Today is the first #newmoon after the summer #solstice meaning it's 1 Hekatombaion - Athenian New Year! The Athenians had a number of calendars in use; Hekatombaion was the first month of the lunisolar 'festival calendar'. New holders of civic offices would be sworn in, swearing oaths, with the gods as their witness, to fulfil their duties in a manner befitting the office. Athenian #democracy relied on its citizens' (free Athenian men) direct participation in the councils, assemblies and courts.