The Boeotian Confederacy and the Autonomia of the Greek Polis

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  • 連邦から見たポリスのアウトノミア--ボイオティア連邦の分析を通じて
  • レンポウ カラ ミタ ポリス ノ アウトノミア ボイオティア レンポウ ノ ブンセキ オ ツウジテ

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Abstract

Autonomia has been interpreted as a concept which traditionally had a meaning of self-government of the Greek polis, though it also had a meaning of independence in certain contexts. Recently, however, M. H. Hansen proposed a different interpretation from the traditional one. According to his research and interpretation, autonomia originally had a meaning of independence, but after the treaty of "the King's Peace" of 386 B.C., it came to mean self-government. Analyzing the poleis belonging to the Boeotian Confederacy, Hansen argued that they did not have the status of autonomia, because they were controlled by a powerful polis, Thebes. In this paper, reexamining the cases of the Boeotian Confederacy from its foundation to its disorganization, the author tries to clarify the meaning of the changing concept of autonomia. The points of his detailed discussion are as follows : In the early stage of the Boeotian Confederacy, autonomia was probably not the term which referred to political relationships between Greek poleis. During the Peloponnesian War, however, its meaning changed and in the treaty of "the King's Peace" of 386 B.C. autonomia came to have a meaning of independence. In the course of the 4th century B.C., the meaning of autonomia changed again. We can find reference to this in the treaties named "Common Peace". Finally, in the Corinthian League, autonomia was identified as the concept of self-government. This paper revises both the traditional interpretation and Hansen's new one. The author hypothesizes on the structure of the Greek world: the condition of autonomia had always been secured under a stronger political power. This hypothesis suggests that autonomia was not a fundamental factor in the Greek polis.

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