gerousia
Ancient advisory council
The gerousia was the council of elders in ancient Sparta, composed of twenty-eight men over sixty years old plus the two kings.
It held considerable power, proposing legislation to the assembly and serving as a court for serious crimes.
The term appears in discussions of ancient Greek political systems: The gerousia functioned as Sparta's supreme deliberative body.
Ancient Greek city-state
- agogeGreek training regimen
- krypteiaSpartan anti-serf terror
- LaconiaPeloponnesian region around Sparta
- dyarchyRule by two authorities
kings · oligarchy · Herodotus · Xenophon · Plutarch · constitutional · deliberative · veto
People aged 60-69
- seniorityRank from length of service
- venerableDeserving honor for dignity
- patriarchsMale ancestral leaders
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
experience · prestige · lifelong · tenure · appointed · selected · eligibility · retirement
Legislative governing body
- assemblyConstructing from components
- deliberativeCharacterized by careful consideration
- quorumMinimum for valid proceedings
- sessionScheduled time for activity
advisory · judicial · legislative · tribunal · membership · voting · proposal · debate
Rule by few
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
- magistratesCivil judicial officers
- checksBank payment documents
sovereignty · authority · statecraft · political · judicial · criminal · capital · trials
Lacedaemon
Ancient Greek city-state
- agogeGreek training regimen
- krypteiaSpartan anti-serf terror
- LaconiaPeloponnesian region around Sparta
dyarchy · kings · oligarchy · Herodotus · Xenophon · Plutarch · constitutional · deliberative · veto
sexagenarians
People aged 60-69
- seniorityRank from length of service
- venerableDeserving honor for dignity
- patriarchsMale ancestral leaders
wisdom · experience · prestige · lifelong · tenure · appointed · selected · eligibility · retirement · honor
senate
Legislative governing body
- assemblyConstructing from components
- deliberativeCharacterized by careful consideration
- quorumMinimum for valid proceedings
session · advisory · judicial · legislative · tribunal · membership · voting · proposal · debate · convocation
oligarchy
Rule by few
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
- magistratesCivil judicial officers
checks · sovereignty · authority · statecraft · political · judicial · criminal · capital · trials · appeals