The senior magistrates of Athens, the Archons, as members of the Eupatridai, controlled the machinery of government. After a year in office each Archon joined a group of elders called the Areopagos, which, among its several powers, controlled Athenian citizenship by determining who qualified to be members of the Phratries or kinship groups. Another source of power, held by the Eupatridai, was control over property. They managed most of the land in Attica by claiming authority over public land. The commons were hired as tenants to work this land and forced to pay one sixth of their crop value as rent.
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