Ancient Athens Political Reforms Quiz

Who could hold the highest administrative office of archon and be elected to the highest court in ancient Athens?

• The landless thetes

• Men in the two richest groups

• Women

• Foreigners

How many male citizens were there in the council or boule of ancient Athens?

• 200

• 300

• 500

• 400

What did Solon establish for men of any group to serve on?

• The general assembly

• The highest court

• A new court

• The council or boule

What did the aristocracy feel about Solon's political compromises?

• They were satisfied

• They were unhappy

• They wanted more political power

• They felt he had given away too much of their power

Who seized power in 561 and ruled Athens as a tyrant from 547 until his death in 528 b.c.e.?

• Cleisthenes

• Peisistratus

• Sparta

• Solon

What did Peisistratus do to alleviate the plight of the small landowners?

• He cancelled their agricultural debt

• He encouraged trade and economic development

• He gave them land seized from aristocrats

• He sponsored building works

Who was selected to reorganize Athenian political institutions two years after Peisistratus's rule?

• Cleisthenes

• Solon

• Peisistratus

• Sparta

How many male citizens were chosen by each of the tribes for the new boule of 500 male citizens?

• 100

• 50

• 200

• 10

What did Cleisthenes do to break the power of aristocratic families?

• He set up the lasting structures of Athenian democracy

• He established a new court

• He rearranged the basic political units of Attica into 10 tribes

• He unified the territory of Attica

Who could hold public office in the new Athenian democracy set up by Cleisthenes?

• All adult male citizens

• Only men in the two richest groups

• Only the landless thetes

• Only the aristocracy