Lawton 149) and 2958 (Lawton 150).61 On the range of meanings of 'demos', see thedebate between Hansen (1978), (1989) and Ostwald(1986) and Ober(1989).62 For a documentrelief containingthe personifica-tions of Demos and Boule, see EM 2811 (Lawton 49).For a secure personificationof Boule, see NM 1473(Lawton 142).63 For Demos on deme decrees, see an honorarydecree fromAchamaiin the collection of Stelios Lydakis(Lawton 147). The whereaboutsof anotherdeme decreeshowing Demos from the excavations at Trachones iscurrentlyunknown(Lawton 176).64 This feature of anti-democratic hetoricwas firstobserved by Fuks (1953). For discussion, seeRuschenbusch (1958); Cecchin (1969); and Ostwald(1986) 337-411.

65Forcomparanda, ee documentreliefs - AM 2996(Honoursfor Proxenidesof Knidos,Lawton68.1); gravestele - NM 902 (Clairmont CAT 1.251), NM 995(ClairmontCAT1.344),NM 758 (ClairmontCAT2.280).66 Although there have been no identified cases ofsculptors working across all genres of reliefs, it is clearthat there are close connectionsbetweenthem. The sim-ilaritybetweentype IIIgravestelai and documentreliefsis remarkable.We have one case of a documentary elieffor a deme decree foundon a stele that was intendedas afuneral relief- EM 13461 (Lawton43). On the whole,workshops that produced documentaryreliefs tend toemploy more capableand accomplishedmasons for theinscription. For discussion of the qualityof inscriptionson gravestones,see Clairmont 1970) 49-50.

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A.J.L.BLANSHARDDemos is not only an everyman igure,he is an 'every-god'figuretoo. His iconography anbe easilyconfusedwith thatof Erechtheus,AsklepiosandtheEponymousheroes.67Theinfluenceof the PheidianZeus has alreadybeen mentioned. In additionto this, we should also add boththe seatedZeus on the eastpedimentof the Parthenon ndthe seatedZeus on the amphoraattrib-uted to GroupE depictingthe birthof Athena(Richmond,Virginia,Museumof Fine Arts60.23)

(PLATEb).68This associationwith Zeus opensup an intriguingset of complications. In a doc-umentthat seeks to entrenchdemocracyat the expense of tyranny, uch a strongnote of auto-craticpower seems a littlejarring. Prometheusmay have reconciledhimself to the tyrannyofZeus's rule;can we reconcile ourselves to the tyrannyof the Demos?69The answermust be inthe affirmative - an easy answer, or rather one that you had better find easy, if you want to livein Athens. The relief functionsas a litmustest of democratic ervour. Drawing upon the mostextremeiconographicvocabulary t can musterfor autocratic upremacy throne,sceptre,etc.),it places Demos as the rulerandasks you to acceptthis. If you think the Demos is giving itselfairs,thenthe law of Eukratesputs you on notice to watchyour step. At the sametime, individu-als are stopped from contemplating themselves in the place of Zeus by the curiouseverybody/nobody quality of Demos. You can be subsumed in Demos, but Demos can never beidenticalwith you. Powerwill always be diffusebecause identityis constantlydeferred.This sophistication in the relationship between thehext of the inscription and the relief pointsto a completeness of vision that is hard to find in other document reliefs. In a number of cases,there is little evidence to suggest that the sculptors of document reliefs knew the precise word-ing of an inscription. The inscribing did not take place until the relief sculpture had been com-pleted.70 Occasionally the reliefs suggest that the sculptors' knowledge of the content of theinscription may have been fairly sketchy. So, for example, we find the personification of theBoule apparently occurring in a relief where there is no specific mention of her in the accompa-nying inscription.71 The only parallel where we seem to have so close a relationship betweentext and relief is the case of the inscription honouring Euphron of Sikyon (PLATEa). The reliefclosely follows 11. 8-12: [Kai vvv iKCoV iap]a toi 68rjgouoOVtKuCioviCoVRayy[EXXEtal1v76Oiv] (pihrlv Kca oa ctizatov [ova]av t[aniLrveiv IK2vKaa TouV hoke]iov Ta ry TOiaArovaixov('and now having come from the People of Sikyon, proclaims that his city, being a friend andally, will defend against its enemies the people of Athens').

