Kleroterion – The Athenian’s Solution to Corruption

Kleroterion A kleroterion was a randomization device (a lottery system) used by the Athenian cities during the period of democracy to select citizens to the city council, to most state offices, and to court juries. Athenians were aware of the risks of corruption; they knew that a judge could be bribed but not a crowd, so they used to form big juries (500 people) that were randomly selected shortly before the trial. For that reason each citizen brought his personal ID (a piece of wood or bronze called pinakion), that a justice officer slotted it into a kleroterion, a machine…...