Moment
Five hundred seats without five hundred campaigns
Athens, fourth century BCE; the Council is selected by lot
The Athenian Constitution describes a Council of five hundred, with fifty members chosen by lot from each of the ten tribes. The procedure combined randomness with a fixed allocation. It did not simply draw five hundred names from the entire population and hope for a useful distribution.
- Institution
- Council of Five Hundred
- Allocation
- Fifty from each tribe
- Method
- Selection by lot
The caveat
The text describes arrangements from a particular period, not one unchanging Athenian constitution. Its Council was drawn from an eligible citizen body far narrower than the city's population. The numbers document an institutional design, not universal political equality.
The same account describes a political system containing both allotted and elected offices. This mixture matters. Athenians could value broad participation while treating some duties differently. Their institutions made distinctions that the simple equation of democracy with elections would conceal.
How it connects
The Athenian Council paired random selection with a defined tribal allocation.
This moment appeared in Giving chance a constitutional job, the Involves connection for September 16, 2026, which asked: Why would a democracy select officials by lot?
Check yourself
How was the Council of Five Hundred allocated in the account?
Fifty members by lot from each of ten tribes. Exactly. The design combined a lottery with a fixed distribution across tribes.
What the sources establish
The Athenian Constitution describes a Council of Five Hundred with fifty members allotted from each tribe.
Sources
The Athenian Constitution (Aristotle; Internet Classics Archive), Part 43: Council of Five Hundred; later sections on elected and allotted offices