However, unlike the relief for Euphron, this relief is no illustration. On one level, its alle-gorical message is simple: Democracy is the one system of government (notice the absence ofother figures) that honours and - frozen forever in stone - will continue to honour the People.Democracy is the only active participant in this transaction. She is the vital principle. Yet, oncewe penetrate this message, we are drawn into more complex questions and debates of politicalphilosophy.72 We have seen that the text regards the two institutions, demos and democracy, as

67The similarity s discussedin Lawton(1995) 57-8, antithesis to the democratic process' - 115); andfollowing Palagia(1980) 58 and Kron(1976) 238. For Conacher 1980) 120-37.figureswhere confusion in attributionhas occurred,see 70 See, for example, Ecole francaise I 6 (LawtonErechtheus Louvre831 (Lawton8), NM 1479 (Lawton 143), where the failureto calculatefor Athena'shelm in14), EM 7859 (Lawton 20); Asklepios - NM 2985 the frameof the relief requiresthe inscription o be re-(Lawton 132); tribalhero - EM 2788 (Lawton 115) and spaced, or EM 13461, where the omicron in Ooit hasNM 2958 (Lawton 150). been slightly raised to compensatefor the head of the68On the ParthenonZeus, see Harrison 1967). The personificationof the deme Eitea, which owing to mis-GroupE amphoras discussedin Korshak 1987) 33, FF calculationprotrudes utsidethe frame.221. 71EM2811 (Lawton49). The text of the inscription

69 On the characterization f Zeus's rule as tyranni- IG 112367, althoughfragmentary,eaves no room in thecal, see Podlecki (1966) 101-22 ('the play gives us the prescript or a referenceto the Boule.first formulationof any length of the new democracy's 72Forthe demos'participationn theongoingAthenianquarrelwith the tyrant,who, as a law unto himself and conversation n democracy, ee Ober 2003) 222-6.beyond the check of legal redress,constitutedan exact

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DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY:ARTAND TEXTIN THE LAWOF EUKRATEShavingan equivalence(rov 6iigov i' ilv 8r6oiKpaTiav).Thetwo areinterchangeable.Harmingone is the sameas harming he other. This equality s not followed through n therelief. Instead,a curioushierarchy s set up with one figure crowninganother. It is unusualto be crownedbyan equal.73The vast majorityof honorary nscriptionsaccompaniedby reliefs featurea distincthierarchywherea largersuperior god/hero/personification) estowscrownsupon gratefulrecip-ients.74Thereareonly two cases where divinitiescrown each other. However,as we can see ina deme decree fromAcharnai, he uncomfortable ompositionof AthenacrowningAres reflectsboth the inexperience n resolving such a situation conographicallyand its rarity.75A meetingof equals is normally accompaniedby dexiosis. We arebeing invited to consider the politics ofcrowning. The relief demandsthat we theorize the relationshipbetween the recipient(Demos)and the donor (Demokratia)of a crown. What does it mean for Democracy to honour theDemos? Whatis (shouldbe) the statusof the variousparties n this transaction? How does thecrowning subsequentlyalter their respective status? Is there reciprocityin this relationship?Ultimately, s it betterto give or receive?Inprompting hese questions,the relief implicatesus in a particularly ourth-century roject.Bot the politicsof crowningand therelationshipbetween the demosanddemocracywerefirmlyon the intellectualagendain thisperiod. Aischines realized he potentialproblems hat crown-ing poses forthe democratic tate. Fromtheverybeginningof his prosecutionofKtesiphon overthe award of a crown to Demosthenes,he reminds thejury thatdemocracy s at stake, andthattheyneed to treadcarefully f theywish to avoid a slide intotyranny Aeschin. 3.6-7). Aischinescapitalizeson the ambiguityof an award that should be deserved and yet is always more thanone shouldexpect. Demosthenes'attitude hreatens o upsetthis democraticcompromiseon theawardingof honours. He lacks te requisitegratitudeor loyalty thatcrowningshouldengender(Aeschin. 3.33, 47). His desire for cheap glory shows no respectfor the customsor opinionsofthose offering the award(Aeschin. 3.32-48). Demosthenes respondsesn by repackingthe awardceremony of a crown- it is a momentthat reflects more on the donor than the recipient(Dem.18.120). In this battle, we see an attemptto carefully calibrate the effect and implicationofcrowning. The democraticstate has always had problems with awards to anyone other thanitself.77Aischinesplays up itsparanoia,while Demosthenesattempts o soothe its troubledbrow.Compared o this exchange, the crowningof the Demos by Demokratia eems less problematic.There is no externalthreat hatthreatens o upset the securityof Demos on his throne. It was ademocraticfiction that these two entitieswere indissoluble('Tov 85i|iov7i tijv 5rlJLioKpaitav').Drivingwedges between these two was largelyanoligarchicproject.78By bindingthese two fig-ures in an affectionaterelationshipof honour-exchange, uch splittingis avoided.79

