Aristophanes and the Phratry of Triobolos: Revisiting the Social Composition of Athens’ Judiciary

Aristophanic comedy presents Athens’ judiciary as composed primarily of poor elders, but the accuracy of this portrayal has been variously disputed. The present paper subjects the critics’ arguments to scrutiny and, through a critical synthesis of the latest research, argues that our socioeconomic data for the fifth century BCE point toward poor Athenians who were close to and over the age of sixty being the predominant demographic on judge-panels. Consequently, as a source on the history of Athenian democratic institutions, the plays of Aristophanes prove to be as reliable as they are important.