What Is The Role Of Animals In The Odyssey

The word demos (δῆμος) is a noun etymologically related to the word “διανέμω” or “to distribute;” the earliest written form is found in Homer’s poems (Odyssey and Iliad) meaning [a parcel of] land. Indeed, this was the original meaning of the word «δῆμος» in ancient Athens—a subdivision of land (Brand); though, after Cleisthenes’s reforms, it also came to mean country-district, like the boroughs in New York and the wards in Tōkyō. Though, in Athens a δῆμος was the smallest political administrative subdivision of the city, where males upon becoming 18, had to present themselves to the officials of their demos to prove that they were not slaves and that their parent were Athenians in order to get enrolled in the “Assembly List” («πίναξ ἐκκλησιαστικός») (Blackwell, 2003). …show more content…
Finally, the word could also denote the Assembly of Citizens, which normally in ancient Greek was called ekklisia (έκκλησία); yet, in Athens, was called «δῆμος». Decrees of the Assemblybegan with the phrase, “It seemed best to the Demos…”, very much like the phrase “We the people…” (Blackwell, 2003)
To recap, the word demos during the classical Greek times, could mean a parcel of land, an administrative subdivision of Athens, the populace, a mob, or the Assembly of Citizens.
References
Blackwell, C. W. (2003, 2 28). Athenian Democracy: a brief overview. Retrieved from Stoa: http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/article_democracy_overview?page=3
Brand, P. J. (n.d.). Athens & Sparta: Democracy vs. Dictatorship. Retrieved 4 7, 2017, from