73 On the tendency to divide up relationshipsinto 77 For the crowning of the Demos by foreign states,those 'betweenequals'and those 'between superiorsand see the decree of Byzantion to erect a statue of theinferiors', see Arist. Eth. Eud. 1238 b 15-1239 b 5 and Athenian Demos being crowned by the Demoi ofEth. Nic. 8.1158 b 11-19. Byzantionand Perinthos(Dem. 18.91). On the content74For example, see Lawton36, 43, 49, 68(1), 126, andauthenticity f thisdecree,see Wankel 1976) 1.496-8.137, 145, 147, 149, 153, 167, 176. Such a hierarchy s 78See, for example,Ps.-Xen. Ath. Pol. 2.19. For annot so often observed in Romandepictionsof crowning; example of the ceaseless interest n attempting o definesee Rumscheid(2000). the relationshipbetween Demos and Demokratia,see75 Athens, Ecole franqaiseI 6 (Lawton 143). The Arist. Pol. 1278 b 6-15.otherexamplefeaturesHeraklescrowningAthenain the 79 On the affections that can attend moments ofcomrnerf NM 2407 (Lawton 133). exchange, see Foxhall (1998).76Both these issues formoff-shoots of the muchlarg-er debates on philia; see Mitchell (1997) 1-21; Millett(1991); andSchofield(1998).

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A.J.L. BLANSHARDCONCLUSION: THE ABSENT CENTRE - THE PLACE OF THE PEOPLE

IN DEMOCRATIC ARTIn the subjectof paintingsand sculpturespeople recognisedtheir own features,and this filled themwith legitimatepride ... Few people, however, could identify with the principles of moralityandbehaviour mplicitin the artistic mageof thenew man ... few Germans elt thattheirlives conformedwith the Fiihrer's deal to be as tough as a thong, as swift as a hound and as hard as Kruppsteel.Everyoneto a greateror lesser degreefelt that his faith was not strong enough,his work not produc-tive enough... Totalitarianman was proudof his country'spowerand his leader'swisdom;at thesametime he felt defenceless in the face of this powerthatmight,at anymoment,be turnedagainsthim.80

