Eubulos jenseits von Isokrates und Xenophon

Eine Neubewertung im Kontext fiskal- und gesellschaftspolitischer Umbrüche im spätklassischen Athen

Abstract

Scholars generally consider Eubulos to have been the most important Athenian politician between 355 and c. 340. After the disastrous Social War (357–355), which had brought Athens to the brink of bankruptcy, he is said to have restructured Athenian state finances as the head of the festival fund or theorikon, implementing measures to bolster the economy and maintaining a defensive foreign policy. While this picture is not wrong in principle, it is unsatisfactory in some key respects. For one thing, it is doubtful whether the notion of a coherent economic policy implemented by Eubulos and his group after the Social War can be sustained. Secondly, Eubulos’ stance on foreign policy has not infrequently been inferred from presumed alliances or rivalries with other politicians, without direct mention being made of him in the sources. The article hence seeks to reassess Eubulos’ political activity. After a brief biographical sketch, it will be shown first that the usual analysis of Eubulos’ relations with other orators is unsuitable for determining his political positions. Secondly, it is necessary to clarify what his political influence could have been based on in general and what concrete role the theorikon fund had in this. Thirdly, a cautious attempt is made to reconstruct the fiscal and economic politics of Eubulos. The epigraphic evidence, which so far has not been given the attention it merits, allows for a refinement of the established view. Fourthly, the notion that Eubulos consistently pursued a defensive foreign policy will be challenged and discussed. Finally, Eubulos’ work will be placed in a larger context and understood as part of a phase of fiscal and socio-political upheavals in late Classical Athens.