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Abstract:

This thesis starts with an analysis of the ancient sources concerning the origins of the Athenian politician Agyrrhius of Collytus: he lived between c. 440 BC and 374/3, the year of the last attested activity (the granary law of the Athenian cleurchia of Lemnos, Imbros and Skyros). One can state that Agyrrhius was a native of the demos of Collytus, famous for its market activities, and that he was the uncle of the well-known Callistratus of Aphidna. Although one cannot be sure, Agyrrhius cannot have been poor, because he held various public offices for which a certain kind of financial status was necessary and because of the social background of his nephew Callistratus. The study continues by examining Agyrrhius' various public activities in chronological order, as deduced from the ancient sources. The most obvious deduction from this analysis is that he was mainly active in the economic and financial spheres, as is shown, for instance, by his office as poristes and the proposal of the granary law. The second part of the thesis is devoted to Agyrrhius' possible political links with other politicians of his time: the study of the sources, in which Agyrrhius never appears as the leader of a particular faction, leads us to believe that he did not play a significant role in the factional struggle that characterised the period between the democratic restoration of 403 and the Peace of Antalcidas of 387/6. Agyrrhius' contacts with other Athenian political figures seem to have been mainly economic collaborations. The third and last chapter of the thesis focuses on the already mentioned granary law of 374/3: the analysis of the epigraphic text not only confirms once more Agyrrhius' involvement in financial activities, but also leads to the assumption that he must be included among those politicians who, especially in the 4th century, specialised in the administration and management of public finances.