As a final gesture, a moment of discontinuity: the law of Eukrates as a monument to the gulf thatseparates Athens and Western democratic culture. We see this most clearly when we co-ordinatethe relief within a genealogy of strategies for personification. Personifications coalesce as theprecipitate of various cultural and political discourses. They function as a tease - a slippery pointof entry that leads to moments of self-awareness. Engaging with them is a dangerous business.It is much easier to hope that they are merely decorative. We have seen the way Athenian dem-ocratic art stages the people for contemplation. It demands that we pause, reflect, and ultimate-ly commit ourselves to a notion of the people. There is a certain sort of bravery (or confidence)in demanding uch self-reflectionon civic fundamentals.81In embracing self-reflection, the Athenian personification of the people rejects coercion.There is power in demotic icons. Totalitarianregimes, those most accustomed to coarse articu-lations of power, are keen to teach us this. Such regimes have proven in the last century to bethe most comfortablewith personifyingthe people.82 Only in Socialist or Fascist regimes is itpossible to find such representations with any regularity. This discrepancy appears paradoxical.Yet it takes only the most cursoryexamination o see that the artisticembodimentsof totalitari-an regimes are interestednot in openingup debate,but in closing it down. In the face of theseFascistbodies, one can only acquiesceor resist. There s no place for reason. The few momentsof compulsionwe have felt with theAthenianDemos are light touches in comparison.The totalitarian ody politic is one basedon a seriesof exclusions.83Itmay claim to be you,butthereis always an anxietythatthis mightnot turnout to be the case. Such exclusionarydef-initions must provide partof the reason why democraticstate art has traditionallyhidden itspeople away. It is almost impossible to find any personification of the 'People' in public

80Golomstock(1990) 215.81Such confidence andbravery s often bornout ofmomentsof revolution. Forexample, see the brief flour-ishing of the imageryof the People as Herculesin revo-lutionaryFrance. The short-livedpopularityof this fig-ure saw him hold a prominentplace in the revolutionaryfete of August 1793. A 24-foot-highstatuewas erectedatLes Invalidesby David. For discussion, see Gutwirth(1992) 275-6. For examples of the iconography, seeRoberts 2000) figs 107 (The FrenchPeopleoverwhelmsthe Hydraof Federalism)and 109(Le PeuplemangeurdeRois). The eventualeclipse of this figureand the rise ofLibertyand the Nation as the predominant evolutionaryimages is charted n Landes(2001). On the imageryofthe People as the body, see discussion in de Baecque(1997) 96-106.82 On the importanceof the People (das Volk) intotalitarianartistic vocabulary, see Golomstock (1990)173-6.Forexamples,see Miramey'sposter'Le Faisceau'

produced orthe founding rallyof FrenchFascism(repr.in Nouveausiecle, 12 November 1925);VeraMukhina'scolossal 'Worker and Collective Farm-woman' thattopped the Soviet pavilion at the 1937 InternationalExhibitionin Paris;the earlyNationalSocialist electionposter 'Die Arbeiter sind erwacht'(repr. n Golomstock(1990) 172); Hans Toepper's'The People in Danger';'Politica di Amore' showing the ItalianPeople's love ofFascism (repr. in Silva (1973) pl. 42). On NationalSocialist allegory,see Hinz (1979) 156-60. In addition,one could include various examples from totalitariangenre-painting. These images may have claimed to berealist. However, political expediency meant that theyalways had a strong component of the symbolic andmythic. Onthe collapseof realism ntothe symbolic,seeGolomstock(1990) 182-98.83On the creationof this alienbody aesthetic,anditsexclusionsbasedon race, sex, blood type, physiognomy,see the collection of essays in Magan(1990) and(2000).

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DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY:ARTAND TEXT IN THE LAWOF EUKRATESmonuments. Justice, Wisdom and Liberty are to be found by the dozen.84 The closest we get topersonifications of the people are representations of the nation states - corporations at oneremove ('Uncle Sam wants You!').85 Depicting the 'People' representsa limit-case in demo-cratic thought and the reception of the classical tradition. The artist and architects of state mon-uments are prepared o adoptmany classical tropes,to dressup theirbuildings as ancienttem-ples, to find virtue in the symbolic language of personifications. Yet, when it comes to the'People', they will not tolerate graven images. They prefer to make such definitions redundant.We can 'people' the monumentsourselves.Discourses of identity and diversity rightly make us suspicious of any such project of per-sonification. We tremble at the prospect. How could any one figure include all of us? Theimplicit exclusions loom so large. In our revulsion at such a project - the moment at which thelaw of Eukrates relief looks so alien - we may begin to wonder what separates us from theGreeks:our notion of 'democracy'or the 'people'? A.J.L. BLANSHARD

