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Demos in Greek didn’t mean 'mob' but rather 'body politic'. The word for 'mob' was ochlos.
by Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Demos in Greek didn’t mean 'mob' but rather 'body politic'. The word for 'mob' was ochlos.
- MonkeyClub 6y agoOops, was I a bit sly? Perhaps that equation should be amended to read "(occasional) mob rule". The people become "ochlos" crowd when in sub-groups, or perhaps when they start causing irritation "ochlesis". Before that, the demos is just a bunch of people. Originally demos refers just the people of a particular land, from Homeric "demos" = land, and expanded over time to include particular bunches of people (e.g., of a village or town, or a band of people). The political sense of the people as free and sovereign citizens (the body politic; Latin "plebs") is a later meaning. Before that, demos used to refer to the mass of subjects contrasted to the "basileus" king. Of course, both demos and ochlos can refer to a crowd (as can "plethos"). One could say that demos has a common attribute (e.g. place of origin) giving it stronger cohesion, while an ochlos may be ad hoc. Still, ochlos is mass/multitude of people, with the ability to exercise influence in a democratic assembly. It is that characteristic of democracy as mob rule - alright, occasionally, that generated early critique (but also gave rise to rhetoric and dialogue as more benign means of persuasion). (Source: LSJ and a bit of Lampe) From your name I gather you are from, or interested in the study of, the Mediterranean?