The Athenians became by far the most famous, in political ascendancy and
in artistic and intellectual eminence, of all the Ionian race, to which
they belonged.
At first they were under kings like the other Hellenes; but about 1050
B. C. the title of king became changed to that of archon (“ruler”),
though the office was still held for life, and continued in the same
family. The archon was responsible for his acts to a general assembly of
the people, in which, however, the nobles had the chief influence; and
down to long after the time of the first Olympiad, Athens may be
regarded as an oligarchic republic, in which the supreme office, the
archonship, was confined to one family; and members of the chief court
of justice, called Areopagus (lit. “hill of Ares,” the place of its
assembly at Athens), were elected only from the noble houses.