After the reforms of Ephialtes and Pericles in the mid-5th century BC, the boule took

on many of the administrative and judicial functions of the Areopagus, which

retained its traditional right to try homicide cases. It supervised the state's finances,
navy, cavalry, sacred matters, building and shipping matters and care for invalids
and orphans. Its own members staffed many boards that oversaw the finer points of
these many administrative duties. It undertook the examination of public officials
both before and after leaving office (most offices lasting one year) to ensure honest
accounting and loyalty to the state. It heard some cases of impeachment of public
officials for high crimes and mismanagement or serious dereliction of duties.[3] At
some point in the late 5th century, pay was instituted for those serving in the boule;
this may have been a way to encourage poorer citizens to volunteer, who would
otherwise be reluctant to serve. The boule was considered the cornerstone of the
democratic constitution, providing a locus for day-to-day activities and holding
together the many disparate administrative functions of the government. Because
of the rotation of members, it was assumed that the boule was free from the
domination of factions of any kind, although there is some evidence that richer
citizens served out of proportion to poorer citizens. This may be due to the heavy
investment of time required, time that poorer citizens would not have had to spare.
[4]

he history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major
periods.[7] The earliest of these is the Archaic period (c. 800 c. 500 BC), in which
artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, hieratic poses with the
dreamlike "archaic smile". The Archaic period is often taken to end with the
overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508
BC. It was followed by the Classical period (c. 500 323 BC), characterized by a
style which was considered by later observers to be exemplary, i.e., "classical", as
shown in the Parthenon, for instance. Politically, the Classical Period was dominated
by Athens and the Delian League during the 5th century, but displaced by Spartan
hegemony during the early 4th century BC, before power shifted to Thebes and the
Boeotian League and finally to the League of Corinth led by Macedon. This period
saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon.

Following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period (323146 BC), during which
Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period
begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest. Roman
Greece is usually considered to be the period between Roman victory over the
Corinthians at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC and the establishment of Byzantium
by Constantine as the capital of the Roman Empire in AD 330. Finally, Late Antiquity
refers to the period of Christianization during the later 4th to early 6th centuries AD,
sometimes taken to be complete with the closure of the Academy of Athens by
Justinian I in 529.[8]