In ancient Greece, a pinakion ( Ancient Greek: πινάκιον, pl. pinakia) was a small bronze or wooden plate used as a form of citizen's token. Pinakia for candidates for political office or for jury membership were designed to be inserted into randomization machines ( kleroteria) so votes could be as accurate as possible to a wider community. Pinakia were common in Athens, but there are examples of non-Athenian pinakia as well. [1]
During the Golden Age of Athens, the use of pinakia developed from earlier forms of voting. These early methods included dropping pebbles in labelled vases and voting by raising hands. [2] The first pinakia and secret vote in Athens were recorded in the mid-5th century BCE. [2]
While wood was occasionally used, the best surviving pinakia are bronze. The use of bronze to create these Athenian ballots began c. 388 BCE and ended c. 322 BCE. [3] The owner's name was engraved on line 1, and his deme was on line 2. [3] The words and symbols were added by using the technique of punching. [3]
Pinakia were inscribed with a "section letter" [1] that matched a column of slots on the kleroteria. After the votes were cast, a pre-selected group of jurors counted them and reported the results. [2]
The pinakion was a method of secret voting. They were labeled with names, but these were only seen and counted by a select group, of the general public. [2] There were nondikastic and dikastic types of bronze pinakia. [3] A dikastic pinakion had to be returned to the government after use, and the engravings were removed so the bronze could be reinscribed with the name of somebody else. A nondikastic pinakion could be kept as a valuable token throughout a person's life. Because of this, many pinakia are recovered from tombs.
In ancient Greece, a pinakion ( Ancient Greek: πινάκιον, pl. pinakia) was a small bronze or wooden plate used as a form of citizen's token. Pinakia for candidates for political office or for jury membership were designed to be inserted into randomization machines ( kleroteria) so votes could be as accurate as possible to a wider community. Pinakia were common in Athens, but there are examples of non-Athenian pinakia as well. [1]
During the Golden Age of Athens, the use of pinakia developed from earlier forms of voting. These early methods included dropping pebbles in labelled vases and voting by raising hands. [2] The first pinakia and secret vote in Athens were recorded in the mid-5th century BCE. [2]
While wood was occasionally used, the best surviving pinakia are bronze. The use of bronze to create these Athenian ballots began c. 388 BCE and ended c. 322 BCE. [3] The owner's name was engraved on line 1, and his deme was on line 2. [3] The words and symbols were added by using the technique of punching. [3]
Pinakia were inscribed with a "section letter" [1] that matched a column of slots on the kleroteria. After the votes were cast, a pre-selected group of jurors counted them and reported the results. [2]
The pinakion was a method of secret voting. They were labeled with names, but these were only seen and counted by a select group, of the general public. [2] There were nondikastic and dikastic types of bronze pinakia. [3] A dikastic pinakion had to be returned to the government after use, and the engravings were removed so the bronze could be reinscribed with the name of somebody else. A nondikastic pinakion could be kept as a valuable token throughout a person's life. Because of this, many pinakia are recovered from tombs.