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Instruments of the Athenian Empire: Phrourarchs, Archons, Episkopoi, and Phylax
#1
I have a question about Imperial Athenian Garrisons and specifically who comprised "troops" in these garrisons.

I've been researching the Athenian Empire and, in particular, the individuals who administered it.  Outside of Athens we have evidence that the Athenians established garrisons commanded by phrourarchs, and in the cities there were also archons who served as local magistrates and administrators, and there were also the episkopoi - (alternatively translated as inspectors or overseers) who were charged with administering the legal and political aspects of the empire, including detecting and rooting out rebellion before it occurred.  The episkopoi were assisted in their efforts by the proxenoi in the imperial cities - the term proxenos in this context likely being more like an informer than the more formal and aristocratic networks of guest-friends within oligarchic circles.  Aristophanes parodied a typical episkopos in Birds.

All of that is somewhat clear, but I've not read any serious treatment of the garrisons themselves.  We know they were commanded by Phrourarchs and we have reason to believe they were called Phylakes or Phylax (i.e., guards), but we don't know who they were or how many were in a garrison.

I doubt they were hoplites.  For both economic and social reasons, I suspect that those in the foreign service Imperial Athens were likely paid for their wages similar to jury pay or rower pay in the fleet, and so probably thetes.  They probably were not klerouchs though, since those individuals would be too busy working their homesteads to serve as guards in the way that the term Phylax suggests.

If they weren't thetes, were they metics?  Skythian archers?

Please let me know if you have any thoughts, one way or the other.

Thank you.
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