University of Reading

BIBLIOGRAPHYAlexandri-Tzahou,. (1981-99) Demos',LIMC .1 375-82Babington, B. and Evans, P.W. (1993) Biblical Epics. Sacred Narrative in the Hollywood Cinema(Manchester)Baecque,A. de (1997) TheBodyPolitic. CorporealMetaphor n RevolutionaryFrance, 1770-1800, trans.C. MandellStanford)Boyer,P.(1985) By theBombs Early Light.AmericanThoughtand Cultureat the Dawn of theAtomicAge

(NewYork)Brunn,E. (1889) GeschichtedergriechischenKiinstler(2 vols, Stuttgart)Buschor,E. (1950) 'Eine samischeEhrenurkunde',n MiscellaneaAcademicaBerolinensia2, 25-30Cecchin,S.A. (1969) Iatrpto I;Hokltia (Turin)Clairmont,C.W. (1970) Gravestone and Epigram. GreekMemorialsfrom the Archaic and ClassicalPeriod (Mainz)Clinton,K. (1996) Review of Lawton,Attic DocumentReliefs,BMCR7, 743-51Conacher, .J.(1980)AeschylusPrometheus ound.ALiteraryCompanionToronto)Cook,J.M. 1953)'ArchaeologynGreece', HS73, 108-30Daux,C. (1953)'Chroniquees fouilleset decouvertesrcheologiquesnGreceen 1952',BCH77, 199Drerup,E. (1896) 'Uber die PublicationskostenerattischenVolksbeschliisse', eueJahrbiicherurPhilologie undPaedagogik 66, 227-57Fears,J.R.(1978) '6 86fgoS; pcolataiovGeniusPopuliRomani',Mnemosyne31, 274-86Ferguson,W. (1898) TheAthenianSecretaries(Ithaca,NY)Foxhall,L. (1998) 'Thepoliticsof affection:emotionalattachments nAtheniansociety', in P.A.Cartledgeet al. (eds), Kosmos.Essays in Order,Conflictand Communityn ClassicalAthens(Cambridge)52-67Fuks,A. (1953) TheAncestralConstitution London)Golomstock,I. (1990) TotalitarianArt in theSoviet Union,the ThirdReich,Fascist Italyand thePeople sRepublicof China,trans.R. Chandler London)Gutwirth, M. (1992) The Twilight of the Goddesses. Women and Representationin the FrenchRevolutionaryEra (New Brunswick)Hamdorf,F.W.(1964) GriechischeKultpersonifikationener vorhellenistischenZeit (Mainz)Hannestad,N. (1986) RomanArt andImperialPolicy (Arhus)84ForAmericanexamples,see Horwitz(1976). 85On the iconographyof Uncle Sam, see Horwitz(1976) 92-106; and Ketchum(1959).

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JHS 124 (2004) DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY PLATE 1

(a) EugeneVanderpoolandthe law of Eukrates(photograph:Agoraexcavations,AmericanSchool of ClassicalStudies,Athens)

(b) Relief fromthe law of Eukratesagainsttyranny(photograph:Agora excavations,AmericanSchool ofClassical Studies,Athens)


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PLATE 2 DEPICTINGDEMOCRACY JHS 124 (2004)

(a) Relief fromthe honorificdecree for Euphronof Sikyon(photograph:Agora excavations,AmericanSchool of Classical Studies,Athens)

(b) The birthof Athenaamphoraattributedo GroupE (Richmond,Virginia,Museumof FineArts 60.23) (photograph:VirginiaMuseumof FineArts,Richmond.TheArthurandMargaretGlasgow Fund)

Depicting Democracy.an Exploration of Art and Text in the Law of Eukrates

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