Aristotle: Athenian Constitution

Audience

The Athenian Constitution was probably not written for publication, at least in the form that survives. Scholars who have examined the text find passages that are obscure, even muddled, suggesting that the text might have been a draft—in effect, notes and background research for Aristotle's book Politics. Most likely, the Athenian Constitution, like much of Aristotle's writing, was intended as a text for his students. The Lyceum that Aristotle directed was a school, but it was organized far more informally than a modern school is. There was no fixed curriculum, nor were there any specific course requirements. Students were not required to pay fees. Rather, the Lyceum was an informal gathering of young men who were interested in attending philosophical and scientific lectures and in conducting research on topics of interest. Very often the “classes” consisted of discussion and debate. Their efforts were often self-directed, with one student elected every ten days on a revolving basis to handle the school's administrative chores. The students were divided into two groups, junior members and senior members. The younger junior members attended lectures and often served as assistants to the senior members. The latter spent most of their time conducting research in philosophy and science and in many cases writing documents to which Aristotle's name was attached.