The Athenian Constitution

The Athenian Constitution by Aristotle and translated by Sir Frederic G. Kenyon. The Constitution of the Athenians, also called the Athenian Constitution, is a work by Aristotle or one of his students. It was preserved on two leaves of a papyrus codex discovered at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt in 1879. The Constitution of the Athenians describes the political system of ancient Athens. The treatise was composed between 330 and 322 BC. Some ancient authors, such as Diogenes Laertius, state that Aristotle assigned his pupils to prepare a monograph of 158 constitutions of Greek cities, including a constitution of Athens. The work consists of two parts. The first part, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 41, deals with the different forms of the constitution, from the trial of the Alcmaeonidae until 403 BC. The second part describes the city's institutions, including the terms of access to citizenship, magistrates, and the courts.