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( Boule (ancient Greece))
In the cities of ancient Greece, the boule (Greek ß????, plural ß???a? or boulai from the ancient Greek verb ß????µa? (boulomai) meaning to will (after deliberating); Latin volo) was a council of citizens (called ß???e?ta? transliterated as bouleutai) appointed to run daily affairs of the city. Originally a council of nobles advising a king, boulai evolved according to the constitution of the city; in oligarchies boule positions might be hereditary, while in democracies members were typically chosen by lot, and served for one year. Little is known about the workings of many boulai, except in the case of Athens, for which extensive material has survived. The original council of Athens was the Areopagus. It consisted of ex-archons and was aristocratic in character. The Athenian boule, with its distinctive advisory function, is thought to have been established by the archon Solon in 594 BC. Originally it was made up of 400 men, 100 from each of the four traditional tribes of Athens. Very little is known about how the boule functioned at this time and its existence has even been doubted. However, evidence for its existence is as secure as evidence for other sixth century institutions.
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