Authority, Sceptre, Agency: From Homer's Basileîs to Chaeronea's Hierómenoi

Abstract

In Homer Agamemnon presents himself as an authoritative leader, capable of obtaining obedience without the need to coerce or persuade. These essay investigates the nature of the authority of the basileús in light of the internal data of the epos and the cultural representations of the Greeks. In particular, we emphasize: the role of the scepter as a “device” which makes the king the delegate of Zeus within a conception of authority as a “faculty” conferred by an external source; the agency of the scepter, its ability to act as a medium for relationships by circulating sovereign power among the basileîs in the Homeric assembly as well as among the hierómenoi in the Boeotian city of Chaeronea.