Demes

territorial districts in ancient Attica. The reform of Cleisthenes in 509 B.C. put the number of demes at 100. In the fifth century B.C. there were more than 150 demes, and in the third century B.C. there were 174. Demes had self-rule and elected their leader—the demarch. The people of ancient Attica used the deme as the basic unit in compiling lists of citizens, lists of property of the members of the demes, the recruitment of troops, and the selection of the Athenian boule and heliaia (a court). The example of Athens led to the creation of demes in other cities of ancient Greece (for example, in the fifth century B.C. on the islands of Cos and Rhodes).